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Akira paused for a beat, then turned to Fugaku.
"So you, as clan head, need to rein everyone in. Make it clear: no more acting high and mighty.
Especially around civilians. I don't want to see that same aggressive, in-your-face attitude again."
Earlier, when he'd been listing Danzo's so-called "ten crimes," Akira had conveniently pinned most of the Uchiha's bad reputation on him.
If nothing else, that should ease tensions between the village and the clan.
Of course, that only works if the Uchiha stop sabotaging themselves.
Especially the Police Force. If they keep acting like some overzealous city enforcement squad that everyone secretly hates, nothing's going to change.
Fugaku nodded. "Understood. I'll keep them in line. I won't let them keep those rotten habits."
After a moment's thought, he frowned. "But what if that old fox, the Third, just keeps lying low? If he refuses to make a move, what can we do?"
Akira waved him off with a cold chuckle.
"You're overthinking it. Hiruzen Sarutobi may be called the 'Professor' and famed for his patience, but he's still human. And more importantly, he's the Hokage. Even he has limits."
He smirked.
"You really think he can tolerate the Uchiha stomping all over his authority forever?"
"Just wait. It won't be long before he shows his little chicken feet."
Fugaku nodded seriously. Then blinked.
"…Chicken feet?"
"Oh, that's a treasured cultural heritage from a certain food-obsessed empire."
"…I see."
He absolutely did not see. But it sounded profound, so he nodded anyway.
Suddenly remembering something, Fugaku hurried closer, rubbing his hands together with a slightly ingratiating smile.
Akira cut him off before he could speak.
"Find me a large room. I'm going into closed-door training for a few days. No one is to disturb me."
After that battle, Akira had become painfully aware of his shortcomings.
His power had skyrocketed too fast. His control hadn't caught up.
He'd meant to knock someone out—just knock them out.
Instead, he'd blown them apart.
Yeah. That needed fixing.
"Ah… right." Fugaku sighed inwardly. So much for coordinating their story today.
Then he hesitated. "If you're training, the clan training grounds are spacious enough. I won't—"
"I said arrange it," Akira cut him off flatly. "I need a sealed space. Not a public arena."
"Understood. The clan's council building should suffice. It's large, and the most secure structure we have. I'll warn everyone to stay away."
This time, he didn't add another word.
Inwardly, though, he was certain: whatever made Akira this terrifyingly strong must require absolute secrecy.
He briefly considered spying.
Then he remembered the difference in their strength and decided he quite enjoyed being alive.
"Good," Akira nodded.
With a flicker of movement, he vanished.
Fugaku cleared his throat and turned to the gathered clan members.
"For the next few days, no one goes near the council building. If something happens, I will not be responsible."
The Uchiha all nodded in understanding.
Honestly, if they were as strong as Akira, they'd probably be even more arrogant.
Standing before the council building again, Akira felt a flicker of nostalgia.
Last time he'd been here, he'd beaten the clan's radicals into submission.
Didn't expect to be back this soon.
He stepped inside, shut the doors, turned on the lights, and scanned the interior carefully.
Solid. Every opening was blocked. No line of sight from outside. No chance of someone peeking in.
Perfect.
He found a spot and sat down.
First order of business: sign in.
During the clan extermination crisis, he'd completed every system mission.
Two sign-in chances for slapping Itachi. Three from Danzo. Four from Hiruzen.
Nine total.
He'd already used the two from Itachi.
Seven left.
Akira grinned.
"System, sign me in. Burn all seven at once. Give me a seven-pull."
[Ding… Sign-in successful…]
He skipped past the flood of notifications and went straight to the rewards.
Seven pulls yielded:
2 Super Soldier Serums
2 Regeneration Potions
2 Recording Orbs
1 pair of Soul-Reaping Gloves
Akira shot upright.
"Nice!"
Three brand-new items—and not a single dud this time.
Finally grew a conscience, huh, System?
