"Hmph! Just as I expected, Hiruzen — that brat wouldn't even flinch at such a trivial threat."
Danzo sat across from the Third.
"What could possibly drive such a naturally lazy guy to update every single day?"
Passion. Dedication.
Someone like that would never abandon Manga—their career—just because of threats from another country.
The Third sighed helplessly. Although he wanted to argue, he had to admit Danzo was right.
When Akaba left earlier, he hadn't looked worried at all.
Though he believed himself superior to Danzo in many ways, when it came to understanding people like Akaba and Orochimaru, he could never match Danzo's depth.
After a moment's silence, the Third still felt uneasy. "What do you think about Kirigakure?"
"If even Akaba isn't worried, why should we be? That kid fears death more than anything else. He has countless ways to save his own life. Back then, if Sakumo hadn't refused to fight him, I wouldn't have known how strong he really was."
Danzo snorted coldly, showing no concern for Akaba's safety.
He understood his disciple too well.
If he sensed real danger, he'd definitely come up with all sorts of ways to survive. His calm demeanor just now meant he was utterly confident.
"You've got a point," the Third said, puffing on his pipe.
Sakumo absolutely possessed average Jonin-level strength. Akaba's victory over him wasn't purely through strategy and intelligence—he was without doubt equal to an elite Jonin.
Kirigakure probably didn't know this intelligence report. Instead of worrying about Akaba's safety, they should be concerned whether Kirigakure would retaliate angrily after their people got killed.
As he exited the Hokage Tower, Akaba couldn't help but feel reflective.
The Land of Water, an island nation, had difficulty in the spread of information.
Earlier, he'd considered how to transmit his Manga to the Land of Water. Unexpectedly, the popularity of One Piece inspired many ninjas and samurais to explore the sea by ship, naturally carrying the Manga along with them.
It was an unexpected bonus—even though it also brought trouble from the Land of Water, Akaba didn't think the problem was serious at all.
Kiri had never faced Konoha directly in battle before. Even during the Land of Whirlpools conflict, Konoha only deployed Anbu and hadn't used many of its full techniques.
Moreover, although the Second Mizukage had died, the Third basically continued his conservative isolationist policies, keeping Kiri cut off from the outside world.
Their understanding of Konoha lagged far behind that of Sunagakure.
Sunagakure knew quite clearly that Konoha truly excelled in certain areas. They partially understood each other's capabilities and recognized that the jutsu depicted in the Manga weren't mere fantasies.
To Kiri, it was probably just some manga-obsessed Konoha brat boasting again.
In short—Isolationism simply doesn't work!
Akaba sighed inwardly before walking toward the Preparatory Division. Earlier inside the Hokage Tower, he'd discussed not only Kiri's "strong condemnation," but also the upcoming special training graduation exam for the Preparatory Division.
Last night, he had compiled the situation in the Land of Whirlpools into an illusory training scenario, which the Third approved, granting permission for the graduation test.
This trip to the Preparatory Division was to deliver that authorization notice—and announce the imminent examination.
However, shortly after leaving the village, Akaba sensed something was off.
Someone was following him!
If not for his strong spirit points and purchased sensory ability, he might not have noticed at all. But once he detected the anomaly and activated his sensing, he immediately located the follower's position.
An unfamiliar presence—it definitely wasn't someone from Konoha.
Akaba recalled the challenge letter sent by Kiri Village and took a deep breath.
Kiri had played a clever trick.
They seemed to have sent just a warning letter, making everyone assume they'd later deploy an assassination team. In reality, before the challenge letter even arrived, the assassination unit had already been deployed.
That was always their goal—kill Sakuma Akaba.
A genius rising star of Konoha—worth every bit of that price.
"Want to kill me? Not so easy."
Akaba pretended not to notice anything and continued heading toward the Preparatory Division, but kept his senses sharp, tracking the opponent's movements.
He didn't know who the enemy was or what abilities they had, but it hardly mattered—he already had a plan—he was ready for whoever was out there.
After walking for a while, far enough away from the village, there were no patrol units nearby.
At this moment.
Scarlet red eyes appeared in his sockets, showing Three Tomoe markings. The patterns then slowly shifted, spinning like a swirling whirlpool.
"Hmm?"
The stalker sensed something wrong and immediately stopped advancing.
But without realizing it, a strange formula mark had already appeared on his body.
[Flying Thunder God Technique]!
Vanishing in an instant—one punch.
"Tsk! Hydrification? One of the Hozuki clan?"
The Sharingan had been deactivated right after Flying Thunder God, so the opponent hadn't seen it. Still, their preemptive use of Hydrification surprised him somewhat.
After all, he never expected the enemy to be from the Hozuki clan.
Using Hydrification, Hozuki Ryoma quickly swapped positions using Water Clone combined with Substitution Jutsu.
"Is that really the Flying Thunder God from the comics? Konoha actually possesses such ninjutsu? Absolutely terrifying! Konoha's just too terrifying! No matter what, I must abandon the mission—I need to return to the village and report this immediately!"
Hozuki Ryoma stood frozen in fear.
They thought all those techniques described in fiction were fake. If he hadn't sensed danger earlier and used Hydrification as a precaution, he probably wouldn't be alive now.
