The trickiest thing about Creation Rebirth was how it automatically regenerated your entire body. The Yashin cultist had given Tsunade plenty of inspiration; otherwise, it might have taken her ages to make any progress at all.
After Tsunade left, Orochimaru continued his own research.
But in his mind, he couldn't help thinking how fragile life was inside a manga—even with Sage Mode and the Eight Branches Technique, you still couldn't escape "death."
Of course,
Maybe in the comics Orochimaru didn't actually die, but being sealed away was practically the same. And that chaotic, messy reincarnation space made him feel genuinely queasy now.
"Forget it. No way am I ever turning into something like that—a ghostly mess."
The young Orochimaru muttered inwardly.
Thinking this, he put the manga aside and then cast a knowing glance toward the opposite door—only to lock eyes with Dan watching from the other side.
Orochimaru nodded slightly, smirking all the while.
He and Dan weren't particularly close. Although Akaba had drawn "him" this way in the manga, he definitely stood on Akaba's side regarding this matter—and even subtly gave it a little push forward.
For instance, sending a Snake Clone to Akaba in advance.
Akaba hadn't received any news yet, though Tsunade had indeed paid him a visit. After blowing off some steam, he compensated her with some money as gambling funds, successfully glossing over the crisis.
Overall, it had been risky, but ultimately harmless.
However, next he simultaneously received messages from both Orochimaru and the Anbu.
One message was from Orochimaru. The other, from Anbu, concerned Danzo. The negotiations with the Rock ninja village had gone through, and Danzo had returned to the village.
"The Teacher has come back and insists I head over to the Anbu. Could it be that escorting the Jinchuriki will require my personal attendance too?"
Akaba thought briefly, then got up and washed up.
Regardless, he still needed to go to the Anbu headquarters anyway—to learn more about the Rock ninja village's conditions and demands.
As for Danzo, upon his return he went directly to the Anbu, then immediately proceeded to the Hokage Tower to report the situation and finalize the deal struck with the Rock ninja village, since it ultimately required The Third's approval.
In the Hokage Tower,
Danzo sat in a chair in front of The Third's desk, idly flipping through a manga volume, while The Third read through his just-finished mission report.
This manga had originally been given by The Third.
At first, Danzo hadn't taken it seriously, but as he read further, unease gradually filled his heart.
Does every good deed go to The Third while I get stuck doing all the dirty work?
"This brat really has gone too far!"
Danzo inwardly fumed.
Even if "Root's" current leader had become Homura Mitokado, any clear-eyed observer could tell who really led this shadowy faction—himself, Danzo Shimura. Once this manga spreads out, how could he possibly maintain a positive reputation among common villagers?
On second thought, however, those were indeed the types of dark and dirty deeds he'd performed himself. If such an incident involving the Uchiha clan happened, even he would suspect himself as the primary culprit.
Danzo's mood grew complicated. Although he certainly harbored ambitions toward the Hokage title, his deeper motivation was truly to make Konoha stronger—with the Hokage position merely an additional goal.
Yet viewed from this perspective, playing the role of darkness like this—how could the villagers ever truly embrace him?
He let out a soft sigh and put down the Manga Books. "Do you think it's possible to awaken the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan on the Uchiha side?"
"This kind of power seems to only pass between brothers; we probably can't make it happen."
The Third shook his head.
The report was finished. It basically talked about Iwa promising gold and iron supplies, plus obtaining five Earth Release techniques that Konoha lacked but were fairly practical.
These were just material exchanges. Other than that, in terms of trade and strategic deals, Konoha gained most of the advantages due to the presence of Jinchuriki.
Danzo put down the Manga Books and said, "Out of these five techniques, three are B-ranked and two are C-ranked. The scrolls for those C-ranked techniques have already been obtained and now stored within Anbu. As for these strategic alliances, we only need to take a look at Cloud Village's offer, but there shouldn't be any issues with Sand and Amegakure cooperation."
"Hmm. Cloud is powerful; even Rock wouldn't dare confront them directly. If Cloud decides to wage war against Konoha, they won't assist us in resisting them."
Among ninja villages, many written agreements weren't trustworthy. However, from other aspects alone, Konoha had already profited greatly.
Rock could do nothing about it.
What else could they do? We launched an operation, failed to find our target, while Konoha captured them directly.
We just had to accept this loss.
But it was easy to imagine that Roshi might face some trouble upon returning—minor consequences might mean house arrest, whereas more severe repercussions could lead to being replaced as the host and even death.
Danzo roughly explained everything before smacking the Manga Books and saying, "I have something else to attend to. I'll take my leave first."
"This volume of manga is yours."
The Third smirked faintly; having his student mock him like this surely felt delightful.
Danzo irritably threw the manga back.
Not letting Sarutobi see him ridiculed, he calmly stated, "Akaba seems alright on his own, but if your apprentice ever draws you into his stories, then you'd truly become the laughingstock."
"Cough cough... How could that possibly happen?"
The Third had just taken a puff of his cigarette when he choked after being startled by what Danzo said. What Danzo referred to was undoubtedly Jiraiya. If he were to make a cameo appearance in the Icha Icha series, his hard-earned reputation would really be destroyed.
Jiraiya was indeed unreliable, but...
Could that really happen?
Seriously? Could that actually happen?
Impossible!
The more he thought about it, the less confident he became. Since Jiraiya hadn't undergone much refinement yet, whether or not he'd actually do such a thing remained uncertain.
By then, Danzo had long slipped away.
Who even lets their opponent get a word in after throwing the last punch? The trick to winning a verbal fight was to throw your jab and walk away—no time for comebacks.
Of course, saying he wasn't annoyed at all would be lying.
