"Not Mukade? What exactly happened?" Akaseki was taken aback by their hesitation.
"It seemed to be... Clan Leader Akaseki, you..." Sasuke also looked at Akaseki timidly.
Akaseki: ???
"Earlier... I was trying to draw those puppets' attention and give Naruto and the others a chance to escape. Then I happened to spot An Lushan brazenly appearing right in front of me. I thought it was a chance to take down their leader, but who knew..."
After a stretch of silence, Kakashi told him what he had discovered earlier...
"That was because you were too weak!" Akaseki said at once.
Judging by how briefly the commotion had lasted, and what Akaseki had seen when he rushed over, Kakashi really had been taken down in just a few moves.
But Kakashi shook his head. "Perhaps... Compared with you, Clan Leader Akaseki, I certainly wasn't ready. But... during my surprise attack, I broke off a corner of his mask and saw... beneath Mukade's face, there was... your face, Clan Leader Akaseki."
Akaseki wanted to tell him he was talking nonsense, but he also recalled that when he had caught up and seen "An Lushan" after the fight, the man had indeed had his back turned, seemingly adjusting something on his face.
Akaseki understood in a flash.
Could it have been...
The mask from the Vanishing Facial Copy Technique had been damaged, and he was making emergency repairs?
"You broke off a corner... Did you see a Sharingan?" Akaseki demanded, staring at him. When the Vanishing Facial Copy Technique was used, it covered not only the skin but also the eyes.
Kakashi shook his head, and only then did Akaseki breathe a sigh of relief.
But a moment later, Kakashi said gravely, "It was a Rinnegan."
Akaseki: !!!
Only Akaseki, Ranwu, and Tsunade knew