Sakura clenched her small fists, gritting her teeth as she threatened, "If you dare tell anyone about this, I'll fight you to the death!"
Akira smiled. "Relax. I'm tight-lipped. What benefit would I get from spreading something like that?"
Seeing him agree, Sakura finally let out a sigh of relief. His character was something she trusted.
The two hurried back in silence.
The moment they stepped into the village, the distant sounds of an intense battle reached their ears.
Akira's gaze turned cold. Chakra burst beneath his feet, and he shot forward in an instant.
By the time he arrived, chaos had already erupted in front of Tazuna's house.
Sasuke and Naruto had long been beaten down, their bodies covered in wounds.
This time, the boy named Haku clearly hadn't held back. If Naruto weren't so tenacious, he'd probably already be dead.
Kakashi was being double-teamed by Zabuza and Haku, struggling to hold his ground, utterly battered.
While sprinting at high speed, Akira formed hand seals—so fast they left only afterimages.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
The moment his voice fell, seawater beneath Tazuna's house floor exploded upward. A high-pressure stream shot out like a blade, aiming straight for Zabuza's head.
Zabuza reacted instantly. Swinging his massive Executioner's Blade, he forcibly cleaved through Kakashi's attack, then twisted his body to narrowly dodge the fatal water lance.
Kakashi was already riddled with injuries. Seeing reinforcements arrive, he finally exhaled in relief. "You finally made it back, kid. Any later and I'd have been done for."
Akira appeared beside him in a flash, staring coldly at Zabuza. "I spared your worthless life last time, and you still dare come back to die?"
"And kidnapping? Resorting to such lowly tricks—you've really regressed."
Zabuza planted his blade into the ground and let out a feral grin. "Brat, you run pretty fast. I set up such a perfect trap and it still didn't kill you? But that pink-haired teammate of yours is probably already blown to pieces, right?"
Before he could finish, Sakura came running up from behind, wrapped in a cloak and panting, shouting at Zabuza over the water, "You're the one blown to pieces! I'm perfectly fine!"
Seeing Sakura alive and kicking, Zabuza's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was completely dumbfounded.
"Th-this is impossible! That trap was an unsolvable death trap! Even Kakashi himself couldn't have rescued someone from it unscathed!"
Akira's expression didn't change in the slightest. His tone was as calm as still water. "Your trap was indeed well-designed. But there's no such thing as a perfect plan in this world."
"Enough talk. Since you're looking to die, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Zabuza gripped the heavy Executioner's Blade tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand. Beside him, Haku's face grew solemn, even his breathing becoming shallow.
In that instant, Akira moved.
His fingers danced, forming a blur of seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Across from him, Zabuza's pupils shrank violently, disbelief written all over his face. This guy only used three hand seals?
He himself needed dozens of seals to perform this jutsu!
"Roar!"
The calm water surface exploded. Amid a deafening roar, a massive water dragon surged upward, its body thick and imposing.
Carrying overwhelming pressure, it opened its abyss-like maw and lunged straight at Zabuza.
Zabuza had no time to think. He desperately formed seals with all his might.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
The same jutsu erupted from him, churning the water once more.
"Roar!"
Two water dragons formed almost simultaneously in midair—but the difference in size was like heaven and earth.
Akira's dragon was ferocious and enormous. Just looking at it made one's legs tremble. It was more than twice as powerful as Zabuza's.
"Boom!"
The two torrents collided violently in midair, water exploding in all directions.
The outcome was decided in an instant.
Zabuza's dragon shattered like paper, dissolving into a mist of water.
Akira's dragon, however, didn't lose even a single scale. With unstoppable momentum, it continued its crushing advance.
At the critical moment, Haku flashed forward, standing in front, his hands forming seals at extreme speed.
"Ice Style: Crystal Wall!"
A chill spread instantly as a thick wall of ice rose from the ground, shielding them.
The next second, the roaring water dragon slammed heavily into the ice wall.
"BOOM—!"
The massive impact rang out, shaking eardrums. The violent water current exploded outward, and Haku's prized ice wall shattered like fragile glass, reduced to powder.
Zabuza staggered back a few steps, his brows tightly furrowed, eyes filled with shock. "What is wrong with this kid's chakra? It's the same Water Style—why is his power so much greater than mine?!"
Standing behind Akira, Kakashi had his hands in his pockets, a faint smile in his eyes. "Akira's fundamentals are on a completely different level. Not just Water Style—any jutsu in his hands becomes several times stronger."
Looking at the two still standing unharmed, Akira's lips curled slightly upward as his hands came together again.
"Water Style: Flowing Spear. Wind Style: Tornado!"
The air instantly filled with killing intent.
"Combination Jutsu: Flowing Spear!"
"RUMBLE—!"
With a low shout from Akira, the water before him began spinning wildly. A massive column of water shot into the sky.
Immediately after, countless sharp wind blades appeared out of thin air, wrapping around the water column and accelerating its rotation to a frenzy.
In the blink of an eye, a terrifying vortex pillar took shape. The surrounding air was torn apart, emitting piercing explosive shrieks.
