Akira slowly raised his hand.
"I… might have a way to take at least one Jinchūriki out of the village."
Every head snapped toward him—Tsunade, Jiraiya, Fugaku, Kakashi.
Curiosity, hope, and a trace of disbelief flickered across their faces.
Akira continued calmly:
"I've been thinking about this plan for a long time.
A joint Chūnin Exam."
Tsunade leaned forward.
"You mean the standard joint exam between Konoha and Kumo?"
Akira shook his head.
"No. If we're doing it… we do it big.
The biggest Chūnin Exam in the entire shinobi world."
Everyone blinked.
Akira explained:
"We invite every hidden village—large, mid, and small.
A world-scale exam.
And during the event, we host a Five-Kage Conference as well."
Fugaku narrowed his eyes. "A summit? During the exam?"
Akira nodded.
"Yes. The Kage meeting can handle political matters—peace treaties.
If we manage to sign even a Small Treaty… we can buy another year or two of peace."
At those words, everyone's eyes lit up.
It was brilliant.
It was bold.
And it was extremely dangerous.
The light in their eyes dimmed just as quickly.
Because the risks were enormous.
Jiraiya spoke first.
"Akira… if we hold an exam that big, every large village will send at least a jōnin commander to observe. Some may even send their Kage."
Fugaku added grimly, "It would be like inviting tigers into our home."
Tsunade rubbed her forehead.
"Then we have the issue of money. A world-scale exam will cost a fortune.
And for something this large, we need the Daimyō's approval. He won't agree easily."
Kakashi folded his arms.
"Even if Daimyō approves… what if the other villages refuse?
If one village doesn't come—it's their embarrassment.
But if three or more decline… it becomes our humiliation."
"And that," Fugaku said, "weakens us politically."
Silence settled in the room.
Akira took a breath.
"So… these are the problems. If you can help me solve these points, I'll personally meet the Daimyō and pitch the plan."
Tsunade replied.
The room froze again.
Because despite the dangers…
it was the only plan that had even a chance of removing a Jinchūriki without raising suspicion.
---
The room fell silent again as the discussion continued.
Fugaku exhaled slowly.
"And even if we do remove the Jinchūriki during the exam… if Kumo's Jinchūriki are ambushed and killed on the way back, all suspicion will fall on us."
Jiraiya added, "Kumo will scream conspiracy."
Akira clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"Konoha can simply say one thing: If you are so weak that you can't protect your own Jinchūriki outside your village… then how dare you declare war on us?"
The others stared at him.
He wasn't wrong — but the way Akira said it felt… ruthless.
Seeing everyone hesitating, Akira sighed.
"Fine. Regarding funds and Daimyō approval — I have a solution."
Everyone immediately straightened.
Whenever Akira said those words, it usually meant something outrageous… and effective.
Akira continued casually:
"I'll ask Itachi for help.
He can simply use Kotoamatsukami on the Daimyō."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Tsunade's hand froze mid-air.
Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
Kakashi's book slipped out of his fingers.
Even Fugaku's eyelid twitched.
This was the first time they had ever heard someone so calmly say something so insane.
Jiraiya finally found his voice — trembling.
"Akira… do you understand what you're saying!?
If we attack or manipulate the Daimyō, the other countries will unite and crush us!
We would lose political support, financial support — even our nobles would turn against us!"
Akira chuckled lightly, almost amused by Jiraiya's panic.
"That's why I said Itachi should do it.
Kotoamatsukami leaves no trace except for the Byakugan detecting a slight chakra fluctuation.
As long as no Hyūga is present, we're fine."
Everyone stared at him like he was insane.
Akira lifted one eyebrow.
"And besides… why are all of you so scared of the Daimyō?
If one Daimyō blocks us financially — then kill him, and put a better Daimyō on the throne."
A visible shiver ran through the room.
Jiraiya and Kakashi had the same thought at the same time:
No wonder everyone says the Uchiha clan is dangerous.
This boy talked about replacing a Daimyō like he was talking about plucking a chicken.
Akira leaned back casually.
"If I spent all these years getting stronger only to obey a weakling…
then why did I bother getting strong in the first place?"
Dead silence.
Tsunade massaged her temples.
Jiraiya whispered, "This child… scares me sometimes."
But the shocking thing was —
with that one reckless idea, Akira had effortlessly solved two massive problems:
Funding
Daimyō approval
The political bottleneck vanished.
Now came the third issue.
Inviting "tigers" into their home.
Akira scoffed.
"What tiger? Do you know how many Kage-level shinobi Konoha currently has?"
He began to count on his fingers:
"Jiraiya-sama.
Tsunade-sama.
Kakashi-sensei.
Fugaku Patriach
Itachi nee-sama
Might Guy.
Me."
He smiled proudly.
"That's seven.
Add Shikaku–Chōza–Inoichi formation — they can hold off one Kage.
That's eight.
And Hyūga Hiashi can also hold one off, even if he can't win.
