āHe is finally gone!ā ā Seeing the masked man leave, the two children, Sasuke and Neji took a breath of reliefā¦ The mere presence of the masked man put too much psychological pressure on the two children, and it was already a surprise that the two children could still remain calm.
At this time, Sasuke said in a somewhat confident tone, āThat masked manā¦ he may have tried to hide it, but from the way he reacted to the name of your Sensei, I can tell, he definitely knows your master.ā
Neji nodded with a heavy heart, āYes, and he seems to be planning something in regards to my Senseiā¦ at the same time, I feel as ifā¦ā
āMadaraā who did not conceal his true thoughts actually gave a very bad signal to the two children, that is, Akatsuki Organization may not let them off at all, no matter whatā¦! And if such a thing really happens, then let alone returning back to the village, they may not even be alive after Akatsuki finds them useless or their presence bothersome.
After realizing how dangerous a situation they are in, the children fell silentā¦
While the two children were silent and did not know what to do or speak, the sound of the metal gate being opened resounded and another person entered their sight.
After realizing the identity of the visitor, Sasuke seemed to have found a life-saving straw, and couldnāt help but question with a hopeful tone, āUchiha Shinichiā¦ you are an Uchiha too, right? Are you here to save me?ā
Shinichi snorted, then shook his head with a sullen face, āHere, no one can save you, and I am no exceptionā¦ā
Shinichi really admires the young Uchiha in front of him who managed to awaken the Sharingan at such an early age of 7, and, if it is up to Shinichi, he really wants to save this kid, but he knows that the price of saving Sasuke is losing his undercover identity within the Akatsuki Organizationā¦ Shinichi canāt make such a decision, moreover, Shinichi is not sure whether he will be able to safely escape from Akatsukiās stronghold while carrying Sasuke with himā¦
After all, that guy, Madaraās space-time Jutsu has too many advantages when it comes to tracking, not to mention the unreasonable guy Zetsu!
Therefore, Shinichi didnāt risk itā¦
Shinichiās blunt and straightforward rejection made Sasuke a little lostā¦
As Shinichi saw Sasukeās depressed mood, he decided that he can at least comfort the kid, āYou donāt really have to worry too much, I may not be able to save you, but I can at least try to ensure your safetyā¦ after all, you too are an Uchiha, right?ā
Sasuke was more disappointed, but a little relieved at the same time because he realized that, āIf Uchiha Shinichi can ensure my safety long enough, then I may be able to get back to the villageā¦!ā but then he suddenly remembered something, and immediately asked, āWhat about him?ā
Following the direction Sasuke was looking at, Shinichi turned towards Neji, then shook his head, āI canāt guarantee his life.ā
An ordinary child of the branch family of the Hyuga Clan has no value to the Akatsuki Organization, moreover, the existence of the Cage Bird Juinjutsu on Nejiās forehead decreases his value even further, so there is really no way for Shinichi to ensure Nejiās safety.
Sasuke was worried, and hurriedly pleaded, āShinichi-sanā¦ please, Neji is a friend of mine, I will do anything, please justā¦ please protect him!ā
Although Sasuke also has the iconic arrogance and pride of the Uchiha Clan engraved in his personality, he is still an innocent and kind kid at this time, and since both of them have gotten into the same trouble, he considers Neji as his friend and companion, so, Sasuke doesnāt want himself to be the only to survive.
Shinichi shook his head indifferently.
In order to ensure Sasukeās safety, Shinichi can still use the excuse that Sasuke is from the same clan as him, and given that he is an extremely talented child, Sasuke has the value of being trained and recruited into the Akatsuki Organizationā¦ Considering Hirukoās present condition, Nagato and āMadaraā may accept when presented with such reasoning, after all, the threat of Amatsukami is always looming over their head and Akatsuki needs high-tier combat powerā¦
But Neji is different, he is a member of the branch division of the Hyuga Clan, so Shinichi canāt get involved on a personal level, moreover, because of the existence of the Cage Bird cursed mark, Hyuga Neji has no value in being trained because he just canāt be recruited within the Akatsuki no matter how talented the kid maybe, as such, Shinichi has no way to ensure Nejiās safety.
