"Akaba, what exactly is going on here!"
Tsunade was shocked.
The Old Lady loved Konoha dearly, but she also took great care with her appearance. The fact that she had canceled the chakra maintaining her youthful looks meant either her lifespan was nearly over and couldn't sustain such consumption anymore, or—
"It's not what you think. I can't tell you the specific details."
Akaba walked with Tsunade outside.
The treatment had already ended. In fact, Chihaya Uzumaki had an excellent constitution and recovered quickly. However, being only around eleven or twelve years old, her chakra reserves weren't particularly large. The continuous and frequent healing sessions for others had caused considerable aftereffects on her body.
Tsunade remained silent for a moment before nodding, no longer pressing Akaba to speak further.
If there were things he could say, he would've already said them.
"I still have chapter updates to finish. I need to go back and draw tomorrow's manga. If you need help here, come find me at the Manga Shop."
"Yeah, I should also train a bit more. Recently I've been busy with Medical Ninjutsu and haven't properly practiced other techniques in a while."
Tsunade nodded.
Although Akaba didn't say anything explicitly, from certain tones, she sensed this matter might be far more complicated than it seemed on the surface.
Perhaps, a major war was coming.
"Take care."
After saying those final words, Akaba activated the Flying Thunder God technique and disappeared.
Back at the Manga Shop, he thought deeply.
Originally, according to his plan, he definitely intended to lay low, delaying the "Rinnegan" and "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path" plots until he possessed sufficiently mature strength—only then would he draw those contents.
Therefore originally, in Gaara's capture arc, all scenes depicting Akatsuki processing Bijū were meant to be omitted.
But now—
"Madara has obtained the Whispering Fruit. Although I'm still unclear how powerful individuals in the Fire Shadow World can utilize Devil Fruits, he's obviously much stronger than Arlong. Perhaps Madara has already discovered Zetsu."
"Therefore, they might have already joined forces."
Sitting cross-legged on the tatami floor in the Private Chamber, Akaba began thinking hard about how Devil Fruits might change things.
He hadn't expected Madara to get involved. This was definitely his oversight.
However, although Madara discovering Black Zetsu posed some danger, it wasn't entirely negative—Black Zetsu would no longer have the opportunity to impersonate "the other side of Madara"!
"Based on Black Zetsu's personality, since I've ruined his plans twice before, and now Madara discovered him first, he must want to eliminate me regardless of whether I draw the Rinnegan or not. His target will always be me."
Thinking thus, Akaba took a deep breath.
It's like they say—whether you stick your head out or keep it tucked in, the blade falls all the same. So what was there to fear?
Additionally,
He had confirmed Devil Fruits aren't affected by seawater in this world, aside from the limitation that one person can consume only one.
That flaw aside, no immediate concerns remained.
Then, acquiring Devil Fruits through exchange could be planned accordingly.
The Sand-Sand Fruit had too many drawbacks so wasn't considered.
Considering recent plot developments, the best choice undoubtedly remained the Skypiea arc—the Goro Goro no Mi.
More than that, within that arc would appear an important sensory ability called Mantra.
Mantra refers to what Skypieans call Color of Observation Haki. The Uzumaki clan's sensing ability alone wasn't enough to pinpoint Black Zetsu's location. What if he added Color of Observation Haki into the mix?
No matter how he thought about it, he needed to push the Skypiea arc forward fast.
"Great. I'll add extra updates recently. You three divide the work—each draw five chapters. Today we'll release fifteen new chapters of One Piece, while I'll handle the Naruto: Ninja Storm update."
He instantly created three Multiple Shadow Clones.
Before this, Akaba hadn't dared attempt such a thing, but now with his physical strength reaching 170 and spirit points as high as 210,
the sum of both should certainly support sustaining three clones working simultaneously.
Three Multiple Shadow Clones exchanged glances before one of them spoke up, "Whoa, it's actually rare for you to join in! Well then, we'll draw at least twenty chapters today—just for you!"
"Great, let's get started."
Akaba set up his tools and began drawing seriously.
Five chapters weren't that much.
At his current drawing speed, if he gave it his all, he could finish the update within two hours.
Meanwhile, inside a natural cave in the Land of Water,
"You already have the Eternal Kaleidoscope Sharingan and the Sage's Body cells. As long as you can extract the power from both and fuse them into Six Paths Chakra, then use this energy to stimulate your eyes' evolution, you will obtain the Rinnegan."
"It's a shame I realized this too late back then. By the time I understood this, I was already no match for Asura."
Black Zetsu guided Madara through the process of merging energies while "sighing," further reinforcing the idea that he truly was Indra, making Madara believe him.
"I see. 'Combining two into one' refers to chakra itself—not merely having a perfect body and perfect Sharingan at the same time."
Madara caught on.
No wonder he hadn't been able to evolve his eyes for so long.
But he didn't fully trust Black Zetsu either. From feedback about Devil Fruit abilities he had received, he felt that Black Zetsu was hiding some secret.
I need to find a way to strengthen my Devil Fruit powers!
He told himself inwardly.
For now, what Black Zetsu taught him indeed brought tangible benefits. After several experiments, he genuinely sensed different chakra from Senju Hashirama's cells.
Next step was fusing this chakra.
"Well then, I'll go back first and check on that kid from the Uzumaki clan. His physical strength is quite impressive. With some training plus teaching him sealing techniques, he'd make an excellent tool for capturing Bijū."
