I'm drawing manga in Naruto

Knowing that things were going smoothly here, Akabane felt relieved.

This ship is crucial for the deployment of the bat fruit, so it can't afford any mistakes. If it goes in the wrong direction and ends up like Magellan or Columbus, he'll be at a huge loss. Having a bird to guide him is definitely a great thing.

However, the sea swallow was not so cooperative. The reason she obediently helped the Konoha ships not leave was only because the Yamanaka clan had placed a secret technique on her.

Upon learning of the news from overseas, Akabane glanced around.

The other clones have already organized the comics and handed them over to Kurama Unro. Kurama Unro will then be responsible for transferring the updated content to Yamano Izumi Kou once Yamano sends the update over.

He had done this kind of work many times, so he was very skilled and adept at it.

but……

Akabane originally planned to take advantage of the time to be lazy so that he wouldn't have trouble slacking off later if something happened, but less than an hour after Yamano Izumi delivered the manga, trouble came to Konoha first.

When Akabane received the message from the Third Generation summoning him to come over, his first thought was that Danzo was deliberately seeking revenge for what happened that afternoon.

But after thinking about it...

It shouldn't be that fast; it's very likely that something really important has happened.

Upon arriving at the Hokage Building, Akabane saw a group of people sitting in an office. These people were all prominent figures in Konoha, including Kurama Gowa.

However, Danzo was the only one absent.

A little strange...

The Third Hokage cleared his throat and said, "Danzo is unavailable, so Akabane will temporarily replace him at the meeting. Is there any objection?"

"No."

Shinsuke Hinata was the first to speak.

The Hyuga clan and Akabane are at odds, so he had to be the first to speak; it was an unspoken understanding between them.

As for why I agreed...

Danzo has made it clear that he is grooming Akabane as the next generation. If they dare to object, they will be purged once Akabane takes office.

The clan leaders had a good understanding of Akabane, especially Hyuga Shinsa and Uchiha Genkai, who knew very well that Akabane was essentially a petty and clever person.

Being petty isn't the problem; the main thing is being smart and talented.

Such people are best avoided if possible. Even the Hyuga clan is only treated as a superficial enemy; in reality, no hostile actions have been taken. They are typical examples of all talk and no action.

Akabane pondered, thinking that his teacher wouldn't skip a meeting just because he was beaten up in a fantasy; there must be something really important that made him do so.

He sat down.

Then, the third generation began to explain the purpose of the meeting.

It's still related to freckles.

This time, the news didn't come from Sunagakure, but from Iwagakure in the north.

There are rogue ninjas appearing in Iwagakure, and the one who instigated the ninjas to betray them is the mysterious and powerful figure known as "Uchiha Madara".

Undoubtedly, this is Black Zetsu.

but……

The purpose of the meeting was not simply to discuss Black Zetsu or Madara, but to discuss whether to spread the news about Madara and Black Zetsu.

The reason we didn't do this before was because no one believed it when it was spread; instead, people thought Konoha was up to something.

It is different now.

Once made public, it could potentially cause a series of upheavals or even war, which is why it is necessary to hold a meeting in advance to consult the opinions of various ethnic groups in the village.

Of course, no one had any objections.

Danzo is definitely going to go out and make arrangements in advance. You already have plans, why do you need to ask for our opinion?

Typical formalism.

However, these are things that should only be kept in mind. If they were actually said aloud, no one would save face. Even Akabane wouldn't be so foolish as to say something bad. Instead, he nodded in agreement.

He secretly wondered why Black Zetsu did this.

Clearly, Madara and Black Zetsu have fallen out.

Black Zetsu is inciting all the ninja villages, frantically drawing hatred towards Madara; he's probably determined to kill Madara first...

Given this situation, will the elders of the ninja world have to wait for the next Indra?

It's not impossible.

Bored, Akabane picked up the information scroll and glanced at it. It was a message from Iwagakure, hoping that Konoha could help them find the whereabouts of the rogue ninja in the Land of Fire. The ninja had defected two days ago.

What happened the day before yesterday, and it's already in Konoha today... Is it that important?

There must be something ghostly going on!

Akabane looked up and saw that the Third Hokage was looking over at him.

The Third Hokage nodded slightly and secretly gestured for Akabane to keep quiet—this rogue ninja's identity was clearly not simple; he was very likely a Jinchuriki from Iwagakure!

Chapter 301 The Great Conman of the Ninja World - Black Zetsu

The Hidden Stone Village has two tailed beasts: the Four-Tails Son Goku and the Five-Tails Kokuo.

These two tailed beasts are quite powerful, but it's unknown which one was abducted this time... Moreover, Black Zetsu also controls a member of the Uzumaki clan.

Thinking of this, Akabane couldn't help but take a deep breath.

This means that if the escaped Jinchuriki falls into Black Zetsu's hands, he could easily have his Tailed Beast extracted and then resealed into one of his own.

However, Black Zetsu may not possess this ability now.

Through several encounters, Akabane discovered that Black Zetsu's combat strength was actually quite mysterious. Unless he could control a ninja skilled in sealing techniques, he simply did not possess the ability to extract and reseal the tailed beasts.

"So, the Jinchuriki is safe for the time being. The reason why Iwagakure kept it a secret is that they didn't want Konoha to know that the missing person was a Jinchuriki... But they also know very well that Konoha will guess, but there's nothing they can do about it."

Akabane thought to himself.

