90 Chapter 90: I will not leave the darkness, for it allows more people in the ninja world to bask in the light, this is my ninja way

At dusk.

Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi woke up.

Because there had been people walking around the campsite.

They then saw Akihara Kagura wandering back and forth, dizzily, because the boy was carrying a wooden spike on his shoulder, hanging a big fish that was almost as tall as him!

"Woke up?"

Akihara Kagura lifted the big fish on his shoulder with effort, curiously asking, "How did you know I caught a fish that weighs two to three hundred pounds?"

"You this guy..."

Hatake Kakashi touched his forehead with his hand, recalling this kid's passion for fishing, and managed to compliment: "Catching such a big fish is really impressive!"

"Not bad, not bad..."

Akihara Kagura then put the fish down, putting on a modest expression on his young face: "Luck wasn't very good today, only caught twenty or thirty fish, and specially kept the biggest one to show you guys..."

"I'll grill it."

Uchiha Itachi took the initiative to start a fire beside.

After dinner, the squad continued their journey as the sky gradually darkened, until they finally reached a checkpoint they had to get through.

Kannabi Bridge.

This is a necessary passage from the Land of Grass to the Land of Earth.

Due to the importance of this location, the Land of Grass dispatched numerous ninja troops for defense, relying on the dense forests nearby, while the Taketori clan, naturally warlike and fierce, fearlessly charged at the Land of Grass's positions continuously.

The Taketori clan, known throughout the ninja world.

This clan is also known as the Kaguya clan.

The Kaguya clan possesses a miraculous Kekkei Genkai that allows them to freely manipulate their bones to grow as weapons for fighting, and even shoot bones from their bodies as hidden weapons.

Even as the sky darkened, these war fanatics showed no fear, even taking advantage of the night to launch sneak attacks, making the ninjas of the Land of Grass extremely anxious.

"When will they stop fighting..."

Uchiha Itachi, looking at the bodies lying at the edge of the forest, showed a hint of pity in his eyes: "The war should have stopped long ago."

"It's simple."

Akihara Kagura made a very reasonable suggestion: "If we kill them all, their war will stop."

"This... Isn't that too extreme?"

Uchiha Itachi was at a loss for words.

"This is the battlefield, don't act rashly."

Hatake Kakashi's expression immediately turned serious, and he cautioned, "Kagura, never underestimate the threats that can emerge anywhere on the battlefield."

Recalling his own experiences on the battlefield as a young child, Kakashi sighed, "A single shuriken, a single explosive tag, can claim the lives of genius ninjas... Even the strongest, like the Third Raikage, could not escape the fate of dying on the battlefield."

"..."

Akihara Kagura slowly nodded in agreement.

Indeed, such situations had occurred on battlefields in the past.

However, the future warfare of the ninja world would be different. If the enemy's strength was too terrifying, it would be natural for tens of thousands to be defeated by a single person...

As the day turned to evening.

The situation on the battlefield finally changed.

Perhaps due to the inability to break through the defenses of the Land of Grass, or perhaps because the darkness of night made it impossible to continue fighting, the Taketori clan had no choice but to withdraw from the battle.

The Land of Grass won this defensive battle with difficulty, leaving only a dense group of Grass ninjas in the forest, indistinguishable as either corpses or wounded.

"Let's go, let's bypass them."

Hatake Kakashi relied on his memory to search for a way out.

As this small team quietly passed by, the urgent voices of the Grass ninja captains echoed through the forest: "There are many injured here, quickly have the medical unit bring that woman over!"

"The hospital has reported over..."

"That woman... was bitten to death last night..."

"Don't panic, everyone hold on, I remember she has a daughter! The logistics department will soon bring that little kid over!"

"That woman has a daughter, that little kid is also of the Uzumaki clan, biting her blood can heal everyone's wounds as well!"

Crack.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking branches echoed through the forest.

While the injured Grass ninjas were still noisy, a few with sharp ears heard the sound of branches breaking not far away.

"There's someone in the forest!"

"The enemy hasn't completely left!"

The group of Grass ninjas quickly panicked again.

On a large tree in the forest.

Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi turned their heads in astonishment, seeing Akihara Kagura, who had accidentally broken a branch, seemingly not expecting Kagura to make such a basic mistake.

The principles of stealth...

It Is a must-learn course for a ninja!

Hasn't Kagura properly learned these?

Who is this guy's leading Jonin? It seems like he really hasn't been taught… and he doesn't seem to have any leading Jonin either. It must have been the ANBU squad leader who taught him all this.

"Captain Kakashi, don't worry."

