"That brat must be killed. Otherwise, with him alone guarding the battlefield, invading the Land of Fire will remain nothing more than a dream!"
The Third Mizukage spoke hatefully.
Before this, he had never imagined that Kirigakure—mobilizing the strength of an entire hidden village, with ninja numbers and overall power several times greater than Konoha's eastern frontline forces—would ultimately suffer a crushing defeat because of a mere seven- or eight-year-old child, to the point where they could not advance even a single step.
At this moment, Hōzuki Chizuki emerged from the water and stood beside the Third Mizukage.
"It's a pity that brat is extremely cautious. He stayed floating high in the air the entire time. I never found a chance to launch a sneak attack. Otherwise, I'm confident I could kill him."
Although Akira's combat power appeared terrifying, his chakra quality and mastery over chakra nature transformation were still fundamentally not on the same level as true Kage-class experts.
As a Kage-level powerhouse himself, Blood Moon could easily discern this.
The Third Mizukage nodded heavily.
"Until we find a way and an opportunity to eliminate that brat, it's best not to act rashly. Let's wait for now. At the same time, look for a chance to lure him out and ambush him."
If Akira was not removed, Kirigakure's plans to invade the Land of Fire would become an absolute joke.
The losses were simply too severe.
After having the casualties counted, the Third Mizukage discovered that this single battle had cost them nearly a thousand ninja.
Among them, more than five hundred had been killed by Akira alone—over half the total losses.
It was utterly horrifying.
The suppressive power high-level combatants held over lower-tier battlefields was simply too terrifying.
More importantly, Akira's attacks were both unbelievably fast and devastatingly powerful.
Previously, when the reports first claimed Akira had instantly killed twenty Sunagakure elites in two moves, the Third Mizukage had not really believed it.
At the time, he had even mocked Sunagakure's elite ninja for being weak.
However, in order to eliminate a potential threat, he still chose to follow suit and place a one-hundred-million bounty on Akira.
Now, he realized—
It had not been enough.
This brat was even more dangerous than the intelligence reports had described.
Unlike Kirigakure's depressed and heavily shaken atmosphere, Konoha's side was currently overflowing with excitement.
Akira had practically been elevated to the status of a hero.
"Hahaha! That battle was absolutely satisfying!"
"Exactly! Did you guys see how miserably those Kirigakure ninja fled? It was hilarious!"
"I even saw quite a few of them scared out of their wits, wishing they had a few more legs to run faster!"
"This battle really boosted morale!"
"Long live Lord Akira!!"
"Lord Akira is invincible!"
"He truly deserves the title of Konoha's Thunder God!"
"No! I think he should be called the Ninja World's Thunder God instead! Lord Akira's lightning techniques are absolutely among the strongest in the ninja world. Even Kumogakure's Raikage probably can't compare to him!"
At this moment, countless people throughout the camp were praising Akira's strength and achievements.
At the same time, countless others mocked Kirigakure's miserable defeat.
Everyone felt incomparably exhilarated.
The gloom that had weighed heavily on their hearts for so long seemed to have been completely swept away after this battle, and they once again felt hope for the future.
Previously, with Konoha fighting nearly all four great ninja villages simultaneously, almost everyone had secretly felt pessimistic.
Many believed Konoha was on the verge of destruction.
But now, they had regained confidence.
With experts like Lord Akira and Lord White Fang present, Konoha would not fall.
Meanwhile, Akira himself did not join the celebrations outside.
Instead, he remained inside his tent together with Kakashi, Sakumo, and a few others, happily enjoying a feast.
In the center of the table sat a massive hotpot, surrounded by trays of fresh ingredients.
There were vegetables, meats, and all kinds of side dishes—all astonishingly fresh.
On the frontlines, this was an incredible luxury.
"You brat actually carried this much delicious food around with you. I honestly don't even know what to say anymore."
Sakumo shook his head helplessly with a laugh.
However, his chopsticks moved extremely quickly as he shoveled food into his mouth without the slightest intention of slowing down.
Over the past half year on the battlefield, although he had not eaten military ration pills every single day, it was almost the same thing.
He had long since grown sick of it.
Now he finally felt alive again.
Akira grinned as he picked up a slice of fatty beef from the hotpot, blew on it twice, and stuffed it into his mouth.
While savoring the taste with satisfaction, he waved his hand casually.
"People live to enjoy life and make it better, don't they?"
"If you become stronger yet still can't improve your quality of life, then what's the point of living like that?"
He absolutely refused to treat himself harshly.
In the past, he might have restrained himself somewhat.
But now that his strength had risen and he had already revealed part of it openly, wasn't it only natural for him to enjoy these things openly and legitimately?
Kakashi actually nodded in agreement.
That sounded pretty reasonable.
"You brat…"
Sakumo shook his head helplessly again.
"You're always spouting crooked logic. A person's life can't revolve solely around eating well, drinking well, and living comfortably. There should still be ideals and convictions. You should leave something behind for this world… for Konoha."
Sakumo still possessed dreams and ambitions.
Unfortunately, with people like the Third Hokage and Danzo controlling Konoha's power structure, he had never truly been given room to realize them.
In truth, what Danzo had done previously was only a minor matter on the surface.
If Akira had not intervened in time, Sakumo might very well have ended up following the same tragic path as in the original timeline.
For someone like him, the success or failure of a single mission was meaningless.
What truly destroyed a person was when their beliefs, ideals, and convictions could not be fulfilled—when they could no longer see a path forward.
Fortunately, Akira had helped him understand many new things and taught him how to adapt, compromise, and endure.
"Alright, alright!"
Akira shrugged helplessly.
"Teacher, you're someone with lofty ideals and ambitions. I'm just a vulgar ordinary person. Besides, I'm still young—I'm still a child. I don't want to think about such complicated things yet. I'll worry about them after I become an adult."
"Hahaha!"
Hearing Akira seriously claim that he was still just a child, everyone present burst into laughter.
A child who had terrified Kirigakure into fleeing in panic.
Truly terrifying.
How fortunate Konoha was to possess such a genius.
"Are you really not going outside to accept everyone's praise and celebration?"
Sakumo asked again.
"No thanks!"
Akira immediately waved his chopsticks and refused without hesitation.
"I'm not interested in that stuff. Besides, if I leave, won't all this delicious food become yours? Don't think I can't see through your plan to trick me out so you can enjoy everything yourselves!"
…
"Interesting! Very interesting! Looks like we all underestimated this brat called Akira."
At this moment, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu—who had quietly observed the battlefield from nearby while Akira slaughtered Kirigakure's forces—were discussing the matter in shock.
"Such terrifying Lightning Release techniques… such absurd chakra reserves… he's practically a monster."
"We need to report this situation to Madara as quickly as possible."
After the battle ended, the two immediately rushed off to relay everything they had witnessed to Madara Uchiha.
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