Akira shrugged and pointed at Kakashi. "Sensei told me to come—I didn't really have a choice."
Sasuke explained that Kakashi was going to buy offerings to pay respects to a fallen comrade.
Akira nodded and casually added, "Probably going to visit someone named Uchiha Obito. That Sharingan of his was a gift from him before he died."
Sasuke knew very little about those old events. He had always assumed Kakashi's eye was some kind of mutation—after all, he had been too young when the Uchiha clan was wiped out.
Hearing this, Sasuke suddenly understood. So there was such a tragic story behind that eye.
Kakashi glanced at Akira, his expression turning slightly serious. "There's something I'm uneasy about. Sasuke, stay here. I'm taking Akira to deal with a bit of trouble."
Inside the offering shop, those words instantly made the atmosphere tense.
Thinking back to how Asuma and Kurenai had hurried off earlier, Sasuke frowned. "Did something happen?"
Kakashi gave a vague nod. "Nothing major. Just a bit concerned. Help pick out the usual offerings for the Uchiha clan."
After saying that, Kakashi gave Akira a look—and in the next instant, the two vanished using Body Flicker.
Akira had already more or less guessed how things would unfold. He understood the situation clearly.
Sasuke stared at the empty space where they had disappeared, clenching his fists tightly. That familiar sense of helplessness surged up again—he felt he was still too weak, not even qualified to help.
But this time, he didn't feel jealous of Akira.
Because when the gap grows too large, jealousy turns into despair.
He knew Akira was monstrously strong—whether he awakened his Sharingan or not, he wouldn't be able to catch up.
---
Following Kakashi at high speed, Akira soon arrived at a riverside within Konoha.
The moment they landed, they saw Kisame Hoshigaki swinging his massive blade Samehada, using Water Style jutsus to push Asuma into a desperate situation.
"Kakashi-sensei," Akira called out.
Kakashi nodded, signaling him to act immediately.
Kisame grinned viciously as he finished forming hand seals and unleashed a Water Shark Bomb Jutsu.
A high-pressure column of water surged up from the lake, crashing forward like a cannonball toward the already injured Asuma.
Asuma's arm was wounded, greatly slowing his hand seal speed.
Worse still, his specialties—Fire and Wind Style—were completely countered by Water Style.
Just as the deadly water column was about to smash him to pieces—
Akira appeared in front of him like a ghost, forming hand seals with one hand so fast that only afterimages remained.
Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!
With just three seals, the jutsu formed instantly—absurdly fast.
The lake churned violently as a massive water dragon roared into existence.
Dozens of meters long, the dragon opened its abyss-like jaws and swallowed Kisame's Water Shark whole.
The two massive torrents collided violently in midair, producing a deafening roar.
The Water Dragon didn't lose momentum. After shattering the shark projectile, it surged forward with residual force, charging straight at Kisame.
At that moment, a hint of amusement appeared on Kisame's shark-like face.
This kid… was interesting.
In terms of Water Style mastery, he actually felt a pressure from this boy that rivaled his own.
Seeing the water dragon about to crash into him, Kisame swung Samehada and slashed fiercely at its head.
With terrifying brute strength, he split the water dragon apart into a spray of droplets.
After dispersing the jutsu, Kisame looked at Akira and grinned.
"Not bad, kid. Using a B-rank jutsu this smoothly—and with more power than mine. Itachi, looks like your village produces monsters."
Itachi stood quietly on the water's surface, with Kakashi vigilantly positioned behind him.
He glanced at Akira and recognized the boy, though his impression was faint.
He had seen him a few times in the past while escorting Sasuke to school. Back then, he seemed like an ordinary child—who would've thought he'd evolve into something this formidable?
That Water Dragon just now—both its casting speed and power—far exceeded that of ordinary jōnin.
At twelve years old, to have such strength…
His talent was far beyond what he had shown during his time at the Academy.
Lowering his voice slightly, Itachi said, "Kakashi… is this your prized student?"
Kakashi stared coldly at him. "Didn't expect you to dare return to Konoha so openly."
