Seven years on autopilot-that's how Akira Uchiha described his last seven years, and he thought it was a pretty fitting description.
During these seven years, he had indeed grown. For example, his body had matured, which caused his chakra reserves to rise from 30,000 to 40,000. That's definitely a sign of strength growth, right?
And it wasn't just any normal growth either-his chakra had increased by an entire Kage-level amount just from his body's developnt.
It seed that his body's exceptional physical state was due to the dragon transformation. In addition to that, his Sage Mode had beco almost instantaneous to activate and had grown significantly stronger-another massive leap in his abilities.
However, if he had spent these seven years training actively using his life simulator, he couldn't say for sure that he'd reach the level of a Six Paths power. But surpassing the Kage level, reaching the heights of Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju, was sothing Akira could definitely guarantee.
So, comparing seven years of passive growth to seven years of active training-it made sense that training would have been more productive, right?
The term "autopilot" truly captured the essence of these past seven years.
But now, seven years had passed, and the tiline had progressed into the Shippuden era, hadn't it?
Akira was curious about what the shinobi world had turned into after seven years, but he hadn't forgotten the real reason he had co to Ryuchi Cave in the first place.
Even if he was eager to return, he still needed to familiarize himself with a few of the snakes here and set up so summoning contracts, right?
"Great Sage, it's been seven years. I should head back to check on things. But once I've got so free ti, I'll return to Ryuchi Cave, and we can have a proper chat," Akira said, addressing the White Snake Sage.
Helping him with the dragon transformation was sothing the White Snake Sage had done willingly-it was sothing Ryuchi Cave had been striving for all along.
Now that he had successfully transford into a dragon, the Great Sage naturally wanted to learn from his experience. But there was no rush; they had plenty of ti. Akira was eager to see how much Konoha had changed over the past seven years.
"Of course, take your ti. We can discuss everything when you return," the White Snake Sage replied with a warm smile. Her understanding deanor put Akira at ease.
Akira's words indicated that he was willing to share the secrets of the dragon transformation with her, which made the White Snake Sage quite happy. After waiting for so many years, a few more days wouldn't hurt.
After bidding farewell to the White Snake Sage, Akira left the deepest part of Ryuchi Cave. The first person he encountered was Tanshin Hi, a beautiful girl.
"Congratulations on successfully transforming into a dragon!" Tanshin Hi said, her eyes fixed on Akira.
She was congratulating him on the dragon transformation, not on mastering Sage Mode, which showed just how much more important the dragon transformation was.
"Thank you!" Akira replied with a smile and a nod.
Then, after a brief pause, he added, "I'd like to find a few compatible snakes here in Ryuchi Cave, ones that could assist in future summonings. Would you be willing to help?"
The three Hi sisters were the highest-ranking entities in Ryuchi Cave, equivalent to the Toad Sages, Fukasaku, and Shima, of Mount Myōboku. If he could get Tanshin Hi's approval, it would be far more valuable than making a pact with soone like Manda. Besides, even though he hadn't fought Tanshin Hi, he had faced Ichikishima Hi and Takitsuhi before. He had seen Ichikishima Hi's strength and Takitsuhi's illusions, both of which were undoubtedly at the Kage level. Tanshin Hi, being their equal, must be just as powerful.
"You want to summon in the future?" Tanshin Hi looked stunned, clearly not expecting such a request from Akira.
"If you think I'm not worthy, then please disregard my request," Akira said, not wanting to push the issue.
After all, even Orochimaru only summoned Manda. In the original series, Sasuke had only summoned smaller snakes and had never called upon the three Hi sisters.
For Akira to ask for Tanshin Hi right off the bat might have been a bit presumptuous.
"No, it's not that you're not worthy. It's that I'm not worthy!" Tanshin Hi replied with a sweet smile, putting Akira at ease.
With that, things beca much simpler.
After establishing a friendly relationship with Tanshin Hi, Akira asked her about the characteristics of other snakes in Ryuchi Cave.
While strength was important, different snakes had different abilities.
