Tsunade's medical skills had visibly improved, clearly showing that over a month of dedicated research hadn't gone to waste.
As for Orochimaru,
Akaba had the distinct feeling he was treating Might Duy entirely as an observation subject for physical development. Who knew what random data was scribbled inside that little notebook?
And besides that, was that notebook really filled exclusively with Might Duy's records?
Tough to say!
Just thinking about it gave Akaba goosebumps—he had a bad feeling that his own name had been logged in there somewhere too.
"Next time there's an easy patient like this, you have to let me know."
Tsunade had just finished her treatment, and her excitement still hadn't faded.
To her, this had been an extremely valuable therapeutic experience.
Thankfully, Might Duy's injuries weren't particularly severe. If he'd been severely injured or on the verge of death, she wouldn't have dared attempt treatment at all.
Now that she had succeeded once, she was eager to do it again.
Right now, Tsunade was practically dying to rush to the hospital and get her hands on more cases—internal injuries were still beyond her current confidence level.
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance soon enough."
Who wouldn't want a free doctor?
Besides, Tsunade's medical skill would eventually reach world-class levels. You could even proudly tell people later that Tsunade used to work as your school nurse.
Just imagining that would make anyone feel proud!
After returning from Might Duy's place, there wasn't much else to do for now.
Orochimaru and Tsunade naturally returned to their respective laboratories to continue their research—especially Tsunade, who had just completed a small "operation" and was bursting with research momentum, eager to stay in the lab as long as possible.
Akaba, meanwhile, focused on wrapping up preparations for the job fair.
It wasn't until the next day that he finally finished preparing everything needed for the event—he had barely gotten a few hours of sleep while preparing everything.
Back in the old days, he would've needed at least ten hours.
But after finishing promotional materials like recruitment posters and advertisements, and preparing to take them to the Hokage Tower for the Third's approval, he noticed a large notice hanging downstairs:
"Regarding the Establishment and Operational Details of the Ninja Preparatory Division."
Surrounding the notice were groups of ninja and villagers. Most of these ninja were from commoner backgrounds or minor clans—they didn't receive news quickly and couldn't keep up with high-level village decisions in real time.
"Preparatory Division? What kind of department is that?"
"Is it responsible for guiding newly graduated Genin? Another Ninja Academy?"
"What happens to our current system then?"
The existing model involved a Jonin personally mentoring three freshly graduated Genin, training and cultivating them directly. If a new Ninja Academy were established, this system would undoubtedly become outdated.
Compared to mass-produced ninja, those trained individually by Jonin were naturally far superior.
Given this point, many felt worried and resistant.
Meanwhile, others didn't fully grasp the new policy, confused and uncertain about its meaning.
This was the perfect advertising opportunity!
After a brief moment of consideration, Akaba stepped forward and pinned his advertisement onto the notice board using Senbon needles.
Then, he turned around. "Everyone, please quiet down."
Sakuma Akaba?
Those in front recognized him first, glancing toward the newly posted notice they'd just seen.
It looked like Sakuma Akaba's name was listed under the Preparatory Division.
Training Instructor!
The announcement had barely been posted when people began to notice. Everyone was surprised to learn that Sakuma Akaba, who wasn't even thirteen years old yet, had actually been appointed as a Training Instructor.
Regular villagers didn't know much about Sakuma Akaba. To them, he was simply an adolescent prodigy and already a famous manga artist, without realizing his achievements as a ninja.
But for shinobi, it was different.
He was the only one directly promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin during the First Chunin Exams, the fastest promotion after the war, and also Danzo's disciple.
With so many accolades behind him, there seemed nothing wrong with him holding this position. Still, deep down the chunin felt uncomfortable—something just didn't feel right about someone so young becoming their instructor.
"I'll temporarily take charge of the Preparatory Division's preparations and recruitments," he announced. "Any questions? Ask away—I'll cover everything. Also tomorrow morning, I will be conducting teacher recruitment activities at Jiegengcheng for the Preparatory Division. Jonin-level shinobi and above are welcome to apply."
After saying that, "Sakuma Akaba" sat back down like he was already ready for the flood of questions.
From within the crowd, a figure slowly withdrew.
"Phew, everything should go smoothly. Poor clone—it's got its hands full."
Using Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself, Sakuma Akaba finally wriggled free from the gathering. Once outside, he took several deep breaths.
Too many people!
Sending a silent wish of good luck to his clone, he then entered the Hokage Tower. He still needed the Third to review these recruitment details.
Hiruzen was upstairs. At such a short distance, he didn't even need the Telescope Technique—he could see Sakuma Akaba clearly from the window explaining patiently to both ninja and villagers below.
