Madara and Black Zetsu would never fully trust each other.
However, after revealing part of his intentions, Black Zetsu gained limited trust—just enough for Madara to stop resisting passively.
His decision was somewhat linked to Akaba's earlier use of genjutsu.
It was just the beginning, but the imagery of the mountain, the mother, and the child stirred something familiar in Black Zetsu—he saw echoes of himself and Kaguya otsutsuki within them.
Sakuma Akaba must not be allowed to remain alive!
The two reached a temporary cooperation and began discussing their next target inside the cave. Black Zetsu tried to manipulate Madara into opposing Akaba, but Madara clearly wasn't falling for it.
He had his own plans.
At this time, the latest news from the Land of Wind hadn't arrived yet. But recently, their main focus had not been on Konoha's manga or anything else—it had been on the jinchuriki.
The current jinchuriki was Bunpuku, a devout monk with boundless compassion for all living beings.
As long as he could suppress Shukaku, there was no need to harm Bunpuku himself.
However, if the bijū were to be used in warfare, Bunpuku's personality became an obstacle to Sunagakure. Many within the village held negative opinions about him. Therefore, when word spread that Sankai would become the new jinchuriki for combat purposes, most jonin supported the change.
Including Ebizō.
Switching the jinchuriki had already become the trend. He couldn't oppose it without exposing himself.
After observing for several days, he was certain something was wrong with Sankai.
He hadn't figured out exactly what was happening yet, but he noticed clear changes in Sankai's personality and behavior. Someone had definitely influenced him. Yet Sankai's decisions gained widespread support among the ninja ranks. Without solid evidence, he couldn't even inform his own sister, Chiyo.
After hesitating for several days, he finally decided to seek help from Danzō.
Clearly, Danzō knew something.
Danzō wasn't in Konoha at that time.
After being brutally beaten by Akaba that day, Danzō had originally planned to return and train hard in preparation for future revenge. However, just then, news came from the Rock ninja village.
Compared to the suspicious situation in Sunagakure, Danzō placed more trust in the Rock ninja village, with whom Sunagakure had long-standing hostilities. Therefore, he temporarily abandoned his schemes with Ebizō and immediately set off toward the Rock ninja village to negotiate benefits.
The Anbu didn't urgently search for Danzō either.
Before leaving, Danzō had given instructions—if Ebizō needed to send messages or meet him, they should wait a few days first. Only if Danzō still hadn't returned would they then turn to Akaba to resolve the matter.
Therefore, today, the Anbu took no action.
Since Akaba had no official duties, when a teacher from the Ninja Academy came seeking him based on the Third's verbal order, he could only obediently rise from bed and follow the teacher to the school.
The funeral ceremony was grand.
Just stepping onto campus, he saw white banners hanging everywhere. On the large training ground, a sea of black-clothed children stood neatly together—an impressive display of uniformity and unity.
"This is it. There are even surrender flags and wreaths up ahead—it looks almost real," the teacher whispered.
Akaba walked forward with a strange expression, spotting the "leading figure" from afar.
It was actually Fugaku Uchiha.
He got confused.
Fugaku, you're quite the one—throwing a funeral for an unborn child. Judging from this arrangement, it seems like you're not planning to name your eldest son Itachi anymore.
Some of the kids noticed Akaba and tensed up immediately.
But the teachers weren't afraid.
The sky was falling, but there were taller ones to deal with it. The big brother here was Fugaku—everyone else was at most just accomplices. But Akaba presided over the Preparatory Division.
The first round of special training had just ended. The training in the Preparatory Division was described as hellish; who wouldn't be terrified hearing upperclassmen talk about it with fear?
"Itachi slaughtered the entire clan, even striking down his own parents without mercy. From the Uchiha surname's perspective, he committed unforgivable crimes. Yet toward the village, he bore no guilt. Facing the choice between the village and those family members plotting rebellion,"
Fugaku read aloud.
The children listened quietly, deeply agreeing with every word.
Itachi was a complex character. At first, everyone thought he was evil, then pitied him as someone enduring a hard and painful life. Perhaps he wasn't a good clansman or a kind family member, nor an entirely great ninja.
But as an older brother, he sacrificed everything for his younger one.
Younger brothers really have it rough when they're this obsessed.
Akaba had originally planned to step forward, but upon hearing these words, immediately paused, listening with growing interest from below.
From their previous encounter, he already knew Fugaku was intelligent and mature beyond his years.
Now watching him, Akaba couldn't predict how strong this kid might become, but he'd clearly inherited the cunning ways of Motonami Uchiha.
Though in the manga disaster struck the Uchiha clan, Fugaku could say this speech without flinching—proof of exceptional mental resilience.
And if that weren't impressive enough, his delivery was nothing short of heart-wrenching. His words seemed genuine, making many profoundly sympathize with Itachi's actions.
Beneath a voice both persuasive and childishly innocent, many suppressed quiet sobs.
There was no stopping what was unfolding now.
Besides, the Third's orders hadn't been to stop the funeral, merely to "preside over it"—that old fox supported this.
Just as Akaba silently praised Fugaku's mental fortitude, the boy suddenly stopped speaking. Spotting Akaba, he got slightly tongue-tied and forgot what to say next.
Upstairs, Sarutobi Nennosuke watched from above, laughing out loud. "Haha! Even the kids at school are scared of him. Maybe we should let him be a teacher."
"Please," another chunin nearby quipped, "if he came here, he'd probably appoint a class monitor first, then nap while the monitor taught class."