He mentally gave it a thumbs-up and hoped it kept this energy next time.
"Alright, System. Explain the new stuff."
[Acknowledged.]
[Regeneration Potion: Grants enhanced regenerative ability, accelerating wound healing. Effects stack if multiple bottles are consumed.]
[Recording Orb: Records visual scenes, similar to a camera. Each orb can record up to one hour.]
[Soul-Reaping Gloves: Allows the wearer to perceive soul-type entities. Can extract a target's soul, provided the target is unable to resist.]
Akira nodded, satisfied.
Out of the three, the gloves were the real prize.
The ability to interact with souls?
That was downright broken.
Especially against the Third's ultimate life-risking technique—
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Next time he faced Hiruzen Sarutobi, and that old man tried summoning the Shinigami…
Akira would just slip on the gloves and pin the so-called Death God to the ground.
He could already imagine the look on the Third's face.
Even better, these gloves should counter the technique of reincarnating the dead.
After all, that jutsu summons souls from the afterlife to fight.
And these gloves?
They punch souls.
Absolutely perfect.
Swish.
Unable to wait another second, Akira pulled the Soul-Reaping Gloves from his system inventory.
They were crimson from wrist to fingertip, a black skull emblazoned across the back of each hand. Even just holding them, he could feel a chill seeping into his bones, like something breathing from the underworld itself.
He slipped them on.
Nothing happened.
No surge of power, no dramatic reaction. It seemed their true strength would only reveal itself when facing an enemy tied to the soul.
Still, having something that could preserve evidence would be invaluable. When the time came to expose Hiruzen's true face, these gloves would play a decisive role.
After storing them away again, Akira took out two vials of Super Soldier Serum.
Something that boosted every attribute across the board? The more the better.
He didn't hesitate.
Glug.
Both vials went down in one go.
The next instant, a violent surge of power exploded inside him.
Muscles swelled uncontrollably. His frame stretched upward. His hair lengthened.
In the blink of an eye, his height shot up to four meters.
Akira stared at his reflection and twitched.
Sure, he could clearly feel the difference. His strength had skyrocketed. His physical durability had climbed to another level.
But this appearance…
At two meters tall, he had looked imposing.
At four meters?
He looked like a straight-up monster.
So this was trading looks for power?
No.
Absolutely not.
Akira shook his head furiously. He refused to accept this version of himself.
He had to compress his size.
Looks and strength. He wanted both.
Until he restored his body to a proper proportion, he wasn't leaving seclusion.
…
Several days later.
The Hokage's Office.
Smack. Smack.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, bandages wrapped around his face. A pipe rested in his hand, and he took slow drags from it, filling the office with thick smoke.
A mountain of paperwork towered across his desk. His brows were twisted tight, irritation practically radiating from him.
Ever since that night's battle, he hadn't had a single good day.
Because of Uchiha Akira exposing Danzō, the villagers and even the shinobi had stopped ostracizing the Uchiha.
Years of carefully pushing them to the margins, undone in one blow.
All because of one person: Uchiha Akira.
Of course, Hiruzen didn't believe for a second that a seven-year-old could possess such monstrous strength. Even if the boy had trained since the womb, it would be absurd.
Which meant only one thing.
The "Uchiha Akira" had to be an imposter.
He was certain of it.
What he wanted to know was this: who exactly was this person, and why were they helping the Uchiha?
"The intel should be nearly complete. Don't let 'Bing' expose himself. It wasn't easy convincing an Uchiha to switch sides."
Hiruzen glanced at Asuma as he spoke.
From the shadows, a dissatisfied voice answered, "I'm not a rookie ninja. You think I'd mess up something this simple?"
…
An hour later.
Still smoking and reviewing documents, Hiruzen suddenly paused and looked up.
Swish.
A figure wrapped in a black cloak and wearing a black mask appeared in the office.
It was the Uchiha shinobi he had persuaded into acting as a spy. Codename: "Bing."
"Cough—cough—!"
