Chapter 329: Uchiha Akira's Reprimand
Naruto opened his eyes, his consciousness violently tearing away from the gloomy, waterlogged depths of the sealed space and crashing back into reality.
He slammed his fist into the dirt.
"Damn it!"
Naruto growled, his face twisting with deep unwillingness. His knuckles scraped against the rough ground, but he barely felt the sting. That stinky fox. Not only was its mouth venomous, but its attitude was also infuriatingly arrogant.
What did the fox mean, he lacked magnanimity?
What did it mean, he was too weak?
'One day! I will definitely make you willingly hand over your power!' Naruto gritted his teeth, secretly vowing in his heart.
However, beneath the burning frustration, Naruto knew the Nine-Tails was telling the truth. He was indeed too weak. Rashly touching that dark, boiling chakra had almost led to an absolute disaster just moments ago. But acknowledging the cold facts did not mean he had to admit defeat.
Deep inside the sealed space.
The Nine-Tails lay down again, the heavy chains clinking faintly as it rested its massive, furred head upon its front paws.
It snorted, a sound that sent ripples across the shallow water of the cage.
"To control This Great Lord's power, you are still far from ready, kid."
The deep, rumbling voice echoed through the empty, cavernous space. Yet, buried within that ancient, cynical tone was a subtle hint of expectation, an emotion so faint that even the great beast itself had not fully noticed it.
Perhaps it was just the sheer boredom of being imprisoned in darkness for so many years. This blond kid was stupid, loud, and incredibly weak, but that unyielding, stubborn spirit of his was actually quite interesting.
Hokage Office.
"Have Nara Shikaku come to my office."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Less than five minutes later, a crisp knock sounded at the heavy wooden door.
"Hokage-sama, you sent for me." Nara Shikaku walked in, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp and attentive.
"Shikaku." Uchiha Akira set down the stack of intelligence reports in his hand and stood up from the massive desk. "Come with me to a place."
Shikaku did not ask any unnecessary questions. He simply nodded.
Uchiha Akira closed the distance between them and gently placed a hand on the strategist's shoulder.
The next second.
Nara Shikaku felt the scene before his eyes violently twist. A severe sensation of spinning instantly overwhelmed his senses, pulling the ground right out from under his feet.
But the disorienting feeling came and went in a flash.
In just a single breath, the dizzying blur faded, and everything around him became crystal clear once more.
Only, this place was no longer the Hokage Office.
Nara Shikaku found himself suspended in mid-air. He forcefully suppressed the sudden spike of shock in his chest and instinctively looked downwards.
This chief of staff of Konoha, a man famous throughout the entire Ninja World for his terrifying intelligence and strategic prowess, a man who remained unfazed no matter how chaotic the battlefield became, was utterly stunned.
As far as his eyes could see, stretching out beneath the clouds, was a vast, boundless, and pristine new world.
"This... this is..."
Nara Shikaku's voice trembled slightly, his heart pounding against his ribs with immense shock.
What was this place?
Genjutsu?
Impossible. His chakra flow was perfectly stable. The sound of the high-altitude wind rushing past his ears, the crisp chill of the air filling his lungs, the sheer scale of the horizon stretching out below them, everything was as real as the physical world.
"Welcome to my world, Shikaku."
Uchiha Akira's calm, measured voice rang in Nara Shikaku's ears.
"I call it, Tianyu Space."
My world?
Those simple words instantly caused Nara Shikaku's pupils to contract to the size of pinpricks.
"Hokage-sama... you... you mean... this world... is yours..."
"That is right." Akira's tone was entirely casual, as if discussing the weather. "I created it."
Nara Shikaku's mind went completely blank for a fraction of a second.
Creating a world?
This was a domain of power only a mythical god could possess. Awe and disbelief warred within him, but for a master strategist of Nara Shikaku's caliber, those emotions were quickly pushed aside. His very first coherent thought was what this isolated, massive space meant for the Hidden Leaf Village.
This meant that Konoha now possessed an absolutely safe, never-falling, ultimate stronghold.
With this pocket dimension, Konoha's war potential, development ceiling, and survival capabilities would instantly rise to an unmatched and terrifying height. It was a strategic advantage that all other ninja villages could only dream of in their wildest fantasies.
"Hokage-sama!"
Nara Shikaku excitedly bowed deeply to Uchiha Akira, his usual lazy demeanor completely vanishing.
Uchiha Akira smiled slightly, appreciating the man's immediate grasp of the situation.
"I called you here because I have an important matter to entrust to you."
"Please instruct me!" Nara Shikaku immediately composed himself, his mind shifting into a state of absolute calm and ruthless efficiency.
"From today onwards, you will be fully responsible for the development and construction of this space." Akira looked out over the vast landscape. "First, mobilize the Logistics Department and the Engineering Department to build a new city down there, modeled exactly after Konoha Village."