Normally, anyone else would've fled—Hydrification was just too strong; it could block almost any physical attack. But knowing the enemy belonged to the Hozuki clan and recognizing their appearance, Akaba couldn't be bothered with other techniques anymore.
Genjutsu: Five Senses Manipulation.
With one wave of his brush, under intense spiritual pressure and sensory lock-on, Hozuki Ryoma was instantly pulled into an illusory world.
In this illusionary realm, heaven-sent lightning and earthbound flames raged together—there wasn't a single drop of water.
Though fully aware he had fallen victim to genjutsu, Hozuki Ryoma could do nothing to break free.
His bloodline granted immunity to physical attacks, but genjutsu directly attacked the spiritual plane. What difference did hydrification make now? Especially when facing genjutsu from the Sakuma clan—
If he hadn't wanted to take the guy alive, within seconds, Akaba could've erased Hozuki Ryoma entirely.
The gap in spiritual power was simply too great.
Releasing the illusion, Hozuki Ryoma had become nothing more than a jelly-like statue, his consciousness heavily damaged by the genjutsu—utterly incapable of awakening anytime soon.
"Well, I'll hand him over to Teacher first, otherwise this guy might wake up and need another beating to stay unconscious."
Akaba didn't worry about a counterattack. Hozuki Ryoma was already severely injured, and applying another genjutsu might kill him instantly, rendering all the effort pointless.
His goal was to capture alive, not to kill.
Hozuki Ryoma would probably suffer more in Anbu custody than Suigetsu ever did in the manga version, but that wasn't Akaba's concern.
Mercy wasn't something he gave freely, especially to someone who tried to kill him.
Danzo had just finished chatting with Hiruzen and was heading back to Anbu when he unexpectedly met Akaba on his way. Seeing the gelatinous statue-like object Akaba carried in his hand, Danzo stared blankly for several seconds.
"Teacher, what a coincidence running into you at the gate. This one is from the Mist village's Hozuki clan. He was hiding outside the village trying to kill me but got subdued instead," said Akaba, lifting up the 'gelatin' slightly.
"You're quite efficient! I was just talking about you with Hiruzen, and you've already taken care of things."
Danzo rubbed his chin before casting a sidelong glance at the 'jelly.' Everyone in the ninja world knew the Hozuki clan's weakness, and since Akaba didn't possess Lightning Release, this could only be a genjutsu.
For an illusion technique to reach such a level, this kid's spirit points must have surpassed his own by quite a margin.
Furthermore,
He hadn't expected Mist to be so decisive as to send assassins so early on. If Hozuki Ryoma's target had been someone else, the assassination might well have succeeded.
Thinking along those lines, Danzo couldn't help exhaling quietly in relief.
Thank goodness Akaba was strong enough!
"Teacher, just leave this guy to Anbu for handling. Let's see if we can extract any information or maybe even unlock some secrets of the Hydrification Technique."
Akaba lifted the statue higher, signaling Danzo to take it.
But naturally, Danzo wouldn't stoop to such manual labor. Within moments, a figure darted out from the Anbu entrance and took the captive from Akaba's hands.
"Lock him in a water tank, and make sure sealing techniques are used on the tank to prevent his escape."
"As you command!"
The Anbu ninja expressed slight surprise.
A Hozuki?!
So long as there was water, they could transform into liquid and escape while simultaneously repairing their injuries. Sure, this drained chakra, but few people managed to capture Hozuki members alive.
"Oh right, best check whether he has any Scrolls, weapons, or anything else on him."
Akaba was thinking about the treasures of the Hozuki clan. Though given how weak this fellow seemed, he hardly looked like he owned something of that caliber.
"Don't dream too big. This one's merely an ordinary Jonin of the Hozuki clan—doesn't even have a shinobi sword. How would he possibly access such items? There will likely be more attacks coming; if you're scared, just stay within the village."
Danzo spoke nonchalantly before adding, "I'll assign extra Anbu units to reinforce the Preparatory Division. That way Mist won't find our next generation vulnerable and threaten Konoha's future."
"Mind training them yourself too?"
Akaba's eyes lit up.
"..."
After giving him a sidelong glance, Danzo remained silent briefly then remarked, "You should go out again instead. Unless Mist sends elite Jonin against you now, no one will be able to deal with you."
The Hozuki clan members weren't as common as cabbages found everywhere. In fact, during the First Great Ninja War, because the Second Mizukage came from the Hozuki clan, the Hozuki contributed greatly to that war effort and suffered the heaviest casualties of all clans in Kirigakure.
There's no way the enemy could have so many Hozuki clan members around. Meeting even one was already pushing it.
Akaba had no choice but to continue with what he had been doing. On his way, he kept his Sensor Ability activated since, in his estimation, Hozuki Ryoma definitely had accomplices. The latter was probably only a scout or reconnaissance specialist.
Unfortunately, he didn't detect any unfamiliar presences along the way, and by the time he reached the Preparatory Division, there were still absolutely no signs of enemy activity.
Akaba discussed with everyone the test plan for completing the special training, gathering all the instructors and temporary instructors to inform them of what had happened — that he had encountered an assassination squad from Kiri.
Everyone was shocked and a bit worried at first, but when they heard that Danzo had already been informed and sent Anbu to the Preparatory Division for protection, they started to feel more at ease.
Otherwise, for everyone's safety, they would have had to return to Konoha immediately and reschedule the training after things quieted down.
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