Big Red Bite

"Kumogakure attacked the Uzumaki Clan for a simple reason—Sealing Technique. But at least for now, it seemed they hadn't gotten what they wanted. At most, they obtained some incomplete Sealing Technique inheritances. They hadn't even come into contact with the Mask Storage Hall."

What Jiraiya said now held no real surprises. Akaseki and Minato had both thought of it earlier, since they had been talking all along about Kumogakure's lack of Sealing Techniques.

Kumogakure had never been proficient in Sealing Techniques. They relied on the Six Paths Tools to seal Tailed Beasts. Now that the Gold and Silver Brothers were dead and the Six Paths Tools had been sealed along with them, they naturally had to find another way to continue controlling the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails.

And unlike the Second Raikage, the Third Raikage was not only a pro-war hardliner, but even wanted to overthrow Konoha first and ignite a great war...

Thus, he set his sights on the Land of Whirlpools.

The Uzumaki Clan itself was no weak force, and they were Konoha's ironclad allies. Yet Kumogakure had seized the opportunity presented by Konoha's turmoil and directly wiped out the Uzumaki Clan.

But his goal had not been achieved...

What he wanted was clearly not merely to destroy the Uzumaki Clan. He wanted to subdue them for his own use and obtain their sealing power.

Yet Akaseki and Minato knew that Kumogakure had risked infiltrating Konoha three days ago to abduct Kushina Uzumaki—if they had any other choice, they clearly would not have done that.

This showed that in the Land of Whirlpools, they had obtained at most some scattered inheritances. Whether those could be consolidated into stronger Sealing Techniques remained to be seen.

"So? What do you think?" Jiraiya asked, guiding them.

Whether it was the upheaval in Kirigakure he had discussed before or the changes in Kumogakure he was discussing now, Jiraiya had gone into far more detail than the mission required because he held high hopes for these three students and wanted them to think more deeply.

"I think... we can't place all the blame on the First Hokage either," Akaseki said after holding it in for a long while.

Jiraiya, Minato, and Ranwu: ...

Who the hell said they were blaming the First Hokage?

But after Akaseki said it, they could not help thinking about it...

The First Mizukage and First Tsuchikage, who had advocated peaceful coexistence, had been directly killed by the Tailed Beast Project. The Jinchuriki had even given Kumogakure's pro-war faction a tremendous boost...

Didn't you, Hashirama Senju, bear even a little responsibility?

For a moment, even Jiraiya and Ranwu found it hard to judge.

Seeing that Jiraiya-sensei did not agree, Akaseki's expression changed. He cautiously asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, you... aren't saying... that the position of Kage shouldn't be passed to ninja from outside clans, are you?"

"I didn't say that!" Jiraiya could not help pulling out his folded paper fan and rapping Akaseki on the head.

Fortunately, Minato spoke up and changed the subject...

"The changes in Kirigakure may initially have stemmed from personal grudges and struggles for individual power. But their continued expansion and nearly two decades of persistence were the manifestation of escalating conflict between the new generation of civilian ninja and clan ninja.

"Kumogakure's coup, meanwhile, happened because the Second Raikage failed to take the pro-war faction's views into account. He only promoted his own ideas, making it impossible for the factions within the village to maintain even the most basic unity." The moment Minato opened his mouth, he sounded far more insightful.

At least he had not started by saying, "Forgive the First Hokage."

Jiraiya nodded. This was what he had wanted to hear. "That's right. So what we need to think about is what we should do."

He hoped Konoha's future would not let Konoha continue falling into the same traps as Kirigakure and Kumogakure.

"As long as we can uphold the Will of Fire, Konoha will never become like them!" As a descendant of the Senju Clan, Ranwu's solution was as straightforward as her granduncle's.

"That's too far-fetched..." Akaseki shook his head, feeling that Ranwu's words were empty.

"Then what do you suggest?" Ranwu shot him a glare.

"We should actively prepare for war! If another great ninja war breaks out, we must destroy Kumogakure and avenge the Second Hokage and our allies, the Uzumaki Clan!" Akaseki declared righteously.

Ranwu froze at his words. Although such naked revanchism completely differed from the values her grandfather usually taught her... Akaseki was talking about avenging her grandfather. That left her unable to refute him, and even unwilling to.

"A great ninja village is not so easily destroyed. You must understand that the current great ninja villages were built by powerful ninja clans that had survived throughout the hundreds or even thousands of years of the Warring States Era. They could not be destroyed despite centuries of chaos, and now they are all deeply tied to the Five Great Nations..." Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

"Then at the very least, we must kill the Third Raikage, strike the Yotsuki Clan hard, and thoroughly suppress Kumogakure's pro-war faction!" Akaseki said with absolute conviction.

"Do not be angry. Anger dulls your wisdom. Do not hate. Hatred makes you lose your judgment," Jiraiya soothed him.

Everyone knew the Uchiha Clan was prone to emotional outbursts.

On one hand, it seemed to be due to the structure of their brains. On the other, because of the Sharingan's amplification mechanism, members of the Uchiha Clan deliberately indulged emotional eruptions. Over time, that naturally made them even more prone to agitation...

For example, Akaseki now felt, So what if my wisdom drops? Anger can raise the temperature of my Fire Style!

"All right, go get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll return to the port in the Land of Fire," Jiraiya said, sending them back to rest.

He had only brought these things up to inspire them, not to make a bunch of children say something now that could save the ninja world.

Akaseki returned to his sleeping bag, hesitating over whether to enter "Immersion."

They had come to pay respects to the Uzumaki Clan. Training at the former site of Uzushio Village seemed somewhat disrespectful.

But then Akaseki reconsidered—just pay his respects and be done with it. Who knew whether the dead souls of the Uzumaki Clan could even see him?

Besides, if I become stronger, won't I be better able to avenge you in the war that will likely break out in the future?

With that thought, Akaseki decisively began "Immersion."

Tonight was also the final hour of <You Called Me a Quack, So I Became a Veterinarian, All Right?>...

After enduring the Ingrate's betrayal, bankruptcy, his wife running away... and all sorts of hardships, Hong Yan's pet hospital finally became more and more successful. Soon, it received investment from a beautiful female boss and expanded across the country.

Hong Yan developed all kinds of pet medicines, and wealth came pouring in...

Akaseki finally let out a sigh of relief—so there were not just the two endings of "I'm satisfied as long as I see that bitch regret it" and "making dumplings."

Although <You Called Me a Quack, So I Became a Veterinarian, All Right?> also made Akaseki feel as though its writer had no hypothalamus and possessed no logic whatsoever, its emotions had finally been released by the end...

At that moment, Akaseki's real emotions finally aligned with the hypothalamus that had taken over. Swift Flame (Fire Style speed), which had previously had the lowest progress, suddenly surged to 3%, blasting straight through two thresholds!

But Akaseki was not focused on that right now. Having finished the entire show, he had received another special GG reward...

[<You Called Me a Quack, So I Became a Veterinarian, All Right?> Immersion is about to end. This show is sponsored by the excellent pet food and pet medicine brand "Big Red Bite"! Big Red Bite, the friend of humanity's best friend...]

Akaseki: ???

What was this? Don't tell me it was going to make him eat dog food?

[Searching for a target...]

Fortunately, it was not directly making Akaseki try it. Instead, it automatically began searching for a target...

Akaseki: ???

But I don't have a Ninja Beast!

Maybe Choza Akimichi looked like the sort who would eat anything...