Itachi's crimson Sharingan remained active.
His tone was utterly calm, without the slightest ripple. "Just came back to retrieve something."
To Kakashi, that sounded like blatant provocation.
Kisame thought the same—they were here for the Nine-Tails.
Itachi didn't bother explaining. He directly revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, a terrifying ocular power spreading instantly as he prepared to "educate" Kakashi.
Meanwhile, Kisame gripped Samehada and charged excitedly toward Akira, shouting that killing a genius like this would be exhilarating.
He admired Akira's Water Style—
And the way he expressed admiration was by cutting his opponent in half.
Watching Kisame charge forward like a tank, Akira made a grasping motion with his right hand.
A cold gleam flashed—
A katana instantly appeared in his grasp.
It was the specially crafted chakra blade Kakashi had given him.
Without turning his head, Akira said to Asuma, "Stay back. You're injured—don't make things worse. Just watch from the side."
Though Asuma and Kurenai didn't fully understand Akira's capabilities, they knew he could use Flying Raijin—his survival was guaranteed.
Asuma nodded and wisely retreated to a safe distance.
Holding the short blade, Akira stomped forward.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot forward like a cannonball, colliding head-on with Kisame.
Clang!
A deafening metallic clash rang out.
Then came the sound of the earth shattering.
As their blades collided, sparks flew from Samehada—several of its scales were actually knocked loose.
The monstrous strength behind Akira's strike forced the ground beneath Kisame's feet to cave in.
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward from the center of their clash.
Kisame's arm went numb, his eyes nearly popping out as he staggered back several steps before regaining his footing.
"What the hell…?" Kisame cursed inwardly.
What kind of monster strength did this kid grow up on?
He had toyed with Asuma earlier—but now, in a contest of raw strength, he was being suppressed by a mere brat.
Watching from the side, Asuma's jaw nearly dropped. He couldn't believe Akira could overpower that shark-faced monster in sheer strength.
Seizing the advantage, Akira pressed forward relentlessly—
His blade flashed like a cascading waterfall, pouring down in an unbroken assault.
Kisame might possess tailed-beast-level chakra reserves and formidable Water Style, but when it came to swordsmanship, that wasn't his strong suit.
Within just a few exchanges, Akira's tricky blade slipped through his guard and carved open a wound across his abdomen, blood spilling out.
Even Samehada was having a miserable time—under Akira's monstrous strength, it screeched as scales were sent flying.
Samehada was a living weapon. It could feel pain.
What was even more terrifying was that Akira infused chakra into his blade—yet Samehada couldn't absorb it at all.
That simply didn't make sense.
Kisame quickly realized that he was being suppressed in both swordsmanship and raw strength. Cursing inwardly, he concluded that this kid was a complete monster—his taijutsu was absurdly strong.
The only way to win now… was to outlast him with ninjutsu.
After all, Akira was still young. That B-rank jutsu earlier must have consumed a fair amount of chakra. There was no way he could compete with someone like Kisame—a true chakra monster.
With that thought, Kisame cast aside his earlier contempt and formed hand seals at high speed.
Water Style: Super Shark Bomb Jutsu!
As the jutsu took shape, a massive shark formed from water burst out of the lake, baring rows of sharp teeth as it lunged viciously at Akira.
At that exact moment—
Akira held his blade in one hand while forming seals with the other.
Again—
Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!
The same technique. The same unbelievable casting speed.
A raging water dragon erupted from the lake, meeting the giant shark head-on, jaws snapping.
With a thunderous boom, the dragon and the shark tore into each other midair before exploding into a torrential downpour.
Both Kisame and Asuma were stunned.
Asuma couldn't wrap his head around it.
Two high-consumption B-rank jutsus in a row—and the kid wasn't even breathing heavily.
Was his chakra… infinite?
Kisame's face darkened like a storm cloud. With a furious roar, he formed seals again.
Water Style: Five Hungry Sharks!
If one wasn't enough—then five!
The lake exploded as five massive water sharks surged out, attacking from different angles and sealing off all of Akira's escape routes.
