No matter how A roared or struggled, his violent chakra was draining at an astonishing rate, becoming nourishment for the forest.
"No! That's impossible!"
Despair filled his face as he realized his power was rapidly fading.
These cursed trees were the perfect counter to chakra.
Pfft—!
The instant A's strength faltered, a sharp bolt of lightning shot from Akira's fingertips, piercing his heart from over twenty meters away.
The pain twisted A's face. He stared at Akira in the distance and let out a final, unwilling roar:
"I refuse to accept this!!"
Akira remained indifferent.
He had no interest in the dying cries of a defeated enemy.
As the last trace of chakra was drained from A's body, the forest grew even more lush and vibrant.
Akira's mastery of Wood Style was clearly on an entirely different level compared to Yamato.
Though he didn't possess the First Hokage's ocean-like reserves of chakra, this Wood Binding Burial—"learned" from Yamato—was already terrifyingly powerful.
Yamato stared at Akira as if looking at a monster.
"So someone really can master Wood Style through fusion… and it's even stronger than mine…"
He walked over and gave Akira a firm pat on the shoulder, his tone complicated.
"I didn't think you'd actually pull it off. The hardship behind this… only you could understand."
As the sole survivor of Wood Style experiments, Yamato knew better than anyone how dangerous it was.
Akira simply smiled awkwardly, offering no explanation.
There was no way he could say it came from a system—or sheer talent.
Kakashi and Yūgao also came over.
Yūgao suddenly hugged Akira tightly, her voice trembling:
"We won… we finally won…"
Akira gently patted her back.
"Don't worry, Yūgao-nee. I'm hard to kill."
Yamato, now composed, spoke generously:
"When we get back, I'll organize the Wood Style research materials from Danzō and give them to you."
"Your Wood Style is closer to the First Hokage's. My experience should still help."
Akira's eyes lit up.
That was an unexpected bonus—saving him the trouble of sneaking into the Scroll of Seals.
Kakashi added:
"I'll handle the mission report."
"As for your Wood Style… it won't be disclosed until you're strong enough to protect yourself."
Akira looked at him gratefully.
"Figures my teacher would understand."
Yūgao, worried, took off her outer robe and draped it over Akira.
The boy stood there in torn clothes—
yet felt like an immovable mountain.
With A's death, the battle on the other side was also nearing its end.
Although Guy had been defeated, he had drained most of C's power.
Seeing what happened here, C completely broke down.
"A lost? That's impossible!"
In desperation, he made one final move.
Burning every last drop of chakra, he charged toward the seemingly exhausted Akira.
"Even if I die, I'm taking you with me!"
But Akira's reaction speed was far beyond him.
Stepping in front of Yūgao, Akira formed hand seals at lightning speed:
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Wind fueled the flames.
The combination of two B-rank jutsu erupted with S-rank destructive power.
BOOM—!
A massive fire dragon roared forth, expanding to over ten meters wide under the gale, completely swallowing C.
He didn't even have time to scream—
his body was reduced to ashes in the inferno.
When the flames dissipated, a charred trench stretching hundreds of meters scarred the ground.
The sight was horrifying.
This combined jutsu once again redefined everyone's understanding of Akira.
This wasn't just talent—
he was a complete monster.
After finishing the enemies, Akira flashed to Guy's side and looked at his battered body with a helpless smile.
"Guy-sensei, stop saving it. Take the pill already."
Guy stared at the crystal-clear pill in his hand, clearly reluctant.
"I was planning to pass this down… or save it for a life-or-death moment…"
"If you don't take it now, you'll be crippled. How are you going to keep chasing your 'youth' then?"
After some persuasion, Guy finally swallowed it.
A miracle occurred.
Within a minute, his shattered bones and torn muscles fully healed—even old injuries disappeared.
Guy leapt up excitedly and threw a few punches.
"This is incredible! My youth is back!"
Akira smiled quietly, taking the credit in silence.
---
Afterward, the group searched the ruins for survivors.
Out of a city of thirty thousand—
only a few hundred remained alive.
The massacre shocked the entire ninja world.
Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato's names spread once again across nations.
As for Akira and Yūgao—
under deliberate downplaying, they remained an unknown genin and a Special Jōnin.
Everyone believed the credit belonged to Konoha's elite Jōnin.
That boy named Akira?
Just a lucky tagalong.
Even the Third Hokage himself didn't think Akira played a crucial role.
Which suited Akira perfectly.
He preferred things to end quietly.
Still, since he had completed the mission, the Third kept his promise—
granting him one chance to choose an S-rank forbidden jutsu.