Tanshin Hi was more than willing to help, guiding Akira to et a dozen or so snakes within Ryuchi Cave.
These snakes had all heard of Akira's existence and knew that he had been undergoing the dragon transformation with the Great Sage.
They all felt honored to be considered for a future summoning pact with soone as powerful as Akira.
After eting these snakes and accomplishing his goals in Ryuchi Cave, Akira said his goodbyes to Tanshin Hi and the others before leaving.
As she watched Akira's form disappear into a puff of smoke, Tanshin Hi couldn't help but
smile.
"Hey, where's Akira Uchiha?" Not long after he left, Ichikishima Hi and Takitsuhi arrived, looking anxious.
"He's already left Ryuchi Cave," Tanshin Hi replied with a shake of her head.
"What? He's gone? Did we miss him?" Ichikishima Hi and Takitsuhi both looked disappointed.
"You told us there was sothing delicious to eat, and now we've missed our chance to et Akira. Did you do that on purpose?" Takitsuhi asked, her gaze suspicious as she looked at
Tanshin Hi.
"Yeah, that seems pretty suspicious!" Ichikishima Hi chid in, also beginning to doubt Tanshin Hi's intentions.
Earlier, Tanshin Hi had told them about so delicious treats in another part of Ryuchi
Cave.
The two of them hadn't thought much of it and went off to enjoy the feast. After having their fill and feeling quite content, they returned only to find out that Akira had finished his transformation and was eting with various mbers of the cave.
Rushing over, they had still managed to miss him, which made them feel quite regretful. Suspicion naturally turned towards Tanshin Hi.
It wasn't that they didn't trust their sister, but the timing had been just a little too
convenient.
"Co on, I told you about the treat out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you repay ?" Tanshin Hi replied, feigning a hurt expression.
"It's just that the timing was too perfect," Ichikishima Hi said, still sowhat skeptical.
"Do you really think I would do sothing like that? And what would I have to gain from it?" Tanshin Hi countered.
"Who knows? Maybe you wanted to get closer to Akira Uchiha, or perhaps... you were hoping to, you know, get sothing from him?" Takitsuhi suggested, her tone full of innuendo. "Stop talking nonsense! You're forgetting that Akira Uchiha is a human, not a snake!" Tanshin Hi retorted, her expression changing to one of indignation.
"Yeah, exactly! He's just our contract holder," Ichikishima Hi nodded in agreent, siding with Tanshin Hi against Takitsuhi.
"But he's completed the dragon transformation now, hasn't he? We snakes also have a chance to transform into dragons, right? A normal person couldn't do that, but maybe he could? If that's the case, wouldn't you have the chance to bear children with dragon blood?"
Takitsuhi argued.
"Wait... what?" Ichikishima Hi was stunned.
The idea actually made sense to her.
Other summoners were just humans, so they were naturally different from the snakes of
Ryūchi Cave. Even if they were eaten, it wouldn't cause any real conflict.
But Akira Uchiha was different. He had completed the dragon transformation!
Though still human, in a way, he was no longer just a human.
He had ascended to the status of a dragon-a higher form of life than a snake!
If she, as a snake, were to mate with Akira, who had the form of a dragon, could she really bear
a child with dragon blood? It was possible.
And if she did, wouldn't she beco one of the greatest benefactors in all of Ryuchi Cave?
"So that's your ga! You wanted to get close to him first!" Ichikishima Hi, usually slow
to catch on, finally realized what Tanshin Hi might have been up to. And just like that, the three Hi sisters of Ryuchi Cave began to bicker and squabble. They even started considering Akira as one of their own kind, a higher life form-a dragon-
and began imagining what it would be like to mate with him.
Of course, Akira knew none of this.
After leaving Ryuchi Cave, Akira returned to Konoha Village.
He landed on a rooftop, surveying the entire village from a vantage point.
The familiar yet slightly changed Konoha stirred a lot of emotions within him.
"Konoha, your emperor has returned!"
Uh, wait, that's not quite right.
More accurately:
"Konoha, after seven years on autopilot, I'm back!"
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 188 at /Emiko1.
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