Naruto curled his lip, his face full of disdain. "Seriously, you can't judge a book by its cover. I thought you were a serious guy—turns out you're the king of slackers."
Sakura nodded frantically in agreement from the side.
Sasuke didn't say anything, but his eyes clearly read: I misjudged you.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, moving at astonishing speed, polished off the ramen in his bowl, looking completely detached from the situation.
Faced with Naruto's accusation, Akira didn't blush in the slightest. He replied righteously, "The experience from Shadow Clones all returns to the original body in the end. Whether I go personally or not makes no difference—if anything, it's more efficient."
Naruto paused. When you put it that way… it actually made sense. As someone who used Shadow Clones all the time, he understood the mechanism perfectly.
After a bit more casual chatter, Kakashi suddenly turned serious. "Starting tomorrow, Akira, your original body should rejoin the team. I assume your 'closed-door training' is finished?"
Kakashi knew very well that if Akira hadn't fully mastered those jutsu, he would never be wandering around at a time like this.
The moment the word "training" was mentioned, Naruto and Sasuke's ears perked up like antennas.
Akira set down his chopsticks and nodded. "It was pretty torturous, but I managed to get it done."
Kakashi's visible dead-fish eye narrowed instantly.
"Fully mastered?!"
The weight behind that sentence was something only Kakashi in the room truly understood.
Akira folded his hands on the table and said calmly, "Yeah, I learned them all."
Inside, Kakashi was already shaken to his core, though he forced himself to remain composed on the surface.
"Seems I still underestimated your potential. I thought you'd be lucky to chew through even a third of them."
Akira smiled modestly. "I was surprised too. But the difficulty really was insane."
"I just didn't expect it to take me over three months to finish."
That single sentence made black lines practically appear across Kakashi's forehead.
Listen to that—does that even sound like something a human would say? What did he mean, "only three months"?
Back in the day, Kakashi had also coveted those forbidden jutsu. As the Fourth Hokage's student, he had been exposed to quite a few of them—but what was the result?
He hadn't mastered a single one!
Sure, part of that was due to his own chakra reserves and bloodline limitations.
But Akira had learned, in one go: the Flying Raijin Jutsu, the full set of Wood Style, Edo Tensei, the Reaper Death Seal, and even the Tandem Paper Bombs—an entire bundle of S-rank monstrosities!
And he thought three months was slow?
For an average ninja, mastering even one of those in a lifetime would be enough to brag about forever.
Especially the Flying Raijin—Kakashi had once dreamed of learning it, only to end up questioning his entire existence.
Watching Kakashi's face cycle between green and pale, Akira coughed awkwardly and stiffly changed the subject. "Ahem… so, Kakashi-sensei, what's tomorrow's mission?"
Kakashi sighed helplessly and gathered himself. "No idea. Most likely more D-rank chores."
After all, they were all genin—by the rules, they were only assigned grunt work.
Naruto immediately exploded, slamming the table. "Kakashi-sensei, I've had enough! Every day it's either picking up trash or chasing cats—I'm basically a janitor now! When are we getting a real mission?!"
Kakashi shot him a sidelong glance. "You're a genin. You only get D-rank missions. If you perform well, maybe you'll get a C-rank at best."
Naruto protested indignantly, "But we haven't even seen a single C-rank yet!"
Kakashi smiled and delivered the killing blow. "That just means our team is still too weak."
Sasuke and Sakura had no time to deal with Naruto's tantrum. Their thoughts were entirely focused on Akira.
They were dying to know what exactly those two had been talking about earlier in that cryptic exchange.
Unfortunately, until they parted ways, both Kakashi and Akira kept their mouths sealed like clams, not revealing a single word.
---
The next morning, under bright sunshine, Akira followed the team to the Hokage's office.
Naruto was sprawled on the floor, throwing a tantrum in front of the Third Hokage, demanding a higher-difficulty mission.
The Third Hokage calmly puffed on his pipe while watching Naruto's antics.
His murky yet sharp old eyes occasionally flicked toward Akira.
With his sensory ability, he could tell at a glance that today, the real one had come.
"Akira, you've come in person today, haven't you?"