"Second, select the first batch of residents from Konoha's civilian population and migrate a portion of them to live here."
Akira turned his gaze back to Shikaku, his eyes turning serious. "Remember, absolute secrecy is paramount. All personnel involved in the construction, as well as the first batch of migrated residents, will not be allowed to return to the outside world for the time being after entering this place."
"Understood!" Nara Shikaku nodded heavily.
His brain was already working at maximum capacity, rapidly calculating logistics, resource allocation, and cover stories. Detailed blueprints and migration plans were already forming in his mind.
"Hokage-sama! Your subordinate guarantees that I will not fail in my mission!"
Uchiha Akira nodded with satisfaction. Entrusting such a tedious yet utterly crucial matter to Nara Shikaku meant he could not be more at ease. The Nara clan head never missed a detail.
Then, with a mere thought, the space twisted once more, bringing Nara Shikaku straight back to the Hokage Office.
Nara Shikaku bowed deeply one last time, then turned on his heel and quickly left the office to begin his work.
After sending his chief of staff away, Uchiha Akira's figure flickered, completely disappearing from the office.
He reappeared deep within the Tianyu Space, specifically on the isolated training ground where Naruto and the others had been stationed.
As soon as his boots touched the ground, Uchiha Akira frowned.
The scene before him was an absolute mess.
The earth was scorched and cratered, deep claw marks gouged into the bedrock. Not far away, Naruto, Gaara, Hinata, and Temari were slumped on the ruined ground, their faces deathly pale and covered in dirt and sweat.
Naruto, in particular, was in a terrible state, his iconic orange clothes torn to rags, his breathing ragged and heavy.
"Teacher!"
Hinata was the first to spot his arrival. She forced her exhausted legs to move and quickly stood up, her white eyes filled with lingering fear and relief.
Uchiha Akira took a single step, his figure blurring as he instantly appeared before the four genin.
"What happened?"
Temari swallowed hard, glancing nervously at the dejected Naruto before recounting everything that had just transpired.
Upon hearing that Naruto had, completely without his supervision, presumptuously tried to force a communication with the Nine-Tails, ultimately leading to a violent chakra rampage that almost caused a fatal disaster, Uchiha Akira's expression instantly darkened.
The air grew heavy. An invisible, suffocating pressure suddenly enveloped the entire ruined training ground.
"Naruto."
The single word cut through the air like a blade.
"Look up and look at me."
Naruto's body trembled violently. His face was filled with intense unease and guilt, entirely unable to meet Uchiha Akira's piercing gaze.
"Teacher... I..."
"Did I not tell you that I would personally guide you on how to control the Nine-Tails' power?"
"...You did."
"Then why did you act on your own?"
Uchiha Akira's tone suddenly became incredibly stern, the sheer weight of his authority pressing down on the boy's shoulders.
"What do you think the Nine-Tails' power is? A toy? A shortcut?" Akira's voice rose, sharp and unforgiving. "Do you have any idea what you were doing just now?!"
He pointed a finger at the exhausted genin nearby.
"Look at your companions around you!"
Uchiha Akira locked eyes with Gaara, noting the scattered, useless sand and the boy's heavy panting, before turning his harsh gaze back to Naruto.
"If they had not desperately put their lives on the line to stop you, what would have happened to you now? What would have happened to them?"
"Did you even consider the consequences?!"
Uchiha Akira's relentless questioning struck Naruto like physical blows, making the young jinchuriki feel even more dejected and ashamed. He stared at the dirt, his fists clenched tightly in his lap.
"I am sorry... Teacher... I was wrong..."
Seeing Naruto lower his head and humbly admit his fatal mistake, the burning anger in Uchiha Akira's heart largely dissipated. The boy was reckless, but he was not malicious.
He let out a slow breath, the crushing pressure in the air fading away as his tone softened just a little.
"I can understand your desire to become stronger. The world is dangerous, and you want to protect those you care about. But you must understand that true power is never achieved overnight."
Akira stepped over the scorched earth and walked directly in front of Naruto, looking down at the battered boy.
"Especially the Nine-Tails' power. It is a volatile double-edged sword. While it grants you immense, world-shaking strength, it can also consume your mind and lead you to eternal damnation at any given moment."
Uchiha Akira crouched down slightly, ensuring his words sank deep into Naruto's mind.
"Remember my words, Naruto."
"Without my explicit permission and my direct supervision, you are absolutely forbidden to attempt to touch the Nine-Tails' power again."
"Do you understand?"
Naruto finally lifted his head. He looked into Uchiha Akira's serious, commanding eyes, the guilt washing away to leave behind a firm, unwavering resolve.
"...I understand, Teacher!"
Naruto looked at Uchiha Akira and nodded heavily.
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