"But come to think of it, this demon is actually pretty handsome. Sure, his way of doing things is a bit terrifying, but those demons deserved to die anyway. And he did it all for me—it's practically like a hero, hehe…"
Watching Karin suddenly grow bashful and start muttering strange things to herself, Akashō couldn't help but feel speechless and smacked the back of her head.
"You know you're still young, so stop getting carried away. I'm not interested in you. Mind your position—you're my slave now, Uzumaki Karin."
"Uzumaki… Karin?"
Karin almost got knocked to the ground by that slap, which instantly snapped her back to her senses. She bared her teeth and rubbed the back of her head, only to start hopping around on the spot because of the wound on her hand.
"Y-Yes, yes, I'm a slave… but earlier you also asked if my surname was something like Uzumaki. What is that—my family name? And how did you know?"
Seeing the hesitation and curiosity on Karin's face, Akashō just smiled.
"Take a guess."
"…"
After killing the conversation, Akashō turned his gaze to the corpses on the ground.
It was expected that the average strength of ninja from small villages couldn't compare to those from the great villages, but honestly, these were far too weak. Especially those two leaders who were supposed to be jonin—even if they were thrown into the Hidden Leaf Village, they probably couldn't beat some chunin.
No wonder during the Third Shinobi World War they were only used as disposable cannon fodder by the great villages they were attached to. Most of the wounded here in the Grass Village were probably injured after the large-scale battles ended, when the Hidden Leaf Village forced them to guard the borders and clean up the aftermath.
Heh. The sorrow of the weak.
...
"Akashō-sama, where are we going next?"
Night had fallen. After spending a night among corpses and sleeping through the day, Akashō and Karin were preparing to leave.
"Where to…"
Akashō rested his chin in his hand and drifted into thought. He had originally come here thinking there was someone impersonating Kokushibo, hoping to find some amusement. Instead, he ran into Karin, which was entertaining in its own way. But thinking about it now, those rumors about Kokushibo—were they fake? Or had the impersonator already left?
Hmm, probably fake. If there really had been an impostor, there's no way those Grass Village ninja would've dared to stay here after hearing Kokushibo was around. That would've taken some serious nerve.
Watching Akashō suddenly space out again for no apparent reason, Karin, who was waiting for an answer, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Even after just a day and a night together, she had already figured it out—this guy loved zoning out. Mid-conversation, he'd just drift off into his own thoughts, completely ignoring everyone else.
And besides that, he forced her to stay awake at night and only allowed her to sleep during the day, saying they'd travel at night. What kind of bizarre habit was that?
Wait… speaking of which, this demon also carries an umbrella during the day. Could it be… he really is a demon who can't stand sunlight?
The more Karin thought about it, the more convinced she became, immediately feeling like she had discovered a major weakness.
Still, this demon was pretty handsome, and not a bad person either. As long as he didn't do anything terrifying to her later, she wouldn't do something as ungrateful as turning on him.
"Alright, we'll head west for now. Let's set our destination as the Land of Earth."
After a while, Akashō snapped out of his daze and declared their route and destination. Then, seeing Karin holding her flushed face and giggling foolishly, he smacked her again.
Rubbing the back of her head, Karin looked at him with a resentful expression.
"Why are we going to the Land of Earth?"
"Why does it matter? Just go."
"But wandering around without a goal is just a waste of time. It's meaningless."
Akashō smiled and patted her head.
"If I tell you to go, then go. Otherwise, I don't mind leaving you here forever."
Karin shrank her neck and said nothing more.
After that, Akashō led Karin out of the village. Before leaving, he also spread out his malicious intent to scan the surroundings, making sure no one was following them.
And that scan actually turned up something.
"Hidden Stone ninja… why are they here?"
Akashō frowned and nudged Karin.
"Head straight in that direction. There's a small town twenty kilometers away. Go there. If I have time, I'll catch up with you. If not, I'll meet you directly in town."