Ten days later, in the Akimichi clan compound in Konoha.
"Tatsuya, what exactly has been going on with you lately? The village has sent people to inquire about you several times." Akimichi Rou sat kneeling in the hall, his expression stern as he questioned Tatsuya.
"Uncle Rou, our mission failed," Tatsuya replied, his head lowered, his expression somewhat downcast.
"I know that. Over a month ago, someone discovered the bodies of the three chunin team members who went with you. Only you and Physician Shinno were missing." Akimichi Rou stared intently at Tatsuya, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with inquiry and concern.
Over the past month, news unfavorable to Tatsuya had been circulating in the village. At first, Akimichi Rou completely disbelieved these rumors, but now, looking at the lowered head of Tatsuya, he felt a flicker of doubt.
Could it be that this kid really had been unwilling to accept the mission's failure and defected, only to return because he couldn't make it on his own? Was it this kid who appeared on the border of the Land of Fire and fought with Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki? But, according to the intelligence from the village, the ninja with the giant ninja snake summoning seemed to have used Sage Mode during the battle! Tatsuya doesn't know Sage Mode!
Several questions lingered in Akimichi Rou's mind.
"Uncle Rou, on our way to the Land of Wind, we encountered a Sunagakure assassination squad. They were pursuing Sunagakure's Scorch Release ninja, Pakura. We were targeted because we stumbled upon their operation. Their strength was overwhelming, so we had to split up. During the escape, I was severely injured and had to go into hiding to recover.
"After I recovered, I was unwilling to accept the mission's failure. I thought about sneaking to the northern border to ambush Kumogakure's rear, hoping to make amends. Who knew that I would encounter Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, halfway there.
"Facing her, I had to use all my strength to barely escape, but I was seriously injured again. I had to recuperate for a while before hurrying back." Tatsuya raised his head, met Akimichi Rou's gaze, and spoke frankly.
Aside from omitting the part about persuading Pakura and their joint trip to the Land of Rice Fields to establish Ansei Hall, Tatsuya told Akimichi Rou everything else, point by point. Truth mixed with falsehoods – that's the highest form of deception. Tatsuya didn't want to deceive Akimichi Rou, but some things were truly unsuitable for him to know.
"So you've learned Sage Mode?" Hearing Tatsuya's account, Akimichi Rou's expression became slightly odd. After Tatsuya finished, he couldn't help but ask.
Sage Mode – this was a super-powerful ninjutsu that led directly to the pinnacle of combat power in the ninja world. Hearing that Tatsuya could already use Sage Mode, Akimichi Rou felt both gratified and a little distressed. It seemed his uncle might soon be no match for this fifteen-year-old boy!
"That's right! However, I was forced to use it for the first time under duress. It still has many drawbacks, and my body suffered considerable damage after using it. There's still a long way to go before I truly master it," Tatsuya nodded, admitting to using Sage Mode without hesitation.
There was no point in trying to hide this; it would only raise more suspicion.
Hearing this, Akimichi Rou's expression became strange, and he fell silent. After a long pause, he waved his hand at Tatsuya. "Alright then! You've been through a lot. Go back and rest! The Hokage's office might call you in for questioning in a couple of days. Be prepared!"
"Yes, Uncle Rou!" Tatsuya bowed and retreated. Before leaving the room, his gaze couldn't help but glance in a certain direction within the hall.
After Tatsuya left, a door in the hall opened, and the figure of Akimichi Ryota, the head of the Akimichi clan, appeared in the doorway.
"Rou, how much of what that kid said do you think is credible?" Akimichi Ryota walked into the hall, looked at Akimichi Rou who was kneeling and pondering, and asked.
"I'd say about seventy to eighty percent is true," Akimichi Rou replied slowly.
Akimichi Ryota smiled and nodded. "That's right! That kid is slippery. He probably knew I was hiding there all along. We can only believe about seventy to eighty percent of what he said. The Sunagakure assassination squad is real, the matter of the Scorch Release ninja Pakura is real, and the encounter with Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito is real. But there's definitely something else hidden within all of this that we don't know."
Tatsuya thought his deception skills were masterful, but he didn't know that Akimichi Ryota and Akimichi Rou had already seen through him.
Akimichi Rou remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement with Akimichi Ryota's assessment. After thinking for a moment, Akimichi Rou hesitated and then asked, "Clan Head, who do you think Tatsuya learned Sage Mode from?"
Akimichi Ryota said calmly, "Who else could it be? Only Jiraiya-sama in our Konoha has mastered Sage Mode, but Jiraiya-sama is rarely in the village. Tatsuya likely wouldn't have had any contact with him. Besides Jiraiya-sama, the only other possibilities are Orochimaru-sama and Tsunade-sama, who are also Sannin and might have come into contact with Sage Mode.
"Didn't Orochimaru-sama have contact with Tatsuya recently? It was probably given to him then."
Akimichi Rou: "Orochimaru-sama's reputation in the village hasn't been very good in the past two years. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for Tatsuya to be so close to him?"
Akimichi Ryota was unconcerned. He waved his hand and smiled. "It doesn't matter. Let's wait until he masters Sage Mode first!"
Akimichi Ryota had witnessed the tremendous boost Sage Mode gave to a ninja's strength. He was eager for Tatsuya to improve his strength as quickly as possible by staying with Orochimaru. Judging from Tatsuya's current performance, this little fellow had not disappointed his initial expectations.
Akimichi Rou continued, "Then what about Tatsuya's unauthorized actions without the village's orders? How do we explain it to the village?"
Akimichi Ryota said, "Don't worry about that. I will personally explain it to the Third Hokage. Our Akimichi clan is, after all, part of the Hokage's faction. It's rare for our clan to produce such an outstanding talent. The village leadership would never allow him to be suppressed. They would never allow the tragedy of the White Fang to happen again."
Akimichi Rou breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Akimichi Ryota.
Indeed, over the next two days, the village's handling of Tatsuya proceeded exactly as Akimichi Ryota had predicted. After summoning Tatsuya to the Hokage's office for a detailed inquiry, the village leadership showed no interest in dwelling on Tatsuya's mission failure or his unauthorized actions without the village's orders.
Instead, the village leadership was far more interested in the information Tatsuya provided about the Sunagakure Scorch Release ninja Pakura being pursued by Sunagakure, and the fact that Tatsuya could already use Sage Mode with the help of his summoning animal.
On the one hand, Sunagakure was currently Konoha's ally, and Konoha's leadership naturally wanted to keep track of their ally's movements. On the other hand, in the current situation, having another expert in the village who knew Sage Mode was something everyone was happy to see.
Tatsuya hadn't expected to get off so easily.
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