Seeing this, every hair on Zabuza's body stood on end. A chilling sense of death shot straight to his skull. "Retreat! We can't take this head-on—we'll die!"
This level of destructive power had absolutely reached the peak of A-rank—perhaps even the threshold of S-rank!
Even Kakashi, standing on the same side, couldn't help but inhale sharply, his scalp tingling.
"When did this kid come up with such a terrifying combination jutsu? The fusion of wind and water nature transformations is so perfect… this is definitely S-rank."
"RUMBLE—!"
The vortex water spear moved at an absurd speed, crossing dozens of meters in an instant with a force that could destroy everything.
A massive shadow engulfed Zabuza and Haku.
The raging water spear plunged into the sea, instantly raising waves over ten meters high, as if a miniature tsunami had been triggered.
Whether it was Kakashi nearby, Sakura secretly watching from the corridor of Tazuna's house, or Naruto and Sasuke lying helpless on the shore—everyone was utterly stunned by this apocalyptic display.
It was too outrageous.
Was this really power a human could wield? This was the destructive force of an S-rank forbidden jutsu!
Even more despairing was the fact that after unleashing such a devastating move, Akira wasn't even out of breath, as if he had merely tossed a pebble.
That calm, effortless demeanor—that was what truly terrified people.
As the mist and raging winds gradually settled, Akira looked at the two battered figures in the distance and chuckled softly. "You've got tough lives. Even that level of attack couldn't send you off."
Dozens of meters away, Zabuza was covered in blood, barely standing with Haku's support.
Haku wasn't in much better condition—his body was riddled with cuts from wind blades, his clothes soaked red with blood.
If they hadn't risked everything to use the Body Flicker Jutsu to escape the blast center at that critical moment, they would have been reduced to minced flesh.
In a water-rich environment, the Water Body Flicker had indeed saved their lives.
But now, as the two looked at Akira, only deep fear remained in their eyes.
"How could a monster like you be just a genin? Even Kage-level fighters don't feel much more oppressive than this!"
Akira, however, remained calm, his tone as indifferent as ever. "That just means your experience is too shallow—you've never seen a true strong one."
Even among Kage-level fighters, there are ranks and divisions.
Akira had no intention of wasting any more words on two dead men. He had already given them one chance—there would never be a second.
"I spared you last time. You chose not to cherish it. Today, neither of you is leaving."
Zabuza gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright, gripping his massive blade tightly. "Cut the crap! There's no such thing as begging for mercy in a ninja's dictionary. We fight until death!"
Akira cast him a disdainful glance. "Beg for mercy? You're overthinking it. I had no intention of accepting it anyway."
As he spoke, Akira's pupils subtly shifted—the Sharingan silently activated, unnoticed at this distance.
No hand seals.
"Chidori!"
At his current level, this kind of ninjutsu could already be cast instantly.
Zabuza immediately sensed the fatal danger. Every muscle in his body tensed as he prepared for one last desperate gamble.
If he could block this strike, there might still be a sliver of hope.
But the moment that thought arose—
Akira vanished from his sight.
Before his brain could even process what had happened, a numb sensation spread throughout his entire body.
Instinctively, Zabuza looked down.
A blood-soaked hand had pierced straight through his chest at some unknown moment.
Scorching blood dripped steadily from that hand into the sea below.
Zabuza's body froze.
Violent lightning-nature chakra rampaged within him, annihilating all life in an instant.
In the time it took to lower his head, his consciousness began to rapidly fade.
The terrifying destructive power of Chidori had incinerated his organs and heart in a single instant.
Expressionless, Akira pulled his arm free, bringing out a spray of blood. Blue arcs of lightning still crackled faintly at his fingertips.
Zabuza's tall body collapsed like it had lost all bones, slumping onto the water before slowly sinking into the cold depths.
Akira flicked the blood off his hand and turned toward Haku, who was charging at him like a madman. A trace of regret colored his tone.
"To be honest, I quite admire your Ice Style bloodline. I really didn't want to kill you. But without Zabuza… you'd just be a walking corpse anyway."
He understood it clearly—Zabuza was the entire meaning of Haku's existence.
Watching that figure rush unflinchingly toward death, Akira let out a soft sigh.
"Then I'll send you to him."
Standing atop the surging sea, his expression calm, Akira raised a single finger toward Haku.
"Zzt—!"
A blue-white beam tore through the air in an instant, piercing straight through Haku's body with perfect precision.
Haku's forward motion halted abruptly, then he collapsed weakly toward the sea.
With his final glance, he looked toward where Zabuza had sunk, using the last of his strength to call out—
"Zabuza… sir…"
The light of life in his eyes faded rapidly.
With his heart pierced clean through, not even a god could save him.
Watching Haku's body slowly sink beneath the water as well, Akira shook his head with a hint of regret. "Such a waste… a rare Ice Style bloodline, gone just like that."
In truth, fusing Ice Style wasn't impossible for him. But compared to Wood Style, the cost-performance ratio was far too low—it would take years of effort for minimal gain.
So while it was a pity, he had no intention of investing that kind of time.
