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~Few Weeks Later, Akihara Village~
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Ryu Daiki had been an ordinary boy until he came under His Excellency's grace. From that moment on, everything changed. He joined the other children in the shinobi training program and began studying under instructors who had mastered various fields. He learned not only shinobi techniques but also worldly subjects what His Excellency called "science." Thanks to that education, Ryu's life improved tremendously: he always had food to eat, a home of his own, and his pockets jingled with money earned on small missions. The people of Akihara Village regarded him with a mixture of reverence for his strength and status and envy for his wealth and authority.
Life was more than good; he had everything he had ever dreamed of, all because of His Excellency. Yet deep inside, Ryu felt a small reluctance: he couldn't display the full extent of the power bestowed upon him outside the village. He knew he wasn't alone in that feeling. Although Akihara possessed enough strength to rival any Great Village, they lived forever in the shadow and supposed protection of Konoha. Their hearts bristled at the idea of depending on shinobi they considered weaker than themselves. If it weren't for His Excellency's wish to remain under Konoha's umbrella, they would have long since revealed their might to the arrogant Konoha shinobi who treated their missions like simple errands.
It was unfair. Almost every shinobi in Akihara ranked at least C‑Tier or Chūnin, thanks to the limit‑breaking serum His Excellency had developed. B‑Tier and A‑Tier shinobi, Jōnin and Elite Jōnin, outnumbered the combined forces of two or three Great Villages. Rumor even held that Akihara's roster of Kage‑ranked shinobi surpassed that of any other Great Village—though Ryu didn't know the exact count.
"Sigh." Ryu studied the target of his current mission: another batch of spies from a Great Village. How many operatives had tried—and failed—to pry loose the secrets of Akihara's inventions? He'd lost count. Every spy who had attempted to infiltrate the village in search of His Excellency's creations had failed without exception.
Today, his task was to prevent yet another group from stealing anything of value. Frankly, he felt unnecessary. Their jutsu were crude and outdated—laughably easy for Akihara's surveillance seals and guards to detect. Even from his hiding place, he could see them fumble with their disguises. Not that he blamed them—the village's Technique Creation and Advancement Department moved so fast that even he struggled to keep up with its constant upgrades and new Jutsu.
He sighed again as he watched the group's latest failed attempt to extract information from an unwitting visitor the newest, most clueless civilian in their midst.
Then something caught his eye. A small boy with tan skin and ash-colored hair stomped up to the spies and shouted at them. The two operatives exchanged nervous glances, nodded at whatever he said, and began moving toward the inner village. Soon they darted past the towering outer wall, disappearing into the crowd entering the gates.
Ryu followed silently, debating his next move. Should he capture them and send them to the interrogation department? Or eliminate them outright? He reminded himself that each spy wielded Jōnin‑level chakra but as he moved, hidden shadow guards appeared, trailing the group alongside him. He even sensed an S‑Rank shinobi in their midst, which made him wonder if these operatives were special after all. To him, they seemed no different from any other spies.
The trio slipped into the core region and headed for the Shinobi Academy. Ryu trailed them until the white‑haired boy suddenly halted, eyes fixed on a group of academy students training on a nearby field. Intrigued, Ryu followed, keeping to the shadows.
When he arrived, he saw the ash‑haired boy stepping forward to challenge one of the students and, to his surprise, the student accepted. Ryu was about to intervene when a voice crackled in his mind: the S‑Rank shinobi's command to stand down and observe the duel. Confused but obedient, Ryu melted into the background and watched the fight unfold.
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How's the chapter? I used Chat Gtp to edit this chapter but for reason I feel I cheated😅