"So Shishio isn't with you? You came alone?"
Sakumo sat outside the dojo, drenched in sweat.
Even though it was his birthday, the day felt just like any other — he kept training as hard as ever.
"It'd be too much bother to bring him all the way here, so I didn't call him."
Akaba showed absolutely no sense of guilt.
He already had several shadow clones training hard, though they weren't nearly as helpful as Shishio would've been. Naturally, he believed the capable should handle more work.
What's the big deal? Training today looks no different from any other day.
This guy's gotten so good at being shameless it's actually annoying.
Sakumo wiped the sweat from his face, narrowed his eyes slightly, then stood up. "If there's nothing else, I'll keep going. I still have quite a bit left to do today."
"I brought a birthday present for you."
Akaba pulled out a sealing scroll containing "Tanto," then performed the Sealing Release Technique to retrieve it.
A pair of short swords.
Sakumo's eyes lit up immediately — short swords were precisely the weapon his clan specialized in — and these were clearly Chakra Weapons.
"It's called Tanto. I took it from a Mist ninja. I thought it suited you well, and since it's your birthday, consider it a gift."
Akaba handed the Tanto over. "Give it a try."
While rarely seen in the manga, the Tanto still looked incredibly powerful and visually stunning — it had real flair.
"A Lightning-natured Chakra Weapon." Sakumo remarked as he accepted the blade, quickly sensing its abilities.
Then—
[Chidori Blade!]
Zzzzzt!
Electric sparks erupted with a piercing crackle. With one swing, a bolt of lightning suddenly shot forth.
Akaba, standing nearby, was instantly struck by the blast.
Paralyzed! He immediately activated his chakra, using medical techniques to counteract the numbness before leaping back quickly.
"Thanks, Akaba! This blade really suits me!"
Sakumo couldn't stop admiring it.
Though he already had the White Fang and two other blades, who could resist having yet another fine weapon?
"If you like it, great."
After handing this over, Akaba pulled out another scroll.
"This one's from Teacher."
"What is it?"
"A gift from Teacher. Take a look."
He passed the package over. Sakumo accepted it and applied the unsealing hand seal to remove the barrier on the Scroll of Sealing.
Akaba watched closely as the scroll unfurled.
He was curious what Danzō had sent. Judging from the scroll's appearance, it likely contained another sword.
As the seal lifted, the blade emerged.
It was a sword without a tsuba — sleek, sharp, and strikingly elegant. As soon as Akaba saw it, he recognized its similarity to the one Sasuke later wielded.
No, it might just be the very same blade.
"The Kusanagi — it's the Kusanagi!"
Sakumo widened his eyes in shock. Even with his usually emotionless expression, excitement now gleamed through.
The Kusanagi wasn't just one sword — it was a legendary type of blade known for being incredibly sharp and immensely powerful.
He picked it up and gave it a test run. Indeed, it could channel Lightning Nature Chakra.
"Kusanagi. Not bad."
That Danzō had managed to acquire such a sword as a gift certainly surprised Akaba.
It was said that Sakumo hadn't been particularly skilled with the long katana before, but now he was nearly mastering the Three-Blade Style—adding another sword wouldn't be a big deal.
"Please thank Teacher for me."
Sakumo was taken aback yet deeply moved.
Though this blade didn't quite suit his current style, a swordsman could always benefit from mastering an additional technique for certain occasions.
Of course,
There's truth to the saying "too many irons in the fire"—overpursuing versatility may do more harm than good.
After obtaining the weapon, Sakumo excitedly ran off to practice his sword techniques.
Kiba and White Fang—two short blades—flowed seamlessly in his hands like natural extensions of his arms, as though he were testing how well they worked together.
"You keep at it. And, by the way—happy birthday."
Akaba had no intention of staying longer.
If Kakashi Windseer came back and found him crouching around here, he'd probably jump at the chance to make him practice swordsmanship again.
Why bother practicing swordplay? He'd much rather save his energy and just punch with Monstrous Strength. If things got rough, he could always amp up his genjutsu—or worst case, bolt away with Flying Thunder God.
Nothing wrong with that.
"Akaba?"
Kakashi Windseer's voice echoed from inside the house. Footsteps followed. Before he arrived, Akaba made hand seals preparing to escape.
In the next second, a hand landed on his shoulder: "Flying Thunder God? Indeed an impressive ninja technique. Your hands are fast enough, but unfortunately, your seal formations are quite rusty. If you were slightly more proficient, I might not have been able to catch up at all."
Akaba broke into a cold sweat.
So fast!
"Father."
Sakumo bowed, tidying up the swords nearby as he did so.
Kakashi Windseer glanced briefly, slightly nodding: "Good swords. Don't disgrace them."
"Yes!"
Sakumo lowered his head.
"Kid, I've heard some rumors about you. I heard you recently mastered Second's Flying Thunder God Slash and defeated three Mist ninjas. How about we spar a bit?"
Kakashi smiled faintly.
"No thanks—I'd stand no chance against you."
Akaba refused without hesitation.
Fight *you*?
With speed like that, I can't even finish my seals in time unless I activate the Kaleidoscope Sharingan. Otherwise, I'm no match.
"Your strength already surpasses many jonin, but when facing elite jonin, victory isn't just decided by raw power—it also comes down to reading your opponent, knowing their moves before they make them."