---
In the dim Hokage archive room, the air smelled of old paper.
Akira slowly unrolled the heavy Scroll of Seals.
He had only ten minutes.
In that limited time, he had to choose a jutsu.
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, thinking:
What can anyone even do in ten minutes?
Just reading those obscure formulas would already be difficult, let alone memorizing them.
---
In the silent chamber, Akira's eyes moved like a scanner across every line.
What the old fox didn't know—
was that this seemingly harmless boy had near-perfect memory.
With a single glance, complex chakra pathways etched themselves into his mind.
In just a few minutes—
half the contents of the Scroll of Seals had already been memorized.
Of course—
memorizing and mastering were two entirely different things.
These were forbidden techniques.
Training them meant risking your life.
Even the Third Hokage himself—known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu"—had never fully mastered the scroll.
Too dangerous.
Too complex.
By now, Akira had absorbed all the secrets related to Wood Style—
and also memorized techniques like:
• Flying Raijin
• Tandem Paper Bombs
• Reanimation Jutsu
• Dead Demon Consuming Seal
All in one sweep.
Closing the scroll, he calmly walked out of the archive.
---
Back in the Hokage's office, under bright light—
Akira looked at the Third, who was leisurely smoking, and said:
"Hokage-sama, I've decided."
"I'll take the Flying Raijin Jutsu."
The Third's hand trembled slightly.
He clearly didn't expect such ambition.
Since the Fourth Hokage's death, no one had successfully mastered that technique.
Still, since the boy chose it, he didn't discourage him.
Forming a few hand seals, he smiled:
"If you've got the determination, then I'll give you the full training notes."
Poof!
A small scroll appeared on the desk.
"This contains everything about the Flying Raijin."
"But I'll be honest—it's incredibly difficult."
"Since the Second Hokage created it, only the Fourth ever truly mastered it."
"You'd better be prepared for failure."
Akira nodded obediently.
"That's fine. I'll treat it as expanding my knowledge. I won't force it."
The Third was momentarily stunned, then chuckled.
"That's a good mindset."
"But forbidden techniques are dangerous."
"If you run into problems, consult Kakashi. He may not know it, but he can guide you safely."
"And if needed—come to me."
After this mission, the Third had already decided—
Akira was worth investing in.
Akira nodded once more.
"I'll remember that."
With that, his figure flickered and vanished from the Hokage's office like a phantom.
The Third Hokage stared at the now-empty doorway, took a deep drag from his pipe, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"I wonder… if that child can ever reach Kakashi's level."
Though Kakashi was only a jōnin, in terms of overall ability, the silver-haired ninja was one of Konoha's pillars—and the strongest candidate for Fifth Hokage.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was still too inexperienced in politics to outmaneuver the old schemers in the higher ranks.
In truth, the Third's preferred successor had always been Jiraiya.
But that wandering pervert couldn't be tied down.
As for Tsunade—her hemophobia ruled her out.
So in the end, his hopes rested on Kakashi.
If not for the trauma of Obito and Rin, Kakashi would have long since been pushed into the position of successor.
Sadly, that knot in his heart remained unresolved.
For years, Kakashi's strength had stagnated at the elite jōnin level, wasting his extraordinary talent.
Looking at Konoha now, there truly wasn't anyone else who could carry the village.
As for Danzō—that sinister old man—
The Third would rather die than let him take power.
---
The moment Akira returned home, he immediately spread out the Flying Raijin scroll.
He dove headfirst into the obscure and complex theories of space-time ninjutsu.
Although his Mangekyō Sharingan already granted him a near-broken teleportation ability—
Flying Raijin wasn't just teleportation.
It allowed the transfer of objects as well, making its tactical value incredibly high.
That support capability was exactly what his eyes lacked.
After a quick read-through, Akira frowned deeply.
"As expected of the pinnacle of space-time techniques… the entry barrier is far beyond normal S-rank jutsu."
But he wasn't the type to give up.
The more challenging it was, the more invested he became.
Before long, a figure silently landed in his courtyard.
It was Yamato.
Akira opened the door, slightly surprised.
He hadn't expected Yamato to actually come in person.
"Captain Yamato, what brings you here?"
Yamato didn't waste words.
He pulled out a thick scroll from his pouch and handed it over.
"These are all the Wood Style materials I've compiled. Take a look."
Akira paused, then broke into a smile.
"I didn't think you'd actually bring it. I thought you were just being polite back then."
Yamato scratched his head sheepishly.
"A promise is a promise."
Akira accepted the scroll, still warm from Yamato's body heat.
