Four bridges, four different paths, each wide enough to allow the passage of two cars side by side. The wooden bridges were surrounded by red railings with grills no more than 100 cm high.
On the pillars, as thick as a Sequoioideae, there were several sealing amulets.
The place itself seemed like the beginning of a labyrinth with four initial paths. And, in the center of it all, stood a man with dark, disheveled hair, bandages around his head and right eye. On this man's chin, there was an 'X'-shaped scar.
He wore a white shirt, with a black tunic over it covering his body down to his feet, and covering his right shoulder. The cloak hid his right arm, which was bandaged.
Although this man seemed frail while holding a cane, there was a strange aura around him. It wasn't something visible, but rather something that made most people around him feel ill at ease.
His hair swayed, and several masked ninjas appeared before him, kneeling on one knee with their hands resting on their thighs. Each wore the same type of ninja outfit, indicating they belonged to an organization, and carried similar styled swords on their backs.
The man who had kept his eye closed until then, opened it as he looked at them arrogantly, saying in his imposing voice: "Are you all here?"
"Yes!" they responded in unison.
With a controlled voice, speaking slowly but with weight in his tone, he said: "It saddens me to know that Taku died while infiltrating Sunagakure and Saku became crippled."
He closed his eye, but when he opened it again, his gaze became sharper: "But we must not lament their sacrifice. Although they failed in their mission to incite the Sunagakure ninjas and kill the Uzushiogakure ninjas, it can be said that making them retreat was not a bad result."
"The day after tomorrow, at three thirty in the morning... The Third Hokage, that weak and indecisive man, with seven ANBU under his direct command, will go to Uzushiogakure." Looking down at them arrogantly, he continued: "He wants to give an explanation to our allies from Uzushio. Of course, this is just a facade, that fool only wishes to maintain appearances. And, if we let this continue, we will not only lose our strong ally but also continue to be led by a weak and indecisive leader."
His voice lowered a bit, yet he spoke with conviction, believing in everything he said: "For the sake of our village, we must prevent this at any cost. Therefore, your mission is to, somewhere along the way, take the life of the Third Hokage swiftly and discreetly."
His voice turned into a warning tone: "But remember, no one must discover this. It should appear to be the work of some enemy ninja group. UNDERSTOOD!?"
"YES!"
Nodding firmly, the ninjas dispersed.
As soon as the ninjas left, he thought: 'Hiruzen, sorry, but you need to die for the sake of the village!'
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When Tanaka saw Akane in the room, this time, he managed to see her title and level.
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LV98 Akane Uzumaki
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'I knew she was strong when I couldn't see her level and title before, but seeing it now, she seems even more impressive than I imagined.'
The fact that her title indicated she was the second best, even if it was among the Kunoichi using the Adamantine Chains, suggested that she would only lose to Mito and, with Mito's life coming to an end, possibly her title might change to
Regarding this, he didn't have much to say, he just found it strange that she hadn't been mentioned or even prevented her daughter from being taken by Mito and turned into the Kyubi's vessel, considering how much she adored Kushina.
'Did something happen to her in the meantime?' he pondered.
However, for someone with such strength, even if she had become a housewife, he didn't think it would be easy to kill her.
At the same time he saw Akane, Akane also noticed him. However, unlike other times, she didn't greet him with a good morning, but instead, stared at him seriously in silence.
Unable to bear it any longer, feeling uncomfortable, he said: "What is it, Akane-san? Is there something on my face?" He touched his own cheek.
"We need to talk – Dattekane."
"Why are you so serious?"
"Come, sit down." She didn't answer but pointed to the sofa.
Seeing no other choice, he nodded and went to the sofa.
In front of him, Akane brought a chair and sat down while looking deeply into his eyes.
The feeling of discomfort grew. For a moment, Tanaka's heart beat faster, but it soon calmed down.
She made several hand seals, and soon the room was isolated by a barrier.
This increased his discomfort once again.
"What is happening, Akane-san?" he asked, looking around until he met her eyes again.
"To be honest, I suspected that you are someone else and not the real Tanaka." She said slowly. Her voice was calm and controlled while her eyes didn't convey the usual familiar warmth.
"I..."
"Be patient." She interrupted him. Her eyes started to show a bit of warmth again, but there was something more when she said: "I know you are still you. Although I also know that something happened since the day I met you. At first, it was the simple fact that your chakra just disappeared. I even thought you had become a cripple who couldn't use chakra anymore, but I was wrong..."
