"Huh? Did something happen to you, Akaba?"
In the evening, Sakuma Chiaki returned home for dinner unusually. Ever since joining the Military Police and taking on the Elder role, he'd become busier and rarely dined at home.
Not having seen each other for a day, upon first sight, he immediately sensed that Akaba had changed somehow.
It was an indescribable feeling.
Before, Akaba had always felt somewhat stiff and disconnected from his surroundings, but that dissonance was gone now.
"Father, I've defeated Ido."
A slight smile appeared on Akaba's face.
Defeating "Ido" would trigger an evolution within his Bloodline Limit.
The Sakuma clan's ancient texts had recorded this phenomenon.
After concealing his Sharingan, Akaba himself could feel the advancement in his Kekkei Genkai.
Reduced spirit point consumption, faster execution, finer control over Five Senses Manipulation, and enhanced damage manifestation through Materialize Illusions into Reality—yet it still paled in comparison to the powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Sakuma Chiaki's eyes widened in shock. As he carefully probed Akaba's presence, he found his son's Spirit Points immense—greater even than his own, despite his mastery in genjutsu as a Tokubetsu Jonin.
Exactly matching the situation of an explosive increase in spirit power after defeating Ido!
He took a deep, trembling breath. "Never imagined… never imagined this! You did it all on your own. Earlier I was considering going to ask Lady Mito to intervene once you awakened."
"This morning when it started causing chaos, I forcefully killed it using Sealing Technique and my spiritual energy. Thinking back now, it really was dangerous, but fortunately everything ended smoothly."
Akaba naturally gave full credit to the Sealing Technique—it wasn't false modesty; he had truly relied heavily on it.
He even considered making "Ido" a separate entity, injecting forces like the Nine-Tails' chakra into it, then sealing it to create a pseudo-jinchuriki effect.
However, as an outsider facing a soul form with greater body compatibility than himself, Akaba didn't dare take such a risk. For safety's sake, eliminating it early proved wiser.
"I'll go inform the Clan Leader immediately. This is a monumental event for our entire clan!"
Sakuma Chiaki was filled with joy.
Major event for the entire clan?
Akaba hesitated momentarily—was consuming merely a severely weakened spiritual entity really that significant?
Just as he wanted to call his father back, Sakuma Chiaki had already vanished with Vanish in an Instant technique.
"Forget it," Akaba muttered under his breath, turning his focus inward instead.
Akaba let out a soft sigh before starting to adapt to his surging spirit power.
From one hundred thirty up to one hundred sixty-five—definitely not comparable levels.
With his current spirit energy, constructing simple Five Senses Manipulation illusions no longer required painting assistance—it could now be achieved solely through [Naraka View] technique.
That's right.
After devouring Ido and enhancing his spirit energy, [Naraka View] could now do more than affect five senses; injuries could also be materialized through the [Materialize Illusions into Reality] method.
Naturally, this new capability had yet to be tested in practice.
When Sakuma Chiaki returned, he brought back a crowd—a bunch of people including the Clan Leader, other Elders, and several senior family members followed closely behind.
Among them, Sakuma Chingen was especially excited. Upon approaching, he tightly gripped Akaba's hand, trembling all over, prompting concern from Akaba that perhaps the old man might get so thrilled he passed away from sheer joy—a fate known as ascending to the Sacred Mountain.
By morning, the entire village was buzzing with the news.
At the time, the village's highest-ranking officials were mostly absent—only The Third, Homura Mitokado, and a handful of other clan leaders remained.
The Sakuma clan had produced a genius who defeated Ido alone, bringing immense pressure upon many families—especially those that had previously been on par with the Sakuma clan.
The family was clearly planning to hold a grand ceremony, turning it into a major event for the entire clan. However, that very afternoon, The Third's men showed up.
A mission had arrived.
With things in the Land of Whirlpools escalating like this—and himself having grown significantly stronger—he couldn't see a way out of it now.
Akaba didn't decline. He followed an Anbu ninja to the office.
Inside the office, The Third rested his chin on his hand, studying a combat report.
"Hokage-sama."
Akaba greeted from the doorway, waiting for The Third to lift his head and motion him inside before stepping forward.
The Third turned the report toward him while speaking, "Akaba, you've been working hard maintaining those updates lately. How about getting out for some fresh air?"
"…"
Akaba wasn't sure where to start his sarcastic reply. As for the mission itself, he'd already mentally prepared himself—did it really need to be presented so indirectly?
He picked up the report and scanned it briefly.
Hmm?
This wasn't from Uzumaki Village—it was about the jinchuriki of Sunagakure Village from the Land of River being spotted in the Land of Wind!
"You believe their jinchuriki might come to the Land of River?"
Akaba's expression turned serious.
Since he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, logically speaking even Shukaku shouldn't pose too much of a threat. But the problem was that he absolutely couldn't reveal his Sharingan easily.
That was his ultimate trump card—his life insurance!