After a brief exchange, Yamato left in a hurry.
In truth, Akira had already learned the large-scale destructive techniques from the Scroll of Seals.
Yamato's materials filled in the gaps—
especially foundational and mid-level Wood Style techniques like Wood Clones.
With these valuable resources in hand, Akira entered full shut-in training mode.
His life reduced to two points: home and the back mountain.
As for the village's daily missions—
he delegated all of them to shadow clones.
---
For three whole months, Akira trained like a sponge, absorbing everything.
Most of these were S-rank forbidden techniques.
One mistake during training—
and he could blow himself up.
He had to stay completely focused.
After more than three months of brutal training—
his mental strength skyrocketed several times over.
His physical body improved accordingly.
This led to an explosive increase in chakra—
more than tenfold.
Not only did he have massive reserves—
his chakra had also become denser and more refined.
At this point, Akira's total chakra could likely rival Naruto plus half of the Nine-Tails.
Of course, compared to someone like Hashirama—
he was still far behind.
But the power of his Wood Golem Jutsu already carried a hint of the First Hokage's might.
As for something like True Several Thousand Hands—
he simply didn't have the chakra to sustain it yet.
Meanwhile, all the techniques he had memorized from the Scroll of Seals—
he had fully integrated them.
Even Reanimation Jutsu, a jutsu that toyed with souls, was within his grasp.
Though his version was more primitive—
not yet modified and refined like Orochimaru's or Kabuto's.
Of course, "refinement" was subjective.
The Second Hokage originally created it for suicidal tandem paper attacks—
not for summoning armies like Orochimaru.
So Akira's purpose in learning it was simple:
to throw explosive tags without restraint.
---
After over three months of isolation training, having fully integrated his abilities—
Akira vaguely felt that his current strength might already surpass the Third Hokage at his peak.
Of course, that was just his own estimate.
No one really knew how strong the Third had been in his youth.
Rumors exaggerated his strength, even claiming he surpassed the First and Second Hokage.
Akira remained skeptical.
Hype existed even in the ninja world.
Still—
he was confident.
Even against the Third at his peak—
he had a strong chance of winning.
---
As he strolled back from the back mountain, Akira noticed his state of mind had become as still as water.
Normally, such a surge in power would make someone arrogant—
but he felt unusually calm.
As if everything was only natural.
The sunset burned red across half the sky.
Streetlights flickered on one by one.
Watching the bustling crowd, the tension he had carried for three months finally eased.
Just as he was enjoying the rare peace—
a group approached from ahead.
Kakashi.
Sasuke.
Sakura.
Naruto.
And… his own shadow clone.
The worst part?
They locked eyes at that exact moment.
Kakashi knew full well that Akira had been slacking off with clones for three months.
But the other three had no idea.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Akira hadn't activated his perception—
this was pure bad timing.
After a few seconds, he rubbed his temples.
"Well… that's blown."
The clone beside Kakashi sighed helplessly and—
Poof!
—disappeared into white smoke.
Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
They immediately understood.
Sasuke clenched his fists, glaring at Akira.
"This bastard… has he been using a clone to fool us this whole time?!"
Kakashi covered his face with one hand and sighed.
"Akira… your luck really is something."
Even he didn't expect the real one to show up now.
There was no explaining this away.
Naruto's brain took a moment to reboot.
Then he pointed at Akira and shouted:
"YOU! YOU! Akira—you've been using shadow clones to slack off?!"
"…Wait—that's actually genius! Why didn't I think of that?!"
Then he paused.
But if I don't do missions myself, how do I get stronger?
And if I don't get stronger, how do I become Hokage?
…Balance restored.
Akira didn't try to run.
He walked over casually and greeted them with a smile.
"Yo, Kakashi-sensei. Fancy meeting you here."
Kakashi shrugged.
"Now that the real one's here, just come along. Saves me the trouble of explaining."
Akira nodded.
The clone's memories had already returned to him—
this was Kakashi treating them to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate the mission.
Sasuke's gaze stayed locked onto Akira like a hook.
Battle intent burned in his eyes.
He had wanted to fight Akira for a long time—
to see just how much he was hiding.
But lately, all they'd done were trivial missions—
picking up trash, pulling weeds, finding pets.
No chance to fight.
No way to gauge Akira's true strength.
---
Sitting on the bench at Ichiraku Ramen, Akira waited calmly for his food.
Meanwhile—
three pairs of eyes scanned him like searchlights.
After a few bites, he couldn't take the awkward silence anymore.
He looked up and smiled.
"What are you staring at?"
"Your noodles are getting soggy."