That's nine."
His tone was confident — dangerously confident.
"And all nine are true Kage-level shinobi.
So why should we fear anyone?"
The room was dead quiet again.
Then Akira added, as if mentioning something trivial:
"And if that's still not enough, we can invite another Kage-level warrior."
Jiraiya blinked. "Who…?"
Akira grinned.
"Your friend, Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's heart throbbed.
For a moment he looked happy — then reality struck and sadness washed over him.
He shook his head.
"Orochimaru would never return to Konoha.
And even if he did… I cannot welcome a traitor."
Akira waved his hand.
"The solution is even simpler."
Everyone instinctively tensed.
Akira smiled innocently.
"Just let Itachi use Kotoamatsukami and rewrite Orochimaru's will.
Make him loyal to Konoha."
A cold chill erupted down the spine of every single person present.
Akira said it like he was discussing simple arithmetic.
As if rewriting a human being's identity was as easy as saying "1 + 1 = 2."
---
Tsunade didn't want the topic of mind-controlling Orochimaru to continue any further. Her eyebrow was already twitching.
So she cleared her throat loudly and said:
"Alright, enough of that. We can hold a joint Chūnin Exam. The question is—when? We can't do it too early or too late. Other nations need prep time."
Everyone nodded.
After fifteen minutes of intense debate—voices rising, papers scattered, Fugaku almost flipping a table—they finally concluded:
Seven months to one year was the safest range.
Akira waved his hand decisively.
"Let's do it in one year. That gives us time to prepare everything properly, and the other nations also get a full year. With this, we skip war for at least one year."
Everyone agreed.
And then Akira added, with a completely straight face:
"And the main point—money."
He leaned back proudly.
"This time the Chūnin Exam will be the biggest festival Konoha has ever seen. No free entry nonsense. We build new shops, hotels, arenas, expand the village… Konoha becomes rich again. All the money we spend—we earn back double."
The room grew thoughtful.
And then Tsunade spoke:
"Fine. One year from now. We'll send delegations to every ninja village. Big or small—everyone is invited."
She turned to Fugaku.
"Patriarch Fugaku, you will handle the Daimyō matter and all financial calculations."
Fugaku's eyes reddened slightly.
Finally, for the first time in decades, Uchiha had real decision-making power.
He glanced at Akira, who casually nodded as if approving his pet project.
Fugaku straightened proudly.
Akira on the other hand after thinking for few moment, he said:
"…Hokage-sama. Why don't we… rebuild Konoha entirely?"
Everyone froze.
"Rebuild Konoha?"
Jiraiya blinked. "Why? The village is fine."
Others murmured agreement. Rebuilding a whole village was insane—it would cost too much, take too long, and the benefits seemed uncertain.
Akira shook his head.
"It's been sixty years since Konoha's founding. The village is still the same size. Technology has changed—we can make a modern Konoha."
Everyone listened.
"And as for money," Akira continued with a smirk, "we have the Daimyō's approval. Courtesy of Itachi."
Everyone shivered again.
Akira spoke casually, like discussing grocery shopping.
"And besides—I heard from Chronarch that during Konoha's early founding, one of the enemies covered Konoha with hidden exploding tags. His name is Gennō.
Gennō was on a mission to destroy Konoha from within. He disguised himself as a carpenter to evade suspicion while systematically planting the explosive tags throughout the village over a long period."
"WHAT!?"
Everyone's jaw dropped.
Tsunade almost fell off her chair.
Akira went on:
"With this excuse, we can ask the clans for funds. Sell land. Expand Konoha. Upgrade the barrier. Replace all old systems. Improve defenses. Give enough missions to the Shinobi for this whole year. Even distribute new gear to shinobi."
He held up a finger.
"Ten months should be enough. Destroy everything and rebuild from scratch."
Silence.
Then excitement.
If this succeeded, it would become a legendary event—recorded in history.
Their reputations would skyrocket.
Konoha's strength would rise.
Everything aligned perfectly.
Tsunade clapped twice.
An ANBU instantly appeared.
"Summon all clan leaders," she ordered. "Meeting in seven days. Hokage office."
The ANBU vanished.
Akira, meanwhile, stretched lazily.
"Just save the best plot of land for me. I'm not attending any meetings about this nonsense."
And before anyone could object, he walked out the door.
Kakashi and Fugaku exchanged glances—they knew better than to argue with him.
Tsunade and Jiraiya sighed but didn't stop him.
And none of the clan leaders would dare offend him over a piece of land.
Akira strolled happily toward the hospital.
He wasn't avoiding responsibility—he simply had something else to do.
Visit Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.
He'd heard the rumors on the way.
Their expressions in the meeting room confirmed it.
Yes, they were all injured from his own attack.
Tsunade had healed them, but they needed another half month to fully recover.
Akira felt a twinge of guilt.
So, he decided to offer a proper apology.
And thus, he walked into the hospital with a deep sigh.
---