The moment Bing appeared, he started hacking violently, choked by the smoke-filled air.
Even so, he dropped to one knee.
"Cough… Lord Third… cough… you summoned me? Cough…"
Hiruzen frowned faintly.
"This much smoke and you can't handle it? And you call yourself a jōnin of the Uchiha?"
"Cough… Your rebuke is justified… cough… It's just that I'm allergic to tobacco… cough… Please understand…"
Head lowered, looking ashamed, Bing cursed inwardly.
Damn old bastard. Smoking at work and acting righteous about it. If the rewards weren't this good, I wouldn't be your damn spy.
"Fine. Open the windows."
After the smoke cleared and Bing returned to stand respectfully before him, Hiruzen began lecturing in his usual tone.
"A true shinobi must endure what ordinary people cannot. Even if you're allergic, you should overcome it instead of avoiding it.
"And choosing to abandon darkness and return to the light by serving as a spy within the Uchiha… that was the correct decision.
"It proves you are a worthy inheritor of the Will of Fire. Therefore, you must—"
…
Ten minutes later.
Bing couldn't take it anymore.
"Lord Third… what exactly did you call me here for?"
Are you seriously dragging me here just to spout this nonsense?
The last part, he wisely kept to himself.
"Cough. Perhaps I spoke at length. But everything I said was a profound truth that will greatly benefit your future. I hope you remember it and do not disappoint my expectations. And furthermore—"
Damn it. Should I just leave?
Bing screamed internally.
Another ten minutes passed before Hiruzen finally nodded in satisfaction, apparently convinced the brainwashing had sunk in deep enough.
His expression turned serious.
"What have you learned about Uchiha Akira? Have you discovered his true identity?"
Finally.
Bing nearly sighed in relief.
If this had gone on any longer, he might have followed Akira's example and slapped that wrinkled old face himself.
"I have not discovered his true identity," Bing replied respectfully.
Hiruzen frowned.
"Then how is your mission progressing? Have you gained his trust?"
"…No progress. I'm still at square one."
Bing looked awkward.
"What do you mean, no progress?"
Hiruzen's voice rose sharply.
"What have you been doing these past few days? Didn't I instruct you to approach him and gain his trust as quickly as possible?
"I provided you with ample cultivation resources. Was that all for nothing?"
Seeing Hiruzen's temper flare, Bing hurried to explain.
"Lord Third, this truly isn't my fault! I've tried to find opportunities to approach Akira, but there simply aren't any!
"Ever since that night, he's stayed inside the clan's assembly hall and hasn't come out once.
"Fugaku even issued a warning forbidding anyone from approaching the building.
"And the assembly hall is extremely sealed off. There's no way for me to spy from outside."
"In this situation, I really have no options! The mission's lack of progress isn't due to negligence!"
"You're saying," Hiruzen pressed, "that ever since entering the Uchiha assembly hall, he hasn't stepped out even once?"
"Yes."
"Not even at night?"
"I've monitored the building through the night as well. I can guarantee it. He hasn't left, not even a single step."
"Sealed environment. No interruptions."
Hiruzen muttered to himself.
"Do you know why he locked himself inside?"
"He claimed he was entering seclusion for training. That's what he said personally."
Hiruzen fell silent.
Then, slowly, a smile spread across his wrinkled face, blooming like a chrysanthemum.
"Seclusion for training? Hah. I've never heard of shinobi locking themselves away just to train. This isn't some laboratory experiment.
"If I'm not mistaken, 'seclusion' is merely an excuse.
"His true purpose is likely to recover from his injuries.
"Or perhaps to stabilize himself after suffering backlash from wielding such overwhelming power.
"It seems he isn't invincible after all. Power of that magnitude must come with a price."
He burst into hearty laughter.
Eyes narrowing, killing intent flickering within them, Hiruzen said coldly:
"Perhaps this… is our chance.
"A perfect opportunity to eliminate Uchiha Akira once and for all."
"..."
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