"Huff..."
Danzo exhaled.
Even for him, speaking nonstop for such a long time left him slightly fatigued and out of breath.
His speech had been passionate and highly persuasive. Unfortunately though, his audience numbered only one person.
Akaba wasn't particularly moved.
This feeling of déjà vu was eerily similar to slogans like "Make Konoha Great Again," something that almost made him want to chuckle. But laughing in such a serious moment might earn him some harsh repercussions from Danzo later.
In certain aspects of temperament, master and apprentice truly shared the same bloodline.
"Help me organize what I just said. I want it included as the opening section of the Anbu Code."
Danzo remarked casually.
"Eh?"
Akaba blinked for a moment.
You were the one talking—shouldn't you remember your own words? Did you get too carried away to even recall what you yourself said?
Evidently, Danzo had no intention of elaborating further.
After saying this, he left energetically, as if he had discovered a brand-new life purpose.
Akaba could only shake his head in disbelief.
According to genjutsu theory, when confused, Danzo subjected himself to intense self-hypnosis, convincing himself to set a new goal—making Konoha great once more!
So here's the problem—what exactly had Danzo talked about?
Lectures like that always went in one ear and out the other for Akaba. At this point, he could barely remember anything beyond the beginning part, summarizing everything else simply as "Make Konoha Great Again."
Well then, if he couldn't recall, he'd just wing it.
Akaba didn't feel the slightest bit guilty—after all, this was just the introductory section of the Anbu Code. As long as it "sounded" good and the core idea remained intact, the rest hardly mattered.
But he did feel a pang of guilt and sorrow for the fallen Root ninja.
What fine shinobi they were.
While playing games, each hurriedly took on missions to earn experience points and level up, determined not to become slackers. Although initially somewhat fearful of death, eventually every last one became incredibly brave.
However, on the battlefield, they might have become so absorbed that they mistook it all for just another gaming session.
Of course,
thinking poorly of the deceased heroes wasn't quite appropriate. At least they had successfully and efficiently completed their tasks far beyond Danzo's expectations.
By any standard, these individuals deserved recognition as true heroes of Konoha.
What Akaba needed to consider now was whether future illusion training should include an anti-addiction system.
For ordinary people, gaming addiction merely cost time.
But for ninjas, it could be deadly.
Just imagining future batches of Genin charging recklessly into combat like suicide squads eagerly taking on missions, followed by furious complaints from parents—"You've killed my child!"—sent chills down his spine.
An anti-addiction system definitely needed implementation!
Akaba resolved firmly, deciding he'd immediately draft a proposal plan upon returning, carefully and thoroughly thinking things through.
How about something like expulsion and retaking classes after three deaths?
That could certainly be considered!
The Preparatory Division hadn't officially started yet, but once the base construction was complete and the village passed its busiest period, the training there would commence as well.
Cartoon education, ideological indoctrination, real combat simulation in illusions—everything needed to be prioritized.
Such a hectic schedule, and on top of it all, he still had to help Danzo write this stuff.
Akaba let out a soft sigh, returned to the manga shop, thought things over for a while, and then began writing the prologue.
Of course, he started with Danzo's quote. But everything after that was pure improvisation—carelessly written, leaving even himself unsure if it truly reflected Danzo's original intent.
Whatever, just make something up and be done with it.
But by the time he finished writing, night had already fallen. He didn't bother delivering it to Danzo and instead went straight home to sleep like a sloth.
According to plan, the next morning Akaba would wake up, go to the manga shop first, create a Shadow Clone to handle his shift, then visit Danzo to deliver the manuscript, take a quick look at Orochimaru's situation before returning again to resume his lazy life.
However,
Before he could even leave the clan compound, he spotted someone waiting at the entrance of the clan territory.
She was quite eye-catching with her golden hair. As he approached, she appeared to be holding several manga volumes, smiling warmly as if bathed in spring breeze, yet her killer intent was palpable.
This wasn't good.
Thinking back to his latest story update, Akaba couldn't help but walk toward her nervously. With an awkward grin, he greeted, "Back already? You're looking great! I heard your younger brother gave birth. How is everything going?"
"Hehe, thanks to someone's blessings, everything's going smoothly now."
Princess Tsunade smiled brightly.
Akaba felt a chill down his spine.
The brighter and friendlier Tsunade smiled, the more terrifying she seemed.
He was already thinking about drafting his will.
After a few seconds of silence, Akaba coughed lightly and said, "It's just part of the plot development, purely plot development."
"No big deal. Whether my younger brother lives or dies remains uncertain, but as for the other person I love—there's a much higher chance of him dying first."
With a sweet smile, Tsunade said this, then—
Swung her fist forward.
Akaba wasn't sure how strong the punch might be, but when it was still three centimeters from his face, he decided to say something first: "You're absolutely right to do this, and I deserve to die."
"Why didn't you dodge?"
"There was once real love right in front of me, and I didn't treasure it. I only realized its value when it was gone."
A classic line once gone viral online—Akaba firmly believed it would move this iron-clad girl.
He could already envision Tsunade being moved to tears.
Tsunade merely blinked in surprise, then smirked slightly and replied, "Ten thousand years? Even the Sage of Six Paths hasn't lived that long—nobody has! Do you think I'm just some fresh Genin who just graduated from the academy?"
Huh?
Akaba froze. She remained unaffected by such a powerful emotional weapon?
This wasn't supposed to happen!
"Dummy, gotta go now. I need to find Granny."
Waving casually, Tsunade turned and left.
