A lot of that credit had to go to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The man who might as well have been called Konoha's foremost Uchiha expert had been an absolute jutsu-creation fanatic. If he did not have a few hard-won insights into the Sharingan tucked away somewhere, what exactly had he been researching all that time?
The scrolls' notes on the Sharingan were so detailed that, in some places, they were even more thorough than the Uchiha clan's own records.
Reading those pages signed Tobirama Senju, Akira could not help sighing to himself. Sometimes your worst enemy really did understand you best.
That year of seclusion had taken his understanding of the Sharingan to an entirely new level.
A lot had happened across the ninja world during that time.
For Naruto's protection, and also for his growth, Jiraiya had taken him on a long journey.
The world was vast, and with a monster like Jiraiya guarding him, the Akatsuki's chances of capturing the Nine-Tails jinchūriki were basically nonexistent.
Even if they did run into him, none of those two-man teams in the organization could honestly say they were guaranteed to beat Jiraiya.
As for Akira, even though he had spent much of the year half retired from the spotlight, his reputation had exploded anyway.
For reasons no one could quite figure out, Kumogakure had spread the story of his solo suppression of the Three-Tails far and wide.
Now the entire ninja world knew that Konoha had produced a fourteen-year-old monster whose strength was already pushing into Kage territory.
That information had naturally made its way back to the Akatsuki through Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.
After hearing the report, Nagato had issued only one instruction: if they encountered Akira in the future and were not absolutely sure of victory, they were to go around him. Dying needlessly was not an option.
Once Akira emerged from training, he officially took up his post as Tsunade's personal guard.
He had assumed the job would be fairly relaxed.
He had been very wrong.
One day, he had barely returned to the village after wrapping up an S-rank mission when ANBU arrived to summon him again.
Akira rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"I knew it. The stronger you get, the more responsibility people dump on you, and the more work they find."
"Still, compared to Kakashi-senpai, I at least get the occasional break."
Misery, after all, was relative.
Konoha was desperately short on top-tier manpower now. Kakashi was being worked like a mule.
Akira, at least, only took high-end assignments, A-rank and S-rank jobs. Over the course of the year, that came to three S-rank missions and five A-rank missions.
In peacetime, that kind of record would have terrified half the jōnin in the village. In Konoha's current state, it only counted as excellent.
Kakashi, meanwhile, had taken on six S-rank missions and ten A-rank missions in the same year. He was practically living on the road.
Tsunade had her reasons for the arrangement.
Kakashi was being overworked because there was no choice.
Akira was being assigned missions because she was building his record.
She was paving the road for his promotion to full jōnin.
When Akira pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, he found it already crowded.
Asuma was smoking.
Guy was flashing that ridiculous grin of his.
Kurenai was adjusting her gloves.
Hinata and the others were there too, all standing ramrod straight.
The only person missing was Konoha's busiest workhorse, Kakashi.
"Hokage-hime, what is it this time? Another big one?" Akira asked as he walked up to the desk.
A faint smile touched Tsunade's lips.
"The Sunagkure is co-hosting the next Chūnin Exams. This time, I want you to lead the team there and tear the place apart..."
She coughed lightly.
"Participate, I mean."
Akira glanced at the three elite jōnin beside him.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to let Guy-sensei or the others handle it?"
"No. This time, you'll be the overall leader. They're just the squad instructors."
Tsunade shook her head, leaving no room for argument.
Guy threw up a gleaming thumbs-up.
"We're mostly there to look after the students. As for diplomacy and all the strategic, brain-burning stuff, that's your job. Youth!"
Akira understood immediately.
This was the final test to remove the "special" from "special jōnin."
With the dazzling mission record he had built over the past year, and now this leadership assignment to add polish, a full promotion to jōnin was all but certain.
He glanced at the three veterans. Seeing no objections from any of them, he accepted at once.
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Three days later, Akira led a massive Konoha delegation into the gates of Sunagakure.
And while he was calmly checking the group into their lodging, Sunagakure's high-level conference room was already in chaos.
Around the long table, the elders were shouting over one another, faces flushed red.
There was only one topic on the table:
Akira, the humanoid tailed beast, had entered the village. What were they supposed to do now?
Akira's reputation in the ninja world was enormous now. There was already something of the old "Yellow Flash" mystique about him.
Especially after the story of him taking on the Three-Tails alone. That kind of feat simply made no sense.
"This is a show of force from Konoha!"
One of the elders slammed his palm on the table and roared,
"They sent that monster, the one who knows Flying Raijin and can wrestle tailed beasts, as the leader of their delegation. What exactly is Tsunade trying to pull?"
A shinobi of that level entering the village was basically the same as dropping a time bomb in the middle of Sunagakure.
What made it worse was that after their defeat and submission in the last Konoha Crush disaster, the Suna had no leverage at all to refuse.
Compared to the panicking old men, the younger generation was far calmer.
Temari, Kankurō, and Baki sat on one side of the table, expressions grim.
"Everyone, calm down."
Kankurō spoke first, frowning.
