Chapter 428 — I Refuse to Have a Man's Chakra Inside Me
Imai Kenta probably never expected karma to come knocking so quickly.
Not long ago, he had been lecturing Hyūga Ayaka about how she didn't really understand her "little boyfriend."
And now?
He suddenly realized… he didn't understand her little boyfriend either.
When it came to tailed beast chakra, all he knew was that Uchiha Kei had sealed away some of the Three-Tails' chakra.
As for how it was used—or even processed—he had absolutely no idea.
Only now did he learn that Kei had collected far more than just the Three-Tails.
He had the Nine-Tails' chakra as well.
And it had all been obtained during that mission to the Land of Fire's capital—a mission Kenta hadn't even participated in.
Which meant he'd been completely in the dark about all of this.
And now, to top it off, Kei had actually fused those tailed beast chakras into his Susanoo—the chakra giant itself.
It sounded absurd.
Unbelievable.
And yet… when you thought about it carefully, it wasn't entirely impossible.
After all, both were manifestations of chakra. Whether through fusion or hierarchical suppression, combining them would undoubtedly result in a massive power boost.
"So…" Kenta narrowed his eyes. "Are you planning to keep using that identity to attack other Jinchūriki in the future?"
Though still irritated at being left out, his mind quickly jumped to a more important question.
Kei had already succeeded in merging tailed beast chakra—and not just once.
Combined with what happened this time… did that mean he planned to continue?
No.
Kenta quickly corrected himself.
It wasn't a matter of whether—
It was inevitable.
Aside from the Fourth Hokage's family, whom Kei wouldn't dare touch lightly, every other Jinchūriki…
probably wasn't even worth his concern.
"No. There's no need for that," Kei replied calmly. "Unless I happen to run into them by chance."
That answer caught Kenta completely off guard.
"You mean… you're going to let that mysterious organization handle it themselves?"
Ayaka, who had been quietly listening, immediately caught on. "Is their real objective truly the tailed beasts?"
"Hard to say. Maybe." Kei shrugged.
But when he noticed the obvious disbelief in their eyes, he quickly amended, "According to the intel… yes. So…"
"Got it," Kenta cut in, stroking his chin with a look of disdain. "You're planning to let them do the collecting for you. Shameless as ever."
Shameless?
Kei didn't see it that way at all.
If anything, he considered it praise—a testament to his professionalism as a shinobi.
Just as he had said, unless those Jinchūriki were incredibly unlucky and practically walked into him…
he had no intention of targeting them directly anymore.
Some things, once done, were fine.
But overdoing it—repeating it too many times—would inevitably invite backlash.
Kei had no illusions about that.
If he continued impersonating those mysterious figures, there was no way Black Zetsu wouldn't react.
That creature might not be particularly powerful, but it lurked in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to make your life miserable.
And worse—it knew some of Kei's secrets.
If those were exposed, it might not destroy him outright, but it would certainly be… unpleasant.
And it could also bring unnecessary trouble to Konoha.
Beyond that, there was also Uchiha Obito.
Obito had fully aligned himself with Kei and was deeply embedded within the organization manipulated by Black Zetsu.
He absolutely could not afford to be exposed.
More importantly, Kei needed to give him time and space to grow.
If Obito—and the organization under his control—failed to develop properly, then how could they gather tailed beast chakra?
How could they plant Uchiha agents within it?
And how could they deal with enemies Kei preferred not to confront personally?
If you wanted results, you had to invest something in return.
Kei understood that better than anyone.
Taking advantage of things once or twice was fine.
But do it too often—
and the consequences would follow.
Because in the end, there was one truth he firmly believed in:
You only reap what you sow.
To keep things under control, you had to confine them within a necessary scope—while also providing enough space and nourishment. Only then could you continuously extract value from both people and circumstances.
"Let's drop that topic for now. There's something else I need to discuss with you two," Uchiha Kei said, shaking his head after a moment of thought.
"What is it?" Hyūga Ayaka asked, clearly uninterested in his earlier schemes. If he didn't want to explain, she wouldn't press.
"You've both reached a new stage," Kei said, glancing at them seriously before smiling faintly. "One of you has essentially grasped Sage Mode, while the other has the potential to learn it."
"I think at this point, aside from our necessary experiments, you should shift your focus there."
"Sage Mode…" Imai Kenta and Ayaka exchanged a glance, their reactions completely different.
Kenta immediately fell into deep thought.
His current abilities had begun to take shape—but only temporarily, shaped by the demands of battle.
His Wood Release still had enormous room for growth. That was undeniable.
He had studied historical records—he knew exactly what his ancestor had achieved with that power.
Compared to that, his current strength was like an ant standing before an elephant.
And beyond Wood Release, there was also Flying Thunder God—another technique with terrifying potential.
Kenta had already decided:
One day, he would combine the two.
But that was for the future. Right now, he still needed time to develop his abilities. He was still too weak.
And precisely because of that—
Sage Mode might be one of his best options at this stage.
That was Kenta's line of thinking.
But Ayaka's expression, on the other hand… was far more complicated.
She hadn't forgotten that Kei seemed to harbor some strange, indescribable obsession with her Sage Mode.