Danzo definitely had ambitions for the Hokage seat—a grudge dating back to the old exam question from the Second. He always believed he had acted too cowardly back then, which caused him to miss out on the position by a hair's breadth.
However, speaking objectively, it was entirely the teacher's overthinking.
Senju Tobirama, being such a smart man, wouldn't have chosen the next successor on the spur of the moment. He probably had already decided on the candidate beforehand—the exam question was just the final test.
Right from the beginning, Danzo didn't have much chance.
Previously, Anbu had already sent someone to look for Akaba, so instead of going to the manga shop, he returned directly to Anbu headquarters.
Akaba had been waiting for a while. Although he had gone back to the manga shop in between, the Flying Thunder God technique's speed was definitely much faster than Danzō's running back and forth.
After waiting a long time, Danzō finally returned.
As Danzō entered, he saw the open window above Akaba. Blinding sunlight poured in through the opening, causing him to instinctively narrow his eyes.
"Teacher, it's too dark here."
"Close it—it's too bright."
Danzō shielded his eyes—entering Anbu headquarters with all this light felt like an insult to his love of darkness.
Akaba reluctantly closed the window as instructed.
Danzō sat down and said with irritation, "Finished reading everything?"
"Hehe, I just flipped through a bit—not much at all."
There were only three pages on the table.
One described resource exchanges, while the other two detailed [Earth Release] ninjutsu. Danzō truly was impressive—the conditions alone were already quite generous.
"Read as much as you want—it's going to be yours sooner or later anyway. But since I haven't wiped out the Uchiha yet, maybe someday you'll be the one giving orders to exterminate the clan."
Danzō kept his expression cold, hiding his thoughts, but his displeasure practically burst from his words—anyone could hear how unhappy he was.
He just got back! How could he have finished reading all that already?
Akaba inwardly sighed regretfully but wasn't really afraid—he didn't sense any malice from Danzō, so most likely these words were meant as teasing.
His eyes flickered with thought, then he flattered slightly, saying, "No way—I expect you to age like fine wine. The Anbu position will always be yours."
"Do you expect me to always do the dirty work?"
Danzō shot back, annoyed, then pulled another note from beneath some papers and tossed it over.
Akaba glanced at it. It was a request for assistance from Ebizō.
"Confirm this: Madara has already controlled the Third Kazekage. You're a genjutsu master—if we let you control Sankai, would you be able to maintain long-term control secretly and without notice?"
Danzō asked seriously.
When it came to genjutsu, Akaba was the strongest within Konoha, so upon reading the note, Danzō immediately summoned him.
Akaba thought for a few seconds before replying, "Not difficult. Since Shamon recently had an incident, Sankai must have considerable psychological weaknesses. Furthermore, back then Madara could even control Bijū, so there must be some techniques allowing control without constant supervision."
Danzō placed the note down, pondering deeply before slowly nodding.
If that was the case, mentioning only Madara's survival should be enough for Ebizō to understand his meaning.
He wrote another note and handed it to one of his Anbu ninja before speaking again to Akaba, "We'll need to return the jinchuriki in a few days. Since you have the Flying Thunder God technique, which allows quick escapes, please handle the escort mission."
Akaba naturally had no objections.
Do you want to ask for a beating later?
Besides, among Konoha's forces, few ninja could protect a jinchuriki properly—especially against threats like Black Zetsu or Madara. Only the Flying Thunder God technique seemed capable of escaping either of them.
Still, after agreeing, Akaba casually added, "[Spirit Transformation Technique] proved extremely useful during the fight with Sunagakure. Is there any possibility of spreading its use more widely?"
"Not easily. If it could be spread, we would've done so already."
Danzō shook his head.
Yet Akaba's mention reminded him—they actually still had another ninja in the village who could use the [Spirit Transformation Technique].
Dan Kato
Though just a ninja, his abilities would indeed prove useful if they were to fight against Sunagakure.
"Alright."
Akaba didn't mention Dan. Hearing this reply, he changed the subject, chatted briefly, then made an excuse and returned to the manga shop.
In the Land of Wind, a small group quietly followed the Kazekage toward a hidden location.
This was where Shukaku was imprisoned.
Monk Bunpuku sat in the confinement area reciting sutras. Upon hearing footsteps, he paused briefly—the rhythm of his wooden clapper faltered for a moment before he resumed chanting.
Chiyo glanced at Sankai. Seeing he had no intention of speaking, she stepped forward. "Master Bunpuku."
"May I finish reciting this final passage?" Master Bunpuku smiled calmly.
He knew clearly why Sankai and others had come—they carried killing intent, likely intending to extract Shukaku from his body.
As a monk, he did not fear death.
But if they got their hands on Shukaku, it'd turn into a weapon that could destroy countless lives. He didn't want that to happen—not at all.
After reciting what would be his final scripture, he opened his palms. On one hand was the mark for "receive," on the other, "heart." Together, they spelled "love."
"Master, you have restrained Shukaku for over a decade safeguarding the Land of Wind. Sunagakure will never forget your service. Your temple shall forever have offerings and prayers," Sankai said indifferently.
"Fragrant incense, fame, and profit are but fleeting illusions. My only hope is that you will not use Shukaku to bring about excessive bloodshed—I would be content with that alone," replied Monk Bunpuku as he clasped his hands together.
"Today isn't my doom, but my day of deliverance—the breaking of my cage. I only ask that you suppress your malice in the future and spare innocent lives from suffering."
The first half addressed the Kazekage; the latter half was directed toward the Shukaku within.
Such was the compassion of a true monk.
Everyone fell silent except Sankai.
After a long silence, a furious roar erupted from within the chamber—it was Shukaku. Yet gradually, even that sound faded away, clearly subdued.
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