"Hokage-sama, this is a report from Sakuma Akaba regarding the Preparatory Division."
A Chunin entered the office.
He was one of the guards stationed at the door, holding a scroll in his hand.
"Akaba?"
The Third hesitated slightly before accepting the scroll.
He only needed to glance at it once before he called out to the departing ninja.
"Wait a second."
Then, the Third quickly formed hand seals and used the Telescope Technique to look downstairs.
The gatekeeper was still there.
"Heh, just kidding, just kidding,"
Akaba sheepishly returned to his original form.
"You cheeky brat — trying to pull one over on me?"
The Third sneered.
Today's freshly updated Naruto manga lay on the desk, its pages clearly marked by eager fingers flipping through them.
But now, he didn't mention anything about the manga. He read the content of the report seriously, though he couldn't quite understand what it meant after going through it completely.
"What exactly are you up to this time?"
"A job fair — publicly recruiting qualified ninja instructors."
Akaba answered.
Hearing this, the Third frowned as though he'd aged ten years in an instant.
A job fair?
Such a system might disrupt the work assignments of the ninja ranks. He tapped the table irritably, his head already pounding. "Just tell me exactly what you're planning to do."
"It's simple. I don't know many people. The clan ninjas all have their own tasks already, so the only choice is to publicly recruit — selecting the most capable individuals."
Akaba pulled over a nearby stool.
Standing was too tiring. He had originally intended to escape unnoticed using the Transformation Jutsu, but since the Third had seen through him, he had no choice but to stay for the scolding.
This scolding was sure to drag on for at least half an hour.
"You've certainly got some clever ideas, kid. With things like this, you're making our jobs difficult."
The Third complained.
"I've considered it carefully. With the Military Police reform, some Chunins aren't keen on participating in those duties anymore. So my recruitment targets are primarily at the Chunin level. We won't need anyone above Tokubetsu Jonin for now."
Akaba himself was a Tokubetsu Jonin. If he recruited another Tokubetsu Jonin or higher, would he be giving orders or taking them?
Chunins worked fine.
They had more than enough ability while remaining below his rank, eliminating any issues with command authority.
"Fine then, as long as it's just a few positions, it shouldn't cause too much trouble."
The Third's brain throbbed painfully.
It wasn't only Akaba who worried about being given extra tasks — they were also afraid of Akaba causing more problems.
At the beginning of a war effort, and now this job fair business?
Plus he hadn't even settled the account with Shinnosuke yet. That boy had been running around doing missions nonstop ever since returning from the Chunin Exams.
Not long ago, he suddenly requested the creation of a Chakra Weapon using funds and blueprints.
Ninjas needing ninja tools was understandable. In fact, the Third even felt somewhat guilty — it was something a father should consider providing for his son, yet he'd overlooked it due to constant busyness.
However, when he saw that blueprint, all sense of guilt vanished.
Fashioning a frying pan from incredibly precious materials?
A weapon shaped like a frying pan? Now that's something you don't see every day!
There was no need to ask whose strange mind dreamed this up — the sheer absurdity all pointed straight to Akaba. As for the complete truth? The Third could only guess.
Not only that, but in the current manga storyline, he's about to meet his end.
Nope, can't go there—my head starts hurting again.
Seeing Hiruzen's expression darken further, Akaba quickly interjected, "Cool it. Don't get too worked up. Let's talk this out calmly—don't go triggering a hypertension attack."
"Hahaha, speaking of hypertension, I just happened to pick up an updated edition today. But when I saw my disciple trying to take my head, how could I not be furious? Am I really such a failure as a teacher?"
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the angrier he became, and he slammed the table instinctively.
"Lord Third, you can't focus solely on the fact that he wants to kill you while ignoring what came afterward."
Akaba couldn't help feeling unfairly judged.
Orochimaru might be evil, but his character is complex and ever-changing. His Konoha Destruction Plan wasn't simply about destroying Konoha or obtaining Sasuke—it ran much deeper.
"What are you talking about? All I see is my own disciple trying to kill me!"
Hiruzen exploded with rage.
He wouldn't listen to reason.
After a moment of silence, Akaba decided to defend himself from another angle: "Honestly, you never truly understood what Orochimaru wanted in the first place—just like you never really understood what Jiraiya wanted."
Did Orochimaru care about becoming Hokage?
In the manga, there was a time when he did.
But Akaba believed that, for the most part, he didn't.
After all, Orochimaru's true ambitions lay in immortality and exploring the vast world of ninja techniques.
Why would he care about the title of Hokage?
Most likely, the reason stemmed from Hiruzen himself—only he knew the depth and complexity of his expectations for Orochimaru.
...
Hiruzen fell silent.
"And furthermore, have you ever really tried to understand what Tsunade wanted?"
Akaba asked another question.
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained quiet—he had no answer.
Among his three disciples, he had paid the least attention to Tsunade because she was protected by the Senju clan and rarely needed his help. Then came Jiraiya. The one he focused on the most was always Orochimaru.
And yet, ironically, it was only after Danzo went on a mission to Sunagakure that he discovered that Orochimaru had been secretly collaborating with him, conducting research and experiments through Root's Anbu division.
Without another word, Hiruzen picked up the manga and resumed reading where he'd left off.
Although it was just a comic, the meaning within clearly reflected the author's intent—that was exactly why he felt so enraged.
His most cherished disciple betrayed the village and still dared to return with intentions to kill him and claim his head.
For a moment, he even questioned the very meaning of life.
What kind of pitiful teacher ends up in such a tragic situation?
