"This summoning beast... a Yumekuma?"
Black Zetsu watched silently from the side.
Such foolish and troublesome creatures. No wonder...
Normally, his concealment technique could never be detected, but earlier he had been careless, failing to consider Yumekuma's secret ability. Combined with slight emotional fluctuations, this allowed Akaba to sense his presence.
But switching positions instantly? That guy definitely wouldn't mind.
Black Zetsu stared into the distance, quietly observing every move of Akaba and the Genin. After a while, it turned out to be just another dull Genin training session.
They actually assigned him to train Genin with this level of skill?
Black Zetsu observed for a moment, then took out a manga volume. Since rushing to Konoha earlier, he'd only read half of it. Now he might as well observe while reading.
After all, with his abilities, multitasking wasn't an issue at all.
At the distant training field.
Akaba slightly frowned. He felt something was off, yet he couldn't sense anything.
It must be Black Zetsu!
Whether it was or not, he was convinced now. But since he couldn't locate Black Zetsu, he could only temporarily ignore him, pretending he didn't exist. However, once he found him...
Akaba pondered briefly, gave the others a subtle glance, then formed Hand Seals releasing an illusion—though he no longer needed Hand Seals to use Illusionary Exercise.
These Hand Seals were just signals, telling others to stay alert.
An enemy?
Shiragusa Ryosuke slightly furrowed his brow. Then he noticed Akaba signaling them to remain still, ready to awaken the students at any moment and evacuate them if necessary.
What's going on?
He didn't quite understand, but as a battle-hardened veteran, he knew that as long as the superior's decision made sense, you followed orders without full understanding.
Just like now.
Everyone inside the illusion lacked resistance. If something truly unexpected happened, waking them up and covering their escape would be the appropriate emergency plan.
Once the illusion deployed, the group got pulled into it.
Black Zetsu, watching from afar, hesitated for a moment. What kind of mission was this—using such a large-scale Genjutsu on mere Genin?
Seemed like some sort of training.
Black Zetsu paused several seconds, carefully thinking, eventually guessing the purpose behind this technique.
A group of Genin—all allies. Clearly, there was no way they could use offensive Ninjutsu, so training must've been the only option.
Using illusions for training—an unusual approach indeed.
"This is certainly foolish behavior, but having someone interesting around after such a long time isn't all that bad."
Black Zetsu put away his manga book, preparing to leave.
However.
Just at that moment, he sensed a sudden presence appear beside him.
That brat?
He flinched slightly, only to see Akaba punch through the tree beside him.
Black Zetsu quickly escaped, instantly vanishing underground.
"No one here? Maybe I was just imagining it again."
Akaba slightly frowned.
Shortly after casting the illusion, Little Yumekuma absorbed the Spirit Points of those ninja within the illusionary world. Being in a spiritually connected state, he received considerable enhancement. Combined with Yumekuma's special perception abilities regarding emotions, thoughts, and spiritual forms...
Finally, he detected the vague location responsible for that uncomfortable feeling.
Coincidentally, there was an old Flying Thunder God mark nearby. He used a Multiple Shadow Clone to stay in place while his real body instantly teleported over.
It was a damn shame he didn't manage to catch him, but Akaba's goal had already been achieved. His earlier "Is nobody here?" was purely for Black Zetsu's benefit, making the latter mistakenly believe he'd sensed and guessed the location through intuition alone, thus prompting an attack from that direction.
"This escape speed... It's definitely Black Zetsu."
Akaba inwardly understood.
Earlier, he had actually seen a black shadow quickly vanish into the ground, but he pretended not to notice.
Because after thinking it through, without revealing the Sharingan or exposing his knowledge of Black Zetsu, there seemed no direct way to attack Black Zetsu.
Just as Kakashi Windseer had advised.
Properly keeping his hidden aces up his sleeve would help defeat opponents when it matters most.
After thinking it through, he chose not to attack Black Zetsu but merely showed off his fist.
There's nothing worse than knowing someone's got their eyes on you. Under appropriate circumstances, it was necessary to issue a warning; otherwise, Black Zetsu might think he was just a pushover to be played like a puppet.
This warning should at least make Black Zetsu hesitate.
Akaba mused silently.
"Lord, just now..."
"I don't know, maybe I felt something wrong."
Akaba continued acting, then ordered someone to clear away the fallen trees before returning to resume control of the illusion.
Shiragusa Ryosuke awkwardly squatted down, carefully inspecting the wreckage among the trees.
This wasn't some wild swing — there was a clear target.
There must've been someone here just now, right?
"Lord Ryosuke."
"You all assist with the cleanup. I'll go back to handle other tasks."
He awkwardly stood back up before returning to Akaba's side.
Inside the illusion.
A group made their way along the path from the Land of Fire toward Uzumaki Village.
This was a grand illusion.
Everyone was grouped together. Thanks to Loe's sharp leadership earlier, it didn't take long before they all rallied under his command and split up the work accordingly.
They'd improved a lot — especially when it came to teamwork. It was honestly amazing.
Even Uchiha Ryo could now work seamlessly with the rest. They pressed forward with confidence, quickly closing in on Uzumaki Village. However,
The battle had only just begun.
"Lord, if we enter the illusion too, won't there be nobody guarding outside?"
Ryosuke expressed concern.
"No problem. I think it's safe now, besides, there're still Anbu units around."
Akaba opened the "Observation Room."
Honestly speaking, even he himself wasn't exactly sure how much progress this group had made over one month.
