Seven years on autopilot—that's how Akira Uchiha described his last seven years, and he thought it was a pretty fitting description.
During these seven years, he had indeed grown. For example, his body had matured, which caused his chakra reserves to rise from 30,000 to 40,000. That's definitely a sign of strength growth, right?
And it wasn't just any normal growth either—his chakra had increased by an entire Kage-level amount just from his body's development.
It seemed that his body's exceptional physical state was due to the dragon transformation.
In addition to that, his Sage Mode had become almost instantaneous to activate and had grown significantly stronger—another massive leap in his abilities.
However, if he had spent these seven years training actively using his life simulator, he couldn't say for sure that he'd reach the level of a Six Paths power. But surpassing the Kage level, reaching the heights of Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju, was something Akira could definitely guarantee.
So, comparing seven years of passive growth to seven years of active training—it made sense that training would have been more productive, right?
The term "autopilot" truly captured the essence of these past seven years.
But now, seven years had passed, and the timeline had progressed into the Shippuden era, hadn't it?
Akira was curious about what the shinobi world had turned into after seven years, but he hadn't forgotten the real reason he had come to Ryūchi Cave in the first place.
Even if he was eager to return, he still needed to familiarize himself with a few of the snakes here and set up some summoning contracts, right?
"Great Sage, it's been seven years. I should head back to check on things. But once I've got some free time, I'll return to Ryūchi Cave, and we can have a proper chat," Akira said, addressing the White Snake Sage.
Helping him with the dragon transformation was something the White Snake Sage had done willingly—it was something Ryūchi Cave had been striving for all along.
Now that he had successfully transformed into a dragon, the Great Sage naturally wanted to learn from his experience. But there was no rush; they had plenty of time. Akira was eager to see how much Konoha had changed over the past seven years.
"Of course, take your time. We can discuss everything when you return," the White Snake Sage replied with a warm smile. Her understanding demeanor put Akira at ease.
Akira's words indicated that he was willing to share the secrets of the dragon transformation with her, which made the White Snake Sage quite happy. After waiting for so many years, a few more days wouldn't hurt.
After bidding farewell to the White Snake Sage, Akira left the deepest part of Ryūchi Cave. The first person he encountered was Tanshin Hime, a beautiful girl.
"Congratulations on successfully transforming into a dragon!" Tanshin Hime said, her eyes fixed on Akira.
She was congratulating him on the dragon transformation, not on mastering Sage Mode, which showed just how much more important the dragon transformation was.
"Thank you!" Akira replied with a smile and a nod.
Then, after a brief pause, he added, "I'd like to find a few compatible snakes here in Ryūchi Cave, ones that could assist me in future summonings. Would you be willing to help?"
The three Hime sisters were the highest-ranking entities in Ryūchi Cave, equivalent to the Toad Sages, Fukasaku, and Shima, of Mount Myōboku. If he could get Tanshin Hime's approval, it would be far more valuable than making a pact with someone like Manda.
Besides, even though he hadn't fought Tanshin Hime, he had faced Ichikishima Hime and Takitsuhime before. He had seen Ichikishima Hime's strength and Takitsuhime's illusions, both of which were undoubtedly at the Kage level. Tanshin Hime, being their equal, must be just as powerful.
"You want to summon me in the future?" Tanshin Hime looked stunned, clearly not expecting such a request from Akira.
"If you think I'm not worthy, then please disregard my request," Akira said, not wanting to push the issue.
After all, even Orochimaru only summoned Manda. In the original series, Sasuke had only summoned smaller snakes and had never called upon the three Hime sisters.
For Akira to ask for Tanshin Hime right off the bat might have been a bit presumptuous.
"No, it's not that you're not worthy. It's that I'm not worthy!" Tanshin Hime replied with a sweet smile, putting Akira at ease.
With that, things became much simpler.
After establishing a friendly relationship with Tanshin Hime, Akira asked her about the characteristics of other snakes in Ryūchi Cave.
While strength was important, different snakes had different abilities.