She paused again, letting out a soft sigh, and continued: "Tanaka-kun. What is going on, can you tell me? As I said, I suspected you were no longer my real cousin, but since it was just a suspicion, I gave you the benefit of the doubt and continued observing you. Don't think that everything you've been doing has been so secret; I know one or two things, but I still don't know everything. I only know that you somehow gained a strange power, something that is not related to chakra."
Saying this, she fell silent, waiting patiently for him to open up to her.
Tanaka's hands clenched into fists. They were a bit sweaty and slippery. Even sweat began to fall from his forehead. Although his mind remained calm, he didn't suppress his feelings and didn't want to, but he still managed to think rationally and more calmly.
'Can I trust her?' Tanaka wondered.
He understood that what he possessed was something far beyond a simple Kekkei Genkai. The potential of his system was immeasurable. The fact that he could level up and distribute points, becoming stronger, gaining items in dungeons, etc., was something that would turn this world upside down.
His thought process was quick, but even so, it took more than 10 seconds for him to make a decision.
Closing his eyes and opening them again, Tanaka looked at her with resolve.
"You are right, Akane-san. I no longer possess chakra, but rather, a different source of energy." What he said was already something she had theorized; he was just confirming it, so she simply nodded at his words.
"Of course, if you have been observing me, you must know that this is not all." He continued calmly: "I can alter reality in some way with this new power of mine. Something like entering and leaving another world, although a bit different, I think."
"Mm, I have heard about people with this kind of power." She shared what she knew: "They are capable of manipulating the fabric of reality, entering and leaving parallel dimensions. Some call it 'walking between worlds.' It's a rare and extremely powerful ability."
Tanaka observed her. He tried to see through her, to know if she would change knowing this.
He himself was curious and listened to what she said, thinking he could use what she said as an excuse if necessary. Even though it was rare, it didn't mean it didn't exist.
Although in this timeline, he didn't know anyone besides the Second Hokage who could manipulate space-time.
"I see that this is not all, but you seem uncomfortable talking more about it." She finally smiled: "Don't worry, I don't want to pry too much into your secrets. I just want to understand you and help you if possible. And you are right to be cautious. I'm a bit sad knowing that you haven't completely opened your heart to me, but I must say that I'm more happy than sad."
Tanaka was a bit confused when she said this.
She laughed a little: "I see you are confused. In short, if you are cautious even with me, that makes me happy, as there is no risk of you letting others know what you are truly capable of while you still don't have enough strength to protect yourself and end up in a situation that maybe even if I use all my strength, as much as it pains me to say, I have to be realistic and say that I might not be able to protect you."
Understanding what she said, he nodded and felt more comfortable, even smiled a little.
"Fufu, you really look handsome when you smile." She teased him a bit: "Tanaka-kun, you should smile more. I bet you would be popular with the village girls if you did that~"
His smile disappeared, and he replied by shaking his head: "I don't have that kind of interest. I'm not even thinking about having a relationship right now."
"Ara, ara." She laughed: "How boring~"
Tanaka was unaffected by her teasing.
Soon she became serious once more: "Tanaka-kun, you are right to be cautious with your powers, but at the same time, you are being careless. Only today, you entered this other dimension twice and stayed out for some time, am I right – Dattakane?"
"Yes ma'am." Tanaka responded.
"Ma'am is your grandmother!" She playfully scolded him, then continued: "And I didn't mention this before, but the fact that you can use shadow clones by yourself is suspicious because of this. If anyone asks, say that I taught you. And by the way, I don't know exactly how your power works, but I'm right in deducing that it's not difficult for you to learn other people's jutsus like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, right?"
"That..."
"Don't deny it." She said gravely: "Tanaka-kun, as I said, I respect your choice to keep some things secret, but this is something you need to know and be aware of. I have already deduced this, so there's no point in lying."
He nodded.
"Very well." She nodded, satisfied with a smile as she crossed her arms over her chest: "What I was going to say is... Since you seem to have ease in learning new jutsus, although I am currently a housewife, I was once a ninja under my grandfather's leadership at Jonin level. Therefore, Tanaka-kun, I want to propose to teach you everything I know. What do you think?"
"I would be happy, of course." Tanaka replied.
He didn't know the extent of Akane's power, nor did he know what kind of jutsus she could use, but still, it wasn't a bad proposal for him.
One thing was certain. After saying these things to her, he still felt uncomfortable. It was like when someone reveals a long-held secret, something that causes shame. Instead of feeling relieved by telling someone, what arose was the fear of the impact this secret could have, whether good or bad.