"You're really slandering Sunagakure like this in your manga. Aren't you afraid they might send assassins after you?"
Danzo pointed at the manga on the table.
Today, he had unusually come out from Anbu to visit Akaba's manga shop.
"Teacher, just wait a second. Let me finish drawing this part."
Akaba glanced at his progress—only one more chapter to go before the update.
Focus a bit more, and it would be done soon.
"Hmm."
Danzo nodded lightly, his remaining eye scanning the narrow private chamber.
Four multiple shadow clones and one original body.
This kid really is pushing himself to the limit!
Since returning from the Land of Water, he'd been working nonstop on updates.
There must've been something that happened in the Land of Water. Based on what Danzo knew about Akaba, even though he could sustain four clones, he wouldn't normally choose to do so.
Danzo sat quietly aside, observing.
Akaba drew quickly—nearly one panel every ten seconds, his hands moving at an incredible speed.
More importantly, the story seemed fully formed in his mind. Despite being the same manga, even with four clones working simultaneously, there were no issues with continuity.
Danzo pondered inwardly—the origin of these ideas clearly wasn't simple.
For instance, Devil Fruits.
How could this kid know about mysterious fruits that nobody else knew actually existed?
Was it a dream?
Possibly—but one thing was certain: it definitely had nothing to do with the Yumekuma clan.
Because "One Piece"—Akaba had already started drawing it before Danzo gave him that scroll.
As Danzo was thinking,
"Teacher, I'm done now."
After Akaba spoke, he dispelled each clone one by one. A wave of fatigue washed over him, but he managed it without issue. Moments later, he rubbed his temples and stood up, offering a slight bow—a quiet apology for his earlier distraction.
"You've been pushing yourself hard lately. Remember to rest properly; don't only chase speed. Also, I came here today to talk about two enemies from the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water."
After sitting down, Danzo tapped the table firmly.
Understanding immediately, Akaba released an Illusion.
Both entered the Illusion together. The background inside was bare—except for blank window frames, it looked nearly identical to reality.
His Genjutsu has improved again...
Danzo felt overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn't help but admit it—Akaba's talent was downright terrifying.
He paused briefly, then focused and said, "I've dispatched people to investigate what's happening in the Land of Whirlpools. Some preliminary reports have returned. According to the information, the one abducting the remaining Uzumaki clansmen wasn't from Mist. It was someone capable of secretly controlling others."
"To be honest, during that encounter, I used my Genjutsu to block him for a second and saw part of his face—one half appeared normal, while the other half was pitch-black, completely different from his later appearance."
Akaba explained.
"A black face?"
Danzo inhaled deeply, surprised. "Could it be that character named Zetsu?"
"The person doesn't necessarily look like that, but based on my guess, it should be close. Previously in Konoha, both Mito and I sensed his existence. At one time, I even mentioned it to you back then."
"Yes, during the Preparatory Division incident."
Danzo nodded slightly.
"Only Mito and I can sense his presence. That's why I set up those traps—to see whether Black Zetsu would come after me or go after someone else."
Akaba revealed part of his purpose.
With an enemy like Black Zetsu, the real danger isn't what he does—it's what he doesn't do.
It was a plan to draw the snake out of hiding.
Danzo nodded, signaling Akaba to continue.
"As for the one in the Land of Water, I can only say this: He likely has some ability to control others, and his chakra reserves are extremely vast—his [Great Swamp Torrent] is at least on par with the strength of five Kage-level shinobi."
Akaba said grimly.
Danzo remained silent for quite some time before hesitating for several seconds and finally speaking. "I suspect he might be Madara Uchiha."
"Huh?"
Akaba looked genuinely surprised—this wasn't an act, but real shock at Danzo suspecting him.
"Today I reviewed some records left behind by Teacher Tobirama. I noticed a previously overlooked detail—Tobirama had always been deeply researching the Sharingan. How could he possibly ignore the strongest Sharingan user, Madara?"
"I checked the travel logs from back then. After the First Kage left Konoha, Teacher Tobirama left shortly after and returned only after the First did. During that time, he likely went to deal with Madara. But strangely enough, neither Anbu nor the Hokage have any surviving records regarding Madara's eyes. Could this mean even Teacher Tobirama failed to find Madara's trail?"
Danzo's expression turned heavy.
Tobirama Senju was his teacher, and in a sense, what he just said amounted to questioning the integrity of a deceased mentor—an affront not only to Teacher Tobirama himself but also to Konoha's heroes.
Yet someone who can control others, possesses immense chakra, and wields Kage-level power—all conditions met—was extremely rare in the ninja world.
After eliminating all other existing Kage-ranked warriors across various regions and considering all available clues, he could only suspect a certain figure long thought dead.
"This still doesn't fully explain everything. Do you think the Second saved Madara? Or that Madara somehow survived a fatal blow using some kind of substitution technique, managing to deceive both the First and Second? Is that even possible?"
"I confirmed with Motonami Uchiha—the Uchiha clan has a dojutsu called [Izanagi], which sacrifices one's eyesight to recover from injuries."
Danzo was well-prepared.
Of course, only Motonami would cooperate so thoroughly. If it were those old Elders instead, they probably wouldn't have been this cooperative even if their entire clan were wiped out.
What a detective!
Akaba took a deep breath.
He didn't need to fake his emotions—because Danzo's deductions truly shocked him.
"So what exactly are you trying to say..."
"Just wanted to let you know who you might be dealing with—that's all. Even knowing it's Madara, there's not much we can really do. Drawing the snake out is smart, just don't fall into its trap while doing it."
