The battle between the three Super Kage-level fighters had finally ended. All three wielded the legendary Rinnegan, and their lightning-fast combat style, capable of shattering mountains and parting seas, had left everyone in Iwagakure in awe.
But even though the fight had ended, the expressions of the people of Iwagakure were grim. Urashiki's power, as he had demonstrated during the battle, left them all very aware of his imnse strength.
He had escaped. What if he decided to attack Iwagakure again?
As the saying goes, "You can guard against a thief for a thousand days, but you can't be a thief for a thousand days." They couldn't expect Uchiha Akira to stay in Iwagakure indefinitely to help them out.
And from what they had just witnessed, it was clear that even with Uchiha Akira, defeating Urashiki wasn't going to be an easy feat.
"Thank you, sir, for helping us. Without your intervention, the consequences for Iwagakure would have been unimaginable," Kurotsuchi stepped forward and expressed her gratitude. "I originally wanted to say it was a small matter and not worth thanking for, but that wouldn't be quite true, so I won't say that. If you really want to thank , then give so money," Akira said bluntly.
Kurotsuchi's expression grew a little strange at those words.
Here they were, expressing their gratitude as a gesture of respect from Iwagakure, and he asked for money?
Did this make their gratitude seem cheap?
Even Sasuke shot Akira a strange look. The longer he spent around Akira, the less he seed to understand him.
A Six Tomoe Rinnegan, sothing Sasuke himself had never imagined. Yet Akira had awakened it.
And now, when Iwagakure expressed their gratitude, Akira demanded money?
Most astonishing of all, Akira's eyes seed to shift between the Sharingan and Rinnegan at will—sothing Sasuke found incredibly hard to grasp.
Once soone had awakened the Rinnegan, they couldn't go back to the Sharingan. Not even Madara Uchiha had ever done it. During the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Madara had revealed his Rinnegan after his resurrection, but once he activated it, there was no going back to the Sharingan.
The sa was true for Sasuke's own left eye, which had transford into the Six Tomoe Rinnegan. He couldn't switch it back to the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But Akira could?
"Uchiha Akira, you're quite the jokester," Kurotsuchi said with an awkward but amused smile. She decided not to dwell on the money issue, instead shifting the conversation. "Akira, who was that person just now? And why did he attack Iwagakure?"
The crowd's attention was once again on Akira.
Indeed, the kind of power they had witnessed, soone wielding the Rinnegan-one of the strongest abilities in the shinobi world-was targeting Iwagakure. What could his purpose be?
"His goal is similar to the Akatsuki's-he wants to collect the Tailed Beasts," Akira answered. Collect the Tailed Beasts?
Hearing this, the people of Iwagakure turned their gazes towards Roshi and Han, the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails respectively.
Was the blue Rinnegan user after them?
"Not just that guy; the Akatsuki have the sa goal?" Roshi's face darkened as he spoke, his tone heavy.
"Yes. The Akatsuki are also after the Tailed Beasts. The Two-Tails Jinchuriki from Kumogakure was already killed by the Akatsuki," Akira confird.
Hearing this, Roshi and Han's faces grew even more grim.
Targeted by both Urashiki and the Akatsuki-how could they ever sleep peacefully?
"Don't worry; we will figure out a way to deal with Urashiki," Sasuke interjected, addressing Kurotsuchi and the others.
After all, the reason he ca to this tiline alongside Urashiki was to stop him. And now, with a powerful ally like Akira, Sasuke felt their chances against Urashiki had improved significantly.
"I hope you can take him down soon," Kurotsuchi responded, her face slightly less worried as she nodded at Sasuke.
Power commanded respect. Though Sasuke remained largely unknown in this world, the power he had displayed-his Rinnegan in one eye and his Mangekyo Sharingan in the other- earned him the respect of Iwagakure. His words carried weight.
"Alright, now that everything important has been said and done, let's talk about so serious business," Akira said, turning to Kurotsuchi.
"Is there still sothing else important to discuss?" Kurotsuchi's expression grew serious, and the other high-ranking mbers of Iwagakure looked at Akira with renewed focus.
Did this an that all their previous discussions were trivial matters? What could be more important?
"Money. We ca all the way here. Shouldn't we get so compensation for the trouble?" Akira said with a straight face.
Everyone in Iwagakure nearly fainted. When Akira said he wanted to talk about sothing serious, they had assud it was sothing more critical. But apparently, "serious business" ant negotiating a fee for his troubles.
"Akira, let's just go back," Sasuke urged, feeling embarrassed by Akira's bluntness.
"What's the rush? You wouldn't understand unless you were the one managing the household expenses. Earning money-it's never easy," Akira shot Sasuke a serious look.
"Alright, alright. Mr. Akira does have a point. You ca all this way; it's only fair to receive so compensation," Kurotsuchi said, deciding to play along. "How about this: I'll arrange for Iwagakure to give you one hundred million as a fee for your efforts. Of course, we will always rember your help here."
Although she mocked Akira's request for paynt, Kurotsuchi made sure to facilitate his request.
In her mind, Akira was trying to avoid being overly indebted to Iwagakure by turning the act of saving them into a transaction, asking for a symbolic sum of one hundred million ryo
instead.
Thus, she cooperated by treating it as a simple transaction while acknowledging that the favor Akira and Sasuke did for Iwagakure was not sothing that could be repaid so easily.
"Well..." Akira initially wanted to say that only one hundred million for saving Iwagakure was a bit too little.
But since Kurotsuchi made it clear that the paynt was rely symbolic and wouldn't fully settle the debt of gratitude, Akira decided against haggling further.
"Alright, one hundred million it is. It's better than nothing," Akira agreed with a nod.
Kurotsuchi had the amount quickly transferred to Akira, sealing the deal.
Having achieved his goal, Akira had no further reason to linger in Iwagakure. He and Sasuke
exchanged farewells with Kurotsuchi and the others and prepared to leave.
"Wait, Mr. Akira!" Just as they were about to depart for Konoha, a voice called out.
Akira turned back to see Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, approaching him.
"Mr. Akira, if you don't mind, I'd like to follow you," Han said.
His words stunned Akira, leaving him with an odd expression.
What was going on? A Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails, out of nowhere, suddenly wanted to follow
him?
Was this so kind of "Dragon-AoTian" novel trope, where the protagonist exudes an aura of dominance, and people just clamor to beco his followers?
But Akira wasn't so overpowered protagonist from a cliché novel. Why would Han suddenly want to follow him? Was there so hidden agenda?
"Whether it's the Akatsuki or that Urashiki, their target is the Tailed Beasts," Han explained,
noticing Akira's skeptical look. "If I stay in Iwagakure, I'll only bring danger to the village.
"I want to leave Iwagakure. And if there's anyone in the shinobi world who could provide with a sense of safety, it's you, Mr. Akira.
"So, if I want to protect myself while avoiding putting Iwagakure in danger, following you is
my best choice."
Akira could see the honesty in Han's eyes as he spoke, and the other shinobi of Iwagakure looked on with respect and admiration.
Han's decision to leave was clearly to spare the village further trouble. It was a noble act.
Even Akira couldn't help but respect his decision.
After all, Han was a Jinchuriki, a Kage-level fighter. If he genuinely wanted to follow Akira,
that would be an asset.
After so thought, Akira nodded. "Very well. If Iwagakure is willing to let you go, you can
follow ."
The shinobi of Iwagakure respected Han's decision.
Among them, Roshi's expression turned sour. If Han left and he stayed, wouldn't it make him
look selfish by comparison?
POWER STONE!!!
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300 at patreon/Emiko1.
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