"Is it really necessary to do this..."
Uchiha Itachi smelled the sudden increase of a bloody scent in the forest.
As a ninja, Uchiha Itachi had long been prepared to kill enemies if necessary, but he had never imagined killing could be this easy, with just one ninjutsu capable of killing hundreds.
These Grass Ninjas had just experienced a war, most of them were wounded, and even if they noticed their squad's tracks, they wouldn't be able to hinder them at all.
"They made a mistake."
When Akihara Kagura said this, he behaved like a completely inhumane demon, coldly sneering, "Their hearing is too keen, they accidentally heard the sound of me stepping on a branch, that's their mistake. If you make a mistake, you have to make up for it; if you make a grave mistake, you have to make up for it with your life."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head, choosing not to argue further.
Because Uchiha Itachi knew Akihara Kagura was an extreme person, but he never thought that his teammate would be this extreme!
This time, it was originally a low-level mistake by Akihara Kagura, yet to cover up his tracks he resorted to wanton killing, and here he was turning things upside down, blaming it on the Grass Ninjas.
The Dark Department...
Are they all like this?
Or is it only Akihara Kagura who acts so recklessly?
Kakashi Hatake saw Akihara Kagura killing without restraint for the first time, perhaps those Grass Ninjas couldn't be called innocent, but neither could they be considered enemies.
Kakashi Hatake's face looked rather unsightly; he disliked ninja who revel in slaughter and lose their humanity, as such ninja are prone to going astray.
"In the future... don't act without permission like this."
Kakashi Hatake's voice was somewhat dull, seemingly unused to the ruthless and extreme side showing in the protege he had mentored carefully: "There's no need to cause such commotion and no need to kill so many people; you've also violated the Dark Department's norms..."
"I will adhere to them next time."
Akihara Kagura gave his supervisor some face, slowly revealing an expression of lingering fear: "By the way, Captain Kakashi, I killed these Grass Ninjas, there will certainly be traces of Wood Release Jutsu left, maybe they might hold a grudge against me..."
"We should burn the bodies here..."
Kakashi Hatake frowned and looked at him.
Akihara Kagura raised his hand, reasoning, "But I've heard if weeds aren't burned completely, they will sprout and grow again in spring, and since this is the Land of Grass, shouldn't we eradicate them completely..."
"..."
Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Itachi's eyes suddenly widened.
This guy...
Does he still want to kill more people?
"Our goal is to carry out the mission..."
Kakashi Hatake shook his head, solemnly stopping Akihara Kagura: "The Land of Grass and the Hidden Grass Village have always respected Konoha, we can't casually provoke enemies..."
Perhaps because of Akihara Kagura's reckless killing, Kakashi Hatake's attitude toward him suddenly became cold: "This place is still at war, Akihara Kagura, you know how many problems Konoha Ninja meddling in small country wars can cause, right?"
"A new ninja world war."
Akihara Kagura's state of mind was very calm.
"..."
Kakashi Hatake suddenly had no words to respond, almost forgetting that this extreme kid always thought about warfare occurring so he could kill on the battlefield.
Perhaps it was these days Akihara Kagura in Konoha seemed too much like a well-behaved junior, making Kakashi Hatake gradually forget the impression he got when he first met Akihara Kagura.
This child had always been a killing tool cultivated by Shimura Danzo since childhood, how could he change and value life in such a short time?
"Don't forget our mission, don't make extra troubles."
Kakashi Hatake turned to Uchiha Itachi, instructing in a deep voice: "Itachi, gather all the bodies and burn them, then burn this forest to erase all possible traces of Wood Release Ninja..."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Itachi immediately responded in agreement.
"Captain Kakashi."
Akihara Kagura watched as Uchiha Itachi went off to gather the bodies, suddenly calling out to stop Kakashi Hatake who was moving to the other side: "Don't rush, let's stay here a little longer."
"What else do you want to do?"
Kakashi Hatake's brows were still tightly furrowed.
"Aren't you curious why I killed this group of Grass Ninjas?"
Akihara Kagura smiled and suddenly brought up what those Grass Ninjas mentioned before dying: "That group of Grass Ninjas were clamoring before dying, wanting their logistics department to deliver a little item..."
Akihara Kagura looked at Kakashi Hatake and continued invitingly: "The Land of Grass has a little thing that can heal many people's injuries, possessing the Uzumaki clan's bloodline..."
"So what?"
Kakashi Hatake furrowed his brow, a bit puzzled: "After the Vortex Village's destruction, the Uzumaki clan's descendants scattered across the world, it's not strange the Hidden Grass Village houses descendants of the Uzumaki clan, right?"
Konoha also has descendants of the Uzumaki clan.
The wife of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama was a princess of the Uzumaki clan, and their descendants also had the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan;
Kakashi Hatake's teacher's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, was Konoha's previous generation Nine-tails Jinchuriki, and her son, Naruto Uzumaki, is the Nine-tails Jinchuriki of Konoha's current generation.
Konoha and the Uzumaki clan once had an alliance.
However, this alliance no longer existed since the destruction of the Vortex Village, and, over time, Konoha Ninja's attitude towards Uzumaki descendants became almost indifferent, treating them like ordinary people.