Naruto: I Draw Power Into Reality

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't surprised.

From his observation of Akaba, this man was clever and lazy, yet also somewhat cautious about danger.

That was the polite way to put it. Less politely, he was a coward.

Therefore, only after confirming there was no threat would he remain so calm and relaxed, watching everything unfold.

"Hey, call me Teacher outside. I'm Danzo, your senior apprentice, and practically your mentor too."

Hiruzen casually sat down for a chat. "Know why I did that?"

Just chatting? Akaba was quite willing indeed. Sitting beside him, he softly replied, "To prepare them ahead of time in case we encounter Mist ninja later, helping them become familiar with the Mist combat tactics."

"Mmm, although those weren't Multiple Shadow Clones — they were real people."

"You actually subdued him?"

Akaba finally showed some surprise. He had believed the upper Jonin was a disguise by Hiruzen from start to finish, not realizing the speaker was in fact the real one.

"I tied him up."

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally managed to shock Akaba, secretly feeling rather pleased with himself.

In truth, Akaba really was shaken.

As an upper Jonin, to be subdued immediately upon engaging someone—probably only the Hokage could accomplish such a feat.

He was just too strong!

"Alright, we've basically eliminated all threats. No need to keep pretending."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, forming hand seals to dispel the thick fog. Now everyone could finally see their surroundings clearly.

Everything lay in ruins!

"So many Chunin, and not even one was killed?"

Shiso felt puzzled, until he saw Akaba and Hiruzen Sarutobi standing together.

Acting?

No. Besides the Chunin they had killed, two other Chunin were dragged underground, leaving only their heads above ground.

Clearly Akaba's work.

Orochimaru became increasingly conflicted as he quickly understood what had happened.

The Third had swiftly neutralized the Jonin enemy before disguising himself as one to test their abilities.

Obviously, this test wasn't specifically aimed at Orochimaru and the others.

After all, among the five of them, handling several Chunin proved quite challenging. Unlike Akaba, who moved freely within the mist and rapidly dealt with two Chunin.

Not only that, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that half of the enemy ninja they had defeated had died from blade wounds.

Of course,

Compared to Jiraiya and Tsunade, his results seemed decent enough.

"Come, let's interrogate this Jonin."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked into the woods, followed by everyone except the caravan guards.

"He's the Jonin? So much bravado, yet collapsed instantly. His body must've been severely weakened from prior exertion."

"Jiraiya!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed deliberately, quickly stopping him.

Though Jiraiya didn't fully understand why his teacher coughed, he got the message to stay quiet—or else face another beating from Tsunade.

Akaba crouched down for a close inspection.

Judging from the Mist ninja attire and the sword currently held by the Third, its original owner was clearly this man—though it wasn't even a chakra-infused blade, let alone [one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist].

"He's a rogue ninja branded as a traitor."

Seeing the scratch across the forehead protector, Tsunade fell into contemplation. "It seems even if he survives, Kirigakure will never acknowledge him."

"This is certainly the case, and—"

Orochimaru lifted his head and glanced around. The Mist Village's Pursuit Unit should be arriving soon, right?

Whoosh!

A kunai flew out from within the forest.

Akaba looked up and caught sight of a figure through the foliage.

The Mist Pursuit Unit!

"A few of you, may I have him? I've been chasing him for days."

He offered a respectful bow.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had changed his appearance, yet no fear or intimidation radiated from him. Otherwise, the Mist Village's Anbu would have already attacked and killed everyone on the spot.

"How many rogue ninja from your village are there in the Land of Whirlpools?"

Akaba asked.

"That's our secret. We cannot tell you."

The Mist Anbu replied indifferently.

"Then you can stay here too. Might as well deal with you all together."

With one stroke of his kunai, Akaba added another line onto his sketchpad. Then suddenly, his body blurred and the branch beneath his feet snapped. He plummeted down from the tree.

"Ahhh my leg!"

Under normal circumstances, given an Anbu's abilities, he absolutely wouldn't have broken his leg from such a fall. Yet midair, he seemed as though asleep—completely failing to resist his descent—which resulted directly in his leg snapping upon impact.

"Acaba!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't expected Akaba to strike first. By now, it was too late to stop him.

At the same time, deep in his heart, Hiruzen felt astonished.

Despite being part of the Anbu, this Mist ninja possessed formidable strength. However, Akaba used [Five Senses Manipulation] to disable his ability to resist, then followed up with [Materialize Illusions into Reality] to sever the branch. And the broken leg wasn't simply caused by the fall alone.

Falling was only one part; the real reason was that his leg had shattered within the environment itself.

In terms of mastery and application of Kekkei Genkai [a rare genetic technique passed down through specific clans], Akaba had become even more terrifying than many veterans from the Sakuma Clan. Others couldn't see much, but they clearly understood how difficult it was for an Anbu to fall victim to such a technique.

"Y-You, you..."

Regaining consciousness, the Mist Anbu wore an expression of utter disbelief.

He had revealed his identity, and yet they still dared to attack him—it equaled declaring war on the Hidden Mist.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stated calmly, "What plans does your Hidden Mist Village have over here?"

"I came merely to hunt a traitor. If you kill me, you're harboring one yourselves."

He gritted his teeth.

"And who will know that? Perhaps it's just a runaway traitor killing you instead. What you said just now suggests that the traitor might actually be someone you sent, meaning he wouldn't possibly kill you himself."

Akaba stood up, stretched lazily, smirking coldly.

[Water Release!]

As the Mist Anbu began channeling his Water Release technique, he was immediately cut down.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sheathed his blade, wearing an indifferent expression: "As Anbu agents, they won't reveal any further intelligence."

"What about the other one?"

Tsunade asked.

"Bring him back to the village. Let Yamanaka's clan take a look at him."

Hiruzen created a Shadow Clone, which split off before using Sealing Technique to store the Anbu's corpse. Then turning toward Shiso and Sakumo, he continued, "You two will return to the village with my clone. Hand both him and the Mist Anbu corpse over to your teacher."

"Yes sir!"

Sakumo grabbed the sealing scroll while Shiso carried the body, following the clone back toward Konoha Village to deliver them to your teacher.

Tsunade watched them leave, then said in surprise, "This time you didn't say you wanted to go back too. Now that's something strange."

"Some impossible things aren't even worth bothering to say."

Akaba rose to his feet.

The Land of Whirlpools is treacherous—but also a golden opportunity for him.

The more he sees, the more naturally he can anticipate what comes next without arousing suspicion. Besides, he wants to confirm a theory.

His [Five Senses Manipulation] awakening cost only thirty points.

However, the Uzumaki clan's physical constitution requires 4,000 points.

A common [Sharingan] costs between 500 and 2,000 points.

Although [Five Senses Manipulation] isn't as powerful as the [Mangekyo Sharingan], it's definitely no worse than a regular [Sharingan]. And yet, this ability only costs thirty points—which hints that there might be loopholes or discounts under certain conditions.

Uchiha eyes are difficult to find, but Uzumaki blood is now relatively easy to obtain.

"Mr. Kazama, let's keep moving."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to his feet. What he'd witnessed in the Land of Whirlpools had solidified his resolve—Uzumaki Village must be protected, and at the very least, the Uzumaki bloodline preserved.

However, none of the Hidden Villages were openly taking action yet, and Konoha couldn't directly assist Uzumaki Village either. Otherwise, it would spark another [Great Ninja World War].

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