Editor: GB

"Don't think about going out anymore; just stay in the village and reflect on your behavior!" ​​

Just after waking up, Akabane heard the good news.

Don't go out, it's too dangerous to go out!

After facing just one Jounin, it forced him to use the fireball jutsu, which was his trump card. It also made him unwillingly spend all 400 points he saved up to exchange into chakra points just so that he wouldn't drop dead from chakra exhaustion.

Which means he must save up from the beginning again.

In the time of the Great War, there were many elites, and the battlefield was brutal. But after just one mere jonin...

Akabane had thought about it, but decisively dismissed the idea in favor of having some downtime.

It took him a long time to get a break.

"Sensei, but Jiraiya…" Tsunade was anxious.

They couldn't go out now, and they have failed to find Jiraiya, but instead, risking their own lives by attacking the invader's hideout.

"We have reached an agreement with the Uzumaki Village. Soon, there will be ninjas from Uzumaki Village to help find Jiraiya," Hiruzen said coldly. "Tsunade, you are a very talented girl, therefore, I don't want you to die so young. Your life is as precious as any other life."

"Umm yes, Sensei, I understand."

Tsunade lowered her head, reflecting on her actions.

"Sensei, please train us more, please!" Orochimaru's voice came afterward.

Akabane did not move while lying on the bed, but his mind was full of thoughts.

These two children were hit hard by their childish acts.

But it is also a good thing since now they understand their mistakes and reflect on them. They will grow more responsible next time, this is a good lesson to learn.

"Very well, I am very pleased that you all have reflected. First of all, Tsunade. You need to learn to control your chakra, emotions, and strength."

"Orochimaru, you are excellent in all subjects. You've mastered your ninjutsu well enough, and with your intelligence, it would be a perfect combination. But now, you lack powerful and effective attack ability. Your next goal is to learn the Wind Release: Vacuum Wave."

The first element that Orochimaru had learned was wind, so the goal given to him by Hiruzen is to continue to strengthen his foundation.

However…

Orochimaru had another idea.

He didn't tell Hiruzen because he knew that he wouldn't agree to it.

"Next is Akabane. Get up, I'll say a few words with you alone."

Hiruzen turned around and went into the house.

"Akaba's awake?" Orochimaru was stunned, and then quickly ran into the house.

Tsunade ran in quickly behind him and saw Akabane was still motionlessly lying on the bed, showing no sign of recovery.

"Ahem. Sensei, I just woke up." Akabane sat up awkwardly.

The vigilance of Hiruzen was too high. He controlled his heart rate and breath to be slow, as if he was still asleep, but Hiruzen could see through it.

"Heh. Don't underestimate a Hokage like me."

Hiruzen sneered and then waved his hand to let Orochimaru and Tsunade know to leave them alone to talk.

Then he sat down next to the bed, smoking a cigarette, looking melancholy, and stayed silent for a moment.

Was he waiting for me to say something?

Akabane muttered in his heart but still said nothing.

For a while, the room fell into silence.

Hiruzen had no choice but to smoke, pretending to be choked, and then said gently, "Oh… Akabane, do you have any other opinions on the village?"

"Nope, what made you think that?" Akabane replied immediately.

"You have five senses of control, and you have a high level of Genjutsu, surpassing anyone in the village."

"You have a tremendous talent. You can master three elements of chakra, and you could use B-level ninjutsu, like shadow clones, when you were just a student at the academy."

"Even your physique is among the top from the Kurama Clan."

Hiruzen praised him continuously, making Akabane more and more clueless.

What should I reply to that?

"But moreover, you never told us. You're out of touch with everyone, so, who are you hiding it from? "

Hiruzen continued with a sigh and looked melancholy.

"A Jounin is not an easy enemy to deal with, even if he was careless."

"Sensei, I…"

Akabane was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer.

Who am I hiding from?

He couldn't find the answer, maybe it was from Danzo, or maybe an unknown enemy in the future.

