"Hozuki clan?!"
Orochimaru heard the news and wished he could rush straight to Anbu headquarters the moment he learned of it.
But he knew the prisoner had just been captured, and Anbu would surely use various secret techniques to interrogate him for secrets stored in his mind. Even if he went there, he wouldn't have a chance to research the physical characteristics of the Hozuki clan.
"Don't get too excited. I came here to talk to you about this—can you summon more snakes recently to help monitor the surroundings?" Akaba asked.
"Of course I can."
Without hesitation, Orochimaru immediately formed hand seals and summoned a swarm of small snakes, which slithered out across the training field to take position.
After finishing, he wanted to continue researching, but his thoughts kept returning to other matters.
[Hydrification Technique]—the powerful secret art from Mist.
After taking care of some other matters, Akaba finally left the Preparatory Division with peace of mind. Yet instead of heading home directly, he first circled around the outside of the division.
Approximately half an hour passed, and no fish took the bait.
After fruitlessly walking around, he concluded that the fish must've been scared off and wouldn't dare come out anytime soon.
"Forget it. I'll go back, eat dinner, and then sleep."
Grabbing someone immediately wasn't realistic anyway.
The Kirigakure assassination squad was no bunch of idiots. Even Hozuki Ryoma managed to escape originally, unfortunately unaware of Akaba's true strength. Targeted by genjutsu, he hadn't even managed the slightest resistance.
However, the appearance of the Kirigakure assassination squad made Akaba raise his alertness. Living within the Ninja World, danger could strike anywhere—even while walking in Konoha.
Activating Flying Thunder God, he returned home and immediately exchanged points. He added thirty-two points to his Physical Strength, with the extra two neatly rounding out his previous total of eight to a clean ten.
However, those thirty-two points in Physical Strength cost him eight thousand points total, draining all his painstakingly saved reserves. Luckily, he now accumulated points quickly—earning over eight thousand only took several days.
Boosting his Physical Strength by thirty-two, Akaba clearly felt a massive improvement in his body. A tingling, slightly itching sensation filled him as his muscles visibly became rock solid before his eyes.
Several seconds later, Akaba felt the physical changes begin to slow.
"I feel much stronger now. I'm not even used to my new strength yet."
He clenched his fist, testing the newfound strength in his grip.
Though he wasn't strong enough to crush walls with a single stomp, his enhanced grip could easily crush a glass—it required some getting used to.
He showered, then went to sleep.
Every time he upgraded his Physical Strength, his body released layers of built-up toxins, which is why he always scheduled such enhancements at night rather than during the day.
When Akaba woke up the next day, he surprisingly went out for exercise.
Thirty-two extra points in Physical Strength still affected him significantly, so he spent considerable time adjusting to his new bodily parameters.
His speed and strength had both increased dramatically, most noticeably in his improved stamina and resilience.
Reaching one hundred forty in Physical Strength, even without particular specialties in speed or brute force, he already surpassed most ordinary jonin.
Worth mentioning was another minor development—
During this period, his Spirit Points had automatically risen slightly by two points.
[Automatic attribute growth!]
"So that proves it was indeed Ido who stole my Spirit Points."
Although Ido was technically the half-owner of this body while he himself was just an outsider, that didn't stop Akaba from calling him a 'thief.'
Now that I think about it, the manga was supposed to update this morning too.
This section where the pursuing ninja squad each used their techniques to display their maximum strength served as the climax of the early chapters.
Thanks to that, readers were following it pretty diligently.
From morning until now, more than a thousand points had been accumulated—and it wasn't even halfway through the day yet!
However, when he arrived at the manga shop, Akaba noticed quite a few people sitting in front with ninja hounds. They were clearly members of the Inuzuka clan. The way they were lined up... What, are they asking for a fight?
Sakuma Yunlang was anxious. Seeing Akaba approach, he hurried over and said, "Master, something terrible has happened!"
