Only then did Akira smile and pat Ino lightly on the shoulder.
"All right. Give her a little face."
Since Akira had spoken, Samui stepped in at the right moment, her voice as flat and calm as ever.
"That's enough, Karui. Be quiet."
The unlucky Kiri chunin caught in the middle looked like he was about to cry.
With a blade at his throat, he still had to listen to both sides bicker. If he twitched even a little, his life might be over.
Akira turned to Samui, his gaze steady.
"I have a way to make him talk. He'll give us the exact location of their hideout."
Samui went quiet for a moment, then abruptly asked a question that seemed completely unrelated.
"How old are you?"
Akira paused briefly, then understood.
She was judging his potential and status through his age.
In the ninja world, the younger someone was when they reached a high rank, the more terrifying their talent usually was, and the more seriously their village took them.
Before Akira could answer, Ino lifted her chin proudly.
"Hah, this'll shock you. Akira-kun's only thirteen!"
Akira shot Ino a helpless look. Her mouth really was too fast.
The moment those words landed, Karui, who had been so aggressive a second ago, froze as if someone had doused her with cold water.
She stared at Akira like she was looking at a monster.
"Th-thirteen? A Special Jonin?"
"You've got to be kidding me! Is Konoha's promotion system just that cheap?"
She simply could not accept that a boy younger than her had already become a Special Jonin.
But Samui's eyes changed.
Karui and the others hadn't noticed earlier, but she had seen it clearly.
Akira had created four shadow clones in an instant, and every single one of them had used the Transformation Jutsu.
That kind of chakra control and instantaneous output was absolutely not something an ordinary chunin could pull off.
Even most jonin wouldn't be able to do it that smoothly.
Unless they were a chakra monster on the level of a jinchūriki.
But Akira carried no tailed beast aura.
Samui looked at him deeply, and a trace of caution entered her voice.
"Kumo's intelligence archives don't have your name, which means... you were probably promoted very recently."
Ino and Hinata both felt a jolt in their hearts. This woman's instincts were too sharp.
Shino remained silent in the corner, insects already creeping through his sleeves without a sound, ready to swarm the moment things turned ugly.
Akira neither confirmed nor denied it. He only gave Samui an appraising look.
"Among Kumo's jonin, it's rare to see one as calm and rational as you."
"Most of your village... well. Let's just say you've got no shortage of muscleheads."
The words hit like oil on fire.
Karui and Omoi both exploded.
Wasn't that basically saying Kumo was full of thick-skulled idiots who solved everything with their fists?
"You bastard! You looking to die?!"
Karui roared, one hand already moving toward her blade.
Akira didn't even spare her a glance. His eyes stayed on Samui.
"I'll say it one more time. I can get the information. Cooperation benefits everyone."
Before Samui could answer, Karui barked out first.
"In your dreams! We caught him, so why should—"
"BOOM—!!"
A deafening crash cut Karui off mid-shout.
A terrifying storm of chakra exploded from Akira without warning.
With him at the center, the wooden floor beneath his feet blew apart instantly. Cracks spread outward in every direction like a spiderweb, racing more than a dozen meters.
The entire tavern courtyard trembled violently, as if it had been hit by a major earthquake.
The air itself seemed to turn heavy and viscous, like molten lead pressing down on everyone's lungs.
Karui's voice died on the spot, as though some invisible hand had clamped around her throat.
She stared at the thin young man before her, cold sweat soaking through her back in an instant.
"Wh-what... what kind of monster is this...?"
Even Omoi's hand was shaking on the hilt of his sword. Sweat poured down his face, and his legs had already gone weak.
"That level of chakra... is he even human?"
Samui, standing closest, felt her pupils contract sharply. Every muscle in her body tightened as she shifted into her highest alert posture.
A bead of sweat slid quietly down her forehead.
This suffocating pressure. This pure, savage flood of chakra.
She had only ever felt anything like it once before.
The Fourth Raikage in a rage.
No... this was even purer than the Raikage's Lightning Style Armour.
The Kiri rogue kneeling on the ground had already gone limp from terror. A foul smell spread from him where he knelt.
Under this godlike pressure, he didn't even dare raise his head.
Even behind Akira, Ino, Hinata, and Shino had their heartbeats thrown off by the sheer force of it.
Ino's eyes had practically turned into stars.
"S-so cool! He looks like some kind of war god!"
Hinata clenched her fingers tightly together, her heart full of both shock and pride.
"So Akira-kun... has become this strong already...?"
Akira slowly drew his aura back in. The violent airflow around them vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
He looked at Samui and smiled mildly, as if that terrifying monster from a moment ago had never existed.
"Now," he said, "can we talk calmly?"
That was the privilege strength bought you.
