Now Akira finally understood why Hanzo had only ever kept him as an "advisor" and never let him directly participate in the Rain Village civil war.
Every suggestion had come from him, yet Hanzo had personally carried out every single action.
Even back then, Hanzo had already begun to doubt him—
had already grown wary.
Akira just hadn't noticed it.
Ironically, Akira's ideas genuinely helped Hanzo. That was precisely why Hanzo never exposed him early on, choosing instead to keep listening… until the very end.
And in the end, Akira was still used one last time.
Shōzō's death became Hanzo's justification for entering the coming war.
Akira clicked his tongue.
"Hope Sensei Hiruzen can hold on… don't defect early."
As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi was still around, the overall situation wouldn't spiral too badly.
But if Hiruzen were to defect early?
That would really shake the foundations of everything.
Behind him, Tera was still in relentless pursuit.
Akira formed the Ram hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Five Akiras instantly split apart, dashing off in five different directions.
Tera's eyes narrowed. He formed seals just as quickly.
"Water Clone Jutsu!"
Five watery replicas surged forward, locking onto their respective targets without hesitation.
"This bastard—if you've got the guts, go chase Hanzo! Why are you so obsessed with me?!" Akira cursed inwardly.
At this rate, getting caught was only a matter of time.
So—
he accelerated.
Akira raised his hand. A shuriken appeared, enhanced by Bear Wrestling Hand, turning into a black streak that tore through the air and vanished into the distance.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
In an instant, Akira swapped places with the shuriken—
and in doing so, completely exposed his real position.
Tera's four clones immediately dispersed, leaving only his true body as he continued the chase.
Akira repeated the tactic—throw, substitute, reposition—again and again, until Tera finally disappeared from the Byakugan's range.
Only when his chakra was nearly exhausted did Akira stop.
He pulled out a Greater Mana Potion and took a long gulp. His chakra surged back rapidly.
"…That should do it. He won't catch up now."
Letting out a breath, Akira changed direction and continued moving.
He activated In, suppressing his presence completely, then altered his route five or six more times just to be safe.
Only then did he finally relax.
He found a spot to rest.
His chakra had recovered, but his stamina was badly drained—and the mental strain of that chase hadn't helped either.
But before he could sit down—
"Water Release: Rain Piercing Technique!"
The rain suddenly stopped.
Then, impossibly, it reversed direction.
Countless raindrops shot toward him.
Akira's expression changed instantly.
Trees were pierced through in the blink of an eye. What had once been harmless rain now struck like thousands of senbon.
No time to think.
"Rotation!"
Blue chakra erupted around him, forming a hemispherical barrier. The rain needles struck the spinning chakra and were violently deflected.
His Rotation wasn't high-level and couldn't last long—but it was enough.
The rain attack ceased.
Akira looked up.
Tera stood on a tree branch above him, staring down coldly. The blood that had once covered his face had already been washed away by the rain.
"You're not an Uchiha," Tera said, a laugh escaping him.
"You're a Hyūga."
"…And a main house Hyūga at that."
Great. Another misunderstanding—but that one didn't really matter anymore.
Since he was fully exposed, Akira dropped the Transformation Technique and returned to his original appearance.
"How did you find me?" Akira demanded grimly.
He was certain he'd shaken Tera off.
Substitution left no trail.
He'd hidden his chakra, changed directions repeatedly—there should've been no way to track him.
Tera's lips curled slightly.
"Guess."
He clearly had no intention of explaining.
Instead, he formed a seal.
"Water Release: Condensed Water Blade!"
Falling rain gathered in his hand, forming a long blade of water. He swung it casually.
A crescent-shaped water slash shot forward.
Akira dove hard to the right, even rolling across the ground to narrowly avoid it.
Tera leapt down from the tree, closing the distance instantly.
"I've killed jōnin before," Akira growled.
Nen blade in his right hand.
Shinobi sword in his left.
Dual-wielding Hyūga Akira enters the fight.
The bandit set was long obsolete—he'd already switched to Nen Armor.
Both blades slashed toward Tera.
"Sloppy. Weak," Tera said coldly.
The water blade passed straight through the nen blade, continuing toward Akira's chest.
Akira might not know swordsmanship—
—but he knew one thing.
Overwhelming force solves problems.
"Bear Wrestling Hand! Shadow Clone Boost—ON!"
No time for seals. No point using fire in this rain anyway.
Akira's blades sped up sharply, faster than Tera's.
A pure, suicidal exchange.
Tera's expression finally changed. He forcibly twisted his blade, spun his body, and slammed a brutal kick into Akira's left waist.
"Bang!"
Akira was sent flying to the right.
"This was my escape route, idiot!!" Akira shouted.
He dismissed both blades midair, adjusted his trajectory using the impact, landed on a tree branch, and instantly bolted away.
He wasn't injured at all.
Tera's kick hadn't even broken his defense.
Tera's expression darkened as he immediately gave chase again.
As he ran, Akira watched Tera through the Byakugan, still unable to understand one thing.
"How the hell is he tracking me…?"
No tool. No jutsu. Nothing lined up.
"I can't keep playing tag with him."
Akira reached into his inventory and pulled out a card.
Did he really think there was no way out?
[Consumable: Encore G-380]
Allows instant travel to any location previously visited—
calculated from the moment the card was obtained.
The farthest location available?
The city where Nagato lived.
"Activate."
White air pressure wrapped around Akira's body, lifting him straight into the sky.
Tera froze mid-chase.
He hadn't expected Akira to fly.
Akira glared down at him, mouthing silently:
Just you wait.
The next instant—
He vanished into the distance.
Outside the city near Konoha, inside the cave where Akira had once taught Nagato—
White air pressure descended.
Akira dropped to the ground and collapsed onto his back.
"…Good thing I made a copy."
In addition to Encore G-380, he still had Copy C-40, which he'd already used to duplicate the card.
Akira clenched his fist.
"This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
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