Orochimaru said, "Try again."
His voice sounded hoarse.
He hadn't rested for two straight days, constantly trying to figure out how to maximize this technique.
"Mm."
Akaba formed hand seals and mist rose around him.
In that instant, three kunai were thrown.
[Wind Release: Great Gust]!
Orochimaru performed the hand seals quickly, dispersing the mist with his jutsu. But as the wind swept through the fog, one kunai split into three. At the same time, three or four shadowy figures burst from the mist. Their outlines were blurry and indistinguishable.
The gust ended and the mist gathered again.
Yet at that moment,
Akaba appeared in an entirely unexpected spot, as if he'd teleported.
"It worked!"
Orochimaru signaled for Akaba to stop attacking.
Akaba stopped, breathing a bit harder.
He hadn't pulled two all-nighters, but he'd definitely been up for over 24 hours straight.
All the training had left him slightly dazed.
"How was the effect?"
After resting briefly, Akaba stood up.
"Not bad. Basically achieved what we wanted."
Orochimaru drank some water to relieve fatigue, then thought for a moment before adding, "This jutsu has high practical value. I suggest turning it in to the village."
"Turn it in to the village? Are they gonna give me 500 ryō and a fancy award banner for that?"
Akaba said casually.
"Huh?"
Orochimaru paused momentarily, not quite understanding what Akaba meant by "fancy banner."
After thinking it over, he replied, "They probably won't offer money or banners like you said, but there might be other benefits."
"Cough. Like I'd ever care about a few measly coins."
Akaba coughed lightly.
"Oh sure..."
Orochimaru stayed silent for a moment, then turned toward his quarters.
"Hey? Wait, let me treat you to dinner."
"No need. Right now, I just want to sleep."
Orochimaru replied calmly.
As a ninja, staying awake for two or three days wasn't a problem. Still, staying laser-focused for so long—helping Akaba polish the technique and spot flaws—was exhausting no matter how sharp Orochimaru usually was.
"Well, actually, I'm tired too."
Akaba drooped his head. For someone like him, twenty-four hours without rest felt like torture.
Luckily, he'd finished—
his first self-developed ninjutsu, so to speak.
But just as he returned to the village, the Hokage's guard arrived.
"Sakuma Akaba, the Third requests your presence."
"That fast?"
Akaba blinked in surprise. The Third's timing felt a bit too opportunistic—he didn't even get time to breathe before being called in.
"Yes, please come right away."
With that, the guard turned and walked off.
Thinking for a moment, Akaba realized the Third wouldn't move this fast unless this wasn't just about taking credit—it must be something else.
And that something...
"Oh right, today Naruto updates. Oh my memory!"
Akaba smacked his forehead.
So focused on the experiment, he completely forgot it was update day.
Not only that, Volume 8 had reached Chapter 43. Just two days ago, they made serious progress—seven chapters released in one go!
Because of that, Volume 9 had jumped straight to Chapter 50.
As the main villain of the early arcs, Orochimaru would finally make his grand entrance in this volume.
Until the human experiments were exposed, Orochimaru had always been The Third's prized asset. No wonder the village had now turned against him.
"It seems related to this after all."
Akaba could only turn around and head toward the Hokage Tower.
No choice; the Hokage ruled the village.
As he walked toward the Hokage Tower, he soon met a familiar face.
"Hey, Akaba!"
Shishio waved at him from about ten steps away.
He quickly ran over and pulled out today's latest manga chapter, excitedly saying, "You actually drew Orochimaru today, and he looks so cool! That makeup!"
"He looks cool, right? I think so too."
Akaba felt tickled pink. Uncle Orochi in the manga truly looked amazing—different in some ways from his anime portrayal.
Therefore, he had no choice but to go through all this trouble.
"It's cool and all, though it doesn't quite match Orochimaru's vibe."
Shishio smiled slightly as he said that.
Obviously, he wasn't paying much attention to the fact that in the manga, Orochimaru was already a rogue ninja.
But even if he'd seen it, he probably wouldn't care much.
Compared to his image in the manga, he trusted more in the Orochimaru he personally knew.
Could Orochimaru really become a rogue ninja?
The Third's disciple, soon-to-be promoted Chunin genius, the shining star among villagers, destined for Jonin rank.
With so many titles to his name, who could possibly believe such a claim?
"That's exactly why I must visit the honorable Third now."
Akaba shrugged helplessly and added jokingly, "Guess that's how it has to be."
"Huh?"
Shishio was stunned for a moment but then noticed Akaba really was heading toward the Hokage Tower.
Looks like it was true.
He scratched his head, not fully understanding what just happened.
When Akaba reached the building, he looked up and saw The Third standing upstairs, watching him from above.
He waved, then ascended from the first floor until reaching the office.
"Come in."
The Third hadn't closed the door or turned around, but he knew it must be Akaba.
After all, who else would stroll around the Hokage Tower so leisurely?
Akaba bowed slightly as he asked, "Hokage-sama, you summoned me?"
"Akaba, why did you portray Orochimaru like this?"
