Hiruko

After a moment's thought, Nara Shikaku said, "Since Kirigakure has already sent the Six-Tails into battle, and its jinchuriki has died, leaving the Six-Tails in our Land of Fire, we can't just stand by and do nothing—not when the safety of the people and the interests of the village are at stake."

If they captured the Six-Tails, they would be able to secure greater benefits when negotiating with Kirigakure.

Even if Kirigakure had no intention of buying the Six-Tails back, Konoha still wouldn't lose out.

The value of a Tailed Beast was immeasurable. It could serve as a powerful deterrent.

"That makes sense." Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement, then added, "However, ordinary ninja can't take on a Tailed Beast. We don't have many people who can handle one, and according to our intelligence, the Third Mizukage seems to be planning to join the battlefield."

"We certainly can't afford to let our guard down against the Third Mizukage. He may be old, but he's still formidable," Nara Shikaku said with a nod.

"Fugaku, what do you think?" Minato Namikaze asked, turning to Uchiha Fugaku, who stood nearby with his arms folded, silent.

Uchiha Fugaku's stern face took on a thoughtful look. After a moment, he said, "Minato, why not have Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha Clan search for the Six-Tails inside the Land of Fire?"

"Fugaku, this is a Tailed Beast!" Minato Namikaze said gravely. "Shisui is still about the same age as Kakashi. We can't send a child to handle this."

"I agree, Fugaku. I don't think Uchiha Shisui should go, either. He's made quite a name for himself on the battlefield, but facing a Tailed Beast is far too dangerous," Nara Shikaku added.

Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi didn't speak, but they both shook their heads in disapproval.

Of course they knew the name Uchiha Shisui. Though he was about the same age as Kakashi, he had already made a name for himself on the battlefield. He was certain to become one of Konoha's mainstays in the future.

But they all felt that Uchiha Shisui was still too inexperienced to take on a calamity-level threat like a Tailed Beast.

"Fugaku, even if he can handle the Six-Tails, does he know Sealing Jutsu that could temporarily seal it away?" Minato Namikaze pointed out the crucial issue.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed. He had indeed been in a hurry to make Shisui's name even greater.

"Then I suppose you'll have to handle this, Minato. We'll take care of advancing the front here," he said.

"Capturing the Six-Tails won't interfere with advancing the front," Minato Namikaze said, shaking his head. "We still need to find it. Once we do, everything else will be simple."

For Minato Namikaze, who wielded the Flying Thunder God Technique, the hardest part was finding the Six-Tails.

Everything else was straightforward. Neither capturing it nor temporarily sealing it would pose much of a challenge.

"Minato, won't this put too much of a burden on you?" Nara Shikaku asked with concern.

When it came to choosing sides in the Hokage selection, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans had all backed Minato Namikaze.

They certainly didn't want anything to happen to him.

"It's fine." Minato Namikaze smiled warmly. "We have to end this war as soon as possible. Konoha can't afford to let it drag on any longer."

"Senior Duy, do you know which way the Six-Tails went?" he asked, turning to Might Duy.

Might Duy, who had been standing by quietly, immediately perked up at Minato Namikaze's question. "According to Uchiha Akira, the Six-Tails seemed to be heading toward Qingchuan Mountain."

Minato Namikaze nodded, then looked around at everyone. "Almost a day has passed. The Six-Tails may have changed direction by now. Hiashi, we'll need the Hyuga Clan's help this time."

"For the sake of Konoha, it's only right," Hyuga Hiashi replied with a solemn nod.

While they discussed how to deal with the Six-Tails, Uchiha Akira and the others had covered about half the distance. They were now only about two days from Konoha.

With wounded people among them, they weren't moving very quickly.

That night, according to plan, Kakashi and Uchiha Akira were on watch.

After what had just happened to Nohara Rin, Kakashi didn't want to talk much with anyone else. He simply sat silently beside the fire.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Uchiha Akira poking at the fire with a stick, and couldn't help thinking about what had happened that day.

"Rin..." Remembering Nohara Rin made Kakashi's heart ache.

Back then, Nohara Rin had feared that the Three-Tails sealed inside her would cause great destruction if she returned to Konoha, so she had chosen to take her own life.

Now he realized that her thinking had been completely wrong. How could a mere Three-Tails destroy Konoha?

Uchiha Akira had taken down the Six-Tails all by himself. What could the Three-Tails possibly do, even if it were released inside Konoha?

The strongest Hokage was there to protect the village, and his teacher's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, was highly skilled in Sealing Jutsu. A mere Three-Tails wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.

Thinking of this, Kakashi was filled with regret. He also blamed himself for knowing so little about the village's top fighters—that ignorance had led to Nohara Rin's tragedy.

"I'm a fool..." Kakashi was consumed by remorse.

What he didn't know was that Nohara Rin had been destined to die. She would have died either by his hand or at the hands of the Kirigakure pursuit squad.

For Uchiha Obito to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, fall into darkness, and become Uchiha Madara's proxy, Nohara Rin's death had been inevitable.

There had never been any chance that she could return to Konoha.

Just as Kakashi was sinking into remorse, Uchiha Akira suddenly looked up at the dark forest and said quietly, "Kakashi, someone's coming."

Kakashi started, instantly snapping out of his regret. His gaze turned cold as he stared into the depths of the woods.

Footsteps sounded. Then the two of them saw a man with shoulder-length white hair, handsome features, and a beige, high-collared jacket emerge from the dark forest.

Uchiha Akira frowned at the newcomer. He looked familiar, and Akira had a strong sense of déjà vu, as though he had seen him somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember where.

As Uchiha Akira was thinking, Kakashi remained on guard and said in a low voice, "Hiruko, what does a rogue ninja like you want?"

"Hiruko?" Hearing Kakashi's words, Uchiha Akira suddenly understood. So it was him.

Hiruko was a friend of the Konoha Sannin, but he lacked their talent as a ninja. To keep up with them, he secretly researched forbidden jutsu, created the Chimera Technique, and was then discovered by the Third Hokage and branded a rogue ninja.

The Hiruko in Uchiha Akira's memories was very different from the one before him. In those memories, Hiruko was a short, hideously ugly boy wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

The Hiruko standing here was handsome and tall—a bona fide beauty.

Hiruko gazed at Kakashi with an infatuated look. "Kakashi, I came here just for you!"

Feeling Hiruko's infatuated gaze, Kakashi shuddered with disgust. It felt as though ten thousand ants were crawling all over him.