"This is a Devil Fruit?"
Danzo and The Third were observing it together, but after turning it over countless times, he still couldn't see anything different about this fruit besides its patterned appearance from regular fruits.
"Yes. I personally witnessed a Yashin Cult member transform into a giant bull-human hybrid. After defeating that guy, this fruit appeared."
"Bull Model Fruit? Absolutely unbelievable!"
Danzo felt like he was dreaming.
So Devil Fruits actually exist in the world?
Even more puzzling to him was how Akaba had known about them. He'd drawn an exact replica of the fruit—did this kid already know something?
Impossible.
Judging from his usual reactions, he couldn't possibly have known Devil Fruits existed beforehand—otherwise he wouldn't be this shocked now.
Could only say it's beyond comprehension.
"But then where did the fake come from?"
The Third questioned with confusion.
"It was created by the Yashin Cult through some method. At the time, things happened too quickly for me to carefully observe the process, but it should have something to do with that evil chakra they use."
Akaba explained briefly, without revealing the fact that he secretly mixed in the Whispering Fruit.
"Yashin Cult..."
"Oh, right. When we passed near the Land of Whirlpools, we encountered a strange ninja who took two children from the Uzumaki clan away."
Akaba summarized what had happened when they met Black Zetsu.
He kept it brief, just saying the enemy had some kind of power that let him take the kids away.
As for the other one, Uchiha Eno and others had arranged temporary shelter at a village within the Land of Fire; they'd bring him back upon their return.
Both The Third and Danzo felt troubled.
Though there hadn't been any signs of the Yashin Cult inside the Land of Fire for now, judging by the sect's style, as long as they weren't completely eradicated, sooner or later they would spread into the Land of Fire.
There was also the follow-up situation regarding the Land of Whirlpools that urgently needed handling. Too many people were secretly eyeing the Uzumaki bloodline and sealing techniques.
And then there was the matter of the Devil Fruit.
Once word got out, the entire Ninja World would surely descend into chaos. Everyone would rush to create their own version of the Grand Line, inevitably sparking conflicts between ninja villages.
However, from Danzo's perspective, perhaps this wasn't entirely a bad thing. Fighting at sea at least wouldn't destroy the country's territory. Eventually, war was unavoidable.
After giving it some thought, he decided not to dwell on the Yashin Cult or the Land of Whirlpools anymore, instead asking, "You're the one who drew One Piece. You probably understand Devil Fruits better than anyone. What do you think we should do with this fruit?"
"If its effects really are the same as the Bull Model Fruit, then in my opinion, the most suitable person to take it would be Duy."
Akaba answered without hesitation.
"I've thought about this during our journey. [Buffalo Form] boosts physical strength, speed, and impact power, which obviously works better combined with the Eight Gates technique.
If he unlocks his potential...
It'd be too epic to even picture in my head."
"I object. Since this fruit's abilities haven't been tested yet, whether it truly is the Bull Model Fruit remains uncertain. We shouldn't jump to conclusions solely based on what you witnessed. I think further research is necessary."
The Third solemnly stated.
"How exactly should we conduct this research?"
"We've examined it just now too. It doesn't look special at all," said Danzo, his face flushed with anger. "But according to the method Akaba obtained, it definitely possesses incredible power. Are we really going to let fear stop us from progressing?"
Akaba wasn't surprised in the least by Danzo's reaction.
This sort of argument between them wasn't anything new, and everyone had already gotten used to it. Fortunately, thanks to previous lessons from Mito Uzumaki, physical fights were no longer likely to happen. Otherwise, Akaba might have already started planning an escape route.
"Teacher, Honored Hokage Lord, you two really don't need to argue. After all, Devil Fruits revive inside the nearest fruit after being destroyed. Why not just feed it to an animal and see what happens?"
As soon as this sentence was spoken, both the Third and Danzo fell silent simultaneously.
Could it really be that simple?
Thinking about it carefully, it actually made perfect sense.
"You brat! You had a solution this entire time but didn't say anything? Did you deliberately want to watch us make fools of ourselves?"
The Third angrily rebuked him.
Danzo remained expressionless.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back home first to let my family know I'm safe."
Akaba smiled awkwardly.
Danzo silently handed him both the genuine and counterfeit Devil Fruits. "Take the Devil Fruits and hand them directly to Orochimaru."
When it came to research, Orochimaru was undoubtedly the professional choice. Even though he was only about fourteen years old, he'd already developed a complete set of personal research methodologies and absolutely belonged to the top-tier in this field.
Akaba hadn't yet recovered his chakra.
He had used up a large amount of chakra returning directly from the border to Konoha, even consuming nearly half the chakra stored within his Yin Seal. So for the immediate future, he had no intention of using the Flying Thunder God technique or making any long journeys.
Right now, his priority was to recover chakra.
His spiritual energy was still quite abundant; it was mostly his physical energy that had been drained. Therefore, after resting briefly and taking one or two military rations pills, Akaba quickly regained some of his chakra.
It wasn't much, but enough for him to fly near the Preparatory Division's Research Institute.
Orochimaru had become obsessed with research recently.
Given a research topic that interested him, he could go without eating, sleeping, or even interacting with others.
Exactly.
After obtaining the Devil Fruit, Orochimaru slammed the door shut right in Akaba's face, showing absolutely no intention of inviting him inside even for a moment.
