"Just now... what was that?"
Sakumo hesitated.
Although no Ninjutsu had been used, the fighting style gave him a very familiar feeling. At the time he hadn't thought much of it, but now upon reflection, it seemed like Teacher Danzo Shimura's fighting style.
"Yeah, it was an illusion performance."
Akaba coughed lightly and gave him a meaningful look.
Sakumo immediately understood.
The teacher was still a dignified person - he definitely wouldn't want others knowing how badly he'd been beaten.
He felt slightly regretful - perhaps he should have gone easier within the illusion rather than going all-out without restraint just to test his capabilities.
"That was absolutely mind-blowing!"
Tsunade stretched her legs and bounced with excitement, clearly eager to jump back into action.
Though it was only a dream, the sensation had been completely real. That satisfying feeling of obliterating an area with a single kick was truly intoxicating.
Sakumo observed her for a few moments before giving Akaba a deeply sympathetic look.
"Whoaaa! My youthful fire's burning again! Senior Akaba! Senior Sakumo! I must keep training!"
Duy roared loudly, then started running.
He was still suffering pain from opening the Sixth Gate. Although this was a dream state, under the Sakuma clan's Kekkei Genkai ability control, Duy experienced exactly the same pain as when using the Sixth Gate in reality.
As he ran, he winced and sucked air through his teeth.
So...
"What a complete beast indeed!"
Sakumo sincerely admired such terrifying willpower. No wonder he could open the Sixth Gate at such a young age.
Wait a second.
Judging from this fellow's condition, it might not merely be the Sixth Gate - possibly even reaching the Seventh Gate's limits.
"Good thing Akaba noticed, otherwise such a prodigy might have been overlooked."
Tsunade let out a sigh, truly impressed.
Previously, they hadn't truly witnessed the Eight Gates' power. They'd known this technique was strong, and appreciated that Duy managing to reach the Sixth Gate in such a short time was remarkable, but hadn't really grasped just how powerful it was.
Now they understood.
Although Danzo hadn't used any Ninjutsu, the incredible destructive force - [Morning Peacock] combined with [Finger Pistol] creating dozens of bloody holes in an instant - had been absolutely exhilarating.
"If we can open the Eighth Gate, perhaps even Madara could be suppressed and pummeled temporarily."
"We'll help him further develop his Devil Fruit potential next. If successful, the cost to open the Seventh Gate might decrease significantly."
Akaba murmured softly.
"Jealous."
Sakumo sighed with emotion.
Devil Fruits really were some insanely powerful abilities.
"Wanna get one too?"
Tsunade glanced sideways.
She was only joking though - even if she wanted to give him a Devil Fruit, she couldn't produce one.
"No thanks. I trust my sword and myself more. One day, I'll be the greatest swordsman in the Ninja World!"
Sakumo's eyes sparkled with dreams.
Legendary swordsmen and samurais once flourished in ancient times, but their legacy faded until only the Land of Iron remained. Still, he believed that someday the way of the sword would rise again in the ninja world.
"Top swordsman in the Ninja World? Sounds good enough."
Another full-blown Zoro fanatic? A total Zoro die-hard?
Akaba mused silently.
But he didn't have time to dwell on this now. His attention focused entirely on Danzo. That fellow would probably scheme against him again after returning.
What a petty-minded teacher!
"I'll keep training. I haven't fully mastered Paper Surfing and Storm Legs yet. Need to get them down as soon as possible."
Sakumo stood up and began training.
Instead of practicing Iron Body, he focused on the other five techniques, maximizing agility and offensive power.
"Nightdance follows a similar path as you. Once you've mastered them, take her under your wing too. I won't bother going over there myself."
Akaba stretched lazily and stood up.
Teaching two or three students was already this exhausting. Having more disciples would really give him a headache. Now, the rest of the Taijutsu Specialized Groups were left under Duy's leadership, Nightdance would be handled by Sakumo, and Orochimaru could receive lessons through Tsunade.
Perfect! It saved plenty of time.
He walked Tsunade over to the research institute, leaving the training of Orochimaru to her hands.
As he turned to leave, Akaba spotted Dan Kato in another lab.
He was still researching "mecha."
Need to watch out for this guy. Always hanging around the research institute—it definitely wasn't for good intentions. Better get him sent away early. Hmm, just in time with war approaching quickly, how could such a useful ability as Spirit Transformation stay behind?
Akaba thought spitefully.
Dan seemed to sense something, turned his head toward the door. Upon spotting Akaba, he relaxed then greeted enthusiastically, "Senior Akaba, nice to see you!"
"Pfft, no need to call me senior. I'm younger than you anyway."
"You hold a higher position, have more experience. In ninja terms, you're my senior."
Dan stubbornly insisted.
"Just keep studying. I've got things to do," Akaba replied, unwilling to offend someone who smiled at him. He felt slightly guilty about the dark thoughts he'd had toward someone who smiled at him.
However, just after taking a few steps, plotlines from the manga popped back into his head again, swiftly transforming his opinion into: "Smiling faces hide the deadliest knives."
Get him onto the battlefield ASAP!
Between master and apprentice, many things get passed down—or perhaps it's more accurate to say they're kindred spirits in vice. That's why they can stick together and chat.
Regarding pettiness, clearly Akaba had surpassed his mentor.
Back at the manga shop, he submitted his latest chapters, immediately receiving a chorus of disapproval from his Shadow Clones. In one afternoon, this lazybones only managed three chapters.
With yesterday's two chapters added, that made exactly five chapters total.
What precise calculations! He'd truly mastered the art of laziness.