"What's going on??"
Akaba asked quietly.
"It seems related to the manga. They're saying you... Well, the point is, you're disrespecting our clan's secret techniques."
Sakuma Yunlang whispered.
"Huh?"
Akaba was stunned. Drawing some pictures had actually turned into showing disrespect? Had these guys studied abroad in Kirigakure Village?
His expression darkened slightly. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he walked toward those Inuzuka clan members and asked, "Have you come here to object to my manga plot?"
"Hmph, exactly right! In your manga, during the five-man pursuit team battle, others win by using their precious secret techniques, so why is the Inuzuka clan's technique completely blocked?"
A ninja from the Inuzuka clan shouted furiously.
Akaba thought to himself: Is this really worth causing such a scene, sitting here like thugs?
Don't they know their own limits?
But stating that directly might hurt feelings.
"You may be a Tokubetsu Jonin, but have you ever witnessed the true power of Garoga? Plus, previously you created that absurd plot where someone defeated our clansmen with flatulence. You got it out for our Inuzuka clan or what?"
Another Inuzuka member spoke with hostility.
Garoga's reputation was earned on the battlefield. They felt Akaba didn't truly understand its power and his attitude seemed disrespectful.
Sighing, Akaba replied, "Regardless of how powerful a jutsu itself is, its effectiveness depends on the user. Kiba is merely a Genin, so I think it's perfectly normal that his power reaches only this level. If you're really not cool with it..."
When words wouldn't resolve things, then force would have to settle it.
Besides, he was in the right. With higher status and standing, no matter how intense the conflict became, he wouldn't have any problems.
Just as he was preparing to take action, Akaba sensed another person approaching—the leader of the Inuzuka clan, Inuzuka Takashi.
"What nonsense are you lot up to? Get back immediately! You'll handle all today's chores yourselves; otherwise, disciplinary measures will be enforced."
Inuzuka Takashi scolded angrily.
"Eh, Clan Leader?"
"This is!"
The rebellious Inuzuka members lowered their heads. Faced with their leader's command, they could only comply.
Akaba retracted his chakra.
If Inuzuka Takashi hadn't arrived, he certainly would've beaten those troublemakers first before anything else. But now that the clan leader had come, he couldn't very well strike them openly.
"My apologies. It's due to my usual lack of proper discipline."
Inuzuka Takashi bowed apologetically.
As a clan leader who strongly supported the Anbu, Inuzuka Takashi had taken part in the interrogation of Hozuki Ryoma yesterday, so he clearly understood how terrifying Akaba's strength was.
Those guys might be a few years older than Akaba, but one punch and they'd be flat on their backs.
"It's not a big deal. Honestly, I didn't give this part enough thought myself."
Since Inuzuka Takashi had given him face like this, Akaba also didn't want to appear too arrogant and bowed politely in apology.
After clearing away the tension caused by those idiots, Inuzuka Takashi sat down at the doorway.
A whirlwind of thoughts swirled inside him.
The technique known as Rashomon—he had read about it in his clan's records. It was originally a defensive jutsu created by the First Hokage. Although Left and Right had only summoned one panel of it, obviously, it wasn't something that a Genin-level Kiba Inuzuka could shatter easily.
In terms of actual ability, he didn't see any issue with how Kiba was portrayed.
Yet with Choji and Neji pulling off victories while Kiba was left helpless, the Inuzuka Clan felt rather humiliated.
To make matters worse, the person drawing the manga was one of Konoha's strongest new generation ninja, Danzo's personal disciple, highly valued by both Danzo and the Third; therefore, the Inuzuka Clan had absolutely no reason to antagonize him.
After thinking for a moment, Inuzuka Takashi spoke, "Our clan specializes more in teamwork than solo combat. Their lack of deep understanding about our clan techniques leads to misinterpretations—that's completely normal."
As the clan leader, he couldn't afford to appear too submissive either.