Kakashi didn't finish, yet the meaning was clear.
As Akaba participated in more battles and exposed his methods, others would inevitably find ways to counter him, making Flying Thunder God no longer a guarantee of invincibility.
Of course, this assumption excluded Sharingan and Creation Rebirth.
Those two abilities remained his ultimate trump cards.
Akaba offered no argument, only vigorously nodding while wearing a humble expression, clearly having no intention of accepting Kakashi's challenge.
Only a total idiot would challenge a speed demon like that head-on.
"Forget it—I never really wanted a match anyway. Recently I read your manga and found that 'Hawk-Eye' character interesting. His swordplay is quite unique."
Kakashi remarked casually.
"I remember drawing only a little about him?"
Akaba looked dazed.
In his fight against Zoro, Dracule Mihawk barely moved his blade, not even bothering to display real swordsmanship—so much so that none of Mihawk's abilities appeared on the list at all.
Yet Kakashi Windseer simply glanced at him indifferently and coldly remarked, "Even though you're the one drawing One Piece, I still have to say—you know nothing about swordsmanship."
Akaba was momentarily speechless.
Well then, whatever. After all, I'm just the one delivering it.
"Mihawk could block Zoro's [Three Thousand Realms] with just a single fingernail, showing he instantly spotted the weakness in Zoro's technique. That's why he shattered [Three Thousand Realms] with one strike."
Sakumo explained.
Regardless of what Akaba thought, purely from a swordsman's perspective, Mihawk's swordsmanship had truly reached an unbelievable level.
"What you both said makes sense. His swordsmanship must indeed be extremely strong. He will definitely appear again in the future—please two just wait patiently."
Akaba smiled.
Though I may not understand swordsmanship, I certainly know how the rest of One Piece is drawn!
You might get swordplay, but guess what? You've still gotta wait till I draw the rest!
Father and son immediately fell silent.
"Do you want to train with the blade?"
Sakumo snapped his finger, sending out chakra threads that simultaneously pulled out three short swords.
In an instant, lightning flashed.
"Excuse me."
Behind his back, Akaba had already silently formed hand seals and vanished right away using Flying Thunder God.
They wanted to practice blades right after clashing with each other? Such unreasonable father-and-son drama! Why don't you two go challenge Madara instead?
Good thing I had a trick ready.
As he walked out of the house, he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
Back with the Uchiha Clan.
Motonami Uchiha painstakingly collected the clan's documents and records, hoping to research a method to prevent the Uchiha bloodline from being forcibly taken over.
"Clan Leader, the Soul Realm is too dangerous. No one has ever dared enter it before; researching it recklessly poses tremendous risks and may ultimately bring destruction upon our family."
Eno Uchiha urged anxiously.
"But—"
Motonami Uchiha knew all this too well. Yet could the Uchiha really continue living in constant fear like this?
"That's only from a manga, and even in the manga, only Orochimaru succeeded in such a method. I think you shouldn't worry excessively. Isn't the main strength of our clan yourself? What others..."
May they die anyway!
That unsaid phrase lingered in Eno's mind, yet he knew Motonami would understand.
The Mangekyo Sharingan.
Motonami Uchiha clearly understood the power of these eyes. Possessing the Mangekyo meant there were very few people capable of forcibly taking over his body. If someone truly existed who could control him while ignoring the Mangekyo, then even if such a soul imprint was discovered, it would be useless anyway.
Motonami Uchiha took several deep breaths, gradually calming down.
"I acted too hastily."
Then, he burned the scroll, watching it burn away page by page. Somehow, he felt as if a weight had lifted off his heart.
Eno Uchiha handed him a manga volume.
"This is today's update."
Motonami Uchiha hesitated briefly, then accepted it and began reading.
Initially, it depicted Gaara from Sunagakure Village battling Kimimaro, with vivid battle descriptions. However, Motonami didn't find much interest in that section and skimmed through it.
Only when Sasuke Uchiha appeared did his pace slow down.
Page by page, he read carefully.
Eno Uchiha didn't spoil anything, but after finishing these five manga chapters, his mood felt rather complicated.
They were meant to be great brothers, and look how it turned out.
What a cruel twist of fate.
Motonami Uchiha stared blankly for several seconds after finishing the last manga chapter, then let out a faint sigh.
Joining Anbu?
So naive.
Though he wasn't sure who was currently running Anbu operations, if it was Danzo, anyone from the Uchiha entering Anbu would obviously never be trusted.
At best, they'd die mysteriously on missions. At worst…
Perhaps Itachi Uchiha had already been turned.
As Clan Leader, one should at least consider this possibility. Motonami refused to believe Akaba's manga characters could act this foolish.
One could only conclude that Sasuke's father had already lost his mind.
He closed the manga, thought for a moment, then just suddenly frowned slightly and asked, "What did you say the name of Itachi and Sasuke's father was again?"
"Seems like it's Fugaku Uchiha?"
After saying this, Eno Uchiha himself froze.
Fugaku?
Isn't that Motonami's son, Fugaku Uchiha!
"That punk must've jinxed my kid!"
Motonami Uchiha became angry.
"Hahaha, chill out, man. Didn't Akaba write himself off the story too?"
"Come on, that's not even the same ballpark!"
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