After finishing the chapter, Hiruzen flipped to the last page—an author's note.
"During the Chunin Exams, I encountered a ninja from Taki. They say Taki Village is known for being peaceful—a peaceful village indeed—"
The afterword opened by recounting Akaba's encounter with a Taki ninja during the Chunin Exams.
It then proceeded to express personal views on peace, along with insightful commentary and explanation regarding the narrative's current state of affairs.
After absorbing everything, the Third Hokage sank into deep contemplation.
Of course, he wasn't thinking about Taki Village's so-called "peace."
If that so-called peaceful model really worked, wouldn't the whole ninja world have copied it already?
Instead, what occupied Hiruzen's thoughts was the issue concerning Uzumaki Village.
Just past the war, the Ninja World had enjoyed slightly over a year of peace. Each village's strength had barely begun to recover—this perfectly aligned with what Akaba had written in the manga.
Peace...was truly an elusive dream.
Not only that, but the Yashin Cult within...
After thinking for a while, he finally asked seriously, "The Taki ninja you mentioned who worships the Evil God possesses tremendous regeneration ability. Is that really true?"
"Exactly. He possesses a unique variation of chakra that accelerates his healing. To maintain this chakra, he has to torture people and carry out those Yashin rituals. Without those rituals, this power will gradually fade away."
Akaba naturally omitted the part where they intentionally allowed the killer to act freely, speaking only about Orochimaru's research results.
"Who'd have thought there would be such an evil sect within the Ninja World."
The Third inhaled sharply through his teeth.
"The Yashin Cult exists purely for slaughter. It has absolutely no other purpose.
What's most terrifying is that Konoha knew absolutely nothing about them previously."
"They might be acting cautiously, deliberately targeting small ninja villages with minimal operations, which makes them difficult to detect," Akaba explained.
"Indeed, beneath calm waters run hidden currents."
The Third sighed softly, then suddenly blurted out without apparent reason, "Akaba, would you like to become my disciple?"
"That wouldn't be appropriate."
Akaba froze for a moment.
He had secured Danzo's summoning contract and benefited greatly from his support. If he switched allegiance to the Third now, Danzo might become so enraged he'd suffer a cerebral hemorrhage.
"Hahaha, just kidding. Don't take it seriously," the Third laughed heartily.
Just now, while watching Akaba, he suddenly realized that Danzo hadn't been after Orochimaru at all initially—Danzo had been after Sakuma Akaba from the very beginning.
But when it came to Akaba's personality, only Danzo could handle him.
Thinking about this, the Third recalled his own son's frying pan.
Don't go there! His head was pounding again!
"Oh right, I met a student named Might Duy yesterday. His ninjutsu and genjutsu are extremely poor—the kind that couldn't even graduate. I'd like to specially request transferring him into the Preparatory Division's Taijutsu Specialized Group."
Since the Hokage was still the official head of the Ninja Academy, Might Duy's case needed approval from the Third.
The Third fell into contemplation for a moment, clearly unable to recall who Might Duy was.
There were far too many people—especially with each new generation producing more students than the last. How could he possibly remember them all?
Then he pulled out a record page from below and searched for quite some time before finally locating Might Duy's file.
"Poor at genjutsu, weak at ninjutsu... As for taijutsu... Hmm, his taijutsu isn't particularly impressive either, but his instructors mentioned he works extremely hard."
The Third read aloud from the records.
Then realization hit him, and his expression darkened instantly. Angrily, he asked, "You're not trying to train him in the Eight Gates, are you?"
[Eight Gates Release] had recently showed up in the manga not too long ago.
Naturally, everything in the manga was assumed to reflect Akaba's own views. While the Eight Gates technique certainly existed, and many people had theoretical conjectures and simulations about this jutsu, no one dared actually attempt it.
The cost was just too great!
"No, you've misunderstood. The Eight Gates aren't something you can open at will. Through our research, we discovered it requires some unknown talent. Our idea is simply to teach them effective taijutsu forms derived from our research."
Akaba immediately explained.
The Taijutsu Specialized Group didn't focus solely on teaching the Eight Gates technique. Since the Eight Gates was classified as Kinjutsu, its primary function was as a weapon deterrent.
The majority of people can actually learn other techniques, such as Silent Steps, Scoop Death, and later on, the Marine's Six Styles, and so on.
"I hope you'll take this seriously," The Third said, his voice heavy with warning. "Although physical techniques have a relatively smaller cost compared to Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, a single careless mistake might lead to permanent disability."
"As researchers, you must never take life lightly—yours or others'," Orochimaru continued gravely.
"I understand," Akaba lowered his head.
The development of Eight Gates must naturally progress step by step. Even Duy spent twenty years before truly mastering it. Despite having theoretical knowledge, they still had to be cautious when putting theory into practice.
If necessary, Akaba would even consider using Points to unlock Eight Gates.
"You should know what matters most. I'm somewhat confident in you regarding this matter. The key is Orochimaru—you must deliver my words to him."
Orochimaru continued to warn him earnestly.
"Got it. Well then, if there's nothing else—"
"Wait a moment. Don't rush off just yet. Shinnosuke has recently been working on a Chakra Weapon—I think it's worth your while to go check it out."
A Chakra Weapon?
Akaba instinctively recalled the scene from Desert Survival when Shinnosuke first obtained the Frying Pan [Chakra Weapon].
Did he make another frying pan!?
Thinking about it, now he could see why Orochimaru was so furious.
After all, an iceberg isn't formed in a day!
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