Even he was starting to have trouble distinguishing Akira's Shadow Clones now—proof of how rapidly his strength had grown.
Akira nodded. "Yes."
A pleased smile appeared on the Third Hokage's face. "It seems that jutsu—you've completely mastered it."
Akira remained low-key. "I can use it, more or less."
That wasn't just modesty—it was deliberate restraint. But in the Third Hokage's eyes, this was a clear sign of full mastery; otherwise, Akira wouldn't have returned to the team.
In truth, Akira had also learned a seemingly useless yet incredibly practical concealment jutsu from the dusty corners of the Scroll of Seals.
To be precise, he had placed a disguised sealing layer over his eyes.
From now on, even if he walked around with his Sharingan activated, others would only see ordinary black pupils.
With his current strength, he didn't actually need to be this cautious—but he had no desire to get himself labeled a rogue ninja for no reason.
Sharingan plus Wood Style—those two kekkei genkai combined were, in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, basically a walking nuclear weapon.
So unless it was a life-or-death situation, he had no intention of exposing them.
As for something like Susanoo—that Gundam-like jutsu—he definitely couldn't just use it casually, unless he planned on tearing Konoha down and rebuilding it from scratch.
Besides, he had plenty of forbidden jutsu at his disposal. Tossing out a few at random would be more than enough to make any enemy suffer.
The Third Hokage smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on his face seemed to bloom. "Since the Fourth, this jutsu has become a lost art. Now that you've mastered it, I hope you will inherit the Will of Fire and reach the same heights as the Fourth."
Akira was long immune to this kind of workplace-style manipulation. Internally, he felt nothing.
But Naruto and Sasuke caught the implication—Akira had learned the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu!
Naruto, being incapable of holding back, blurted out, "Gramps Hokage, what exactly did Akira learn?"
"The Fourth Hokage's jutsu? Is it super powerful? I want to learn it too!"
The Third Hokage smiled kindly. "It is indeed the Fourth's ultimate jutsu. Unfortunately, it's not suitable for you."
The Flying Raijin required overwhelming innate talent. With Naruto's current mindset… the Third Hokage felt it was better to forget it.
Even prodigies like Kakashi and Orochimaru had failed to master it.
Naruto stood no chance.
Not to mention his chakra control was still a complete mess.
Naruto pouted so much it looked like he could hang a bottle from his lips. "Why not? You won't even let me try!"
The Third Hokage's expression suddenly turned stern. "Naruto, this jutsu was an opportunity Akira obtained at the cost of his life. The training process is extremely dangerous—one mistake and it's death. Are you sure you still want to learn it?"
At the word "death," Naruto instinctively shrank back.
At his current stage, he still held a deep, instinctive fear of death.
Sasuke immediately caught the key phrase. "At the cost of his life? What do you mean?"
Naruto also reacted. "Yeah, what does that mean?"
The Third Hokage gave Kakashi a meaningful glance. "That's something Kakashi can tell you later. But since you're so eager for a higher-difficulty mission, I'll make an exception and assign you a C-rank mission."
Naruto's attention instantly shifted, and he jumped up excitedly. "C-rank! Yes! Is it protecting a daimyo? Or escorting a princess?"
In his imagination, a C-rank mission had to be something grand like that.
Kakashi looked at his foolish student and rolled his eyes helplessly.
The Third Hokage, however, quite liked Naruto's simple-minded enthusiasm. At least his heart was full of light—such a jinchūriki was less likely to lose control.
That was also why he had always guarded against Danzō getting his hands on Naruto. If the boy ever fell into Root, he would inevitably be turned into a cold-blooded weapon.
The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke. "You'll be escorting someone."
"Tazuna-san, please come in."
The door opened, and a strong smell of alcohol wafted in.
An old man with a flushed face staggered inside, a sake bottle in hand.
His eyes were unfocused—clearly already drunk.
Naruto's excited expression instantly froze. "What the heck? We're escorting this drunk old geezer? Is this some kind of joke?!"
Tazuna squinted drunkenly as he scanned the room, looking displeased. "What's this? Why send a bunch of brats to protect me? Especially that short one who looks the dumbest."