Akihara Kagura's face was very calm, as if he hadn't made any mistakes at all: "Soon, there won't be any living person who knows we passed through here..."

"Hey, Kagura..."

Hatake Kakashi immediately understood his meaning.

"..."

A ferocious chakra suddenly burst forth from Akihara Kagura, sweeping across the entire forest in an instant and startling everyone within!

The trees in the forest seemed to come alive all at once!

Vines and roots swiftly moved through the forest, piercing through the panic-stricken Grass ninjas, turning them all into corpses!

"Was there really a need for this..."

Uchiha Itachi smelled the sudden thick scent of blood in the forest.

As a ninja, Uchiha Itachi had long been prepared to kill enemies, but he had never thought killing could be this easy, with just one ninjutsu capable of killing hundreds.

These Grass ninjas had just gone through a war, most of them were wounded, and even if they noticed the presence of this small squad, they couldn't pose any hindrance to them.

"They made a mistake."

When Akihara Kagura said this, he acted like a demon devoid of humanity, coldly stating: "Their ears were too sensitive, accidentally hearing the sound of me stepping on a branch. That's the mistake they made. Making a mistake means they had to find a way to make amends, and for a big mistake, they had to pay with their lives."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head, no longer trying to argue.

Because Itachi knew, Akihara Kagura was an extremist in his actions, but he hadn't expected his teammate to be extreme to this extent!

This time, it was originally a minor mistake made by Akihara Kagura, but to cover up their tracks, he recklessly killed people and here he is, blaming the Grass ninjas for their own mistakes.

ANBU...

Is this how they all are?

Or is it just Akihara Kagura who is so reckless?

This was the first time Hatake Kakashi saw Akihara Kagura kill so indiscriminately. Perhaps those Grass ninjas couldn't be considered innocent, but they were far from being their enemies.

Hatake Kakashi looked very upset; he did not like ninjas who indulge in killing and lose their humanity, such ninjas are always prone to stray from the right path.

"From now on... do not take such actions on your own."

Hatake Kakashi's voice was somewhat heavy, seemingly very unaccustomed to seeing the cruel and extreme side of his protégé: "There was no need to cause such a big commotion, nor was there a need to kill so many people, you also violated the ANBU's code..."

"I will adhere to it next time."

Akihara Kagura showed great respect to his superior, a trace of fear slowly appearing on his face: "By the way, Captain Kakashi, by killing these Grass ninja, I'm sure I'll leave traces of Wood Release jutsu behind. Perhaps they might hold a grudge against me..."

"We'll burn the bodies here..."

Hatake Kakashi frowned at him.

Akihara Kagura raised his palm, stating his reasoning: "But I've heard if wild grass is not completely burned, it will sprout again in spring. Given that this is the Land of Grass, should we not eradicate them completely..."

Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi's eyes widened suddenly.

This guy...

Want to kill even more?

"Our purpose is to carry out the mission..."

Hatake Kakashi shook his head, firmly stopping Akihara Kagura: "The Land of Grass and the Grass Village have always respected Konoha. We should not provoke enemies lightly..."

Perhaps because of Akihara Kagura's reckless killing, Kakashi's attitude towards him suddenly turned cold: "We're still in a state of war, Akihara Kagura, do you realize how much trouble it would bring to the Konoha if our ninja rashly meddled in the wars of small countries?"

"A new Great Ninja War."

Akihara Kagura was very calm.

Hatake Kakashi suddenly found himself at a loss for words, almost forgetting this extreme kid who thinks about war every day, wishing to kill on the battlefield.

Maybe it's because Akihara Kagura has behaved too much like a well-mannered junior in Konoha lately, making Kakashi gradually forget the first impression he had of him.

This child was raised by Shimura Danzo from a young age to be a killing tool, how could he possibly come to value life after such a short time?

"Don't forget our mission, no more complications."

Hatake Kakashi turned to Uchiha Itachi, speaking in a deep voice: "Itachi, gather all the bodies for cremation, then burn down this forest, erasing any traces that might have been left by Wood Release ninja..."

"Yes!"

Uchiha Itachi immediately responded.

"Captain Kakashi."

Akihara Kagura, watching Uchiha Itachi going to collect the bodies, suddenly called out to Hatake Kakashi who was about to head elsewhere: "Don't rush, let's stay here a bit longer."

"What else do you want to do?"

Hatake Kakashi's brow was still furrowed.

"Aren't you curious why I killed these Grass ninja?"