Samui was silent for a long while before she slowly let out a breath. Her chest rose and fell more sharply than before.
"All right."
A wise person knew when to adapt.
"If you insist, then we cooperate."
Akira nodded and walked over to her.
Samui had a tall, striking figure, probably around five foot six, but standing in front of Akira now, she was completely overpowered in presence.
"First, we pry the information out of him."
Akira pointed at the terrified captive.
At this point, Karui and Omoi had gone quiet as two frightened chicks. None of the swagger from earlier remained.
Akira looked at Ino and gave her a small nod.
"Ino. You're up."
At the look from him, Ino's cheeks flushed faintly, but she immediately put herself into work mode.
She stepped in front of the prisoner and formed a special seal with both hands.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
The Kiri rogue's body went rigid, and his eyes lost all focus.
At the same moment, Ino's own body went limp.
Akira reacted instantly, catching her around the waist and steadying her against him.
Watching that, something flickered in Samui's eyes.
"That girl... she's from the Yamanaka clan?"
Akira nodded. "That's right."
"No wonder you were so confident."
Samui understood at once. The Yamanaka clan's mind techniques were famous across the ninja world. As interrogation tools, they were almost unfair.
While they waited, Samui couldn't help asking another question.
"What clan are you from?"
With talent and strength like this, there was no way he could come from nowhere.
Holding Ino in one arm, Akira answered casually.
"Civilian-born. No clan."
Samui frowned, clearly unconvinced.
But suddenly, one figure flashed through her mind.
The man who had left an unforgettable mark on Kumo's history.
The Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
Also civilian-born. Also someone who had shaken the world while still young.
In this boy in front of her, she could see the faint outline of that legend.
"A jonin at thirteen..."
She stared at Akira's profile, lost in thought.
"So Konoha's raising you as the next Hokage."
Akira only smiled and didn't respond.
"Compared to that," he said instead, "I'm more interested in your village's Eight-Tails jinchūriki."
"I've heard Killer B-sama can control his tailed beast perfectly. That kind of jutsu is something I'd envy."
Samui shot him a sharp look.
"That is one of the village's highest secrets."
"Just asking," Akira said with a shrug.
Not long after, Ino's consciousness returned and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her face was a little pale, but her expression was excited.
Akira calmly fed her a soldier pill.
"Found it?"
She nodded, catching her breath.
"They're hiding on an isolated island in the surrounding waters."
After a pause, she added:
"That place has a very special reputation. According to the memories I saw... it's where the Three-Tails lives."
The moment the words Three-Tails left her mouth, every face in the room changed.
Those rogue ninja had actually built their base right under a tailed beast's nose?
They were using the beast as a natural shield.
The useless prisoner was cut down immediately by Samui, clean and efficient.
Hinata turned her head away, unable to watch.
Akira looked at Samui, his expression turning serious.
"So? We go together?"
"Of course." Samui slid her blade back into its sheath.
"But I need to say this first."
Akira cut her off, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"If the Three-Tails is really there, then this mission's danger level just went way beyond the original briefing."
"I can keep my own people alive. As for yours... good luck."
Karui muttered in protest,
"Don't look down on us. We can take care of ourselves."
Akira gave a cold laugh and looked straight into her eyes.
"Big sister, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about tailed beasts?"
"They're disasters. Walking weapons of mass destruction. Not the kind of house pets you've been playing with."
"One Tailed Beast Bomb is enough to erase a mountain. What exactly are you planning to stop that with? Your head?"
His tone was harsh and merciless.
Karui was stunned into silence. Though she was still annoyed, even she could hear the seriousness underneath it.
If even a monster like Akira treated the Three-Tails this cautiously, then it really was something horrifying.
Samui looked surprised as well.
"You know a lot about tailed beasts?"
Akira didn't explain where that knowledge came from. Instead, he turned to Hinata and the others and spoke gravely.
"Listen carefully. The moment the Three-Tails shows any sign of losing control, forget the mission. Forget your teammates. Run."
"Staying alive is the highest priority."
The entire atmosphere became heavy.
Just before they set out, Akira suddenly held his hand out toward Samui.
"Your hand."
She froze and instinctively took half a step back, her gaze turning cold.
Was this guy just another lecher after all?
Seeing the guarded look in her eyes, Akira rolled his eyes.
"What are you thinking? I'm leaving you a marker. If something goes wrong, I can get to you instantly."
As he spoke, he pressed two fingers lightly against the back of her hand.
A black Flying Raijin formula instantly formed there.
"This is a Flying Raijin marker. I hope you never need it."
Samui looked down at the mark on her skin, and something shifted faintly in her heart.
So she'd misunderstood him.
But with her personality, there was no way she was going to apologize aloud. She only gave a silent nod.
...
Out on the sea, the fog was thick and heavy.
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