Naruto looked around in confusion. "Hahaha, short? Who are you talking about?"
But after glancing at the cool Sasuke, the calm Akira, and the tall Kakashi, his rage instantly shot to the top of his head. "You bastard! Who are you calling short, you drunk old fool?!"
Tazuna let out a belch, his disdainful gaze making it seem like he was looking at an idiot.
Naruto bared his fangs and claws, ready to pounce. "I'm gonna kill you! Don't stop me!"
Luckily, Sasuke and Sakura reacted quickly and held him back.
Sakura tugged at Naruto while hissing under her breath, "Idiot! That's the client! Do you want the mission to fail?!"
Truth be told, Sakura herself had zero desire to babysit this drunken old man.
Sasuke felt just as disgusted.
Only Akira remained calm, as if he were completely uninvolved.
Kakashi sighed, took the mission order, and led the four problem children—along with the drunkard—out of the Hokage Tower.
Although Naruto was extremely dissatisfied with the client, this was his first time leaving the village, and the novelty quickly washed away his irritation.
He carried a huge pack stuffed with all sorts of random junk.
When they reached the village gate, everyone noticed that, just like Kakashi, Akira had brought nothing at all.
Tazuna eyed Akira curiously. "Kid, aren't ninja teams usually three people? Why does your squad have an extra one?"
Akira smiled faintly. "A four-man team is rare, but not unheard of. I suppose our team is just a bit special."
Kakashi casually made something up. "We had an extra slot during this year's graduation assignments."
That kind of nonsense might fool an outsider—normally, any extra student would just be sent back to the academy.
This class really was an exception.
Tazuna seemed particularly interested in Akira. Through his drunken haze, he had a vague feeling that this boy was anything but ordinary.
"The other three brats are carrying so much stuff—why are your hands empty? Too strong to need preparation?"
Akira simply smiled and didn't respond.
The old man talked too much—he couldn't be bothered.
Kakashi interjected at the right moment. "Tazuna-san, don't worry. Even if these kids aren't reliable, I'm here."
In truth, Tazuna didn't know Kakashi's reputation.
He was just a bridge builder from the Land of Waves—he hadn't seen much of the world.
Akira added, "My teacher, Kakashi, is an elite jōnin renowned throughout the ninja world. You can rest easy. Besides, this is just a C-rank mission—normally, genin are enough to handle it."
"This time, Kakashi-sensei is just guiding newcomers. Otherwise, a mission of this level would at most have a chūnin leading the team."
The words were blunt, but Tazuna understood.
He knew full well that the danger of this mission far exceeded a C-rank.
Still, seeing that there was a jōnin present, he felt somewhat reassured. At the very least, they might be able to deal with the assassins hired by Gatō.
At that moment, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke—lugging their heavy packs—came over.
Seeing the two traveling light, they looked puzzled. "Kakashi-sensei, Akira, where's your luggage?"
Naruto in particular stared wide-eyed.
Kakashi sighed helplessly but patiently explained, "Because we have storage scrolls. Everything's sealed inside. No need to carry it like we're moving house."
Aside from Naruto, who was completely clueless, Sasuke and Sakura immediately understood.
Naruto scratched his head. "Storage scrolls? Are they something you can eat?"
"Idiot!" Sakura couldn't take it anymore. "Storage scrolls are ninja tools that store objects in a separate space. Super convenient—but ridiculously expensive!"
Naruto nodded as if he half-understood, then suddenly reacted. "Then why does Akira have one?"
It made sense for a jōnin—but Akira was just a genin. Why would he have something like that?
Sasuke and Sakura were wondering the same thing.
Even Sasuke, who came from wealth, knew that such items were strategic resources—not something you could necessarily buy even with money.
One of those could be worth several houses. How could Akira, an orphan from a civilian background, afford it?
Akira remained silent.
Seeing this, Kakashi stepped in to explain, "That was a special reward personally approved by the Third Hokage after the last mission. Didn't I mention it earlier? It was something Akira earned by risking his life."
"Three months ago, Akira completed an S-rank mission beyond his level—barely surviving. This was one of the rewards."