Those teaching staff had already experienced Akaba's laziness firsthand. Sarutobi chuckled but didn't refute, then said, "I'll go down and join the crowd."
Outside on the training ground, the atmosphere suddenly turned dead silent.
Several long seconds passed without a soul uttering a word.
Just when I go and praise you, you come back and throw me under the bus?
Your mental resilience just isn't up to par!
He froze for a moment before realizing, then cleared his throat with a light chuckle, "Not bad. Keep going."
"This…"
Fugaku faced Akaba directly, mind completely blank.
Keep going? But what to say next?
Sometimes ideas flow easily and words pour endlessly. Other times, you can't squeeze out a single line.
Finally, he managed only a few words: "I'm done."
Hearing this, Akaba had no choice but to walk forward onto the stage.
Looking around, Itachi's portrait stood prominently displayed—a disturbingly familiar sight, as though lifted straight from a manga.
The issue was, the manga rarely showed full-page, close-up illustrations of Itachi.
Too plain.
Akaba created a Shadow Clone, ordering it to draw portraits, then turned to face the audience.
"That was a great point Fugaku made. Let me add just a little bit," Sarutobi Nennosuke smirked.
Whenever anyone else says "just a bit," they usually end up talking forever. But with Akaba, this really was just a tiny addition.
"Itachi's portrayal is complex. He made countless decisions, many of which weren't very wise. But given his position, he could only choose between everyone perishing together or protecting Sasuke and the village. This decision was truly admirable."
From the village's perspective, Itachi's actions represented great selfless love. But if one puts oneself in his shoes...
Others might not understand, but personally speaking, he wouldn't have been able to do it himself.
"I can't perform such grand acts of love," Akaba simply acknowledged. "That's why I just say Itachi was great, without even mentioning asking the children to emulate him."
Of course,
Very few among these kids understood what he had said.
They were all simply reading manga without much life experience or deep thinking. How could they comprehend these deeper meanings? Even what Fugaku had just said was only memorized because he had repeatedly heard it from Motonami before.
After saying this, Akaba turned his head around.
The drawing was already completed.
Since it was just a black-and-white portrait sketch, no complex detailing was required. It wasn't difficult to draw and was finished in no time.
Akaba took it out and replaced the previous portrait.
Everyone cheered excitedly. This new profile picture was large and intricately detailed, making it dozens of times better than the previous ones.
Then, he glanced around, coughed lightly, and said: "Alright, everyone carry on. After paying our respects, return to class. Don't let these matters interfere with your studies."
"Got it?"
Sarutobi's gaze appeared particularly menacing. None of the children dared to make eye contact, nodding vigorously instead.
He was very satisfied and prepared to leave.
Fugaku watched Sarutobi's retreating figure, swallowed hard, and only after he left did he finally release a long breath. Then, immediately, his mind flooded with many other things he wanted to say.
Sounds resumed filling the training ground.
Do they really fear me that much?
Sarutobi shook his head helplessly. These kids seemed to have some misunderstanding about him.
Well, forget it. Not worth the effort.
He still had work to do today—for instance, his goal with Naruto today was still ten chapters.
Because the content for the next ten chapters seamlessly connected with yesterday's and today's, cutting it halfway would feel incomplete, especially during that emotional segment where Naruto and Tsunade learned of Jiraiya's tragic death.
Besides that, the One Piece manga has entered the [Enies Lobby Arc].
Both series kept him fully occupied.
But since he had been woken up early today, there was still plenty of time left for work.
Returning to the manga shop, Sarutobi created four shadow clones, assigned tasks accordingly, drew two or three chapters himself casually, while most of the workload was completed by his clones.
While drawing, he often overheard villagers outside discussing Itachi and Sasuke.
Unlike the children, adults held more complex feelings toward Itachi, struggling to judge whether he was truly good or bad. They could only agree that Itachi being a devoted older brother was beyond dispute.
Another popular discussion topic was the [Mangekyo Sharingan].
Previously, everyone thought the Three Tomoe was the ultimate limit. Who knew later came the [Mangekyo Sharingan], and now an even more impressive [Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan] appeared.
This revelation caused considerable envy towards the Uchiha clan among many people.
In the past, the Uchiha would certainly grow arrogant when hearing such things—that was where most of their pride came from.
These days, though, none of the Uchiha acted that way anymore. Partly because they'd all been warned and knew their position was shaky, and partly because Motonami Uchiha had drilled into them the importance of staying humble and approachable — blending in with the villagers as equals.
Therefore, instead of objecting to how they were portrayed in the manga, the Uchiha Clansmen joined in heated discussions with others, occasionally letting slip a few secrets about the Sharingan. Topics included things like chakra perception ability, or who was the most talented within the clan.
As a result, the Sharingan no longer felt so distant to ordinary people. They weren't necessarily thankful toward the Uchiha, but they didn't resent them either — in fact, many found the Uchiha oddly intriguing.
[The Sharingan]
Akaba worked in silence, half-drawing and half-listening to the chatter around him. He was responsible for illustrating the two episodes where Naruto and Tsunade learned of Jiraiya's death — these were the most emotionally complex scenes and required careful attention to detail. Because the content wasn't extensive, he had chosen to save the most difficult parts for himself.
When he actually started drawing, he found himself hesitating. There were too many emotional expressions involved. After drawing just one or two pages, he found numerous details unsatisfactory and ended up revising them several times before finally being able to accept the result.
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