With the targets captured, there was no longer a need for Anbu to remain on duty.
Danzo used a secret communication method employed by the Anbu to recall his agents. Then, grabbing one person in each hand, he prepared to head back without waiting for Akaba to arrive.
"Teacher, if you need help interrogating these two for Intelligence Reports, feel free to summon me anytime."
Akaba added this before leaving.
These two might possess more Intelligence Reports. Otherwise, Akaba wouldn't have gone through so much trouble just to keep them alive.
"Hmm."
Danzo slightly nodded.
Then he left using the Shunshin technique.
After experiencing the Flying Thunder God technique once, apparently he had no intention of trying it again anytime soon.
Akaba looked at the Lightning Blades in his hands.
Neither blade was particularly long—they belonged to the short blade category suitable for Sakumo. If they felt comfortable in his grip, Sakumo could use them directly without any modifications.
"There probably hasn't been talk about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist yet, but I'm not sure whether Kiri possesses scroll records for summoning shinobi swords..." Akaba muttered. "Hmm, I should go see Grandma Mito first."
In Konoha, the one most familiar with sealing and summoning techniques was undoubtedly Mito Uzumaki.
Since they got along well anyway, consulting her would definitely be the right choice. Plus, he could check how the two white-haired ones were getting along with others. Now that all enemies had been captured, perhaps he could start the final test during this period.
But still, the blades were more important.
If Kiri really possessed the ability to summon lightning-infused swords, all this effort would have been completely wasted.
Though lacking markings of the Senju clan, traveling from the manga shop to the Senju clan still seemed less troublesome than directly moving across dimensions.
Arriving outside the courtyard, Akaba immediately heard a cat's meow filled with flattery.
Turning the corner, he saw a white cat with two tails crouching beside Mito Uzumaki's chair, appearing gentle and cute.
If someone didn't know its background, they'd probably assume it was just a regular housecat at first glance.
This cowardly cat likely couldn't even stand straight upon seeing Mito Uzumaki's imposing presence, let alone dare to act aggressive toward her.
However, when it turned around and spotted Akaba, the cat angrily "meowed."
Akaba gave it a glare.
"Meow!!!"
The stupid cat immediately jumped onto the roof in fright, fleeing into little Kyoyuki's room.
A heavy murderous aura followed.
Mito Uzumaki slightly frowned, sat up, and asked, "Did you just kill someone?"
"Nope, just threw out a couple punches outside."
Akaba released the seal on the scroll, took out The Take and The Maki inside, and handed them to Mito Uzumaki, asking, "Could you examine whether any summoning jutsu or other jutsu formulas were placed on these?"
"Give me."
As she reached out to take them, Mito Uzumaki paused and wrinkled her brow slightly, saying, "Wash them first."
"...[sigh]"
She really was particular.
Akaba formed a hand seal, channeled his chakra, and conjured a ball of water in his palm to rinse the swords clean.
Only after that did she accept them.
After inspecting both blades, she injected chakra into them. Shortly after, a jutsu formula surfaced on the blades.
The next second, Nine-Tails chakra surged in.
Under Mito Uzumaki's control, the fierce and domineering Nine-Tails chakra instantly destroyed the sword's internal jutsu structure, obliterating every trace left by Kiri within.
"Alright."
She threw the blade back. Akaba caught it carefully, then couldn't help but freeze for a few seconds.
That's all?
"The jutsu formula is sloppy. The summoning circle is incomplete. Such weak technique—hmph, this must be a blade from Kirigakure."
Mito Uzumaki scoffed coldly.
"You're as sharp as ever, ma'am."
Akaba gave her a thumbs-up; figuring out just from that it was a Mist blade, she must really hate Kiri ninja.
He turned the blades over in his hands, unable to see anything special about them.
Guess professionals really do see things differently.
"Come to think of it, I heard you captured someone from the Hozuki clan before. Who are these ones from?"
Mito asked while rocking casually.
"One from the Mizunashi clan, and another from the Kurosuki family."
As Akaba answered, he glanced upward toward the second floor.
A white cat appeared again from upstairs, looking down at them. It seemed quite lifelike, but according to her sensor reading—it was just a puppet.
Soon after, Niibai jumped out from the window, cautiously peeking downward.
Akaba shot it an annoyed glare, so the creature quickly hid itself back inside.
Judging from its appearance and patterns, this ninja cat might actually be the very one who would later interact with both Itachi and Sasuke.
"Niibai has decent talent. If you train it using the methods I provided, it should become a capable ninja cat."
Mito commented indifferently.
Though the Inuzuka Clan specializes in dogs, their training techniques still apply generally. [Inuzuka Clan refers to a family known for raising and training ninja dogs.] With their foundational secret techniques, Niibai's abilities could definitely improve significantly.
"So cowardly. It can't even help during major battles."
Akaba muttered, glancing sideways.
Enemies Kyoyuki can defeat don't need its help anyway, and if they're opponents she can't handle, it might not even dare to fight back.
Ah well, it was just a small gift anyway. Whether it becomes strong depends on how well she teaches it—don't expect too much out of it.
Summoning beasts? Let's face it, aside from a few special ones, most don't really pack much punch.
He chatted with Mito Uzumaki and Kyoyuki for a while.
Mito already knew that Akaba had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. She'd even given him the original technique formulas once used by the Second Hokage, which Akaba gladly accepted.
