Could it be Black Zetsu?
Akaba's mind quietly churned with thoughts.
Ever since Mito Uzumaki suspected an unseen hand behind the Uzumaki Village incident, he had become somewhat paranoid, attributing any suspicion to that figure.
He remained deep in thought for a long moment.
Black Zetsu and Madara couldn't be ruled out—they both possessed the ability and intellect to carry out such a plan.
After a brief pause, The Third said, "Send ninja to seal the borders. Gather the scouting unit and conduct a wide-area search centered on the coordinates provided by Hozuki Ryoma."
"I will personally lead the team. Everyone will perform a thorough grid search—stay hidden."
Danzo gave the command in a cold, sharp tone.
Even though two days had passed, since this was a direct mission from the Mizukage, the enemy wouldn't back down so easily.
"Yes sir!"
The Anbu immediately mobilized.
"Lord, I'd also like to join this operation."
Akaba volunteered.
Eliminating potential threats was one reason—but the Chakra Weapon known as *Kiba* would eventually become Raiga Kurosuki's signature weapon. Even if its current wielder wasn't yet known as Raiga Kurosuki, he still belonged to the Kurosuki Clan.
It might not be fully developed or powerful just yet—but that didn't matter.
Konoha had many experienced ninja smiths who understood how to forge Chakra Weapons—they simply lacked the rare materials needed, not the knowledge.
Obtaining *Kiba* meant they could easily modify it into whatever form best suited their needs.
A gift dropped straight into their lap—there was no reason to refuse it.
Danzo glanced at him briefly before nodding slightly and warning, "Be careful."
"You kid, don't get reckless—if you run into danger, use Flying Thunder God to escape."
The Third said while puffing on his pipe.
Flying Thunder God?
Motonami Uchiha's expression shifted subtly—his heart suddenly filled with astonishment.
This technique...
Some fragmented records about Madara's era mentioned it—though only briefly, but enough to confirm it was a powerful Ninjutsu developed by The Second Hokage.
So even The Third hadn't fully mastered The Second's techniques.
Truly extraordinary talent...
Thinking back on his own recent efforts, Motonami felt bitter—he had exhausted all his knowledge trying to develop a technique similar to the Cursed Seal, one capable of marking others, but still hadn't made progress.
How frustrating.
He fell into silent contemplation again, ultimately deciding not to request the Military Police's involvement in the hunt.
Their target was an elite Mist Jonin. Most of the Military Police were Chunin—sending them would be nothing short of suicidal. Besides, if The Third truly wanted them involved, he surely would've given orders already.
"Teacher, do you want me to take you directly to the Preparatory Division?"
"Flying Thunder God? I'd like to try the experience too."
Danzo nodded, looking rather intrigued.
While Flying Thunder God Slash was invented by The Second, he himself had never experienced what using Flying Thunder God felt like.
The Third didn't intervene.
Someone needed to remain in Konoha, and since Danzo was leading the pursuit effort, there was no real purpose in him tagging along.
Without hesitation, Akaba grabbed Danzo's hand and immediately formed the hand seals, activating the Flying Thunder God. He'd already left a mark in the Preparatory Division—it allowed immediate teleportation there.
In an instant,
Their vision blurred rapidly, and they arrived at the Preparatory Division's location.
Danzo's face turned slightly pale, but he quickly masked it. Leaning against a nearby tree for a moment, he then said, "Akaba, you head to the target location first and investigate. Be careful to hide yourself. They must have left their original position, but the new location will definitely offer a view of where they were before."
This was a commonly used tactic among ninjas.
Moving to a spot where they could observe their former position, to determine whether their vanished teammates had betrayed them.
Akaba nodded, then used his Shunshin no Jutsu to accelerate away.
At this time, Danzo's face rapidly turned deathly pale. He dry-retched a few times before leaning back against the tree.
Not everyone could handle teleportation well.
After leaving the Preparatory Division, Akaba swiftly headed toward the destination. Although he hadn't trained specifically for speed, his powerful physical strength significantly increased his pace.
The trip from the Preparatory Division to that location didn't consume much energy at all.
To avoid being exposed, Akaba used Transformation Jutsu to transform into a small animal and circled around the target area without directly entering it.
The Uzumaki clan's sensor ability was very useful. Although Akaba didn't possess the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he soon sensed Kurosuki Huezai's chakra fluctuations.
It was far away, but likely on a high mountain. From that position overlooking below, it wouldn't be difficult to see everything happening here.
"As Teacher predicted."
Taking a deep breath, Akaba pondered briefly before quietly heading up the mountain.
The enemy probably hadn't noticed him yet — there were no signs of awareness. He had enough time to infiltrate and get closer.
However, expecting a rabbit to run from the foot of a mountain all the way to its peak was somewhat unreasonable.
He walked partway.
After hiding within thick forest foliage, he quickly used Earth Release techniques to continue his journey.
Once past the jungle to the base of the mountain, even using Earth Release felt dangerous anymore, so he switched to Transformation Jutsu, climbing from the mountain's foot straight to the summit.
Kurosuki Huezai's location was getting closer and closer. Already, he could feel the other's chakra presence.
Extremely wild and violent!
Clearly, the enemy perfectly matched Lightning Sword characteristics — an expert in both Lightning Release and Water Release techniques, a ninja from Mist.