Akihara Kagura smiled and suddenly brought up the people mentioned by those Grass ninjas before their deaths: "Those Grass ninjas were still making a fuss before dying, asking their logistics to send up a little kid…"

Akihara Kagura looked at Hatake Kakashi and continued: "The Land of Grass has a little kid that can heal many people's injuries, possessing the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan…"

"How so?"

Hatake Kakashi frowned, somewhat puzzled: "After the destruction of the Whirlpool Village, the descendants of the Uzumaki clan were scattered around the world. It doesn't seem unusual for the Grass Village to have descendants of the Uzumaki clan, does it?"

The Konoha also has descendants of the Uzumaki clan.

The wife of the First Hokage, Hashirama, was a princess of the Uzumaki clan, and their descendants also possess the Uzumaki bloodline; Uzumaki Kushina, Kakashi's teacher and the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the Konoha, her son Uzumaki Naruto is the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the Konoha.

The Konoha and the Uzumaki clan once had an alliance.

However, this alliance ceased to exist after the destruction of the Whirlpool Village, and even as time passed, the Konoha ninjas' attitude towards the Uzumaki descendants was almost indistinguishable from ordinary people.

After all...

The identity of these Uzumaki descendants was not noble.

Moreover, with the ninja wars cycling repeatedly, the Konoha Village signed countless alliances, yet few allies were willing to abide by them. Who would still care about that ancient alliance that had disappeared?

Akihara Kagura shook his head and sighed softly: "If that little kid really has the ability to heal quickly, in case we encounter some troublesome guy in the future, just by biting her, we could recover immediately…"

"The Uzumaki clan's bloodline is not that miraculous."

Hatake Kakashi did not believe that was true.

"That little kid's mother was killed by the Grass ninjas."

Akihara Kagura mentioned this rather nonchalantly.

This statement from Akihara Kagura sent a chill through Hatake Kakashi's heart, and the way Akihara Kagura spoke made Kakashi feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Such a thing... such words...

This kid could say such a cold-hearted thing!

"I think it's definitely useful."

Akihara Kagura, stroking his chin, speculated: "Otherwise, why would the Grass ninjas kill her mother and still send her up here?"

"You…"

Kakashi's heart grew colder.

"Let's just wait a bit longer then!"

Akihara Kagura leaped onto a tree and said leisurely: "If that little kid really has that special ability, just send her to Lord Danzo's Root division…"

"The useless group at the root should have been eliminated long ago, and all should be replaced with individuals possessing special abilities…"

"What if she doesn't?"

Hatake Kakashi watched Akihara Kagura intently, seemingly wanting to understand this subordinate's attitude toward that child, to judge whether this subordinate's character was worth saving.

"Then send her to the Konoha Orphanage…"

Akihara Kagura looked at Hatake Kakashi in surprise and continued, "Dean Yakushi Nono of the orphanage doesn't care whether those orphans have special abilities or not…"

"…"

Hatake Kakashi rubbed his forehead.

He almost forgot, Akihara Kagura was also a child from the Konoha Orphanage; it seems there might still be hope for this guy.

Hatake Kakashi sighed and continued, "Regardless of whether that child has any special abilities, send her to the Konoha Orphanage, let her grow up safely…"

Akihara Kagura shook his head and continued, "If she is sent to the orphanage, sooner or later, she will be forced by Lord Danzo to join the Root."

"…"

Hatake Kakashi felt he was at a deadlock.

The Konoha Orphanage has always been under the control of Shimura Danzo, even the director of the orphanage has to work for the Root, not to mention an ordinary child.

"Naruto is always all alone…"

Akihara Kagura seemed to casually suggest, "That little kid is also a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, let two descendants of the Uzumaki stay together…"

"We still have missions to carry out…"

Hatake Kakashi raised his own concern.

Akihara Kagura raised his hand and took out a beautifully crafted kunai, throwing it towards Hatake Kakashi, with such poor throwing technique that Kakashi caught it easily!

"Is this the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

Hatake Kakashi looked at the kunai he gave to Akihara Kagura, which bore a leaf symbol, the mark of the Flying Thunder God left by Akihara Kagura.

All this, Akihara Kagura seemed to have considered.

"Kagura."

Hatake Kakashi looked up at Akihara Kagura sitting in the tree.

Kakashi suddenly felt this extremely temperamental subordinate had become a stranger to him, as if he was meeting him for the first time.

"Kagura, which one are you?"

"The one who likes to kill is me, the one who likes to save is me, the one who likes fishing is me."

Akihara Kagura extended his palm, looking at the moonlight falling through the gaps in the forest onto his palm: "I will not leave the darkness, for it allows more people in the ninja world to bask in the light, this is my ninja way."