Black Zetsu said.
"Do as you like."
Madara didn't care much.
The Uzumaki's sealing techniques are indeed powerful, but the kid's just a child.
Even if that guy claiming to be "Indra" took over the body, without sufficient chakra to resist, they'd remain insignificant before absolute power.
His top priority now was the Rinnegan!
Once he awakened the Rinnegan, neither Bijū nor Black Zetsu would pose any real threat.
"Why is this kid managing two manga series at once, yet still releasing such massive volumes?"
In the Land of River, Kakuzu found himself unusually perplexed.
One person drawing two manga series, yet Naruto: Ninja Storm kept updating regularly, while today's release of One Piece alone included twenty chapters all at once.
Absolutely unbelievable.
"Leader, the ship has been prepared for going out to sea, but our vessel might not withstand the oceanic storms. Shouldn't we test it first?"
"Test what? If Luffy, that brat, survived crossing the sea with nothing more than a tiny broken boat and a sake barrel used as a floatation device, we're all ninja here. Do you really think we'll die on the open sea?"
Kakuzu cast a cold glance at him, and immediately the rogue ninja didn't dare say another word.
On the river channel, a large ship hoisted with the "Heart" pirate flag stood out conspicuously—it was Kakuzu's pirate vessel, the Heart.
"Count everyone. We're departing!"
In Konoha, Danzo sat in his office, finishing up the latest updates.
Previously, he cared more about Naruto, but since Devil Fruits had appeared, he'd begun focusing on researching the plots and settings of One Piece.
It was a totally different world from the ninja one, but from many abilities, he managed to spot a few common traits.
"Sir, Hokage has sent over a report from Orochimaru regarding the Bull Model Fruit."
"Leave it here."
Danzo rubbed his temples, trying to ease the eye fatigue caused by reading manga.
With only one eye, reading under dim lighting remained somewhat uncomfortable. A few seconds later, he picked up the report on his desk.
This report was very detailed. He read every word carefully from beginning to end.
Finally, he fell into deep thought.
Though the report was complex, summarizing it was actually quite simple—after consuming the Bull Model Fruit, the pig subject became as tall and powerful as a bull, sprouted horns, showed no fat on its body, and exhibited tremendous strength.
Furthermore, experiments proved that after killing this "pig-bull," one orange among a basket of fruit nearby mysteriously transformed into a new Devil Fruit.
All this confirmed what Akaba had said was correct.
But how did Akaba even know about Devil Fruits? Was there really no link between that kid and this weird stuff showing up?
Ever since Akaba left two days ago, Danzo had been thinking things through carefully, gradually sensing something suspicious.
Of course, the kid genuinely didn't know some things.
For instance, Akaba expressed shock at Devil Fruit regeneration—an aspect Danzo hadn't seen depicted yet even in the manga.
It was just too strange.
After long deliberation, he temporarily set aside the matter of Devil Fruits and flipped through the newest Naruto manga chapter.
The latest volume was just as explosive with info.
Those ripple-patterned eyes were the legendary Rinnegan!
Akatsuki, Bijū, Rinnegan, and the bizarre giant statue—was there a hidden link among these four?
Danzo pondered silently.
There was simply too much revealing information in this volume. Although it was technically just manga, since the introduction of Devil Fruits, he had stopped viewing them merely as ordinary comics.
Perhaps all these phenomena truly existed somewhere in reality?
As Shadow of the Ninja World, he always anticipated the worst-case scenario. If such powers indeed existed within the world, regardless of the reasons behind gathering the Tailed Beasts—whether related to those possessing the giant statue or wielding the Rinnegan—it would prove extremely disadvantageous for Konoha.
Because Konoha possessed the strongest among the nine Tailed Beasts—the Nine-Tails!
"Wait a second."
He suddenly sat upright, searching feverishly through the documents on his table. Soon afterward, he pulled back the report delivered earlier by Eno Uchiha.
This document contained not only Eno Uchiha's report but also Chihaya Uzumaki's "confession."
"During Hashirama Senju's era, peace reigned across the Ninja World. As soon as he passed away, wars erupted. Later, the Uzumaki clan's homeland got destroyed—not because people grew fond of war, but because you lacked the power necessary to maintain peace."
That sentence was spoken to Chihaya Uzumaki by someone known as the "Mist Jonin."
Danzo's thoughts snapped into focus. Exactly—this was it!
What force in the world could be stronger than the nine Bijū? But did the "Akatsuki" really gather the tailed beasts merely for peace?
It wasn't that Shimura had a dark mind. He simply couldn't believe that an organization with so many powerful members—and even all nine Bijū—could have something as straightforward as world peace as its true goal.
Even if the Leader truly desired peace, such powerful individuals among his subordinates would certainly disagree. In such cases, people's positions always determine their perspectives.
Considering the disappearance of the other child, there was no doubt—the Mist Jonin was just a scapegoat. There was someone else who was truly after the Uzumaki child!
Danzo tapped on the table, then pressed a hidden button to ring a bell.
Soon after, an Anbu member appeared before him.
"Send additional personnel to the Land of Whirlpools. Investigate this Mist Jonin thoroughly—his name, rank, duties, what he was doing that day, how he found those two children, and every detail of what he did during the process. I want to know everything."
"Yes!"
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