Listening to Sasuke constantly pleading for his safety from Shinichi, Neji, who is also a member of a Great Shinobi Clan couldnāt sit still, and said after mustering up his courage, āSasuke, donāt beg himā¦ even if he is a member of the Uchiha Clan, you canāt trust him, after all, he is working together with the people who brought us hereā¦ moreover, I am not really worriedā¦ it doesnāt matter whether he can ensure my safety or not, myā¦ Sensei, āgritting teeth noiseā myā¦ Senseiā¦ will save me!ā
āYour Sensei, you say?ā Shinichi chuckled, and questioned, āWho is your Sensei?ā but without waiting for Neji to reply, he continued āJust give up kid, even if your Sensei is Hokage himself, he canāt ensure your safety!ā
Neji opened his mouth, and seemed to want to argueā¦ but in the end, he could only close his mouth and chose to remain silent, as it was of no use. Neji perfectly understands that such verbal arguments are meaningless and his pride and the sense of honour of the Hyuga Clansmen made him reluctant to do such a pointless thing.
Moreover, he will only be giving out intelligence that Akatsuki may be trying to obtain if he speaks too much.
Shinichi glanced at Neji with some appreciation, āAt least this kid knows when to remain silent.ā Then without saying anything else, he got up and walked out of the room. Just as he was about to leave the room, Shinichi decided to leave some words of advice for the two kids and said āFrom the moment you two were brought out of the village, your destiny is no longer in your control. If the two of you wish to live, then first understand what it means to survive, and what it takes to survive in this Shinobi World.ā
After hearing Shinichiās words, Sasuke felt inexplicably apprehensive. At the same time, he was no longer certain whether his Tou-san or Nii-san will be able to save him or not, so, in a worried tone, he questioned Neji in a light voice, āNeji, your Senseiās name is Hyuga Kuroto, right? Is he really as powerful of a Shinobi as you say? And will he really be able to save the two of us?ā
Neji was silent, he didnāt know how to answerā¦
But Shinichi on the other hand, who had just stepped out of the room stopped as soon as he heard the terms āHyuga Kurotoā and āSenseiā, then he turned around his head towards Neji and questioned with an inexplicable expression, āYour Senseiā¦ is heā¦ really Hyuga Kuroto?ā
ā¦
Konoha Village
Hyuga Kuroto was obviously clueless about the interaction of the four kidnapped kids with their respective kidnappers. Currently, his soul was inside the Tsukihi Clone, who has returned to the Konoha Village, but unlike every other time, this time, Tsukihi did not sneak into the village using the secret routes, rather, she disguised herself in her disguise of Homusubi of the Amatsukami and openly appeared at the main gate of Konoha Village.
Since Homusubi made her presence known, so she was obviously immediately noticed by the Konoha Shinobi who were on patrol, and immediately gathered around her.
After the events, a few nights ago, similar to the Akatsuki Organization, even many Konoha Shinobi have come to believe that the Village must have made some sort of secret alliance with Amatsukami, which made the members of the Amatsukami Organization intervene and actively confront the Akatsuki Organization on that night. Otherwise, a mercenary organization like Amatsukami doesnāt really have any reason to go to such lengths in order to resist Akatsuki, right?
Therefore, the Konoha Shinobi who were on patrol not only did not attempt to take Homusubi under custodyāāgiven Konohaās previous enmity with Amatsukamiāābut were also very polite towards her.
Since Konoha Shinobi didnāt actively attack her, just gathered around her, so Homusubi paid them no mind, and before long, two Konoha Anbu appeared in front of her, and said in a very respectful tone, āHomusubi-sama, Sandaime Hokage-sama requested to see you.ā
Homusubi wasnāt surprised and after silently nodding towards the two Konoha Anbu, she followed them to formally meet the Sadaime Hokage of Konoha Village.