Tanshin Hime was more than willing to help, guiding Akira to meet a dozen or so snakes within Ryūchi Cave.
These snakes had all heard of Akira's existence and knew that he had been undergoing the dragon transformation with the Great Sage.
They all felt honored to be considered for a future summoning pact with someone as powerful as Akira.
After meeting these snakes and accomplishing his goals in Ryūchi Cave, Akira said his goodbyes to Tanshin Hime and the others before leaving.
As she watched Akira's form disappear into a puff of smoke, Tanshin Hime couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, where's Akira Uchiha?" Not long after he left, Ichikishima Hime and Takitsuhime arrived, looking anxious.
"He's already left Ryūchi Cave," Tanshin Hime replied with a shake of her head.
"What? He's gone? Did we miss him?" Ichikishima Hime and Takitsuhime both looked disappointed.
"You told us there was something delicious to eat, and now we've missed our chance to meet Akira. Did you do that on purpose?" Takitsuhime asked, her gaze suspicious as she looked at Tanshin Hime.
"Yeah, that seems pretty suspicious!" Ichikishima Hime chimed in, also beginning to doubt Tanshin Hime's intentions.
Earlier, Tanshin Hime had told them about some delicious treats in another part of Ryūchi Cave.
The two of them hadn't thought much of it and went off to enjoy the feast. After having their fill and feeling quite content, they returned only to find out that Akira had finished his transformation and was meeting with various members of the cave.
Rushing over, they had still managed to miss him, which made them feel quite regretful. Suspicion naturally turned towards Tanshin Hime.
It wasn't that they didn't trust their sister, but the timing had been just a little too convenient.
"Come on, I told you about the treat out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you repay me?" Tanshin Hime replied, feigning a hurt expression.
"It's just that the timing was too perfect," Ichikishima Hime said, still somewhat skeptical.
"Do you really think I would do something like that? And what would I have to gain from it?" Tanshin Hime countered.
"Who knows? Maybe you wanted to get closer to Akira Uchiha, or perhaps… you were hoping to, you know, get something from him?" Takitsuhime suggested, her tone full of innuendo.
"Stop talking nonsense! You're forgetting that Akira Uchiha is a human, not a snake!" Tanshin Hime retorted, her expression changing to one of indignation.
"Yeah, exactly! He's just our contract holder," Ichikishima Hime nodded in agreement, siding with Tanshin Hime against Takitsuhime.
"But he's completed the dragon transformation now, hasn't he? We snakes also have a chance to transform into dragons, right? A normal person couldn't do that, but maybe he could? If that's the case, wouldn't you have the chance to bear children with dragon blood?" Takitsuhime argued.
"Wait… what?" Ichikishima Hime was stunned.
The idea actually made sense to her.
Other summoners were just humans, so they were naturally different from the snakes of Ryūchi Cave. Even if they were eaten, it wouldn't cause any real conflict.
But Akira Uchiha was different. He had completed the dragon transformation!
Though still human, in a way, he was no longer just a human.
He had ascended to the status of a dragon—a higher form of life than a snake!
If she, as a snake, were to mate with Akira, who had the form of a dragon, could she really bear a child with dragon blood? It was possible.
And if she did, wouldn't she become one of the greatest benefactors in all of Ryūchi Cave?
"So that's your game! You wanted to get close to him first!" Ichikishima Hime, usually slow to catch on, finally realized what Tanshin Hime might have been up to.
And just like that, the three Hime sisters of Ryūchi Cave began to bicker and squabble.
They even started considering Akira as one of their own kind, a higher life form—a dragon—and began imagining what it would be like to mate with him.
Of course, Akira knew none of this.
After leaving Ryūchi Cave, Akira returned to Konoha Village.
He landed on a rooftop, surveying the entire village from a vantage point.
The familiar yet slightly changed Konoha stirred a lot of emotions within him.
"Konoha, your emperor has returned!"
Uh, wait, that's not quite right.
More accurately:
"Konoha, after seven years on autopilot, I'm back!"
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 188 at patreon.com/Emik01.
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