Hiruzen was smoking a cigarette, and went on, "I didn't understand it at first until I read your comics."

"Huh, my comics?"

Akabane was even more confused about what Hiruzen was trying to say.

Following that, he heard Hiruzen say, "In your eyes, we are the people in your drawing, and you are the author who draws the world into your comic. I know it is something that you cherish, but it will also cause you to lose something: your playtimes, your friends, or your training."

"And I hope you can stop drawing comics for now, and focus on other things."

At first, Akabane was shocked. He was thinking that his secret was being discovered.

But when he heard the second half of the sentence, the tension and fear within him calmed down a bit, and he said calmly, "Sensei…I think it might be as you said."

"It's good to hear that."

"This news might excite you. I will send you back to Konoha within a few days. Use it to spend time with your family."

Hiruzen was done talking,so he smoked once more, and left the room.

As he watched him leave, Akabane's wildly beating heart gradually calmed down.

"Sure enough, Sarutobi-sensei thought that I had awakened the 'Ido' because of my dedication to the comic or whatever."

"I must be more careful from now on."

Akabane frantically reviewed himself. However, it was just a false alarm, some of what Hiruzan said was right.

He treated everyone around him just like a person seeing a painting. Thus, he needs to work on it.

…

Now that the agreement between Konoha and Uzumaki Village has been settled, everyone can go back home now.

During the trip back to Konoha, Akabane concluded the meaning of what Hiruzen said, was to help him handle the situation with Danzo.

Danzo Shimura will never back down, and he does things according to his will. Within the current situation, there is only one thing that he might be doing right now.

Engaging his Roots.

The holidays are not easy to come by, so we should cherish them.

Without any mission assigned to them, Akabane finally got up to breathe in the fresh air while watching the training of Orochimaru and Tsunade.

Of course, it's mainly Tsunade.

Akabane hasn't grown his relationship with Orochimaru recently, and they occasionally lock horns, but he was quite experienced with Tsunade.

The training venues of the two were different. Tsunade needs a larger open space to control her strength, and the Vacuum Wave that Orochimaru needs to learn needs some targets.

After looking around, Akabane found Tsunade outside the village.

Tsunade didn't ignore Hiruzen's advice and trained hard to get control over her strength. But because mastery over her strength cannot be done as easily as she wishes, various-sized pits and fist marks surround her on all sides.

Akabane lamented slightly. He didn't know how Tsunade trained in the original plot, so he couldn't do anything to help. He knew that if she could control it, she could become the greatest medical ninja, but looking at her right now, she still has a ways to go.

"Orochi…Ah, it's you, Akaba, you are willing to go out of your room? What a surprise."

Tsunade's voice and expression didn't display the slightest shock. Because of her failure to control her strength, she was really in no mood to make any jokes.

"Ahh, so you thought that knowing me, I wouldn't go out of my room?" Akabane smiled disapprovingly.

"I'm not in the mood to say this right now. Sensei asked me to train my control, but I got no clue how…"

Tsunade was frustrated, her chakra control is not weak, but to control her chakra perfectly, a more refined technique is needed. Currently, she is nowhere near perfect.

"I'll give you some advice." Akabane said while swiftly opening his drawing.

It didn't take long for Tsunade to be affected by his Genjutsu and found herself in another world.

Then, she saw a figure.

It was another her.

When she was still amazed, she found that the other her punched the ground repeatedly, making countless rocks fly around, creating a very stunning sight.

"Look at the effect of this punch. How is it different from your own."

Akabane's voice came.

Tsunade leaned closer and looked closely at the effect of the punches and soon she was shocked.

At a glance, there seemed to be no difference. But the crack in the ground from the impact of the punch was very consistent, and even the periphery suffered an equal amount of damage.

To achieve such a level required a very frightening level of control.

That's right. What Akabane showed her was the "Sakura Punch" Tsunade created herself in the future!