Sensing Sakuma Akaba step in, he cheerfully turned around and said, "Great job! You explained everything perfectly."
"You keep saying you want to help me, but you never clearly explained what the Preparatory Division even does. You're just making more work for me!"
Sakuma Akaba stepped in, wanting badly to throw the documents away, though he just thought about it.
Dusting off the papers, he laid the posters and documents neatly on the table. "This is the recruitment poster I prepared, along with schedules for the job fair starting tomorrow."
"Mm, I understand. I'll talk to Shinnosuke on your behalf."
Hiruzen gave a slight nod after glancing over the papers and pulled another scroll from beneath the pile, handing it to Sakuma Akaba.
"What's this?"
Sakuma Akaba unrolled it; the scroll bore familiar coded encryption. After releasing the seal, text appeared:
It was a battle report.
Konoha's hidden shinobi had officially encountered an attack from Mist rogue-nin identified only as "rogue ninja." Neither side showed their real identities, and after a fierce battle, Konoha's forces emerged victorious.
However, this was merely the beginning.
With the first shot fired, the war across the Land of Whirlpools had officially started.
"How are the Uzumaki doing?"
Sakuma Akaba couldn't help but ask.
Truth be told, the Uzumaki clan no longer held any real benefit for him anymore, but he still had a little girl at home and Mito Uzumaki constantly watching over him from above—he asked out of genuine concern.
"Although we warned them beforehand, by the time the Uzumaki clan mobilized, ninja from other villages had already surrounded Uzumaki Village."
Hiruzen shook his head gravely. Then he pulled out a map.
It was a map of the Land of Whirlpools.
He traced a red line around Uzumaki Village and marked several small circles outside of it.
Akaba had been to the Land of Whirlpools before and knew the situation well.
So when he saw the map, he let out a sharp breath through his teeth.
From the inside out, Uzumaki Village was locked in as tight as an iron drum—Not even a jonin, much less an entire clan, could break free from within.
Unless an attack coordinated from both inside and outside created a breakthrough.
"According to intelligence reports from Uzumaki Village, Cloud ninja, Mist ninja, Rock ninja, and Rain ninja are all involved. The entire Ninja World hopes for Uzumaki's downfall."
The Third sighed softly and handed over another report.
Akaba took it and glanced at it.
Sunagakure had mobilized, with Sankai personally leading the mission, entering the Land of River from the Land of Wind. However, their numbers weren't large, and the Hyūga clan hiding in the mountains hadn't detected any sign of infiltration.
"Probably just a scouting run."
"Hmm, if we were unprepared, they'd definitely try carving off a piece of territory from the Land of River."
The Third nodded slightly.
The Land of River was extremely weak—lacking its own ninja village, it was filled entirely with foreign ninjas and wandering shinobi.
Had it not been located between Fire and Wind countries, it would have long been swallowed by the Land of Wind.
"Still, we cannot rule out the possibility that they'll seize the opportunity to plunder. Although Sunagakure's Second Kazekage is currently missing in action, their Puppet Technique and Medical Jutsu might have transformed him into a form that preserves most of his combat strength. If we naively assume their Second Kazekage no longer exists, we could suffer major consequences."
Akaba pondered for a moment but still felt the Second Kazekage posed a potential threat.
After all, Sunagakure remained shrouded in mystery, possessing many techniques never yet revealed to the world. It wasn't impossible they had gone that far.
At this point, the Third continued coldly, "If they truly make a move, then we can only send someone to release their Bijū."
The power of the Uchiha was a double-edged sword.
In the past, they feared using it, but now that the Uchiha had pledged loyalty, combined with Motonami Uchiha awakening his Kaleidoscope Sharingan, they could fully release Shukaku, commanding it to destroy Sunagakure and resolve the matter at its root.
The idea came partly thanks to Akaba's manga.
At the start of the manga, someone could release and control Kyūbi; similarly, they could use that method to unleash Shukaku.
When it came to sealing techniques, no one surpassed Uzumaki or Konoha.
If they truly targeted the jinchūriki, Shukaku would definitely be unleashed—an enraged and unstable Shukaku that wouldn't spare Sunagakure even without provocation from the Uchiha.
Even if the Second Kazekage had transformed himself, his power must have weakened somewhat, making it impossible to resist Shukaku's force.
What a ruthless move!
Akaba inwardly trembled with shock. If Sunagakure really deployed all its elites, Konoha could secretly send Uchiha-led jonin to infiltrate, potentially destroying half of Suna's homeland.
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