The money was sealed inside the scroll. After taking the scroll, Akira Uchiha waved his hand, signaling the snake.
The snake, understanding its orders, slithered away to return to the designated location where it would wait for Kakuzu's next payment.
Akira quickly formed the necessary hand seals, releasing the seal on the scroll, and a huge pile of money appeared in front of him.
With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Akira quickly assessed the amount with his keen insight.
As expected, the sum totaled approximately ten million ryō.
"Only ten million?" Akira frowned, feeling a bit dissatisfied.
As the treasurer of the Akatsuki, sending only ten million ryō at a time felt insufficient to Akira.
He had initially hoped for at least several hundred million.
But after considering the situation, it made sense. Kakuzu had to be cautious and discreet to avoid raising suspicion within the Akatsuki. He couldn't transfer too large an amount in one go.
Besides, ten million was more than enough for a good round of simulations. If Kakuzu could deliver this sum twice a month, his contribution would be invaluable.
With newfound wealth, Akira stood a little taller.
It had been a while since he last used the life simulator. Considering his failure to evolve the Mangekyō, Akira decided to shift his focus to training chakra and perfecting his ninjutsu.
Thus, Akira alternated between simulations focused on chakra training and those centered around ninjutsu mastery. One simulation for chakra, then another for ninjutsu, and so on.
Before he knew it, four or five days had passed.
His chakra had increased by another unit worth.
When he had first returned from Ryūchi Cave, Akira's chakra reserves had been around 40,000, but now they were nearly 57,000—approaching the 60,000 mark!
In addition, his mastery of various nature transformations and Wood Release had grown more refined.
While his overall strength remained at the Kage level, Akira was steadily improving without realizing it.
One evening, as the sun was setting, Akira held Hinata close, watching the sunset together and enjoying light conversation.
Suddenly, a masked ANBU member appeared using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Is there something urgent you needed to report right now?" Akira sighed, a bit annoyed. After all, no one enjoys being interrupted during an intimate moment with their partner.
"Captain, the Hokage has summoned you to the office," the ANBU agent replied hastily, aware of the ill-timed interruption.
"I understand, I'll head over right away." Akira stood up, saying his farewells to Hinata before heading to the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage," Akira greeted upon entering.
"Akira, the envoys we sent to the four great ninja villages have returned. Without exception, every Kage has rejected the proposal for a Five Kage Summit," Fugaku informed him.
"As expected," Akira responded calmly, nodding slightly.
He hadn't held much hope for the summit from the beginning. Besides, he had already seen this outcome in the life simulator.
"What are your thoughts on the situation moving forward?" Fugaku asked, impressed by Akira's composure.
"I believe we should seize this opportunity to hold a Jōnin Exam," Akira suggested.
"A Jōnin Exam?" Fugaku paused, considering the proposal, before nodding in agreement.
Indeed, from the perspective of the other four great ninja villages, Fugaku had anticipated their rejection of the summit. They had no intention of working together with Konoha to combat the Akatsuki.
However, their swift refusal likely stemmed from underestimating Konoha's power.
Back in the era of the First Hokage, if Hashirama and Madara had proposed a Five Kage Summit, the other Kages would have come running without hesitation.
So, holding a Jōnin Exam to showcase Konoha's strength to the other villages was a necessary move.
Unlike the Chūnin Exams, which focused on emerging talent, the Jōnin Exam was the true stage to display a village's core strength.
"We'll need to consult with the clan leaders about organizing the exam," Fugaku agreed.
The discussions with the clan leaders wouldn't be about whether to hold the exam but rather how to execute it.
With the matter now in Fugaku's hands, Akira bid him farewell and left the Hokage's office.
In the life simulator, it had been a Chūnin Exam, but Akira felt that a Jōnin Exam was the better choice.
Sure enough, after he proposed it, Fugaku had agreed. The best part was that while the idea had come from Akira, the responsibility for organizing it didn't fall on him.
As Akira was leaving the office, he ran into Sasuke.
"Akira, congratulations on your relationship with Hinata! I've heard the news," Sasuke said, offering his congratulations.
"We're just in the early stages of dating; it's not like we're getting married yet," Akira chuckled at Sasuke's premature congratulations.
Without waiting for a reply, Akira asked, "What about you? We're the same age. Is there anyone you've set your sights on?"
"No. Those girls are all too shallow," Sasuke responded in his usual aloof tone, shaking his head.
"By the way, are you still a Chūnin, or have you made it to Jōnin yet?" Akira asked, changing the subject.
"My father says I'm still too young. He thinks I should gain more experience for another two years before becoming a Jōnin," Sasuke sighed.
It was well-known that Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan were naturally at the Jōnin level, a consensus throughout the ninja world.
However, perhaps due to being the Hokage's son, Fugaku was stricter with Sasuke, constantly comparing him to Itachi and Akira.
Naturally, Fugaku felt Sasuke still had room to improve.
"There's an opportunity coming up. You might want to apply for it. In a few days, the Jōnin Joint Exam will be announced," Akira hinted, sharing some insider information.
"Really? That's great!" Sasuke's eyes lit up, nodding enthusiastically.
"What about Naruto? How's he doing?" Akira asked, noticing Sasuke's excitement and shifting the conversation to Naruto.
Sasuke's joyful expression faded slightly. "That idiot was promoted to Jōnin six months ago."
"Well, with his mastery over the Nine-Tails chakra reaching the Four-Tails state, he's a solid Kage-level fighter. If they hadn't promoted him to Jōnin, there'd be plenty of complaints in the village," Akira mused, nodding in understanding but feeling a hint of disappointment.
It seemed the shift in leadership from the Third Hokage still had some drawbacks.
Waving goodbye to Sasuke, Akira went off to find Hinata again.
Hinata was already a Chūnin in Konoha, and Akira was eager to see her participate in the Jōnin Exam as well.
"If you want me to join the Jōnin Exam, I'll do it," Hinata agreed with a nod, always willing to follow Akira's lead.
"It's not that I want you to. I just know you're more than capable of passing the exam," Akira reassured her with confidence.
"I'll do my best," Hinata said earnestly, moved by Akira's faith in her.
"No need to try—because I believe you'll succeed," Akira said with conviction.
As one of the original members of the Konoha 12, Hinata had always shown great potential. Her innate talent was undeniable, even though the likes of Sasuke and Naruto had long since surpassed her.
Still, with her strong Byakugan bloodline, Hinata had immense potential.
And since she was practically his woman, Akira wanted to help her grow stronger in every way he could.
"Hinata, come to the research department tomorrow. I want to see if I can help your Byakugan evolve further," Akira said after a moment of silence.
"Evolve? Can our Hyūga clan's Byakugan really evolve?" Hinata asked in surprise.
"You'll find out tomorrow at the research department," Akira replied with a smile, offering no further explanation.
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