Honestly, if he had ideas to share, Akaba wasn't short on them.
Institutions like residents' committees and village representatives from his past life could all be directly applied here.
But would any of them actually stick?
Right now, the Military Police is seriously undermanned. Their jurisdiction doesn't even cover nearby villages, let alone distant ones. In this situation, who would actually listen?
So what's the point of even bringing it up?
["I've Awakened the Kaleidoscope Sharingan."]
Motonami Uchiha said calmly. "If there's another opportunity, I hope we can continue cooperating."
"That goes without saying. I'm always your loyal ally."
Akaba replied with a fake smile.
"Hehehe, indeed. Regarding the matter of the Military Police later, I also hope the Sakuma Clan can lend its support."
Motonami Uchiha laughed.
At that moment, the genjutsu lifted, and both sides shook hands with smiling faces.
Looking at this scene, who could imagine that just months ago their clans almost came to blows over story conflicts?
"Oh right, I might as well grab some manga on my way back."
Seeing the new releases, Motonami Uchiha casually strolled into the store. He specifically glanced at the corner where several copies of *Make-Out Tactics* were placed.
However,
After checking the covers, he confirmed there were no new issues out yet, so he quickly shifted his gaze and picked about a dozen freshly updated volumes.
Grabbing volume 11 of *Chronicles of the Hokage*, Motonami Uchiha flipped through a few pages.
He was hoping for something wilder further in the story.
But after flipping around a bit, all he saw were stories unrelated to the Uchiha clan. Although Uchiha Sasuke did appear, it didn't interest him much.
What caught his attention instead was Gaara.
[*A Jinchuriki, huh.*]
Motonami Uchiha hadn't seen much real combat before, but he'd heard of Sunagakure's tailed beast powers.
Controlling sand!
Truly ruthless.
Thinking like this, he couldn't blame the Five Great Nations for targeting the Uzumaki Clan.
Their physical endurance and sealing arts were unmatched in all the lands, and they never had to worry about their tailed beasts' opinions once sealed inside them.
Every other village's jinchuriki suffer—so why does Konoha have it so easy?
Thinking this way, it wasn't surprising that the Uzumaki Clan never joined Konoha. Their destruction was only a matter of time.
At this moment, Motonami Uchiha wholeheartedly supported Konoha.
"I'm off."
"Don't forget to talk to my Clan Leader about those matters mentioned earlier. Don't come looking for me."
Akaba called out.
These jonin vanished quicker than a gust of wind. Hesitate for a second, and you'd miss them completely.
Motonami Uchiha waved to indicate he understood.
For matters like this, naturally one should speak directly with the clan leader. However, everyone in their respective clans clearly knew Akaba's future position as clan head was basically decided.
After finishing their conversation, Yamano Izumi had already disappeared without a trace, probably heading toward the Senju Clan.
Once the books were delivered, everything here was basically finished.
Akaba pondered for a moment before heading home to inform his clan about what had happened.
Previously, he would've had to seek out the clan leader himself.
But now his old man had become the Elder, and right when he got home, Sakuma Chiaki was still around. It looked like the clan hadn't caught wind of it yet, so he filled Chiaki in on everything he'd talked about with Motonami Uchiha.
When it came to politics and power plays, Sakuma Chiaki was surprisingly slow on the uptake. After listening, he didn't have many special thoughts—he simply felt a bit shocked.
It wasn't until someone came looking for him soon after, saying it was time for a meeting, that he finally started to realize things.
This matter was pretty serious.
Sakuma Chiaki hurried away, while Akaba casually grabbed a few more bites of food before leaving.
Normally after lunch, he would take a nap.
But now that he'd just mastered [the Strength of a Hundred Seal] technique, in order to guarantee one-hit knockout ability against speed-type ninja in the future, he must keep practicing this skill.
With enough physical quality, chakra reserves, and control ability, learning the Strength of a Hundred Seal technique wasn't difficult at all. Therefore, Akaba didn't plan on waiting for Tsunade's manga debut.
This particular point system could be completely skipped.
There was already a perfect training spot right nearby. Stepping into the woods, Akaba began punching repeatedly, practicing his monstrous strength.
His newly-learned monstrous strength naturally couldn't compare with Tsunade's yet—it was basically a low-end version. Right now, each punch left only a small crater.
However, after practicing for a while, he gradually found some knack.
As long as his chakra control was sufficient, once past the initial stage of mastering the Strength of a Hundred Seal technique, improvement would come quickly. After this session, Akaba felt his monstrous strength had reached about the same level Tsunade had possessed upon graduating from ninja school.
Just as he was preparing to practice more, suddenly he heard breathing sounds.
Akaba immediately turned around—seeing both Tsunade and Kyoyuki standing behind him, peeking out from behind trees.
Needless to say, they must've found him thanks to Kyoyuki's sensory abilities.
"What are you two doing?"
Akaba said irritably. Hiding like that without even hiding properly—they deliberately stuck their heads out like this, practically flaunting themselves openly!
"Hehe, we heard from grandma you were practicing your monstrous strength, so we came to check how you're doing."
Tsunade scratched her head.
The mark between her brows became increasingly noticeable—the chakra accumulated inside her Yin Seal was growing stronger.
Akaba glanced at little Kyoyuki.
She hadn't started cultivating the Yin Seal yet, probably because her chakra reserves were still too limited at her young age to safely accumulate energy within the Yin Seal.
No, wait—this girl had a hidden smile in her eyes and eyebrows. Most likely, she knew something else!
Akaba understood this clearly in his heart but didn't actively ask questions. Instead, he changed the subject, waiting for Tsunade to reveal what good thing had happened.
"I also ran into something really good. Guess what it is?"