A vein throbbed on The Third's forehead. "That Kabuto is his subordinate too, isn't he? And even the Village Hidden in Sound?"
"Because the plot needed a villain. Before drawing, I asked Orochimaru for permission—he agreed to take on this role, so I drew him accordingly."
Akaba answered honestly.
"Just that simple?"
The Third looked unhappy. This was his most valued disciple—the one who became the major villain in the manga and eventually defected from the village.
"Exactly that simple. It's not like there's some complicated reason."
Akaba sighed.
Though the real reason wasn't entirely like that, it essentially boiled down to something very straightforward. There was no need for such a fuss—it didn't even let him catch a wink of sleep.
The Third sat down, his expression slightly easing.
He flipped a page and pointed at Sasuke Uchiha: "Then what about the Uchiha clan?"
"For the storyline—they became orphans."
Akaba awkwardly replied. Even he himself didn't really believe this excuse.
"Hmph!"
The Third snorted coldly.
That line might not pull wool over anyone's eyes—but certainly not the Third's.
"Alright, you know, Lord Third, how many new Sharingan have awakened in the Uchiha clan recently?"
Akaba said.
"Eight. That's according to Anbu records."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave an exact number, and by saying this, he clearly knew that Akaba was temporarily overseeing the Anbu.
Nodding, Akaba continued, "The Sharingan is a mirror of the soul—an eye that understands love, experiences loss, and through that loss comes to understand the true value of love. This kind of emotional stimulation enhances spiritual energy and eye evolution, but external triggers aren't necessarily limited to losing a loved one. This is just my personal theory."
Since no one had unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan after Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha, currently any mention of the Sharingan referred only to those below the three-tomoe level.
At the Mangekyo level, simple stimulation could no longer explain its awakening.
"I see."
The Third took a puff from his pipe, falling into thought.
What Akaba said made sense—otherwise there wouldn't suddenly be eight new Sharingan awakenings in the Uchiha compared to only three last year. The number had more than doubled.
He pondered for a moment before feeling a headache brewing.
It was good that the Uchiha were growing stronger—but unless their internal issues were resolved, things would still go wrong.
After thinking it over, the Third asked, "Since you're temporarily overseeing the Anbu, have you noticed any recent movements within the Uchiha clan?"
"No significant activity yet. We'll have to wait for new developments before we can observe anything further."
Akaba answered honestly.
"Hmm... It seems like Motonami Uchiha is planning something big."
The Third blew out a smoke ring, already having formed some guesses in his mind.
"Your wisdom never fails to impress me."
Akaba bowed slightly. "If nothing else, I'll take my leave first."
Waving his pipe casually, the Third chuckled, "No rush, no rush. Sit down with me first and tell me about your new jutsu."
"Not helping even though you watched us work nonstop for a full day and night—you show up just in time to reap the rewards! This isn't what a Hokage should do!"
Akaba muttered weakly—he'd known all along that the old man had been using the Telescope Technique to observe them for quite some time.
"Well, working it out yourselves makes the sense of achievement even greater, doesn't it?"
The Third smiled brightly.
"Not at all. At one point, I almost wanted to shout out and ask if you were even home."
Akaba's eyelid twitched visibly.
Ever since his past life, he hadn't worked this hard in a single day and night.
"Nonsense. Even if I were home, I wouldn't help. You've got solid ideas already—you're just missing some real-world testing and fine-tuning. And only through firsthand experience can you truly grasp those details."
The Third spoke very seriously.
The biggest issue with original techniques lay precisely in their lack of battlefield application, and sometimes such flaws could be deadly indeed.
"Tch. Then I'll officially submit the report on the new technique. Since you've already observed everything we did, you probably understand how it works. I won't bother going into details."
Akaba didn't believe for a second that the so-called God of Shinobi couldn't decipher it.
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'commendation banner,' but go ahead and make a request. If it's within my power, I'll grant it."
The Third mused for a moment before speaking.
"Really?"
Akaba's eyes lit up.
"Of course it's real."
"What I heard is that there are some Kinjutsu sealed by the First Hokage inside the Scroll of Seals..."
"I'm really interested in the jutsu inside the Scroll of Seals."
Akaba coughed lightly and said.
"No way. Those are precious and dangerous kinjutsu."
The Third replied solemnly.
"Just one technique—is that alright?"
"No!"
The Third stood firm. The techniques within the Scroll of Seals were far too dangerous. He'd never let any of them fall into the wrong hands.
Akaba felt somewhat regretful.
If he could take a look, he would definitely learn the Flying Thunder God technique first.
With that technique, he could place a formula at the manga shop, another at home, and draw one more for Sakumo and Shishio. Then they'd never have to walk again.
Too bad it's not possible.
After a pause, he said, "Then I just want to see the name. That's all I need. I believe there must be sealing techniques on it."
"Just the name?"
The Third was taken aback, completely unable to grasp the meaning behind this request.
What use would knowing only the names serve?
"Yes, just the name will be fine. I'm very curious what kind of kinjutsu the First Hokage left behind."
Akaba grinned.
The Third fell silent. Was he planning to use those names in his manga?
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>