After finishing his words, Danzo stood up for a while.
Akaba could clearly feel his teacher trying to release the genjutsu—but failing. So he pretended to stand up and admire the scenery.
As a dutiful disciple, he kindly released the genjutsu himself.
After a brief silence, Danzo coughed lightly and said, "Your genjutsu techniques are impressive, but they'll be nearly useless against Madara. You must prepare yourself mentally for that."
"Thank you for the advice, Sensei."
Akaba respectfully saw him off.
Danzo clearly had more questions, but he kept them to himself—and Akaba wisely did the same.
For example, Devil Fruits.
But this blame had been placed on Yashin Cult. Only certain people from Konoha would make wild guesses like Orochimaru did.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Yashin Cult.
Those guys must be quite frustrated now.
According to the information he recently received from the base in Land of River, Kakuzu already established a pirate ship and departed from the Land of River to plunder treasures at sea.
Devil fruits are fake, but the ocean really does hide real treasures.
Like the "Land of Moon" in the southern theater version, which was said to be an extremely wealthy country. If Kakuzu could find that place—
Cough, wish the great pirate Kakuzu smooth sailing.
He stood up and organized these manuscripts.
He created a Shadow Clone to take care of compiling the manuscript, designing the cover, and creating promotional posters, then contemplated his follow-up plans. Since Danzo had deduced Madara from various clues anyway, he'd just wait until Danzo revealed everything.
Akaba wouldn't bother himself with such concerns by spreading his big mouth.
Just as Danzo said, what he should worry about is how to deal with Madara and Black Zetsu. Now the One Piece storyline has transitioned into heading toward the Skypiea arc, and it's nearly time for Mantra to appear.
Come on!
One day passed before shinobi from Sunagakure finally obtained the latest Naruto manga volume updated in Land of Fire and brought it to Sunagakure Village. This manga volume was only available to the upper echelons of Sunagakure.
After they took turns reading it, everyone turned their gaze toward Chiyo.
Once again, Akaba viciously cursed her "son" in this volume, even featuring scenes involving a grandson who didn't even exist yet.
"That detestable brat from Konoha dared to curse my son! I'll definitely poison him to death!"
Chiyo became furious.
"Sister, please calm down, calm down," Ebizō quickly tried to pacify her.
Everyone burst into complaints again, condemning and protesting furiously—yet none of these rants would ever reach Konoha.
Is this what passes for Sunagakure's leadership?
It's practically turned into a comic criticism session. When did the village management become like this!
Yet all these individuals were venerable jonins whose abilities ranked top in the village, including her teacher and the Second Kazekage.
No one could say anything against them.
Sankai sighed, "Oh well… When will the time come when I truly control this village?"
He felt depressed.
All this was observed by Black Zetsu hiding in the shadows. Originally, if Sunagakure had no flaws, he would have returned to Land of Water to manipulate Madara, but now it seemed unnecessary.
This young man was so similar to Indra back then?
Talented and intelligent, yet too impatient, unable to endure steady progress. Just needed to find a suitable opportunity to manipulate him, and he'd plunge the entire Sunagakure into darkness.
But before that, there seemed to be a troublesome bald half-machine to deal with first—he was someone very dear to the young Kazekage.
After contemplating for a long time, he swiftly disappeared from the area.
With solutions in mind, his next step was to locate Hidden Shinobi from Konoha here, and finally manipulate Shamon to go commit suicide.
At his peak, Black Zetsu indeed couldn't control Shamon; however, after being severely wounded by Danzo, although barely surviving thanks to puppet modifications, his power had greatly diminished.
Now, his existence was more like a researcher and advisor rather than an actual ninja.
If even a weakling like this couldn't be controlled, then Black Zetsu really might as well go bang his head against a wall.
Once Shamon dies, he doesn't believe that Kazekage and Sunagakure in their current state would just swallow this insult. Better yet, if they could wipe each other out with Konoha's ninja, especially if those Konoha ninjas were near Sunagakure Village.
Black Zetsu had already made plans and began searching for any Anbu from Konoha possibly hiding in Sunagakure Village and the Land of Wind.
As long as one ninja could be found, his plan would proceed perfectly. Once Sunagakure starts a war, Amegakure and Iwagakure, who were attacked by Sunagakure, would definitely seize the opportunity for profit.
The movements of Cloud remained unpredictable. But since the Uzumaki clan hadn't been completely wiped out yet, those two countries would surely not miss a chance to target them either.
But after searching around thoroughly, he encountered a problem—there actually weren't any Anbu from Konoha hidden inside Sunagakure at all!
Was Konoha not afraid of Sunagakure pulling some underhanded tricks?
Black Zetsu was thrown for a loop.
His plan had seemed flawless, but now the final piece was missing.
He didn't know that Danzo, because of him and Madara, had relocated seven out of ten Anbu divisions to the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water, leaving only limited personnel behind in the Land of River and Iwagakure to collect intelligence.
Maybe later, Danzo would redeploy Anbu back into Sunagakure, but certainly not anytime soon.
Still unwilling to give up, Black Zetsu combed the area one more time.
He did find some Iwagakure and Amegakure agents, but dragging the war toward those regions wouldn't help Black Zetsu at all. Without finding Konoha's Anbu, this plan had no choice but to stall temporarily.
After all, Madara still hadn't completely trusted him yet. If he stayed away too long, that suspicious guy would grow increasingly doubtful about his identity—and all previous efforts would go down the drain.
Compared to Akaba, he cared more about Madara.
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