Chapter 408: Border Situation, Return to Konoha
Elder Toad's gaze snapped toward Naruto, her bulbous eyes gleaming with sudden, terrifying inspiration.
"Since Hokage-sama and Jiraiya are both busy," she croaked, thrusting the woven basket forward, "then little Naruto... you can take this back to eat!"
She enthusiastically shoved the container closer. Inside, a thick, writhing mass of multi-colored grubs and fat, segmented centipedes churned over one another, their tiny legs scratching against the wicker.
"Come, come, come! Big Sister will pack it all up for you!" she insisted, her voice bubbling with misplaced hospitality. "This is top-tier nourishment! If you get a little hungry on the road, they make the perfect crunchy snack!"
Naruto stared at the approaching basket. A particularly fat, purple grub popped out of the wriggling pile, its mandibles clicking. All color drained from the boy's face. He scrambled backward, practically plastering himself against Uchiha Akira's back, shaking his head so fast it blurred.
"No, no, no, no!" he shrieked, his voice cracking under the sheer terror of the offering. "There's no need! Really, absolutely no need! Granny! I... I've been on a strict diet recently!"
He waved his hands frantically, desperate to put distance between himself and the squirming feast. "That's right! A diet! And I've eaten way too much these past few days. My stomach is totally full of... full of high protein right now! I really can't fit a single bite more!"
"A diet?" Elder Toad halted, eyeing Naruto's frame with deep suspicion. "With that scrawny little body of yours, what kind of nonsense diet are you on? You're at the exact age where you should be growing..."
"Enough."
Uchiha Akira's calm, authoritative voice sliced through the damp air, instantly ending the conversation that was rapidly suffocating his disciple.
"Time is tight. We are leaving."
He did not give the elderly amphibian another second to peddle her grotesque cuisine. Visual prowess flared in his dark eyes, bending the very fabric of reality around them.
"Amenominaka!"
"Two Sages, farewell," Akira added, offering a slight, respectful nod to the toads. "I will visit again when the opportunity arises."
"Eh? Leaving already?" Elder Toad blinked, entirely caught off guard by the abrupt departure. "Wait! At least take two for the road!"
She snatched a pair of dried, crusty beetles from her pocket, thrusting them forward. But she was far too late.
The spatial vortex spiraled outward, contracting violently around the three shinobi. In a blink, Uchiha Akira, Jiraiya, and Naruto vanished from Mount Myoboku, leaving the old toad holding her beetles in the empty clearing.
Miles away, at the frontline command post entrenched along the heavily fortified border of the Land of Fire.
Hum!
The air itself twisted, bending light and sound before snapping back into place. Three distinct figures materialized out of thin air, stepping from the void onto the solid, dust-coated earth of the military camp.
The sudden spatial distortion triggered an immediate reaction. Dozens of Konoha shinobi, previously rushing between supply tents and defensive perimeters, froze in unison. Weapons were half-drawn, only to be instantly lowered as they recognized the man leading the trio.
"It's Hokage-sama!"
The exclamation rippled through the camp, swiftly evolving into a wave of fanatical adoration.
Clatter—
Armor plates and weapons shifted as the surrounding patrol squads dropped to one knee without a fraction of hesitation. Heads bowed low, eyes fixed firmly on the dirt, they offered their absolute, highest respect to Uchiha Akira.
"Welcome back, Hokage-sama!" their voices roared in perfect, disciplined unison.
The moment his boots hit solid ground, Naruto's knees buckled. He collapsed onto the dirt, gasping greedily at the dry, bug-free air.
"I'm... I'm alive..." he wheezed, sprawling out spread-eagled in the middle of the command post. "Finally... escaped..."
He stared up at the vast, azure sky, actual tears of deep relief pooling at the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, he shot up into a sitting position.
"Hahaha!" he bellowed, throwing his arms wide. "I, Uzumaki Naruto, have returned to the land of normal food!"
Beside him, Jiraiya let out a long, ragged exhale, discreetly wiping a bead of cold sweat from his brow.
"Whew... That was entirely too close. I thought for sure I was going to be left behind to endure the 'all-bug feast'." He shot a sidelong glance at Akira, a genuine flicker of gratitude shining in his dark eyes.
Swoosh!
A sharp gust of wind kicked up the dust. A silvery-white blur materialized via the Body Flicker Technique, solidifying into the lean, familiar form of Kakashi Hatake. His silver hair defied gravity as always, his masked face giving away nothing of his internal thoughts.
"Hokage-sama. Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi greeted, his voice a steady, professional baritone as he dropped to one knee.
Akira offered a faint nod. "Rise and speak. What is the current situation on the front line?"
Kakashi stood, instantly shifting into a rigid, tactical posture. "The general perimeter remains stable. However, over the past few days, we have experienced frequent, localized harassment from small, highly mobile enemy units. Intelligence confirms they are primarily composed of Iwagakure's specialized demolition squads, supplemented by mercenary bands of wandering rogue ninja."
