Just as Kakashi hesitated, unsure what to do with the child, a gentle voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Take this child back to Konoha. At least he'll be able to grow up normally there."
Hearing that voice, Kakashi immediately relaxed. He looked at Lord Shin, who had appeared beside him without him noticing, and answered respectfully:
"As you command, Lord Shin."
Just then, Raiga Kurosuki spoke from a short distance away, his voice tinged with helplessness and pleading:
"My lord from Konoha, could you return that child to me? He's very important to me."
By then, Raiga Kurosuki had abandoned his hostility toward Konoha. He saw Ranmaru as more than a tool; they were companions who could rely on each other. That was why he was willing to plead with these people from Konoha to get Ranmaru back.
Raiga Kurosuki had considered taking him back by force. But even without the terrifying man Ranmaru had mentioned, he would struggle to defeat Kakashi alone without Ranmaru's help. And there were those six troublesome brats, too.
At Raiga Kurosuki's words, everyone turned to look at him. Even Ranmaru's eyes lit up inside the bundle, and he whispered, "Raiga."
With both the lord from Konoha and Kakashi looking at him, Raiga Kurosuki felt his scalp prickle. Still, he gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and tossed the Ninja Blades in his hands, Kiba, right in front of Kakashi and the others. With difficulty, he said:
"I'm willing to surrender and give you Kiba, one of Kirigakure's seven Ninja Blades. All I ask is that you return Ranmaru to me."
The youngsters were dumbfounded by this turn of events. They had never expected an enemy who had seemed like a final villain, a Big Boss just moments earlier, to surrender so suddenly. For a moment,