What Inuzuka Takashi meant was that Akaba indeed lacked comprehension regarding the Inuzuka Clan's abilities, which resulted in certain inaccuracies in Kiba's portrayal within the comic.
Akaba understood what he implied, thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Fang is very powerful. Actually in my setting, it was Kiba himself who lacked sufficient ability—not that the jutsu itself was weak. However, it does share the same flaw as Chidori."
"That's true. Human eyes struggle to track rapid movements, so we usually rely on scent to locate opponents. Also, Fang consumes quite a lot of chakra, and lacks diversity in power output and variations," Inuzuka Takashi continued explaining.
This guy had even mastered the Flying Thunder God—an ability requiring exceptional talent and insight, since only someone with remarkable perception could identify flaws within their family secret techniques.
Yes, during the recent interrogation, everyone now knew that Akaba had already mastered the Flying Thunder God!
As everyone knows, Space-Time Ninjutsu often poses a difficulty level dozens of times greater than regular jutsu. Even the Third Hokage—who was a direct apprentice of the Second—had failed to master Flying Thunder God.
That alone sufficiently illustrated Akaba's profound understanding of Ninjutsu.
He paused, hesitated briefly, then asked, "Mr. Akaba, since you possess such great ability developing jutsu yourself, if we wanted to further improve Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu, do you have any suggestions on possible directions?"
"What about making a three-headed wolf? Why not give that a try?"
[Three-Headed Wolf], [Passing Fang]...
These were all techniques self-developed by Kiba Inuzuka himself. Mentioning them here was essentially giving credit where it was due.
"A three-headed wolf?"
Previously, he might have thought adding just one extra head wouldn't really make much difference in power.
But considering Akaba has learned the Flying Thunder God, and created so many Medical Ninjutsu himself...
Inuzuka Takashi fell into deep thought.
Perhaps a Three-Headed Wolf truly was feasible. Yet, the attack method definitely couldn't remain simplistic like previous ones—Garoga or Passing Fang. It would require significant modifications and innovations.
"But I think you guys could easily start another business, like veterinary medicine. These days being an animal doctor in Konoha has a pretty bright future too."
Akaba half-jokingly remarked.
Inuzuka Takashi chuckled and replied, "Maybe I should run a ninja hound breeding business while I'm at it?"
Konoha just ain't the same as before. With the Military Police formed and more collaboration happening, Inuzuka's ninja hounds are spreading far and wide, not to mention all sorts of summoning beasts too.
Developing animal medical jutsu just felt somewhat undignified. The Inuzuka were all about scouting and frontline combat. Going into med-tech? That just doesn't fit their style. But with the gradually developing medical system, constructing techniques for animal care wasn't that complicated.
After giving it some real thought, Inuzuka Takashi figured this might actually be a solid move. Developing effective medical jutsu capable of treating ninja beasts and summoning beasts would certainly benefit his clan.
Plus, there's no shortage of rich folks in the Land of Fire who'd pay top coin for high-end pet care. Nobles pamper their pets like family these days.
After thinking for a moment, he happily said, "Mr. Akaba, are you interested in ninja hounds? If you like them, I can arrange for you to pick one from my family's kennels."
"Actually, I'm not really interested in ninja dogs, but are you interested in ninja cats?"
Akaba thought of his younger sister.
Ever since obtaining the Cat Puppet, little Kyoyuki had cherished it dearly, keeping it by her side all the time. Giving her a ninja cat would surely make her very happy.
Inuzuka Takashi went quiet. Was this guy seriously trying to stir the pot?
As everyone knew, the Inuzuka raised ninja dogs, not cats.
After a long pause, he said, "We don't have ninja cats in our clan, but if you really want one, you might want to check with the Uchiha clan instead. And as long as you keep it confidential, I can also grant you some basic secrets regarding raising ninja beasts."
"Really? That would be great!"
Akaba was delighted.
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