A cruel smile spread across Kisame's face.
Let's see how you dodge this.
But Akira simply sheathed his blade calmly, his hands blurring into afterimages.
Water Style: Water Shockwave!
In an instant, five streams of high-pressure water burst out from around him like powerful cannons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a series of explosive impacts, the five fearsome sharks were instantly shredded into nothing but scattered water.
Each jet was nearly half a meter thick.
This level of control over Water Style shape transformation made Kisame's scalp tingle.
Just how deep were this kid's chakra reserves?
And his mastery of Water Style… was actually superior to Kisame's?
What the hell—was this really a twelve-year-old? A mere genin?!
Kisame felt his worldview crumbling.
Were all Konoha genin monsters like this?
Though Akira hadn't been promoted due to various reasons, in Kisame's eyes, this was the biggest fraud imaginable.
Fixing his gaze on Akira, Kisame asked in a low voice,
"Kid… what's your name?"
Akira smiled faintly, as if it were nothing.
"Akira."
Kisame's eyes narrowed slightly. "Good. I'll remember that."
They were here to capture the Nine-Tails—making too much noise would attract Konoha's main forces. And fighting a monster of unknown depth like this wasn't worth it.
Kisame had already decided to withdraw.
He called out to Itachi, who was still confronting Kakashi.
"We're leaving."
Itachi had just subjected Kakashi to Tsukuyomi. Hearing Kisame's words, he was slightly surprised.
Even the Blue Beast, Might Guy, hadn't shown up yet—and Kisame was already being forced to retreat?
Itachi cast a deep glance at Akira. Those eyes seemed to see through everything, and inwardly, he was shocked by the boy's rate of growth.
Without another word, the two figures flickered—and vanished into thin air.
Akira remained where he stood, making no move to pursue.
With his strength, keeping them here would be difficult—but not impossible.
Even against Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, he had ways to deal with them.
The power of his Mangekyō was enough to repel most genjutsu—unless someone like Uchiha Madara himself appeared.
But Akira couldn't be bothered with that kind of trouble. Risking his life like that wasn't worth it.
As soon as the two left, Akira instantly flickered to Kakashi's side.
Kakashi had already been mentally shattered by Tsukuyomi and had collapsed unconscious.
At that moment, Might Guy—the thick-browed man—finally arrived late. Seeing that the fight was already over, he looked a bit disappointed.
Noticing Kakashi lying on the ground, Akira calmly instructed Guy to get him to the hospital immediately.
He himself stayed behind to treat Asuma and Kurenai.
Looking at his unconscious friend, Guy's expression turned unusually serious. He muttered that Itachi's genjutsu was truly impossible to guard against, then hoisted Kakashi onto his back and sprinted toward the hospital.
Akira's medical ninjutsu wasn't on Tsunade's godlike level—but it far surpassed that of ordinary medical ninja.
Walking over to Asuma and Kurenai, green chakra light began to glow from his hands.
Kurenai had suffered backlash from genjutsu, leaving her mentally weakened. Asuma, on the other hand, had sustained mostly external injuries—nothing fatal.
As Akira treated them, Asuma watched in astonishment as his wounds visibly healed at a rapid pace.
Eyes wide, he asked, "You… you even know medical ninjutsu?"
At this point, Asuma felt like his brain couldn't keep up anymore.
Just how many tricks did this kid have up his sleeve?
Kurenai, still weak, added with a sigh, "Not just that… his jutsu is more refined than even the specialists at the hospital. And that fight just now… that wasn't jōnin-level strength at all."
Akira smiled modestly. "Just the basics. If I were really that good, I'd have already healed Kakashi-sensei."
Kurenai shook her head. "That's the Healing Jutsu—an A-rank medical ninjutsu. Anyone who can use that is far beyond 'just the basics.'"
Akira only smiled, saying nothing as he continued the treatment.
Asuma watched his profile, a thought becoming clearer and clearer in his mind—
This kid's strength had likely already surpassed Kakashi.
And he was only thirteen.
That kind of potential… was downright terrifying.