He narrowed his visible eye, his tone hardening. "They refuse to engage our main forces in direct combat. Instead, they strictly target our rear supply lines and isolated patrol squads. They are as annoying as flies, but highly coordinated."
Kakashi paused, a sharp, cold glint flashing across his dark pupil. "In fact, just moments before your arrival, the Third Logistics Division transmitted a priority distress signal. They were ambushed in Sector Four while transporting a heavy shipment of Explosive Tags and critical medical supplies."
Akira's expression did not shift by even a fraction of a millimeter. To him, this petty, hit-and-run harassment was nothing more than children playing house in a sandbox. It lacked ambition. It lacked true threat.
"Have you dispatched reinforcements?" Akira asked, his tone perfectly flat.
Kakashi nodded firmly. "Units have already been deployed. Might Guy happened to be running a perimeter patrol nearby. The moment he intercepted the distress flare, he broke formation and led his team straight into the ambush zone. I was just preparing to mobilize the second echelon to provide heavy support."
"Guy went?" Akira's dark eyes shifted slightly. "Then there is no need for support. Order the second echelon to stand down immediately."
Kakashi blinked, momentarily stunned by the absolute dismissal. "But, Hokage-sama... the enemy forces likely include Iwagakure's elite demolition veterans. Their explosive traps are—"
Akira raised a single, gloved hand, cutting off the protest.
"Mere Iwagakure rats are not even enough to serve as a proper warm-up for him."
His voice carried the absolute certainty of a man who knew the exact, terrifying depths of his subordinates' power. The current Might Guy was a walking natural disaster. Even if he only opened the Seventh Gate, he was a living meat-grinder on a conventional battlefield. The Iwa shinobi were already dead; they just didn't know it yet.
Recognizing the finality in his leader's voice, Kakashi swallowed his concerns and nodded.
Akira turned his attention to the white-haired Sannin beside him. "Jiraiya."
"Yeah?"
"You will remain here and continue to hold the front line." Akira's gaze darkened, a cold, bloody crimson light briefly flaring within his pupils. "If Iwagakure dares to assemble a large-scale army to press our borders... you may decide their fate for yourself."
Jiraiya's usual laid-back demeanor vanished instantly. His expression tightened into a mask of hardened stone, his spine straightening into a rigid military posture.
"Understood!" he barked. Though he spent most of his days playing the fool, when it came to the survival of the village and the brutal realities of war, the legendary Toad Sage was never ambiguous.
With the frontline logistics settled, Akira had no intention of lingering in the dust and heat of the border camp. He turned his gaze downward.
"Naruto."
The boy was currently rolling in the dirt, still celebrating his survival.
"Stop making a fool of yourself. We are returning to the village."
At the word 'returning', Naruto executed a flawless kip-up, launching himself to his feet.
"Alright, Master!" he cheered, pumping his fists in the air. "I'm going straight to Ichiraku! I need three giant bowls of ramen!" He practically danced in place, vibrating with boundless energy.
Akira shook his head slowly. The sheer, excessive volume of the boy's stamina was almost exhausting to witness.
"Do not resist," Akira commanded, raising his hand toward his hyperactive disciple.
Hum!
His visual prowess surged, violently bending the fabric of space around his outstretched palm. Before Naruto could even blink, an irresistible, swirling suction force enveloped his entire body.
"Eh? Eh, eh, eh?!" Naruto flailed wildly as his feet left the ground. "Master, wait, slow down—!"
His protests were cut short as his figure vanished instantly, sucked directly into the isolated void of the Tianyu Space.
Lowering his hand, Akira swept his cold gaze over Kakashi and Jiraiya one last time.
"The rest is up to you."
Before the final syllable even faded from the air, his visual prowess flared again.
[Amenominaka.]
Akira's figure distorted, folding inward before dissipating into thin air right before their eyes, leaving only a faint ripple in the wind.
Meanwhile, deep within Konohagakure.
Inside the top-floor office of the Hokage Building, the atmosphere was thick with mounting frustration. Tsunade sat slumped in the wide, high-backed leather chair, her brows knitted together in a fierce scowl. She gripped a red-stamped intelligence document so tightly her knuckles were white. Her golden hair spilled messily over her shoulders, framing a face flushed with irritation, her proud chest rising and falling with heavy, agitated breaths.
"Damn you, Akira..." she muttered, her voice a low, dangerous growl. "Dumping mountains of paperwork on me while you run off!"
Unable to contain her temper any longer, Tsunade violently hurled her fountain pen across the desk. It clattered sharply against a towering stack of mission reports, leaving a splatter of black ink across the polished wood.
"I am one of the legendary Sannin!" she barked to the empty room, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I am not his damn secretary!"
She gritted her teeth, a vein throbbing visibly at her temple. "When that arrogant brat gets back, I'm absolutely going to make him pay!"
Yet, despite her venomous complaints and threats of extreme bodily harm, Tsunade let out a long, defeated sigh. She reached across the ink-stained desk, retrieved the discarded pen, and resignedly pulled the next thick dossier toward her, preparing to review the endless stream of village logistics.
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