"Akira's current title is Hokage's guard. He's here through proper channels to lead a team for the exams. There's nothing inappropriate about it."
"Rather than sitting here frightening ourselves, we'd be better off focusing on organizing the exam grounds."
"Amegakure and Takigakure are both sending teams this year. If anything goes wrong, it's our reputation on the line."
Kankurō might not have been old, but he saw the situation clearly. Suna was weak right now. Instead of trying to guard against a monster they could not possibly stop, it made more sense to handle the diplomatic side properly.
"And what if he does decide to act?" one elder insisted.
Temari took a slow breath and stood.
"He won't."
"Unless Konoha wants a full-scale war, Akira has no reason to attack us."
"And besides..."
Her eyes swept over everyone in the room before settling on Baki.
"If he did decide to do something, who exactly here could stop him?"
"Baki-sensei?"
Baki's mouth twitched.
He remembered all too clearly the terrifying summon Akira had unleashed back then and instantly lost any urge to respond.
This was a man who could brawl with tailed beasts.
The entire Sunagakure put together would not be enough.
Since resistance was pointless, all they could do was tighten security.
Over the next few days, Akira effectively became the village's celebrity exhibit.
Shinobi from every minor village kept finding excuses to "run into" him.
Kusagakure, Takigakure, Amegakure. One after another, they all wanted to see whether the fourteen-year-old monster who could suppress a tailed beast actually had two heads.
In their imaginations, someone capable of that kind of feat ought to look like the Third Raikage. Huge muscles, thick neck, the kind of face that could scare children.
But when they finally saw Akira in person, jaws nearly hit the floor.
He was tall and lean, about five foot ten now, towering over most boys his age, but his build was sleek and balanced, not overwhelmingly bulky.
And worst of all, his face was far too handsome and refined.
He looked less like a battlefield butcher and more like some noble's gifted son.
That huge contrast only made his legend feel even stranger and more untouchable.
At last, the Chūnin Exams began.
Sand-laden wind swept past the gates of the exam grounds.
Standing before Konoha's younger generation, Akira smiled and joked,
"All right, everyone. We're on the road here, so don't embarrass the village."
Sakura, Ino, Chōji, and the others stood in a neat line. Even without the original core trio, the lineup was still impressive.
Kiba clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, "There he goes again."
Hinata's face turned red, but her gaze was firm.
"Akira-kun, we'll do our best!"
Ino looked positively radiant.
"This time I'm definitely making Chūnin. Then I'll start catching up to you!"
From beside her, Shino calmly delivered the finishing blow.
"If you become jōnin, does that mean you'll catch up to Akira? Statistically, the odds are zero."
Ino spun around on him at once.
"Shino! Nobody asked you!"
Lee was still as fired up as ever. He clenched his fists, burning with enthusiasm.
"Akira! Once I pass the exam, I challenge you!"
"Anytime."
Akira smiled mildly.
"First, make it past what's in front of you."
Neji said nothing, but the challenge in his eyes was impossible to miss.
Once the younger shinobi were sent inside, Akira sat beneath a shaded awning outside the arena with Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai.
A special jōnin directing three veteran elite jōnin looked absurd no matter how you sliced it.
None of the three had any objection.
Strength determined status. Even Itachi, who had overwhelmed Kakashi, treated Akira with caution. What grounds did they have to argue?
As Guy looked at Akira in profile, he could not help reflecting that Akira's Wood Style had already surpassed Yamato's two years ago. By now, he was probably approaching the level of the First Hokage himself.
That was the kind of power that could suppress an era.
While the four chatted idly, the bell rang to mark the end of the written exam.
Unsurprisingly, Konoha had achieved a full pass.
As the candidates came streaming out, Akira noticed a few familiar faces.
There was Fū, with her mint-green hair.
There was also Ajisai, the girl who would one day become one of Pain's Paths.
But the most conspicuous figures were the three "hosts" waiting by the road.
Temari.
Kankurō.
And Gaara, with that oversized gourd strapped to his back.
They had clearly come to block the way.
Akira arched a brow and led his team toward them.
"So, the three of you got promoted to Chūnin pretty fast. Rocket speed, really."
It was not exactly a gentle comment.
Temari was seventeen. Kankurō was sixteen. They had only just made Chūnin.
Meanwhile fourteen-year-old Akira was already essentially a future jōnin and a Kage-class monster.
Temari drew in a steadying breath and chose to be direct.
"Akira-san, could we have a word in private?"
This had come straight from the Suna leadership. They needed to sound him out.
"So your village really is that wary of me, huh?"
Akira did not look offended. He turned to the others behind him.
"Guy-sensei, take everyone back to the inn. I won't be long."
Asuma immediately frowned.
"That's too dangerous. You're the core of this mission. You shouldn't take unnecessary risks."
Guy, however, stepped forward and blocked him with a grin.
"Relax. There's no one left in Sunagakure who can hold him if they try."
With Guy backing him, and Akira looking perfectly unbothered, Asuma reluctantly let it go.
The group made their way to a secluded tea house near the edge of the village.