Akira's figure descended from the sky, and the clouds scattered, allowing brilliant golden sunlight to pour down. As the sunlight touched Akira, in his golden dragon form, every single dragon scale on his body seemed to shine brightly.
Noble and powerful—this was the instinctive feeling in the hearts of everyone as they gazed upon the golden dragon before them.
However, with the battle over, there was no longer any need for Akira to remain in his dragon form. His body shifted, returning to its original human form.
He still maintained his human appearance, but the dragon horns remained on his forehead.
At that moment, everyone's eyes were intently focused on Akira.
After today's battle, the news of Akira transforming into a dragon would surely spread quickly throughout the entire shinobi world, right?
And this news would undoubtedly make other factions deeply understand the true strength of the Leaf Village!
Looking back through history, when was the shinobi world most at peace?
There's no need to think too hard—it was during the time when Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage ended the Warring States Period. That was when the shinobi world experienced its most peaceful era.
Why? Because the power of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara dominated the entire shinobi world, leaving no room for anyone to harbor rebellious thoughts.
Now, with the strength Akira displayed, especially his ability to transform into a dragon, it's likely that he could achieve a similar effect!
"Akira, today's battle was like a stage set for you!" Orochimaru said, speaking to Akira.
"You brat! Who would've thought you could transform into a divine dragon? You almost scared me to death!" This was from Fugaku, who had initially worried that Akira wouldn't be able to handle Urashiki and feared for his safety.
"You let Urashiki escape?" Sasuke walked over, his expression full of regret.
To him, having already defeated Urashiki, this would've been the best opportunity to finish him off!
In any case, even though the Leaf Village had suffered some damage in this attack, the actual losses weren't that great since proper preparations had already been made.
On the contrary, the situation involving Akira would send shockwaves through the entire shinobi world!
"So, this is the true power of the strongest among the Five Great Nations!" Even Roshi couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Akira.
"Not only is the Leaf Village strong, but even more so, Lord Akira himself!" Han added from the side.
Indeed, there's no doubt about the strength of the Leaf Village—ten Kage-level fighters. Such strength couldn't even be matched by Iwagakure, or any other village for that matter!
However, the true might lay with Akira. His power alone surpassed that of ten Kage-level fighters combined!
With the battle now over, Akira moved toward Hinata, his main concern being her condition.
"Don't worry, Lord Akira. Miss Hinata's injuries aren't serious," a slug the size of an arm said, speaking to Akira as it sat on Hinata's body.
It was clear that ever since Hinata was injured, the slug had been working hard to heal her.
"Thank you," Akira said, expressing his gratitude after hearing the slug's words.
"I'm sorry, Akira. I caused you trouble," Hinata said, looking at Akira with the expression of a child who knew they had done something wrong.
She had originally rushed in, hoping to help, but in the end, she didn't provide any assistance and only caused Akira to worry.
Hinata felt incredibly guilty toward Akira.
Akira opened his mouth, originally intending to scold her—not because she caused him trouble, but because she had thrown herself into danger, despite the fact that even he had difficulty handling the situation. He wanted to tell her that next time, she should focus on protecting herself.
However, seeing Hinata looking so regretful and childlike, how could he bring himself to say those words?
So, instead, he said, "It's fine, Hinata. You don't need to feel guilty—I'm not blaming you."
Hearing Akira's comforting words, Hinata nodded sweetly, feeling warmth in her heart.
Those around them rolled their eyes, listening to Akira and Hinata openly "feeding them dog food."
"Hey Sasuke, don't give me that look. If you're envious, you could just go find a partner!" Akira teased Sasuke after noticing his expression.
"Hmph, women are nothing but trouble!" Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head, with an expression that seemed to say women would only slow him down.
This even caught Itachi's attention from a distance.
As the battle ended, those who had been sheltered in the underground refuge began to emerge one after another.
Seeing the damage to the Leaf Village, they were all stunned.
