"Kakashi, willing to accept punishment."
"Kurenai Yuhi, willing to accept punishment."
"Might Guy, willing to accept punishment."
All three lowered their heads in unison. In truth, they had already expected this outcome on their way back to Konoha. Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's punishment, they accepted it without resistance.
They had more or less seen this coming.
"You three!" Hiruzen's voice trembled with anger as he looked at the three standing before him, perfectly aligned. He took a deep breath and suppressed the fire in his chest.
"It seems your mental state is out of balance. From now on, you are temporarily relieved of your duties in the ANBU. Reflect at home. Until you fully realize your mistakes, you are not allowed to take on any missions."
"Yes," the three responded together, without any objections.
"Leave," Hiruzen said at last, waving them off. He didn't want to see them right now.
The three exchanged a quick glance, then silently exited the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen… it looks like there's no hope left for those three. What do we do now?" Shimura Danzo asked coldly, his eyes following the trio as they left.
They hadn't expected Wood Ox to be so powerful at first. But based on the reports and how Kakashi's team responded, there was no doubt about Wood Ox's strength.
And it wasn't just them—every village had underestimated Wood Ox. But Konoha had sent some of its very best.
"We'll have to put the Wood Ox matter aside for now. We'll come up with another plan later," Hiruzen said, shaking his head. At the moment, there wasn't a better option.
"But… what about our research on Wood Release?" Danzo asked anxiously. That research was like a beacon of hope—he didn't want to let it slip away.
"Then tell me, who do you think we should send to capture Wood Ox?" Hiruzen looked at Danzo, clearly annoyed. He also wanted Wood Ox in Konoha's hands, but the truth was harsh.
"If you go yourself, do you have the confidence to bring him back?"
"My strength is too weak, and I can't leave the village anyway," Danzo shook his head.
"If both Itachi and Shisui were still in Konoha, maybe we'd have a chance," Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered under his breath. But by the end of his words, a sharp glint flashed through his cloudy eyes.
Itachi...
Yes... if it's Itachi, there might be hope to capture the target.
A genius Uchiha who has already awakened Mangekyō Sharingan—capturing a Wood Release user should be well within his capabilities.
Looks like I'll need to have a talk with Itachi soon. Maybe I can even find out the truth behind why he joined that organization.
Far from Konoha, Uchiha Itachi walked alone through a forest, his eyes quietly gazing in the direction of the village.
He had just received some information.
A new Wood Release user had appeared in the shinobi world.
However...
The Akatsuki had tasked him with probing this Wood Release ninja's strength. If the person was strong enough, they would try to recruit them into the organization.
Wood Release user... "Wood Ox," from Atsukara?
"Uchiha Genya... is this 'Wood Ox' connected to you?" Itachi murmured, but the thought quickly faded.
Back when he was still in Konoha, he'd already heard whispers about Atsukara. He didn't expect it to resurface now.
It's probably connected to Genya again...
Looks like it's time to visit the village.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, Kakashi and his two teammates walked out of the Hokage's office, wandering aimlessly through the village. Seeing the village thriving filled them with mixed emotions.
"The Uchiha clan has really been managing the village well. Everything's running so smoothly," Kakashi said, trying to break the silence. In truth, they'd all been quiet since stepping outside.
"Ever since Genya took over the Police Force, things have only gotten better!" Might Guy said proudly. He and Genya were close—friends, or perhaps even a mix of mentor and comrade.
Although Genya had never formally acknowledged him as a teacher, Might Guy already treated Genya like family. So naturally, hearing praise for Genya made him happy too.
"Yeah. Maybe Uchiha Kinya really is a good leader," Kurenai said with some emotion. She didn't know much about the Uchiha clan, so naturally she thought all the credit belonged to Genya's father, Uchiha Kinya.
But Kakashi couldn't help scoffing a bit. Ever since he found out that Genya was the leader of Atsukara, he knew... Genya's father was just a spokesperson.
Everything had been done by Genya himself.
Still, what puzzled Kakashi was—why had Genya gathered so many geniuses to form Atsukara? What was he planning?
"This time, I dragged you all down. You got punished because of me," Kakashi said as they walked, finally getting to the point.
"If I'd let you step in and stop the Wood Ox, maybe none of this would've happened."
"This was a decision all three of us made. Why are you apologizing?" Guy said, still as carefree as ever. "Besides, even if we did step in, we wouldn't have been able to stop it!"
"And honestly, getting a break from missions isn't bad. I can finally rest in Konoha for a while and train with Genya and the others!"
If it weren't for the nonstop missions, Guy would've done this ages ago.
If he didn't train now, those kids like Genya would soon surpass him.
"What about you? Any plans?" Kakashi looked over at Kurenai.
"I'll take some time off too. Do a few things I've been wanting to do," she said with a smile, looking a bit more relaxed.
"I'm hungry. Ramen's on me."
—
Uchiha Merchant Association – Police Force
These past few days, Genya had been steadily training. Both the Flying Thunder God technique and Dust Release had improved a lot. His Dust Release might even rival Ōnoki's now.
His Gravity Domain also had a breakthrough. If he fully unleashed it, he could now hit 5x gravity!
That was already intense pressure. But the higher the level, the harder it was to upgrade. Still, the range of the domain had become massive.
If he managed to push the domain to 10x gravity, even if the Ōtsutsuki came, their power would be cut in half.
(Note: The gravity scaling here is based on Dragon Ball—10x gravity is already crazy strong. If he hit 100x…)
What annoyed Genya the most was his Sharingan. After reaching the fifth tomoe, it just... stalled.
The eye kept absorbing energy and chakra like crazy, but there was no sign of further evolution.
It felt like everything had just gone quiet.
"Hayashi's already made his move. His name is shaking the entire Shinobi World!"
Genya had also heard the news about Hayashi, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Hayashi did well.
Jūgo and Kimimaro were also part of his plans. He was determined to bring those two in.
He began planning further ahead.
Kinya had started training, but... he was still too weak. Genya needed to find a way to keep him alive.
Survival was key.
He started thinking about the various jutsu and unique Kekkei Genkais in the ninja world.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Hidan. That crazy Hidan... I wonder if he's joined the Akatsuki yet!"
He'd long heard rumors that Hidan couldn't die. But no one knew if that came from some strange body constitution—or his twisted faith in that evil god.
Either way, capturing him for research wouldn't be a bad idea. There might be hidden secrets to uncover. Maybe... even something extraordinary.
****
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