Shiba Kiyokawa looked at Kakashi with a meaningful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"You're from Konoha, right, kid? Kakashi, is it? Mind if I ask why you're so obsessed with ninja missions?"
His polite question instantly interrupted what was about to erupt into a clash between Obito and Kakashi.
Perhaps even they realized that bickering in front of someone who had been their enemy just moments ago was incredibly foolish—and embarrassing.
Kakashi turned his head, deliberately avoiding Obito's furious expression. Instead, he met Kiyokawa's gaze head-on and replied coldly.
"Fulfilling missions is a ninja's duty. The iron rule of the shinobi world—those who fail missions are trash."
Kiyokawa chuckled, and his smile grew wider, as if he had just discovered a tightly coiled spring ready to burst—something full of suppressed energy just waiting to explode into dazzling fireworks.
And he couldn't wait to ignite it. Who it would hit didn't matter to him—it wasn't going to be him anyway.
"You truly believe that rule? You act this way because you genuinely agree with it?"
Kakashi's jaw moved under his mask, as if about to respond. But before he could, Shiba Kiyokawa pressed on:
"If you truly, wholeheartedly believe that the mission comes before all else… then why did you recklessly charge in to rescue your teammate before your teacher arrived? That action doesn't quite line up with what you're saying now, does it?"
He leaned in slightly.
"Ask yourself this, kid. Do you really believe in the words you keep repeating—or are you just… running away?
Running from the loss of those closest to you.
Running from the darkness of this world.
Running from the impossibility of justice.
Running from the revenge that, as a son, should have been yours to take?"
His words were poison, piercing Kakashi's heart before he had time to raise his defenses. Kakashi's eyes instantly reddened with rage, his breath grew ragged, and one hand clenched around his blade's hilt, knuckles trembling uncontrollably.
"You… what the hell do you know?!" Kakashi took a step forward, nearly breaking free from Minato's restraining hand.
Even Obito was startled.
He had never seen Kakashi with such a terrifying expression before—like a wounded beast cornered with blood in its eyes.
Minato now wore a visibly displeased expression as well. His voice dropped a note in warning.
"Ame Ninja, I told you—stop saying strange things to my student."
Kiyokawa quickly raised both hands, signaling innocence.
"Of course, Lord Minato. No problem, I'll stop."
Riling up Kakashi hadn't been his main goal. He had only said what he said because it was amusing—because he enjoyed the tension.
He simply liked the sight of blood in the water.
But if it clashed with his actual objective, he'd drop the provocation in a heartbeat.
"Let's not waste time, Lord Minato. Shall we get moving?"
But how could a seed already buried in the soil be blown away so easily by the wind?
Minato glanced at Kakashi again. The boy's expression was still off—clearly unsettled.
Minato tried to offer comfort. "Kakashi, don't overthink it. I'll handle the mission report with the village later."
Then he turned toward Kiyokawa again, a growing sense of wariness stirring in his heart.
Just moments ago, he'd actually thought this kid wasn't so bad.
But now… he was starting to realize: for someone from the Land of Rain, this boy knew far too much about Konoha.
Minato couldn't understand it.
But from that point on, he could no longer view Kiyokawa as an ordinary teenage shinobi.
Somehow, he had a feeling—this boy would become a major threat to Konoha in the future.
Still, with Rin in the enemy's hands, he had no choice but to play by their rules.
Minato was not the kind of person who could easily give up on one of his own students.
The group proceeded to a forest near the border of the Land of Rain.
Almost simultaneously, Yahiko and Nagato arrived with nearly half of the Akatsuki's combat forces.
The moment they arrived, Yahiko rushed over, concern etched on his face.
"Konan! What happened?"
Konan rarely used her paper butterflies to request help.
Everyone in the Akatsuki knew Nagato's health wasn't great, and Konan would never lightly trouble him for assistance.
So when the message came, Yahiko and Nagato, still back at base, were alarmed. They thought Konan might've been in grave danger.
But upon arriving, they realized the situation wasn't as bad as they had feared.
In fact, Konan was even the one doing the reassuring.
"It's alright, Yahiko. Everything is still under Kiyokawa's control. Please—don't act rashly."
Yahiko let out a breath of relief, but then shot a suspicious glance at Kiyokawa.
This guy… since when was he so well-behaved?
What puzzled Yahiko even more was a nagging feeling—Konan's tone, when speaking of Kiyokawa, carried a natural trust that felt almost… too natural.
Meanwhile, when Minato saw Yahiko and Nagato arrive, he showed a flicker of surprise.
He had already guessed something when he saw Konan's distinctive blue hair. But seeing her now together with Yahiko and Nagato confirmed his suspicions.
"You three… you're Jiraiya-sensei's students, aren't you?"
Yahiko turned, stunned. "You know Jiraiya-sensei?"
Minato nodded, but didn't say that he was also Jiraiya's student.
By now, Kiyokawa's grasp of intelligence had left him thoroughly shaken. He no longer wanted to risk exposing any more connections to Konoha.
And so, Yahiko missed the perfect chance to reunite with a senior disciple—though he never realized it.
"Then… when you return to Konoha, could you thank Jiraiya-sensei for us? Tell him the students he left in the Land of Rain are still working hard to live by his ideals."
At that time, Yahiko still held deep gratitude toward Jiraiya—far removed from the future where a darkened Nagato, as Pain, would murder their master.
Minato nodded silently in acknowledgment.
But he made no further promises.
If not for the dangerous presence of Kiyokawa standing between them, he might have enjoyed speaking with his junior disciples.
But unfortunately, there was no if.
Because of Kiyokawa, the two sides exchanged only a few brief words before formally releasing the prisoner.
Once Minato had left with the rescued Rin Nohara, Yahiko and Nagato finally found a chance to ask Konan:
"Who was that guy just now? What made you call for backup so urgently?"
Konan replied simply, "Kiyokawa said… that man will be Konoha's future Fourth Hokage."
The moment she said it, the whole area fell deathly silent.
You could've heard a pin drop.
Several Akatsuki members who had tagged along instinctively wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
"W-We were just confronting… the future Hokage?!"
"Oh crap! Was my voice too loud earlier?!"
"Damn, I was so close to dying just now…"
They all looked toward Kiyokawa, who remained the calmest person on-site.
Their eyes brimmed with awe.
"Kiyokawa… you really pulled something off this time. You actually dared to kidnap the Hokage's disciple?!"
"And you even walked away unscathed?!"
In that moment, Kiyokawa couldn't help but think of a certain future Akatsuki member—
Someone who once fought a Hokage and escaped alive, earning a fearsome reputation across the shinobi world.
So… could this count as his own tribute to Kakuzu's legend?