Thanks to this, their Naruto manga release reached fifteen chapters—this pushed the storyline straight up to Jiraiya's death.
From infiltration into Amegakure right until his death, it updated nonstop, achieving perfect narrative continuity.
Unfortunately, the main person involved wasn't here.
While organizing the updates, Akaba couldn't help but think about Jiraiya. The fleet had been sailing for over half a month—enough time—but releasing the Vampire Fruit now would seem overly rushed, possibly arousing suspicion.
So after consideration, he decided against immediate release. Instead, he dispatched some soon-to-disappear Shadow Clones to check on the ship situation.
Haino had already complied obediently.
Now she functioned like an aircraft. Combined with Explosive Tags and other ninja tools, she could efficiently conduct aerial attacks against ships—Jiraiya's idea.
Of course,
the most crucial factor wasn't merely aerial strike capability, but rather Haino being an intelligent humanoid capable of flight. This enabled surveying the surroundings and locating suitable islands for docking in advance.
Even Take Yamano, a senior figure, kept praising the bird's abilities.
Knowing everything was going smoothly on this side, Akaba felt relieved.
This ship was crucial for the deployment of the Vampire Fruit. It couldn't afford any mistakes. If it accidentally drifted toward the territories of Magellan or Columbus, he'd face a major loss. Having a bird to navigate was truly a stroke of great fortune.
However, Haino (the sea swallow) wasn't that cooperative. The reason she obediently helped guide the Konoha ship without straying was merely because the Yamanaka clan had placed a secret technique on her.
After receiving news from overseas, Akaba glanced around.
The other shadow clones had already organized the manga files and handed them over to Sakuma Yunlang. As soon as Izumi Yamano delivered the updates, Sakuma Yunlang would be responsible for passing them along.
He'd done this job many times before, so he handled it like second nature.
Still,
Akaba originally planned to relax and take it easy early, in case something came up later that would make slipping away difficult. But less than an hour after Izumi Yamano delivered the manga, trouble had already arrived from Konoha instead.
When word came from the Third summoning him, Akaba's first thought was that Danzo was plotting revenge for the earlier incident in the afternoon.
But upon reflection,
It probably wouldn't happen that quickly. More likely, there really was something urgent.
Arriving at the Hokage Tower, Akaba saw a group of people sitting inside the office. These were all high-ranking figures within Konoha, including Sakuma Goro among them.
However, Danzo was notably absent.
It was a bit strange.
Cleared his throat lightly, the Third said, "Danzo is unavailable at the moment, so I've temporarily asked Akaba to stand in for him during this meeting. No objections, I presume?"
"No objections."
Hyūga Zuo spoke first.
The Hyūga clan didn't get along with Akaba, so he took it upon himself to respond first—it was part of their mutual understanding.
As for why they agreed—
Danzo had made it clear he was grooming Akaba as his successor. If they voiced any opposition now, once Akaba took over, they'd surely face retribution. The clan leaders knew Akaba quite well, especially Hyūga Zuo and Motonami Uchiha. Both understood that Akaba was fundamentally a narrow-minded yet intelligent man.
However, being petty wasn't scary. His intelligence and high talent mattered more.
With someone like that around, better not to offend if possible. Even the Hyūga maintained only superficial hostility—no actual hostile actions had occurred. Classic all bark and no bite.
Thoughtfully, Akaba realized his teacher wouldn't miss the meeting simply due to getting beaten up inside an illusion. There must genuinely be something important happening.
He sat down.
Then, the Third began explaining the purpose of this meeting.
Once again, it involved Madara.
This time, however, the information didn't come from Sunagakure Village but rather from the Rock ninja village in the north.
A rogue ninja appeared in the Rock ninja village, and the mysterious powerful shinobi luring these ninja into betrayal was none other than the one called "Uchiha Madara."
Clearly, it was Black Zetsu.
The purpose of holding this meeting, naturally, wasn't just to discuss Black Zetsu or Madara—they were discussing whether to spread the information regarding Madara and Black Zetsu publicly.
Previously, they hadn't done so because releasing the truth would've seemed unbelievable, making Konoha look like it was stirring up trouble.
Now, the situation was different.
If revealed, it could potentially trigger a chain reaction—including wars—so they needed to hold a meeting beforehand to consult opinions from various clans within the village.
Of course, no one voiced any objections.
Danzo was obviously planning to slip out early to make preparations. Since you've already decided everything, what's the point of asking for our opinions?
Classic formality with zero substance.
But these thoughts were best kept to oneself. Speaking them out loud would embarrass everyone; even Akaba wouldn't be so careless as to ruin the moment. Instead, he nodded along politely.
He couldn't help but wonder what Black Zetsu was really thinking by doing this.
Clearly, Madara and Black Zetsu had fallen out.
Black Zetsu had been stirring up all the ninja villages, deliberately fueling hatred against Madara. Could it be that he'd decided to take Madara down first?
In that case, would the Sage of the Ninja World have to wait for the next rebirth of Indra?
It wasn't impossible.
With nothing better to do, Akaba picked up a Message Scroll and glanced at it. The message came from the Rock ninja village requesting Konoha's help in monitoring the movements of a Rogue Ninja within the Land of Fire. According to reports, the escape happened two days ago.
Something that happened two days ago—could Konoha really be taking it this seriously now?
There's definitely something off about this.
Akaba lifted his head and noticed the Third watching him just then.
The Third gave a slight nod, secretly signaling Akaba with a hand gesture not to make a scene. This Rogue Ninja's identity wasn't simple at all—it was highly likely one of the Rock ninja village's Jinchuriki!
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