The Hokage's office was unusually full.
As Akira stepped inside, he was greeted by familiar faces—Tsunade with her arms crossed, Jiraiya leaning casually against the wall, Fugaku seated with a stern expression, and Kakashi standing near the desk with his hands in his pockets.
All of them turned toward him.
Akira blinked.
…This again? Why does this feel like a recurring boss room?
Tsunade gestured.
"Akira, take a seat."
With a small sigh, Akira walked over and sat down.
The moment he did, Kakashi suddenly stepped forward.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
Kakashi bowed deeply—something Akira had never imagined he would witness from the Copy Ninja himself.
"Akira," Kakashi said quietly but firmly.
"I'm sorry. I endangered you. I should have acted more cautiously. If anything had happened to you under my watch… I would never forgive myself."
The room fell silent.
Even Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Jiraiya looked startled. Fugaku glanced between them with unreadable eyes.
Akira blinked again.
What is Kakashi doing? Why is he apologizing like he burned my house down?
Yatagarasu tilted his head on Akira's shoulder, as if confused by the human drama.
Akira breathed out slowly.
---
Kakashi straightened slightly, as if gathering courage, and continued speaking.
"During our last fight… while I was trapped in that Genjutsu," he said, voice low, "my mind became unstable. The deeper I sank, the more I became annoyed. So I used my Mangekyō ability—Kamui—on the weakest point of the illusion."
Everyone listened quietly.
Kakashi lowered his head even more.
"I escaped the Genjutsu… but Kamui was still active. And you were standing in the very spot I targeted. If I hadn't lost consciousness at that moment, my Kamui might have ripped you apart. That was my mistake."
Akira finally understood.
So that's why he used Kamui on me… It really was just a bad coincidence.
He knew Kakashi would never attack him deliberately, but seeing the man blame himself so harshly still felt strange.
Akira exhaled and stood up.
"Well, Kakashi-sensei," he said calmly, "you don't need to apologize. It was a misunderstanding. Nothing more. I'm fine, so let's just move on."
Kakashi looked up, almost relieved, and nodded.
They both sat back down.
Tsunade folded her arms.
"Good. Now that the drama is over, let's continue."
Fugaku gave a single approving nod.
Then Jiraiya cleared his throat.
"Akira… have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Akira nodded.
"Yes. I have."
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt it—
Kakashi's chakra spiked for half a second.
When Akira glanced at him, Kakashi was staring at the floor, guilt practically dripping from his entire body.
Akira blinked.
…Why is he acting like he just murdered my family?
The system chimed lazily in his head.
[Host, Kakashi currently believes his 'betrayal' traumatized you so deeply that you awakened the Mangekyō from emotional pain.]
Akira stared into the void.
…Seriously?
The system elaborated.
[ Given your age and the situation, it is a reasonable assumption. The logic is:
"Kakashi attacked me → emotional shock → Mangekyō awakened."
He thinks he caused you unbearable mental stress. ]
Akira felt speechless.
Sure, that's how Mangekyō awakens for many Uchiha…
But in his case?
His sharingan was something else entirely.
Most Uchiha evolve their eyes from 1 → 10 in difficulty.
Akira's Sharingan started at 9.999 → 10
All it needed was a microscopic push.
He also had Indra's complete bloodline—his evolution was inevitable.
But Akira stayed silent about all of that.
He simply let the misunderstanding remain.
Because honestly… what would he even say?
"Oh, no, Kakashi, you didn't traumatize me. My eyes evolve like cheat codes because I have awakened my ancestral bloodline and am afraid of death ???"
Yeah, no.
Akira just exhaled, letting the misunderstanding live peacefully.
And the meeting continued.
---
Akira finally spoke again, breaking the brief silence of the room.
"And yes… I awakened the power of both my eyes," he said steadily. "Both of my Mangekyō abilities lean toward space–time. My left eye is more aligned with space, and my right eye is more aligned with time."
Everyone in the room stiffened for a moment.
Space-time Mangekyō abilities were extremely rare—dangerously rare.
But when Akira stopped talking, they didn't push him for details.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, Fugaku, Kakashi—none of them asked anything more about his techniques.
And there were two very simple reasons:
First:
Akira's explanation made it clear that his powers were… on the higher end.
Space-time Mangekyō wasn't something you casually asked to see.
Second:
None of them wanted to discuss how they ended up horrifically injured because of Akira.
It was embarrassing.
Even legendary shinobi had their pride.
At that time, they had been focused entirely on saving Kakashi.
They didn't have the luxury to form perfect defenses, to calculate, or prepare countermeasures.
They simply reacted.
And Akira—unstable, emotional, drowning in instinct and awakening—had unleashed everything at once.
Twenty-six simultaneous attacks.
From a Kage-level body.
With natural Sage physique.
Enhanced chakra density.
And Mangekyō precision.
There were only two people in history who could take something like that head-on:
Uchiha Madara.
Senju Hashirama.
Anyone else?
They would dodge, run, teleport… or die.
No one on the planet would stand and tank twenty-six Mangekyō-infused blows from Akira in that moment.
So the only conclusion they all quietly reached was:
It was a coincidence.
A terrible, unfortunate, unlucky coincidence.
Akira didn't add anything more.
And no one else asked for anything more.
The silence in the room was heavy—but strangely peaceful.
Like everyone had silently agreed to bury this particular event deep, deep underground.
---
Tsunade finally cleared her throat, breaking the tension that had been quietly simmering in the office.
"So," she began, voice calm but heavy, "the topic of today's meeting is what we discussed before.
Nagato has agreed to our proposal… but he has placed conditions."
Everyone in the room exchanged glances—Jiraiya, Fugaku, Kakashi, even Akira.
Curiosity burned in their eyes, but no one interrupted.
Tsunade continued.
"First, Nagato insists on meeting Danzō face-to-face. He says he cannot trust the words of a 'large nation' without confronting the person responsible for past actions."
Fugaku clicked his tongue.
Jiraiya exhaled sharply but said nothing.
"Second… he will only kill the Jinchiruki who leaves the village."
Her voice grew firmer.
"He has given us a time limit of one year.
If any Jinchūriki steps outside Cloud Shinobi Village borders within that year—they die.
If they refuse to leave the village at all… then we lose our chance."
The room immediately darkened with heavy expressions.
Not shock.
Not outrage.
Just… acknowledgment.
Because they all understood one truth:
A man capable of building an organization like the Akatsuki—twice—was no ordinary person.
Nagato had always been frighteningly strategic.
Tsunade went on.
"He also gave us a warning. Jinchūriki are not required to take missions or travel—just like Kushina and Mito Grandmother stayed inside Konoha during wartime. So, if two Jinchūriki suddenly leave the village and die… Konoha would be suspicious."
Akira felt a chill run through him.
That was Nagato's trap.
If Konoha agreed to the deal, the responsibility of safely removing the Jinchūriki from Cloud Shinobi Village without raising suspicion fell entirely on them.
If the Jinchūriki refused?
If the movement looked suspicious?
The Raikage would take it as provocation.
And fourth Raikage is infamous for his temper.
A man who would choose total war even if it meant his own village burning to ashes alongside the enemy.
The weight of Nagato's conditions settled over the office like a storm cloud.
Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment.
"The bait is on us. If we choose to accept this… then escaping suspicion, avoiding political backlash, and preventing war is on our shoulders."
No one spoke.
Because everyone knew—
One wrong move… and the Fourth Great Ninja War would start early.
---