And for some reason, that thought annoyed her—though she couldn't quite pinpoint why.
She had indeed been working hard to improve it—its power, efficiency, and duration.
So when Kei brought it up now…
something about it felt off.
"You have a plan, don't you?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes slightly. "You wouldn't bring this up without a reason. Let's hear it."
"My plan?" Kei tilted his head, then spoke plainly. "Simple. I want that kind of chakra too—but I don't think I'm suited to learn Sage Mode myself."
"So…" Kenta's eyes widened as realization hit him. "You want us to fully master it… and then extract chakra from us?"
"Exactly." Kei nodded without hesitation. "More precisely, I want to draw from Ayaka's Sage chakra. Her progress is far ahead of yours."
His blunt honesty left both of them stunned.
Using their Sage chakra… as his own source of power?
Was that even possible?
For ordinary chakra, sure—people could transfer it to others to help them recover.
But Sage chakra was an entirely different matter.
Handle it carelessly, and it could turn someone into stone—
or worse, kill them outright.
Kei was undeniably powerful, and his chakra reserves were immense.
But neither Kenta nor Ayaka was confident that he could safely control such a volatile force.
If anything went wrong…
it would be catastrophic.
"Are you serious about this?" Ayaka frowned deeply. "Isn't the tailed beast chakra you already have enough? This power is dangerous—I haven't even fully mastered it myself. If something goes wrong—"
"That's why I need both of you to master it," Kei cut in calmly. "The more data I have, the better I can understand it."
"Once I've fused the Eight-Tails' chakra, I'll also begin carefully studying the Sage Mode records your ancestor left behind, Kenta. That should help me grasp its nature more thoroughly."
"But that still sounds risky," Kenta scratched his head. "There's no guarantee I'll even learn Sage Mode anytime soon. And even if I do… what if your compatibility with Ayaka's chakra isn't right?"
Kei paused, frowning slightly.
It was a valid concern.
In the original case, Uchiha Madara had drawn Sage chakra from Hashirama—
likely because he already possessed Hashirama's cells.
In that sense, it was less of a transfer and more of a relocation—minimizing risk.
Still, Kei believed that natural energy, at its core, could exist within any "container."
What truly mattered was control.
"Don't worry. I've thought it through," Kei said, shaking his head. "As for whose chakra to use… I'd still prefer Ayaka's."
"Why me?" Ayaka shot him an odd look. "Because I'm progressing faster?"
"No."
Kei answered without missing a beat—
"I just can't stand the idea of another man's chakra inside me."
"..."
---
The next day, Kei, Kenta, and Ayaka arrived at Konoha's main gate, accompanied by Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and Nara Shikaku.
Their appearance together immediately drew the attention of countless villagers.
The results of the previous meeting had already spread throughout the village.
Not only had the reforms brought excitement among civilian ninja—
there was also one major announcement:
Uchiha Kei would serve as the new frontline commander.
No one doubted his strength.
And surprisingly, no one doubted his leadership either.
Even though he lacked command experience, in the eyes of the people, he seemed far more reliable than Uchiha Fugaku.
Originally, their departure had been meant to stay low-profile—so discreet that no one would even know whether they had left.
But things hadn't gone as planned.
The day before, Minato had rushed off in a hurry without issuing clear instructions.
Meanwhile, Kei and the others had gone off to relax in a tavern.
Their movements had been completely exposed—making secrecy impossible.
So instead, they decided to turn it into a formal send-off the next day.
Even though only Kakashi and Shikaku had been officially invited—
it didn't matter.
A crowd still gathered.
After all, this was no small matter for Konoha.
Though the frontline had stabilized, the war was not yet over. It weighed heavily on everyone's mind.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you—Kei, Ayaka, Kenta," Minato said with a warm smile as they reached the gate. "I'm counting on you."
"Of course," Kei replied solemnly. "Thank you all for seeing us off. We'll take it from here."
At times like this, shinobi were truly master actors.
Both of them looked completely natural—without the slightest flaw.
Kenta and Ayaka also maintained calm expressions, though their gazes occasionally drifted toward the sky.
They were waiting.
Waiting for the messenger hawk.
By now, it was already noon—the usual time for hawks to return with reports from the frontlines.
And they already knew what had happened there.
Sending them out now made no sense at all.
If nothing unexpected had occurred, the frontline forces should already be on their way back.
Everything they were doing today…
was just a cover.
A carefully crafted illusion—
that made it seem like they hadn't even departed yet, while events at the front had already unfolded.
But—
why hadn't those damned messenger hawks arrived yet?
"…Hey," Kenta muttered under his breath. "We're not actually going to leave, are we? Something feels off."
"Shut up. There are people watching," Ayaka replied without even turning her head. "Worst case, we just go through the motions. We'll be back soon anyway."
"Tch… even the timing's off," Kenta sighed quietly, low enough that only a few could hear.
Kei and Minato both nearly turned around to shut him up.
Meanwhile, Shikaku and Kakashi looked puzzled.
Could something have changed at the front?
Just then—
a sharp cry echoed from the sky.
A hawk appeared overhead, circling briefly before descending.
Moments later, it landed neatly on Minato's outstretched arm.