Chapter 12 Tribute to the Legend Shiba Kiyokawa looked at Kakashi with a meaningful smile on his face. "This young man from Konoha, your name is Kakashi, right? I would like to ask why you are so obsessed with the mission of a ninja?" Shiba Kiyokawa's polite question immediately interrupted the imminent battle between Uchiha Obito and Kakashi. Perhaps they themselves understood that it was a very foolish thing to fight in front of the enemy with whom they had fought not long ago, and they also felt it was shameful. So Kakashi turned his head, deliberately not looking at Obito's gnashing teeth expression, but instead took the initiative to meet Shiba Kiyokawa's gaze and answered coldly. "Completing the mission is the ninja's duty. The iron rule of the ninja world: those who cannot complete the mission are useless!" Shiba Qinghe smiled, and his smile became more and more joyful, as if he saw a seed that had been suppressed for a long time and could explode into brilliant fireworks at any time. Now he just wants to detonate this seed. He doesn’t care who it explodes, as long as it doesn’t explode him. "Do you really believe in this iron rule? Do you really act in this way because you agree with this commandment from the bottom of your heart?" Kakashi's jaw opened and closed under his mask, and he looked like he wanted to speak, but Shiba Kiyokawa continued to ask before he could open his mouth.
"If you really wholeheartedly believe that mission comes first, then why did you rashly rush forward to try to rescue your companions before your teacher arrived? Your behavior at that time does not match your current statement. Young man, ask yourself carefully, do you really agree with what you say? Or... are you just avoiding it? Avoid facing the death of your loved ones, avoid facing the darkness of this world, avoid facing the difficulty and almost impossible to seek justice, avoid facing... the revenge that you should have accomplished as a son of man?" Shiba Kiyokawa's words were like a poison that pierced Kakashi's heart unexpectedly. The pain made his eyes bloodshot and his breathing quickened. One hand subconsciously clenched the hilt of the knife and his knuckles trembled uncontrollably. "You...what do you know?!" Kakashi took a step forward and asked, almost trying to break free from Minato Namikaze's grasp. Uchiha Obito on the side was also startled. It was the first time he saw Kakashi with such a terrifying expression, just like a trapped beast with red eyes in desperate situation. Namikaze Minato also showed an unhappy expression at this time, and said in a deep voice, "Ramen Ninja, I told you not to say weird things to my disciples anymore!" Shiba Kiyokawa quickly raised his hands in front of him to show that he was innocent. "Okay, Mr. Minato, no problem. I won't say any more." Provoking Kakashi was not his main goal at the moment, he was doing this just for pleasure, and he said this because he found it interesting. He simply enjoyed seeing rivers of blood. When there is a conflict with the main goal, he will naturally give up this instigation without hesitation. "Please don't mind, Lord Minato. Let's go now." But how could the seeds that have already been buried in the soil be blown away so easily by the wind? Namikaze Minato looked at Kakashi. The other party's expression was still very strange, and it was obvious that he was in a state of confusion. He tried to comfort, "Kakashi, don't think too much. I will explain the mission to the village later." Then he looked up at Shiba Kiyokawa, and a strong sense of vigilance rose in his heart again. Fortunately, he just had a moment where he thought the other person was quite nice.
This boy is clearly in the Land of Rain, but why does he know so much about Konoha? ! Minato Namikaze didn't understand. But it was no longer possible for him to regard Shiba Kiyokawa as an ordinary teenager. He always had a premonition: this boy would become a huge headache for Konoha in the future! But now Lin is still in the other party's hands, so he has to act according to the other party's conditions. The kind-hearted Minato Namikaze could not give up his disciple easily. Afterwards, the group came to a forest on the border of the Rain Kingdom. Almost at the same time, Yahiko, Nagato and nearly half of the current fighters in Akatsuki arrived. As soon as he arrived at the scene, Yahiko asked anxiously, "Konan, what happened?" In the past, Konan rarely used Paper Butterfly for rescue. Moreover, the entire Akatsuki organization knew that Nagato was in poor health, so Konan would not easily bother Nagato to help. This time, when Yahiko and Nagato, who stayed in the base, suddenly received the paper butterfly sent back by Konan, they were shocked. They thought that Konan was in some terrible danger! When everyone arrived at the scene, they found that things were not as bad as they had imagined. Xiaonan even took the initiative to comfort them. "It's okay, Yahiko. The situation is still under the control of Shiba Kiyokawa. Everyone, don't be impulsive." Yahiko first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Shiba Kiyokawa with some suspicion. Why is this guy so well behaved this time? Moreover, after arriving here, Yahiko has always had a vague feeling: Isn't the trust that Konan showed when mentioning Shiba Kiyokawa a little too natural? On the other side, when Minato Namikaze saw Yahiko and Nagato who arrived later, he was surprised for a moment. He had made some guesses when he first saw Konan's blue hair, but it was not until now when he saw Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato in the same frame that he confirmed his guess. "You three are Jiraiya-sensei's disciples, right?" Yahiko turned around in surprise and looked at Minato Namikaze, "Do you know Sensei Jiraiya?" Namikaze Minato nodded, but ultimately did not reveal that he was also Jiraiya's apprentice. He was already a little frightened by Shiba Kiyokawa's "intelligence ability" and instinctively didn't want to expose more things related to Konoha. Yahiko thus missed a great opportunity to meet his senior brother, but he himself did not know it. "Then when you return to Konoha, please help us thank Master Jiraiya and tell him that the disciples of the Rain Country have been working hard to practice his ideals!" At this time, Yahiko was still grateful to Jiraiya, which was completely different from the future Pain who was controlled by the evil Nagato to kill his master. Minato Namikaze nodded silently and agreed. But there was no additional promise. If there wasn't the dangerous young man Shiba Qinghe standing in the way, he thought he might be willing to communicate more with the junior brother in front of him? Unfortunately, there is no if.
Because of the presence of Shiba Kiyokawa, the two sides just had a brief chat and then released the prisoners in a formal manner. It was not until Namikaze Minato quickly left with the released Nohara Rin that Yahiko and Nagato found the opportunity to ask Konan. "Who was that person just now? Why did he make you ask for help so urgently?" Konan replied simply, "Shiba Kiyokawa said that was the future Yondaime Hokage of Konoha." As soon as these words were spoken, the scene suddenly became quiet, and for a moment you could hear a pin drop. Many members of the Akatsuki organization who came along showed fearful expressions as if they had survived a disaster and wiped the cold sweat from their sweat. "Did we just confront the Hokage?" "Oh my god, was I too loud just now?!" "It was a close call. I felt like I was almost going to die!" Then they all turned their eyes to Shiba Kiyokawa, the calmest person at the scene, with admiration evident in their eyes. “Qinghe, you…are you playing such a big game? You dare to tie up the Hokage’s disciple?” "You actually managed to escape unscathed from the Hokage?!" At that moment, Shiba Kiyokawa couldn't help but think of a talented person in the future Akatsuki organization. He was also the one who once fought with a Hokage and escaped unscathed, thus becoming famous in the ninja world. So, can this be considered as a tribute to Kakuzu's legend? (End of this chapter)