They had initially thought the evacuation was just a drill, but it turned out to be the real deal—Konoha had truly been attacked!?
Upon learning that the Akatsuki had launched a full-scale assault, and that Akira had transformed into a divine dragon to defeat the invaders, the villagers of Konoha were both shaken and thrilled!
On one hand, they couldn't believe the Akatsuki had gone all out.
On the other hand, hearing that Akira had fully transformed into a divine dragon filled them with excitement!
A dragon—a legendary divine beast. It had actually appeared in the Leaf Village, and Lord Akira's true form was a divine dragon?
How the rest of the shinobi world would react was yet to be seen, as it would take time for the news to spread.
But in that moment, the Leaf Village was utterly shaken!
The damage to the village was mostly limited to some buildings, which could be repaired in no time. The fact that there were no casualties was the most important thing!
However, the news of Akira's dragon transformation was by far the most shocking revelation in the village, a literal bombshell!
Aside from Orochimaru, who had already speculated as much, almost no one in the Leaf Village had ever imagined that Akira could transform into a legendary dragon. But upon reflection, it all seemed to make sense.
After all, ever since Akira had returned from his seven-year disappearance, for the better part of the past year, he had openly worn the dragon horns on his forehead. This was no secret.
With the war over, the Leaf Village began its rebuilding efforts, and naturally, all the conversations centered around Akira's dragon transformation. Of course, as the head of the Anbu, Akira had plenty of work to do.
The Anbu members looked at Akira with fervent admiration. Every task he assigned them was carried out with unwavering discipline.
Once everything was more or less taken care of, Akira finally dragged his exhausted body back home.
This exhaustion wasn't just physical—it was also mental.
When he returned home, his grandfather was sitting upright, waiting for him.
Keiko was preparing tea nearby, while Konan watched with a casual, almost amused look.
"What's this? Are you planning to hold a trial for me?" Akira asked with a smile, seeing the setup.
"Kneel!" his grandfather said sternly, glaring at Akira.
Without hesitation, Akira dropped to his knees.
"Are you going to explain this to me? Do you think the Uchiha bloodline isn't good enough, so you decided to become a dragon instead?" his grandfather asked after Akira knelt down.
"No!" Akira immediately shook his head.
"...Then why did you transform into a dragon? Does Uchiha blood still flow within you?" His grandfather's attitude softened slightly after Akira's quick denial, but he still looked confused.
"Grandfather, think about it. Even though I transformed into a dragon, I still have the Sharingan, and it can still evolve into the Mangekyo. How can you say that I no longer have Uchiha blood?"
Akira protested his innocence and even activated his Sharingan to prove his point!
This made his grandfather pause for a moment. Indeed, it was true.
The Sharingan could be activated and deactivated freely, and it had even evolved into the Mangekyo. This clearly indicated that Akira still possessed Uchiha blood.
"But how can you still have Uchiha blood when your body has turned into a dragon?" After a moment of silence, his grandfather asked, still puzzled.
"Transforming into a dragon is simply an enhancement of my original form, a further evolution of life itself."
"To put it simply, it's like my Uchiha bloodline has evolved toward that of a divine dragon, rather than abandoning the Uchiha lineage."
"It's like adding a few extra floors to an existing house, turning it into a building, rather than demolishing the house and rebuilding a tower."
Akira explained, using a metaphor.
The analogy was easy to understand, and his grandfather finally grasped Akira's point.
"Alright, get up. The floor's cold," his grandfather said after a few more moments of thought.
"Got it!" Akira responded, standing up.
"You know, I was just joking earlier. Why did you kneel so quickly? You're the strongest in the shinobi world now!" His grandfather tried to play it off, laughing.
"What do you mean by that? Even if it wasn't a joke, kneeling for you, Grandfather, is only right!" Akira said with a grin.
And yet, despite his cheeky response, his grandfather clearly appreciated the gesture.
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POWER STONE!!!
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