Hiruko

Nara Shikaku pondered for a moment before saying, "Since Kirigakure has already deployed the Six-Tails onto the battlefield, and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki is dead, causing the beast to appear within the borders of our Land of Fire, we cannot sit idly by—whether for the safety of the populace or the interests of the village."

If they capture the Six-Tails, Konoha will be able to secure far greater leverage when negotiating with Kirigakure.

Even if Kirigakure has no intention of ransoming the Six-Tails, Konoha still stands to lose nothing.

The value of a Tailed Beast is immeasurable; it serves as a powerful deterrent.

"That is a sound point." Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement, then shifted his tone. "However, a Tailed Beast is not something an ordinary ninja can handle. We have few people capable of dealing with one, and according to intelligence, the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure seems to have intentions of entering the fray."

"The Third Mizukage is indeed a threat we must guard against. Though he is aged, his prowess remains formidable," Nara Shikaku agreed.

"Fugaku, do you have any thoughts?" Minato Namikaze looked toward Uchiha Fugaku, who stood to the side, arms crossed in silence.

Upon hearing Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku's stern face showed signs of contemplation. After a moment, he said, "Minato, how about we let Uchiha Shisui of our Uchiha Clan go and track down the Six-Tails within the Land of Fire?"

"Fugaku, this is a Tailed Beast!" Minato Namikaze said with great solemnity. "Shisui is still the same age as Kakashi; we cannot send a child on such a mission."

"Indeed, Fugaku, I do not support sending Uchiha Shisui either. While he has gained quite a reputation on the battlefield, facing a Tailed Beast is far too dangerous," Nara Shikaku added.

Although Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi remained silent, they shook their heads in disapproval.

They were well aware of Uchiha Shisui's name. Despite being roughly Kakashi's age, he had already carved out a formidable reputation on the battlefield and was destined to be a pillar of Konoha.

However, they were unanimous in the belief that Uchiha Shisui was still too green to handle a natural disaster-level entity like a Tailed Beast.

"Fugaku, even if he could handle the Six-Tails, does he possess the Sealing Jutsu required to temporarily contain it?" Minato Namikaze pointed out the critical issue.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed; he had indeed been too eager to see Shisui achieve greater renown.

He then said, "In that case, I suppose this task falls to you, Minato. As for this front, let us handle the advance."

"Capturing the Six-Tails and advancing the front lines are not mutually exclusive," Minato Namikaze shook his head. "The Six-Tails still needs to be located; once it is found, everything else will fall into place."

For Minato Namikaze, who possessed the Flying Thunder God, the most troublesome aspect was tracking the beast's movements.

Everything else was relatively straightforward; neither the capture nor the temporary sealing posed a challenge to him.

"Minato, won't the burden be too great for you?" Nara Shikaku asked with a hint of concern.

In the matter of choosing a successor for the Hokage, their Ino-Shika-Cho trio had also chosen to support Minato Namikaze.

Therefore, they certainly did not want anything to happen to him.

"It's fine." Minato Namikaze offered a gentle smile. "We must end this war as soon as possible; Konoha cannot afford to drag this out any longer."

"Might Duy, do you know the direction in which the Six-Tails fled?" He turned his gaze toward Might Duy.

Might Duy, who had been waiting quietly, perked up at Minato Namikaze's words. "According to what Uchiha Akira said, the Six-Tails should have headed toward Qingchuan Mountain."

Minato Namikaze nodded and looked at those present. "Nearly a day has passed; the Six-Tails may have changed direction. Hiashi, I will have to trouble your Hyuga Clan this time."

"For Konoha, it is my duty." Hyuga Hiashi, who had been silent until now, nodded gravely.

While they were discussing how to deal with the Six-Tails, Uchiha Akira and his group had covered nearly half the distance, leaving them about two days away from Konoha.

Because they had wounded personnel with them, their pace was not fast.

At night, according to the plan, Kakashi and Uchiha Akira were responsible for keeping watch.

Having just gone through the incident with Nohara Rin, Kakashi was unwilling to engage in much conversation with others and sat silently by the campfire.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Uchiha Akira poking the fire with a stick, which inevitably brought today's events to mind.

"Rin..." The thought of Nohara Rin brought a sharp pain to Kakashi's heart.

At the time, Nohara Rin had feared that if she returned to Konoha, the Three-Tails sealed within her would bring great destruction to the village, and thus she had chosen to commit suicide.

Looking back now, Nohara Rin's reasoning had been fundamentally flawed. How could a mere Three-Tails destroy Konoha?

Even the Six-Tails had been taken down single-handedly by Uchiha Akira; what could a Three-Tails do even if it were released inside Konoha?

The village was guarded by the strongest Hokage, and his own teacher's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, was highly proficient in Sealing Jutsu. A single Three-Tails would never have been able to stir up any trouble.

Thinking of this, Kakashi was filled with remorse, while simultaneously hating himself for his lack of understanding regarding the village's high-end combat power, which had led to Nohara Rin's tragedy.

"I am truly damned..." Kakashi was filled with regret.

However, what he did not know was that Nohara Rin was destined to die at that time; if not by his hand, she would have died at the hands of the Kirigakure pursuit squad.

To force Uchiha Obito to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, to plunge him into darkness, and to make him an agent for Uchiha Madara, Nohara Rin's death was inevitable.

There was never a scenario where she could have returned to Konoha.

Just as Kakashi was drowning in his remorse, Uchiha Akira suddenly looked up toward the dark forest and spoke softly, "Kakashi, someone is coming."

Kakashi was startled, instantly snapping out of his regretful state, his gaze turning cold as he looked into the depths of the dense forest.

Footsteps approached, and then the two saw a man with shoulder-length white hair, handsome features, and a beige high-collared coat emerge from the dark woods.

Seeing the newcomer, Uchiha Akira frowned. He felt this person was very familiar, a strong sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it.

While Uchiha Akira was pondering, Kakashi looked vigilant and said in a deep voice, "Hiruko, what does a rogue ninja like you want?"

"Hiruko?" Upon hearing Kakashi, Uchiha Akira finally had a moment of realization. So, it was him.

Hiruko was a friend of the Sannin, but lacking their talent, he had secretly researched forbidden arts to keep pace with them, creating the Chimera Technique. He was discovered by the Third Hokage and became a rogue ninja.

The Hiruko in Uchiha Akira's memory was vastly different from the one before him. In his memory, Hiruko was a short, hideous boy wrapped in bandages.

The Hiruko now was handsome and tall—a true beauty.

Hiruko looked at Kakashi with an obsessive gaze. "Kakashi, I have come specifically for you!"

Feeling Hiruko's obsessive stare, Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine, as if ten thousand ants were crawling over him.