At that moment, Kakashi walked over, having heard his muttering, and teased lightly, "What, taken a liking to his Ice Style?"
Akira shrugged, openly admitting it. "Ice Style does have its unique merits. But integrating it is too troublesome—the return on investment is too low. It won't significantly boost my current strength."
After mastering Wood Style, Ice Style was nothing more than an extra flourish—a fun addition, but by no means essential.
Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Trying to grasp too much at once leads to nothing. With Wood Style alone, you're already standing at the finish line."
"To be honest, the day I saw you use it, I finally realized just how terrifying the First Hokage's techniques were. Your proficiency has probably already surpassed Yamato's."
In the past, Kakashi had no concrete sense of how powerful the First and Second Hokage truly were. Subconsciously, he had assumed they might not surpass the Third and Fourth.
Only after witnessing Akira's Wood Style did he truly understand the weight behind the title "The Supreme Shinobi."
Akira smiled faintly, a trace of respect in his eyes. "Kakashi-sensei, it seems you still don't fully understand our village's predecessors."
"If the First Hokage didn't have overwhelming strength, how could he have pacified an era of chaos and established the one-village-per-country system?"
"They say his Wood Style could reshape entire landscapes at will. Compared to him, what I'm doing now is just playing with mud."
Kakashi, who had spent most of his time in the Anbu focused solely on missions, hadn't paid much attention to such historical details.
Hearing Akira speak so fluently, he couldn't help but feel curious. "Sounds like you've done quite a bit of research in private."
Akira gazed out at the sea and sighed. "The more you learn, the more you feel awe. The First and Second Hokage were monsters who suppressed an entire era—especially the First. While he was alive, no one in the shinobi world even dared breathe too loudly. Who would dare start a war?"
"One man was equal to an entire nation—that's what it meant."
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. Seeing how highly Akira regarded them, he smiled. "Maybe one day you'll reach that level too."
"Thanks for the encouragement, but it's far too difficult." Akira shook his head. "The First Hokage was absurdly powerful. Compared to him, my Wood Style is like a sapling next to a towering tree."
"The records say he could flatten dozens of kilometers of mountains with a single jutsu and wipe out a nation as if it were nothing. That's why that era could maintain peace."
"And aside from the First, the Second Hokage was a genius as well—Flying Raijin, Shadow Clones, and most of Konoha's forbidden jutsu were all his creations."
"Compared to those two, what little I have now is nothing worth mentioning."
In truth, if it came down to a fight, Akira already had the qualifications to surpass Tobirama Senju.
But that was something better left unsaid.
Kakashi, hearing such detailed insight for the first time, looked at his prodigious student with growing expectation. "If that's your goal, then keep working toward it. With your talent, recreating the First Hokage's glory is only a matter of time."
He had absolute confidence in Akira.
This child's starting point and talent far exceeded his own in his youth.
Akira chuckled and glanced at Kakashi meaningfully. "If you hadn't been held back by all those troubles back then, Kakashi-sensei, your achievements would probably be limitless by now."
Kakashi paused, then smiled with quiet acceptance. "That's life. You go through hardships, and once you make it through, they become your wealth."
Akira nodded in agreement.
After a brief pause, Kakashi's tone turned serious. "But I've had enough of those hardships. I don't want you to walk the same path I did."
The teacher and student exchanged a look—everything understood without words.
At that moment, Sakura's voice came from the corridor. "Kakashi-sensei! Akira!"
Kakashi turned his head, raising a brow. "Why are you wearing his clothes, Sakura? They look way too loose."
A wry smile appeared on Akira's face. "It's… a long and complicated story. I'll explain when we get back."
He genuinely had no idea how to make something up—especially since he had promised Sakura to keep it secret.
He'd have to think of an excuse later.
Though Kakashi found it odd, seeing that Akira didn't want to elaborate, he didn't press further. Respecting a student's privacy was his principle.
After hastily burying Zabuza and Haku, that black-hearted merchant named Gatō indeed showed up looking for trouble.
Over a hundred thugs gathered in a dark mass, surrounding Tazuna's small village completely.
Among them were even a few wandering samurai who looked somewhat capable.
Standing at the front, Gatō shouted arrogantly in his raspy voice, "Tazuna! Stop that bridge construction right now! Otherwise, I'll slaughter your entire village today!"
Perched high on a tree branch, Akira watched the scene below with cold eyes.
Beside him, Kakashi remained calm, not taking the rabble below seriously at all.
A few wandering samurai at most—unless they were on the level of Mifune from the Land of Iron, they were nothing but fodder in front of shinobi.
The negotiations below clearly broke down. Tazuna, that stubborn old man, angered Gatō with just a few words.
"You ungrateful old bastard! Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!" Gatō's face darkened like storm clouds.
"All of you, attack! Kill everyone in this village—leave no one alive!"
Though the thugs hesitated for a moment, driven by money, they still charged forward with wild shouts.
Watching the mob rush headlong toward their doom, Akira couldn't help but sneer, "What a bunch of brainless idiots. Even someone like Zabuza is dead—where do they get the confidence to think they stand a chance?"
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