i can see why people would suspect ibuki might join akatsuki, given the fact they have a strong narrative link, but personally, i didn't come to the conclusion at all. ibuki identifies pretty distinctly okinawan and doesn't seem to have any interest in the (mainland) japanese identity. i just don't see why he'd have any interest joining akatsuki; tbh i find the way he behaves around akatsuki kind of... suspicious? but that's just me

there's also the whole thing that niceP recruited ibuki specifically because he shows promise solo idol. not to mention how poorly that'd look alongside souma and tetora's relationship w/akatsuki's recruitment... mix that with the fact there's literally nothing within the story that would imply ibuki joining the unit, and i just don't get it!

right now, i find the chance of it happening just so low i'm not letting myself fret about it, basically. all we've got is keito saying that there's something important he'd like to tell kuro and souma about ibuki, literally LOL