Tsunade couldn't hold things back easily. Just like whenever she gambled and got great cards, her expression would show obvious excitement—you could instantly tell she held bombs in hand.
Same as always. [Tsunade sighed, shaking her head.]
Guess? Yeah, right!
Akaba smirked, rolled up his sleeves again, and continued training—completely ignoring her.
"Hahaha, I told you sis, this method won't work on him!"
Little Kyoyuki laughed happily.
Earlier, she had already said that Akaba wouldn't fall for this act at all.
"I signed a Summoning Contract!"
Tsunade sat down with a huff, then extended her hand—an average-sized slug slowly crawling across her palm.
"A slug?"
Akaba moved closer, instinctively blurting out.
"Who do you think I am?! I'm the sacred slug sage from Shikkotsu Forest!"
The slug angrily retorted.
Granted, it was technically a slug, but Shikkotsu Forest was one of the Three Sacred Lands—how could you treat such a noble creature as an ordinary slug?
"My apologies, my apologies."
Akaba muttered a half-hearted apology before scrutinizing Katsuyu closely.
According to the manga, Shikkotsu Forest differs from the other two Sacred Lands—for example, when Tsunade summons this entity, it's actually part of Sage Katsuyu.
Therefore, both its powers and awareness are extensions of Sage Katsuyu.
The key difference is that the more chakra Tsunade channels, the bigger the summoned slug gets. This was only a demonstration, so Tsunade used just a tiny bit of chakra, producing a slug no larger than a fingertip.
Being stared at made Katsuyu uncomfortable, causing it to crawl back and forth across Tsunade's palm, trying to avoid Akaba's gaze.
This creep's definitely a total perv!
It silently grumbled to itself.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Akaba couldn't help asking, "Honorable Katsuyu, I'm really curious—what exactly is your clan's Sage Mode like?"
All three Sacred Lands are ruled by Sages, yet strangely enough, the Katsuyu clan has never produced anyone with Sage Mode.
Earlier, while staring at Katsuyu, he had been wondering what their Sage Mode might look like.
Covered in snot and healing like crazy?
Or would it split itself into clones and become immune to physical damage?
The more he thought, the more curious he became!
"Sage Mode? Little boy, you sure know quite a bit."
Katsuyu expressed surprise—after all, not many people even knew about Sage Mode. After a moment's thought, it recalled something and asked, "Tsunade, his summoning beast is Yumekuma?"
Tsunade nodded.
Instantly, Katsuyu showed disgust, muttering, "A bunch of shameless thieves! Always running wild and wreaking havoc across the world—that's probably why the original contract signer picked Yumekuma!"
[Tsk...]
So annoying—they won't even talk to me directly anymore.
Akaba sighed inwardly.
Still, Tsunade herself couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is Sage Mode anyway?"
"Explaining the specifics might take a while—I'll tell you later."
Unwilling to elaborate further, Katsuyu cast another glance at Akaba before vanishing quickly.
"Big brother was too impolite."
Kyoyuki found amusement in the situation.
Akaba felt rather helpless.
He admitted the initial misunderstanding was on him, but this kind of hostility later was totally because of the Yumekuma Clan's rotten reputation.
He didn't know much about the Yumekuma, nor did he understand why they were disliked—it was clear in the end: being hated by the Sage of Shikkotsu Forest meant there was no chance of receiving any blessings.
For someone as extremely risk-averse as Akaba, lacking this healer-like protection wasn't exactly pleasant.
Tsunade felt somewhat embarrassed. After a brief silence, she said, "Well, I'll try talking to it later."
"It's fine, fine."
Kabuto waved his hand carelessly, saying "Forget it," and advised, "I heard about Sage Mode from Yumekuma. If possible, you'd better learn it from Shikkotsu Forest."
Sage Mode was simply too powerful.
After both Kabuto and Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, their strength had increased immensely—beyond comparison.
"I'll go ask about it."
Tsunade nodded. She didn't fully understand Sage Mode herself, so she couldn't determine the exact situation.
At this point, they could only wait for Katsuyu to explain.
But for Akaba, one benefit stood out clearly—
He didn't have to stress over how to keep writing the manga anymore!
Previously, Akaba had been really anxious—if Tsunade hadn't completed summoning her beast yet but the illustration already appeared early, that would create a huge problem.
"Originally, I planned to hold off after the destruction of Konoha, wait and see how things went once Tsunade obtained a summoning beast. If necessary, I could always pull her in with some fabricated reason."
Now, there's no need to wait.
"When I return, I can update faster. I should earn some points before the war begins."
Akaba mused inwardly.
Manga is different from weapons—there's no way to make money during wartime.
Once war breaks out and most Jonin head off to battle, where's he gonna get points then?
"I'll leave first and check what's going on."
Tsunade was in such a rush she couldn't even pay attention to Akaba anymore.
"little kyoyuki, I'm staying at Onee-sama's tonight!"
Little kyoyuki gave a little wave and left.
"Go ahead, go ahead."
Akaba waved back.
Sealing techniques are tough. Even though the Uzumaki clan were raised on seal training from childhood, truly mastering them was still incredibly hard.
After seeing the sealing technique scroll firsthand, now he finally got it—why each generation of the Uzumaki clan had gotten weaker and weaker. Without real guidance, all they had were books and whispered teachings. There's no way anyone could truly master high-level sealing that way!
The manga showed that when Uzumaki Village was destroyed, half of their sealing heritage was already lost.
It wasn't until Uzumaki Kushina moved to Konoha that she really started learning serious sealing from Mito Uzumaki. As for others, what were they really capable of?
And Nagato? He barely knew any sealing skills worth mentioning.
Kayla learned quite a few, but they came from Orochimaru, not from the Uzumaki family itself.
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