After chatting briefly, he found an excuse to sneak away from the Senju side.
Mito narrowed her eyes slightly, watching the direction Akaba left for several seconds.
"Grandma, what happened to Brother?"
Little Kyoyuki jumped down curiously asking.
"Your older brother carries many secrets, but he truly cares for the village and loves everyone. Perhaps one day, he might even become a great Hokage."
Mito smiled softly and ruffled the girl's hair.
"Mm!"
Though the young girl didn't fully grasp the deeper meaning, she sensed no ill intent from Mito, who instead clearly supported Akaba.
After leaving the Senju residence, Akaba walked along the street, staring intently at the crumpled paper in his hand containing the Flying Thunder God Slash formula drawn by the Second.
The markings resembled those seen in diagrams from certain Manga. He could confirm this was indeed the Second Hokage's own work. What worried him wasn't merely the jutsu formula itself—it was Mito's underlying intention in handing this over.
She knew full well he already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, so why offer this?
"Am I just thinking too much?"
Akaba pondered silently.
An old saying goes, 'Old folks are sly as foxes.' Mito Uzumaki, being a living legend, was definitely not someone to underestimate. That was also why he preferred staying away from the Senju clan.
Thinking it through carefully, he increasingly felt that Mito Uzumaki had sensed something.
Was it his constitution?
Yet he hadn't displayed the red hair of the Uzumaki clan. Just based on his strong physique, abundant chakra, and life force stronger than ordinary people's, there shouldn't be direct suspicion about possessing an Uzumaki's physical traits.
Most likely just an irrational hunch—no logical reason behind it, but she still felt something was off about him.
"Forget it, thinking too much won't help. Although I can't use this jutsu myself, it's still first-hand material that could benefit others in the future."
After pondering for quite some time, Akaba stopped dwelling on silly mind games like "You guess what I'm thinking."
Whether she figured it out or not didn't matter—her sharing this jutsu proved where she stood, as long as Akaba didn't betray Konoha.
As for betraying Konoha—
After doing all these things, would he really do them just to betray Konoha?
What would be the point? It was clearly impossible.
Thinking this made him feel much better.
In Sunagakure Village, a research institute had quietly been established. Currently, only four individuals worked there: Shamon, Sankai, Chiyo, and Ebizō.
"Teacher, do we really need to spend so much money imitating Konoha by building a research institute?" Sankai sighed softly.
This research institute drained their finances, and so far, they hadn't seen any results yet.
"Of course we do! Without research, could we have achieved Magnet Release today?" Shamon replied, leaving his apprentice speechless.
Carrying a pile of documents, Ebizō walked in with a light breath before saying, "According to Anbu reports, Konoha used multiple new ninjutsus during the War of the Land of Whirlpools. One technique resembles [Hazy Mirage] used by the Second Mizukage. However, an even closer resemblance can be found in this very book—it describes how Nami uses [Hazy Mirage] to create illusions."
As he spoke, he pulled out a volume of One Piece from the stack.
"That's right. Konoha is bringing manga-based jutsus to life. I heard their medical jutsu has advanced rapidly too; during this war, it saved many shinobi. If we had medical ninjutsu at that level, we wouldn't have suffered so many losses in the Land of Birds," Chiyo added with a sigh.
"But if we keep imitating Konoha, how can we ever defeat Konoha?"
Sankai showed visible frustration.
At this statement, the other three fell silent instantly.
Defeating Konoha?
Too difficult!
Remaining quiet for quite some time, Shamon finally continued, "I won't make it happen anymore—it'll depend on your generation. Therefore, you mustn't limit your vision to only immediate gains. You should focus on long-term benefits far ahead in the future."
"Yes," Sankai replied, bowing his head.
He deeply respected his teacher, and for that very reason, he despised Konoha even more for what it had done to him.
"Esteemed ones, yesterday's update from the Land of Fire has arrived."
An Anbu ninja arrived and handed over a manga.
"Hmm."
Shamon took it and began flipping through the pages carefully.
The content picked up right where the last volume left off, continuing the story of Konoha's team of Genin pursuing Sasuke. However, this volume brought a surprising twist:
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro have finally appeared!
"Come to think of it, this team must be Sunagakure's strongest fighters now, right?"
Ebizō couldn't help but blurt out.
Shamon thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.
The Fourth Kazekage had been assassinated by Orochimaru, and many shinobi died during Konoha's destruction plan. These three were indeed the strongest ninja currently left in Sunagakure besides Baki.
Being one of the Five Great Villages, yet falling to such a state...
What a disgrace!
Sankai clenched his fist and took a deep breath before declaring, "Teacher, I will make our village strong again! We will definitely surpass Konoha!"
Shamon watched while murmuring his agreement.
The images of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju floated into his mind. Tobirama may not have matched Hashirama's strength, but he was still incredibly powerful.
This generation's unmatched prodigies!
Originally, he thought Konoha would weaken somewhat after Tobirama's era, but looking at the current situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura divided their roles — one focused on internal affairs, the other on external ones — making Konoha even stronger than before.
Scariest of all was Konoha's next generation.
In the Chunin Exams alone, those nine youths — each of them would be a golden talent in Sunagakure!
Konoha had nine prodigies in this generation alone!
So... surpassing Konoha?
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