"Huh?"
Karin blinked in confusion. What just happened? Why are we suddenly splitting up?
But she knew that even if she asked, she'd probably just get smacked on the head, so better not ask at all.
Still… if she took this chance to run away, wouldn't that be better? Though if they tracked her down, she'd probably die horribly.
Better to play it safe and obediently follow orders.
With that thought, Karin immediately responded, then sprinted off in the direction Akashō pointed.
After giving his instructions, Akashō turned toward the direction where he had sensed the Hidden Stone Village ninja earlier. With a flicker, he vanished from where he stood.
After covering a kilometer, Akashō stopped and looked down from a cliff. Below, a force of over a thousand shinobi wearing Hidden Stone Village headbands advanced aggressively. At the very front, leading them, was an old acquaintance Akashō had met twice before—the Four-Tails jinchūriki, Rōshi.
"That kind of presence… they're probably not regular Hidden Stone Village shinobi. More likely those hyena-like foreign mercenaries again."
Akashō frowned slightly. It was a typical Hidden Stone Village tactic—using money to buy cannon fodder.
But… were they here because of the earlier rumors about Kokushibo?
"Stop!"
Rōshi suddenly raised a hand, ordering the troops to halt.
"The place mentioned in the intel where Kokushibo appeared should be the village about one kilometer ahead. If we go any further, we'll likely be discovered."
A middle-aged man with a wild hairstyle beside him nodded.
"Then let them advance in scattered groups. The later we're discovered, the more advantageous it is for us."
"Mm, makes sense."
With a wave of Rōshi's hand, the Hidden Stone Village forces split into several uneven groups, advancing from different directions toward the village where the Grass ninja had been.
"So it really is about Kokushibo."
Akashō scratched his head, puzzled.
"But for such important intel, why wouldn't the Hidden Stone Village verify its authenticity first before mobilizing troops like this? Isn't that a bit reckless? And wouldn't it be better to notify the other villages to act together?"
Whatever. None of that matters.
What matters is… there's something fun to play with again.
But if he wanted to play with them, he definitely couldn't use his real body. Since they wanted to find Kokushibo…
Then he'd give them Kokushibo.
Akashō let out a cold laugh, withdrew, and reached the corpse-strewn village before the Hidden Stone Village shinobi. Transforming into Kokushibo, he casually used his Blood Demon Art to create a long blade, then hid inside a tent.
Before long, faint footsteps sounded outside the tent. Akashō opened his eyes, a faint smile curling at his lips.
They're here.
After a while, two Hidden Stone Village shinobi lifted the tent flap and walked in, holding fire starters.
"Seriously, they're making us deal with this kind of monster? That's basically sending us to our deaths."
"Come on, the money they're paying is enough to buy our lives anyway. What else is there to say? Though honestly, our lives really aren't worth much."
"Didn't you see all those Grass ninja corpses outside just now? Let's be clear—we're not stronger than those small village shinobi."
"What can we do? Without strength, we're just cannon fodder. At least I can trade my life for some money to treat my mom."
"Sigh… we still haven't found that Kokushibo. I really hope the intel was wrong."
"Heh, you just said yourself there are corpses everywhere outside. How could the intel be wrong?"
As the two of them chatted to ease their nerves while searching the tent, they didn't notice a figure circling behind them, weaving around them again and again—so close, yet completely undetected.
Only after checking every corner of the tent did they finally turn around to leave.
And the moment they did, they saw a face illuminated by the faint firelight—six glowing red eyes, like a demon staring back at them.
Akashō grinned, flipping the long blade in his hand so it caught the light with a cold gleam.
"I heard you're looking for me?"
"It's Kokushibo!!!"
Both of them screamed at the same time. The sudden shock made them stumble backward, and under the crushing weight of fear, they collapsed onto the ground.
"Heh."
Akashō let out a cold chuckle. His blade flashed—
—and in an instant, their heads flew off. Blood sprayed out, extinguishing the fire starter.
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