Black Zetsu's ability to conceal himself is terrifying. He merges with and envelops Jinchuriki, making it impossible for even sensory ninjas to find him immediately.

A more effective method is to see the other person in person and identify them by their appearance and other factors.

The third generation spoke some more, and then many of the clan leaders from the smaller families began to disperse.

These clan chiefs knew that the matter couldn't be that simple, but what followed was not their concern; leaving voluntarily was the wisest choice.

In the end, only a handful of people remained in the conference room.

Sandai, Akabane, Uchiha Genkai and Hinata Shinzao.

Mitokado Homura should have had a place there, but that old guy frantically encouraged everyone to form "The Root of Konoha," and was imprisoned by the Third Hokage and Danzo in a prison deep within the Anbu.

He won't be able to get out anytime soon.

As for Xiaochun who changed dorm rooms...

She is currently focusing all her efforts on researching medical ninjutsu. However, this is not because she has become indifferent to fame and fortune and no longer cares about the position of elder advisor. It is simply because she cares too much about the power of the medical department and does not want it to fall into Tsunade's hands too quickly.

However, compared to Mitokado En, at least she was doing something, which greatly increased her reputation and popularity among the villagers.

After everyone left the Hokage Building and the Third Hokage confirmed that there were no people outside the Anbu around, he passed down a photo: "This is the image of a rogue ninja sent from Iwagakure. Judging from his appearance, he looks like a ten-year-old child."

"So young?"

Shinji Hyuga frowned.

Clearly, he had noticed something strange about the situation.

If they were just ordinary children, how could they possibly have the ability to defect? ​​Besides... if a low-ranking ninja like that could just run away, the demolition and assassination squad could easily hunt him down; there was no need for such a big fuss.

"Looks like a Jinchūriki, but I wonder which tail it is..."

Uchiha Genkai said solemnly.

The power of Jinchuriki was perfectly demonstrated by Sunagakure during the last Bird Country War, and everyone is aware of just how terrifying and destructive this weapon of war can be.

Therefore, he needed to know some information in advance; otherwise, if the guards rashly pursued him, they might lose a large number of men.

“I don’t know, but Iwagakure said that these people may have escaped to the Land of Fire. I hope that you two can do your best to find the Jinchuriki.”

After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he stared at Akabane, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Akabane, are you confident in dealing with a Jinchuriki?"

I knew it wouldn't be good!

Akabane thought to himself.

Looking at the photo, this guy does resemble Roshi from the anime, but he's a child in the photo and doesn't have that bushy beard and hair.

So, it should be four tails.

The Four-Tails excels at Lava Release, an ability that is countered by Water Release. Combined with its own Flying Thunder God Technique and Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities, it is not difficult to deal with.

However, I offended the teacher this afternoon, and now I'm already facing this problem. Karma is coming on so fast.

In addition...

"Dead or alive?"

"It would be best if he were alive. If we could capture him, we could get a lot of benefits from Iwagakure through the Jinchūriki."

The third generation said in a low voice.

Uchiha Genkai thought for a moment and said, "Our Uchiha clan also has the ability to control tailed beasts. If I encounter one... I can temporarily control the tailed beast, but to be on the safe side, I hope Akabane can come to our aid as soon as possible."

"Very good, let's get started."

"Yes~"

Uchiha Genkai and Hyuga Shinza responded and quickly left using the Body Flicker Technique, while Akabane stayed a little longer.

It's not that I have something to say, I'm just thinking about things.

With Danzo absent and the Third Hokage demanding his capture alive, it seems Danzo is heading to Iwagakure for initial negotiations, and the Jinchuriki will be the key bargaining chip later.

The next second, he used Flying Thunder God Technique to leave.

Akabane is responsible for providing support in the capture operation. Although he doesn't need to join the search, he will definitely need to get to the battlefield as soon as the person is found.

Therefore, he went back and retrieved a box of Flying Thunder God's specially made kunai.

He marked each of these kunai, reinforced them one by one, and personally delivered them to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

Making things convenient for others is making things convenient for yourself; it's a win-win situation.

After finishing his business, he could rest at the headquarters of the Konoha Guard.

The guard has many outposts in the Land of Fire, and each outpost is equipped with members of the Mountain Clan and short-range radios. Whenever there is news from the front lines, information can be transmitted back to headquarters through these means.

This method originated from the flames of war.

That's right, it was Akabane's doing.

Most of the ninjas went out on missions, but there were still some young genin who didn't need to go out.

For the current Konoha, there is no need for these children to go to the battlefield.

Of course, Akabane and Orochimaru were still children, even though they were all fourteen years old at this time...

But who made them strong?

To gain resources and power, one must correspondingly pay a higher price than others.

Akabane lay in the guard headquarters' monitoring room, the seat where his father, Kurama Chiaki, usually sat, but today he was out on a mission as usual.

Because there are few people, it's quite quiet here.

He was just about to take a nap when there was a commotion outside, and then a figure rudely opened the door and came in.

"Huh, you've been assigned to the guard team?"

No need to look back.

He could identify the visitor simply by sensing their chakra.

Nara Shikamei, a guy who's quite sensitive to data.

After his special training in the preparatory department, he had already become a qualified elite genin—and perhaps now, after training with his clan, he has the strength of a chunin or even an elite chunin.

The difference between clan members and commoners is that ninjas from clans can quickly acquire a complete and comprehensive ninjutsu system once they reach a certain level of strength.