After all, he had only spent half the month personally training them — the rest were handled by Sakumo and Shishio. But so far, these people had performed quite well.
In terms of strength, they were at least on par with elite Genin, and the strongest among them could already challenge Chunin directly.
"Actually, Loe already completely qualifies as a Chunin. As long as his power improves a bit more, participating in the Chunin Exams will almost guarantee him becoming one."
Ryosuke whispered softly.
"After all, he's from the Nara Clan. Every generation always has several extremely intelligent individuals."
Akaba replied.
They had already entered the Uzumaki Village, readying their withdrawal — he had drastically condensed the plot. In reality, the battle at Uzumaki Village lasted a full three days!
Within three days, those "rogue ninja" hadn't stopped attacking. Although everyone had gathered their forces, they'd still failed to break through the encirclement until Uzumaki Shuhai held the rear guard, finally opening a breach in the encirclement.
Here, it's merely thirty waves of monsters and the last wave with countless enemies forming an encirclement.
Some just couldn't last until the very end.
Some died in battle, while others perished covering their companions' retreat—like Might Duy.
To protect the main force's withdrawal, he did exactly what Uzumaki Shuhai had done—activated the Fourth Gate within the [Eight Gates] while trapped in an illusion, unleashing the [True Reverse Lotus].
This kid definitely shows promise when it comes to the [Eight Gates].
After this test, everyone did pretty well. As the test neared completion, Akaba left behind a Multiple Shadow Clone before returning to the village himself.
Everything in the village remained peaceful.
Upon returning, Akaba didn't go anywhere else but immediately sought out Mito Uzumaki.
The issue regarding Black Zetsu could be brought up with her at this point.
At the Senju compound.
Mito Uzumaki's appearance remained that of a thirty-year-old woman—still exquisitely beautiful. But for some unknown reason, this time Akaba felt she seemed slightly older than before during their meeting.
Is it because my spiritual power has increased?
Slightly taken aback, Akaba stood afar outside the door without entering while Mito pretended not to notice, gently teaching them key points about sealing techniques.
Several seconds later, the lesson appeared to conclude.
"Keep practicing—you all need to learn these valuable sealing techniques as soon as possible."
Mito said kindly.
"Yes, Grandma Mito."
They responded in unison.
Mito Uzumaki stepped out from the courtyard, walking slowly like an ordinary elder, though her outer appearance remained youthful and beautiful.
Akaba remained silent.
The closer he approached, the more he sensed the weakening aura emanating from this powerful female ninja from the era of the First Hokage and Madara.
"Don't wear that expression; after all, I'm already quite old."
Mito Uzumaki said lightly.
"You…"
Akaba froze.
Did she know he could sense this?
"Come on, walk with me for a bit."
Mito smiled gently.
Akaba kept pace alongside her. Since she waited to talk until now, she must not have wanted anyone else to overhear.
The Senju compound itself was quite secluded. After leaving onto the small path outside the compound, they arrived at the woods where they could even see the Naka River from this side.
"The Naka River… It's said that Hashirama and Madara first met by the riverside over there."
Mito pointed into the distance.
"Is that so? From what I've heard, their clans waged major battles here long ago."
"Precisely. The endless wars gave rise to two heroes—Hashirama and Madara. Both yearned for peace and hated war, but unfortunately, their ideologies differed slightly."
Mito sighed softly before continuing, "Akaba, peace isn't something one person alone can accomplish—it requires collective effort and everyone's love. I hope you'll become another Hashirama, rather than another Madara."
"To compare me with figures like the First Hokage and Madara yourself… You really think highly of me."
Akaba was rather embarrassed.
She says that...
"You have that potential. For instance, you've grown stronger again this time—strong enough to sense my aging body."
Mito Uzumaki smiled gently. "When I grow old enough, you can take my place and protect the village. That is the Will of Fire—the natural cycle of old leaves falling for new ones to bloom."
"Grandma Mito..."
Akaba called her name, unsure how to respond to this wise and great kunoichi. Indeed, she had already sensed something different about him.
Despite not knowing where his powers came from, she had still placed her hopes in him.
"Come to think of it, why did you seek me out?"
Mito suddenly recalled—he never visited the Senju clan grounds without reason. Based on his nature, he must have encountered something serious.
"I'm in the Preparatory Division, and I might have encountered someone with a very terrifying hiding ability. I couldn't determine exactly what his power is, but his hiding and evasion abilities are extremely strong, so I came here to warn you to stay cautious."
Mito was slightly taken aback, then seemed to recall something. After a long moment of deep thought, she asked, "His hiding ability is so strong… yet you noticed him? How?"
"I'm not sure either—it just gave me an uncomfortable feeling. However, after approaching, using [Yumekuma clan's Secret Technique], I truly sensed some mental energy present. So I was sure someone was definitely hiding there."
Akaba explained.
"Hmm, feeling uneasy... speaking of that, I used to feel similar discomfort before. It was right before Madara Uchiha defected—he came to fetch Hashirama once. I felt somewhat uncomfortable back then, but the feeling disappeared quickly, so I didn't pay much attention."
At that time, Mito had been very confident in her sensory abilities. Since she couldn't sense anything further, she simply dismissed it as an illusion.
If Akaba's experience matched what she once felt...
Thinking of this, Mito shivered involuntarily. Could it be that Madara's defection had been manipulated from beginning to end by yet another unknown person?
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>