The moment those words fell, silence filled the air.
Sasuke's pupils trembled, a storm raging in his heart. This guy… completed an S-rank mission as a genin?! What kind of joke is that?!
Sakura and Naruto's jaws nearly hit the ground. "S… S-rank?!"
Even Tazuna sobered up a bit from the shock. This clean-cut kid was actually a monster?
The weight behind that was off the charts.
Kakashi drove the point home. "He almost didn't make it back from that mission. Now you understand?"
This was common knowledge among jōnin—only these genin were out of the loop.
Naruto stared at Akira's back, suddenly feeling that this usually quiet teammate had become incredibly tall and mysterious.
No wonder he always used Shadow Clones for missions—he was on an entirely different level.
Before, Naruto thought he was just aloof. Now it was clear—he had every right to be.
Sasuke, on the other hand, clenched his fists, reassessing Akira's strength. The fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter.
The group continued in silence, the atmosphere turning subtly tense.
Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke kept sneaking glances at Akira, their expressions complicated.
Akira paid them no mind, chatting idly with Kakashi, completely at ease.
After walking for some time, the vegetation grew denser, and the air became more humid—the Land of Waves was close.
As they passed what looked like an ordinary puddle, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curved at Akira's lips.
Kakashi exchanged a glance with him—a silent understanding between veterans.
Akira immediately caught on. This old fox wants to use this chance to test the rookies' mental resilience. Fine, I'll play along.
Even though he saw through it, he said nothing.
Nor did he intend to steal the spotlight.
Just a few steps past the puddle, two black shadows burst out from the water like ghosts.
They were two chūnin wearing Kirigakure headbands. Their chained sickles whistled through the air, slicing straight through Kakashi and Akira at the waist, who were walking at the rear!
In truth, Akira had been walking at the front—but he had deliberately slowed down, letting them conveniently "cut" him as well.
Blood sprayed. Bodies fell in pieces.
The gruesome scene happened so fast that Naruto and Sakura were instantly stunned, their minds going blank.
They couldn't even process what had just happened.
Having succeeded in a single strike, the two Kiri chūnin didn't even glance at the "corpses" on the ground. With savage grins, they lunged straight at Tazuna.
Though Sakura's legs trembled, her body reacted faster than her mind. She shakily drew a kunai and stood in front of Tazuna.
Sasuke also snapped back to his senses. Though his face was pale, he hurled shuriken and kunai, precisely pinning down the incoming chain.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal colliding rang out as the chain was nailed firmly to a tree trunk.
Sasuke and Sakura struggled desperately to protect the client, while Naruto collapsed to the ground like his soul had been ripped out, unable to even move a finger.
The horrific image of Akira and Kakashi being sliced in half had struck him like a hammer, completely shattering his mental defenses.
He muttered incoherently, "Kakashi-sensei is dead… Akira's dead too… cut… cut in half…"
In contrast, Sasuke and Sakura, though outmatched and battered, at least remembered their duty as shinobi.
In that regard, Naruto was still dead last.
Not far away, standing side by side on a tree branch, Akira and Kakashi were completely unharmed.
Watching the battle below, Akira commented, "Sasuke's got solid mental resilience. At his age, that kind of reaction shows real potential."
Kakashi, however, was staring at the trembling Naruto, his gaze dim.
Akira patted his shoulder. "Don't be too harsh. Naruto grew up in a sheltered environment. Seeing blood for the first time—freezing up like this is normal."
Kakashi sighed. He knew this kind of growth couldn't be rushed—it had to be tempered through experience.
He turned to look at Akira, his expression complicated. "That aside, your acting isn't bad either. Hard to believe someone your age already possesses power beyond mine."
Akira was, without a doubt, the most monstrously gifted individual Kakashi had ever seen—bar none. He even suspected that if Akira went all out, even the Third Hokage might not be able to defeat him.
Looking across all of Konoha, there was probably no one who could guarantee a win against this kid.
Even the legendary Sannin might not come out ahead in a one-on-one fight.
Of course, this was only Kakashi's speculation—after all, monsters like Orochimaru were still unfathomable.