Scratching his chin in confusion, Akaba walked off puzzled, wondering just where he had messed up.
Once back at the shop, he suddenly realized.
It wasn't the words that were wrong—it was his own brain that messed up.
Given Tsunade's personality, if she really hated or was furious, his front door would've long been blown off its hinges. Would she really have waited all this time for Akaba to wake up on his own?
With Princess of the Senju Clan and Mito Uzumaki's reputation, destroying someone's house wouldn't be considered a serious issue anyway. Besides, in a way, Akaba was indeed in the wrong here.
The fact that nothing dramatic happened itself spoke volumes.
Overjoyed, Akaba couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.
Success!
Of course, this was under the premise of understanding Tsunade's personality. Otherwise, if it had been another girl from her past life, Akaba would have to wonder whether he'd been listed in the backup lover or "kissing up" list.
Tsunade returned to her clan with an odd expression on her face.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Mito Uzumaki placed both feet on the ground, stopping the rocking chair, and asked with a slight smile: "How was it? What did that kid say to you?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. I didn't even go looking for Akaba."
Tsunade shook her head quickly, stammering as she spoke.
"Did I mention which kid?" Mito smiled ambiguously.
The Sakuma clan wasn't very large; with her Sensor Ability, she had detected something unusual the moment Tsunade returned to Konoha.
"Pfft, I went to settle accounts with that guy. My younger brother was long gone, yet he already wrote about Nawaki in his book."
Tsunade pursed her lips, but then grew calmer.
Since she had already been discovered, there was no point hiding anything anymore. She nodded to confirm she indeed went looking for Akaba.
"What?!"
Mito looked stunned, then angry. "Didn't you beat him up?"
"I did hit him a little..."
Tsunade spoke quite guiltily.
She originally intended to give him only a symbolic beating, but after hearing those words, she couldn't bring herself to continue, eventually fleeing shamefully instead.
Mito knew her granddaughter all too well.
If Tsunade really had beaten up Akaba, her expression wouldn't look like this. Moreover, her Sensor Ability detected that Tsunade and Akaba separated quickly.
She couldn't have come back that quickly after a real fight. That kid wouldn't just stand there and take hits.
"Alright then."
Mito lay back down.
It was only natural for a girl to have her own secrets. After teasing her a bit, she had no intention of pursuing the matter further.
She understood that Akaba kid well too—he wasn't someone reckless or irresponsible.
Tsunade sat down, her mind filled with many thoughts.
She pondered Akaba's words, the manga plot, her younger brother, and the Rasengan technique.
Could simply observing it really allow one to master the Rasengan?
At this time, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were each training hard on their own Rasengan techniques separately.
Orochimaru followed the approach involving water balls, rubber balls, and balloons, while Jiraiya used the "Konohamaru version" Rasengan method learned directly from the manga storyline.
If Jiraiya had gone the same route as Orochimaru, it might have taken three or four months to learn. However, using this alternative method,
he already completed the second stage of training within just one day.
"Hahahaha! This genius has done it again! Such a difficult jutsu mastered in just one day! Now I must go find Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya shouted proudly.
Her palms throbbed painfully from all the training.
Continuous training had nearly brought his hands to their limit, but even so, he still thought only of showing off in front of Orochimaru.
Finally reaching Orochimaru's laboratory,
he saw Orochimaru inside conducting experiments, seemingly indifferent to the Rasengan now.
"You idiot Orochimaru! This genius has mastered the Rasengan!"
Jiraiya declared proudly as he tunneled into Orochimaru's lab using Earth Release.
Orochimaru was momentarily stunned, then asked suspiciously, "With what method?"
"Obviously with the genius concept described in the manga!"
Jiraiya formed a hand seal and created a Multiple Shadow Clone. Together, they molded chakra into a swirling sphere—the Rasengan—before it finally stabilized.
He said proudly, "What do you think? Pretty amazing, right? I'm such a genius!"
"In some sense, you really are a genius," Orochimaru replied. "But why use Multiple Shadow Clones? Using Multiple Shadow Clones in a hand seal-free Ninjutsu like this is unnecessary, isn't it?"
Orochimaru stretched out his right hand, chakra swirling in his palm.
Soon, a blue sphere of chakra formed.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, full of disbelief. How was this possible? Had this guy mastered the technique in less time than he did?
He stood frozen, doubts creeping in as he began questioning everything he'd ever believed about his talent.
"The Manga depicted Akaba using an optical illusion technique to prevent others from stealing his Ninjutsu. But the fact that you actually mastered it shows there's some truth to Akaba's tale. Still, very few people in the world possess your level of talent."
As he spoke, Orochimaru immediately took out his little notebook and wrote down one sentence:
"There is not just one path toward Ninjutsu development; there may exist multiple completely different ways of understanding it. Just because something sounds crazy doesn't mean we should dismiss it outright."
Jiraiya felt complicated.
He desperately wanted Orochimaru's recognition. Now that he'd finally heard the words "genius" come from the other man's mouth, he somehow felt even worse.
Genius?
What kind of genius is that?!
Besides, Orochimaru had mastered a single-handed, no-clone-required Ninjutsu, while Jiraiya still needed help from a Shadow Clone.
The gap between them was insane!
Bitterness gnawing at him, Jiraiya stormed toward the corner, preparing to escape using Earth Release. But as he was halfway through making the seals, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
How could Orochimaru possibly know the true meaning behind Akaba's depiction in the Manga?
"Dammit, Orochimaru! You cheated!"
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