Akaba stood there in silence for a long time.
That blatant act of burning the bridge behind him left a bitter taste.
Whatever. Time to return home and rest.
He hadn't slept properly in over a day and had finally had enough. Right now, what he wanted most was to return home, lie on his soft, warm bed, and get a good night's sleep.
However, returning from outside always meant things wouldn't go smoothly.
Sure enough, not long afterward, Tsunade heard news of his return and immediately left her work at the hospital to come looking for him.
When Akaba returned to the manga shop on his way home, he encountered Tsunade just as she arrived.
Seeing that he was safe, a faint smile appeared on Tsunade's face.
But very quickly,
her expression darkened as she pulled out a manga volume from her waist pouch and shouted angrily, "Akaba! Explain this stone statue illustration to me! And what does it mean by 'second Tsunade'? Am I really that violent?"
It refers to the latest update.
Though Akaba had left Konoha two days ago, his Multiple Shadow Clones had dutifully completed the updates for both *Naruto* and *One Piece* (manga series).
The issue with the stone statue seemed to stem from a panel where Tsunade's Hokage carvings looked particularly odd, wearing an expression of obvious impatience.
"No, you're gentle. It's just a different kind of gentleness."
Akaba had strong survival instincts.
Saying yes outright or hesitating would probably end badly. For his own safety, he'd be better off telling a little white lie.
Yunlang Sakuma remained silent.
Gentle? What a troublesome kind of gentleness for Akaba to have.
"Hmph, you're good with words, but your drawings say otherwise completely. Take a look at Kakashi and Sakura's expressions and true thoughts—you'll end up giving everyone the wrong impression about me!"
Tsunade complained unhappily.
She sat down, clearly very displeased with Akaba's recent updates. After all, she was the Fifth in the manga—could he at least show a little more respect?
"Well, don't worry too much about details like that. Art always exaggerates things."
"Don't talk to me about 'art' right now—I can't even stand hearing that word. Every time you say it, I think of those two freaks in Akatsuki and that idiot Jiraiya."
Tsunade's hands twitched impatiently, itching to punch someone.
"What did he do this time?"
Akaba asked curiously. Jiraiya never stopped asking for trouble. Not long ago, Gamata had been running the insect cuisine restaurant and caused quite a commotion. In the end, Jiraiya had to go around personally apologizing to each person—one pathetic sight indeed.
"That idiot created some Harem Technique and then paraded it around proudly on the streets. He completely disgraced Teacher Sarutobi."
Tsunade was furious.
Akaba completely agreed with Tsunade's viewpoint.
Inventing such a dangerous jutsu—Jiraiya really acted recklessly. The Third would likely die of shock if he saw this technique; attempting to murder a village leader was a serious crime.
"Alright, get some rest early. I've got surgery this afternoon."
Tsunade stood up.
Truthfully, she'd rushed out from the hospital because she worried about Akaba's safety. Now that she'd seen him safe and sound, she finally felt reassured.
Akaba nodded.
He originally intended to go back and rest anyway—it was just a coincidence he happened to bump into Tsunade on his way out.
Uchiha Clan.
A group gathered together to read today's latest manga update.
"No scenes featuring Sasuke again! Sigh..."
"Instead of depending on the manga to get stronger, we should focus on training ourselves harder."
"That's easier said than done..."
We get the idea, but why do I still feel so down? What can we do about it?
The Uchiha gathered there sighed collectively. The current plot about Akatsuki invading and kidnapping the Kazekage truly looked exciting and dramatic, yet somehow, without knowing why, their anticipation for the once eagerly awaited manga suddenly felt dull.
Not far away, at the Motonami Uchiha household.
Motonami watched this scene while gently stroking the child beside him, saying, "Fugaku, what truly evolves the Sharingan is the love within our hearts—not tragic storylines in comics. Remember this."
"Father, I understand. Like how Big Brother Akaba achieved such tremendous strength at thirteen years old—he couldn't possibly have gotten there through manga alone."
"I worked extremely hard to get here, so don't try to negate my efforts by calling me a genius. I think maybe that line of Sasuke's is actually what Big Brother Akaba truly feels."
Fugaku spoke with childish innocence, yet what he said was remarkably mature. Though not yet five years old, he already displayed insight and wisdom surpassing many seven- or eight-year-olds outside.
He ran a proud hand through Fugaku's hair and said, "Truly my son."
"Father, that's my line."
Fugaku muttered unhappily.
"Alright, alright. It's your line. Today I'll teach you the Uchiha family's secret shuriken control technique."
Motonami Uchiha squatted down.
"Really? Great! I want to learn the same manipulation technique as Itachi Uchiha!"
"Sorry, even I don't know that one."
"Oh, then forget it."
Fugaku said, snatching up several kunai and striding into the courtyard, tossing them outward with practiced ease.
A series of kunai flew through the air, continuously colliding mid-air to redirect their paths, before finally hitting various surrounding targets with a string of *thuds*.
However, these were only general hits; most missed the bullseye by a considerable margin.
Technique-wise, Fugaku was solid—his youth merely meant he lacked strength, which threw off his aim.
Motonami Uchiha felt deeply embarrassed.
Though he was the clan leader, he mostly stayed in the village handling duties for the Military Police, so his battlefield experience was relatively limited. When it came to shuriken techniques, he couldn't be sure of his skill.
"Truly my son!"
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