Besides him, another ninja lacked detailed information — Hozuki Ryoma had no specific records about this individual. However, certain indications from memory suggested that this was a Jonin — possibly even a Kekkei Genkai user from the Land of Water.
At present, the Land of Water still saw prosperity among clans like Yuki and Takeuchi, who continued contributing mightily to Hidden Mist Village.
Outside, Akaba contemplated tactics. He determined his plan.
First take down Kurosuki Huezai and grab his gear, then decide if he should go after the second enemy.
If things got tough, he could always flee — after all, with Flying Thunder God under his control, anywhere in the world would remain accessible.
Thinking this, Akaba left behind a jutsu formula at his current location.
Then, maintaining his transformed state, he continued deeper inside.
Yet in the next second...
Water splashed violently outward as the droplets instantly transformed into ice needles.
[Thousand Needles of Death]!
Akaba reacted immediately, diving underground using Earth Release. But just as he emerged from beneath the soil, lightning suddenly flashed above him.
Akaba rolled aside just in time as a figure appeared a short distance ahead of him.
Dual-wielding blades — should be Kurosuki Huezai.
Not far away, another ninja stood atop a treetop; judging by appearance, this should be a Kekkei Genkai user from the Yuki clan.
"Hmph. Let a rat sneak right up to me. Let me see who it is!"
"The target walked straight into our trap."
A Yuki ninja murmured lightly, scanning the area with his eyes, wary of Akaba's shadow clones deceiving him while the real one secretly cast illusion techniques from hiding.
Then, ice needles flew.
Akaba slightly lifted the corner of his mouth, dodging these ice needles as he sealed his hands into position.
Hiding in Mist Technique!
"Oh? So you know our Hidden Mist technique too. Not bad at all."
Kurosuki Huezai crossed his dual blades, gathering chakra. A streak of lightning surged directly toward Akaba's head.
Navigating within the mist was second nature to any Hidden Mist ninja.
Yet within the mist, Akaba had already achieved his goal.
[Mangekyo Sharingan], Gate of Opening!
The illusion became reality.
A Flying Thunder God seal appeared on the ground behind Kurosuki Huezai. Sensing something wrong, Kurosuki immediately turned around, but by the time he reacted, Akaba already stood behind him.
A hand swept past his legs, and instantly he felt intense pain.
His leg muscles had been severed.
The next moment—
Boom!
[Monstrous Strength, Disturbance Taijutsu]
With one punch, Kurosuki Huezai flew dozens of meters away, crashing against a rock.
The tremendous force cracked the stone apart.
Even without Disturbance Taijutsu, that full-force punch nearly killed him—he had no chance in hell of moving again.
"What incredible power! Isn't this guy from the Sakuma clan?"
A ninja from the Yuki clan twitched nervously.
At this level of injury, his teammate probably wouldn't survive.
Run!
Without hesitation, he turned to leave, but an illusion silently descended—a blazing world filled with lava heat.
The Yuki clan possessed Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, but in this land of lava, their abilities were useless.
There wasn't a trace of moisture here; even forming an ice needle became difficult.
Though he knew it was an illusion, no matter what he tried, he couldn't break free from it.
"Sakuma clan... Right, there's a record—empty your thoughts and enter a semi-conscious state."
Forcing his mind blank, he slowly drifted into a trance.
The moment he opened his eyes, Akaba stood right behind him.
One punch and the second opponent was down.
"Surprisingly easy. It looks like my strength has gotten quite formidable now. Although truthfully, it was mainly because they lacked intel on me; I caught them off guard."
While collecting equipment, Akaba mused inwardly, then fixed his gaze on the Yuki clan ninja.
Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
After using his sensing ability to check the surroundings, he used Kurosuki Huezai's blade to make a small cut on the Yuki ninja.
Blood trickled out.
Alongside it, the Ice Release conversion points continuously dropped.
After letting some blood flow, he fed the Yuki ninja a handful of Blood Regen Pill, causing his points to continue falling until only a thousand remained.
Akaba really wanted to keep draining blood, but based on his knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu, if he continued much longer, the man would certainly die.
No choice.
After treating their wounds with Medical Ninjutsu, Akaba grabbed each of them by the hand and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God back to the Preparatory Division.
Danzo was still under the tree. Seeing Akaba return, followed by the two unconscious individuals in his grasp, he couldn't help showing slight surprise.
So fast?
"Teacher, call everyone back. We're done."
Akaba dropped them onto the ground.
Danzo glanced at the two men. Both were in terrible shape—one had been slammed into a rock, and despite being treated, his bones hadn't been set right.
The other looked marginally better but still awful—clearly having lost a lot of blood, with a pale face and drained look.
Even if they came to, they probably wouldn't have the strength to run away.
After a pause, Danzo asked, "This one is from the Kurosuki clan. What about the other?"
"A Yuki ice-release ninja," Akaba replied.
"Hmph. Not bad."
Danzo's eyes lit up. Another Kekkei Genkai user—perfect for research.
Akaba pulled out two blades called "Kiba" and said, "Teacher, this blade—"
"They're yours."
Danzo glanced at him, then gave a slight nod.
It was a lightning-attribute blade, but Akaba had no use for it anyway—it'd probably end up being given away sooner or later.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Smirking, Akaba sealed the blade into a sealing scroll.
Sakumo had been covering classes recently and was clearly exhausted. His birthday also seemed to be coming up soon. This Ruiga would make a great present.
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