"Sunagakure is under new leadership. The Second Sand's whereabouts are unknown. We temporarily struggle to predict their next moves based on conventional reasoning, so we must make preparations ahead of time."
The Third took out a map marked with various icons.
It displayed battlefield positioning for the Land of River, showing Konoha's personnel distribution alongside Sunagakure and rogue ninja locations—including Orochimaru's group that defeated King Sand.
The Scouting Unit had departed over a month ago and probably understood the Land of River better than its own king by now.
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
Akaba somewhat failed to grasp the meaning. Was he being sent to the Land of River to fight against Suna-nin?
But if they deployed Shukaku, unless he used the Sharingan, there was no way he could handle it.
Clearing his throat lightly, The Third said, "I know you've recruited quite a few rogue ninja there to protect the caravans' business. For now, operate as a rogue leader stationed there. If Sunagakure attacks, look for opportunities to intervene."
Previously, he wouldn't have dared to send Akaba.
Even with his extraordinary talent, facing Shukaku would mean certain death. But after merging with Ido and boosting his Kekkei Genkai, combining the Sakuma Clan's genjutsu techniques with the Sealing Team, they should provide some utility.
Besides, this kid always liked keeping secrets. After handing him the sealing technique scroll, he undoubtedly learned some sealing techniques.
"…"
Got it. Previously, he'd let Orochimaru gather a bunch of subordinates.
Whether Orochimaru gained anything from it remained unclear, but Akaba himself had definitely lost out.
Akaba felt thoroughly annoyed, yet the Land of River still served as a crucial transit base. Losing it to the Land of Wind would make him extremely uncomfortable.
Better go anyway. Might as well check how our Trade Hub is shaping up.
Akaba nodded after thinking it over and asked, "Alright then, but what about equipment and funding?"
"I'll provide some funds. Use them to cultivate those people. Try to improve things there a bit."
The Third fully understood Akaba's mindset.
Developing subordinates—doesn't that require money?
Didn't Orochimaru seek cooperation with the Land of Rice in his previous life simply for the king's money?
Akaba had no intention of spending his own cash when the village was willing to pay. If the mission required expenses, why should he cover them personally?
Moreover,
if he went off doing missions himself, wouldn't someone have to "cover" for him in the Preparatory Division?
This wasn't unreasonable.
Of course, the Third agreed. As for exactly who would handle it, neither party specified. But in the village, options were limited. When calculating possibilities, there were only so many choices—one would either get someone from Orochimaru's group or someone from the Uchiha clan.
As for who it would turn out to be, that no longer concerned Akaba.
Infiltration naturally meant departing under cover of night.
That very night, Akaba left for the Land of Rivers.
With Physical Strength reaching one hundred points—barely meeting Jonin standards—he might not possess any special talents, but traveling long distances was certainly no issue.
Early the next morning, Akaba arrived at his target town. Before entering, he quickly changed into a disguise once used by Orochimaru—strapping on an ordinary katana while concealing the short blade gifted by the Hatake Clan beneath his robes.
It had only been a short time, but he noticed some changes here.
Walking through the streets, every few steps revealed someone wearing a sword or short blade at their waist. From their outfits alone, it was obvious they lived rather difficult lives. Previously, those wandering ninja fond of pretending to be shinobi seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
What's going on?
Observing carefully all along, he skillfully made his way toward the tavern he'd visited before. However, upon arriving, he felt momentarily stunned.
The decor looked like something straight out of One Piece. Posters of two massive wanted criminals were pasted at the entrance—one featuring Zoro and the other featuring the latest portrayal of Dracule Mihawk—with large sums of bounty rewards written above.
The artistic style varied noticeably; likely copied by others.
Entering inside, he saw numerous swordsmen wearing long blades at their waists. Some flashy individuals even carried three katanas each, wore green bandanas, imitating Zoro's appearance.
Yet regardless of looks or aura, they were far inferior—mere beggar-level copies of Zoro.
"What's going on? Is the whole town cosplaying Zoro now?"
Akaba scratched his chin, puzzled. He had been away for just over two months, yet the town had changed drastically.
He walked in.
Rather than immediately seeking out his contacts, he chose instead to sit down in a corner to observe first—it would be ridiculous if he ended up recruiting enemies by mistake.
Just then, another person entered.
Before fully stepping inside, he spotted the two large wanted posters stuck at the door, displaying generous bounty rewards and names.
He stared at them for quite some time before tearing both posters down forcefully.
This ninja stepped inside, sweeping his gaze across the entire room.
Akaba stole a glance, then couldn't help but slightly widen his eyes involuntarily—an expert!
Finally, the man's gaze settled onto one of these "beggar-tier" Zoros. His voice somewhat hoarse, he asked, "You're the million-coin Zoro?"
"The hundred-million coin Zoro?"
"Hahahaha, I'm dying laughing! Someone actually called you Zoro!"
"If he's Zoro, then I must be Dracule Mihawk!"
!!!!
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