NARUTO: THE STRONGEST UZUMAKI

After being left alone with Shiori and Akane, Tanaka began to consider several things, one of them being whether or not he should use the Winged Mechanical Devices he had stored in the 'Sky Island' within his inventory.

However, the implications of this could prove to be quite problematic. Of course, it goes without saying that the very existence of the 'Sky Island' was something only he knew about.

Perhaps Konoha would be interested in this, but for now, they had bigger issues to deal with...

"Are you going?" Akane looked at Tanaka, concerned.

"I think so..." Tanaka pondered for a moment. Several thoughts crossed his mind until he finally said, "Yes, I'm going."

"I'm going too." Shiori stood up.

"Don't you need to take care of Rias-chan?" Tanaka raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this, Shiori suddenly remembered and looked at Akane. "Akane, can you..."

"It's fine." Akane didn't wait for her to finish and quickly added, "I can take care of Rias-chan, but you need to get your father's permission first, right?"

"Thanks, Akane." Shiori smiled beautifully before turning to Tanaka. "As for my old man, I can convince him. Now, when do we leave?"

'Why does she want to come with me instead of going with the ninjas from Uzu sent by Masashi?'

Although he didn't understand, he didn't refuse. He replied, "This afternoon. We'll leave as soon as I get a few things ready."

"In that case, I'll get ready too." Shiori stood up. Looking at Akane, she said, "Akane, I'll leave my sister in your care."

Akane gently replied, "Mm, don't worry."

[1+3=IV]

Tanaka didn't know what Shiori said to convince her father, Masashi, but at the port, he saw Masashi looking at him with resentment.

Meanwhile, on the sailboat, several ninjas boarded along with them.

Clearly, they didn't want to let the two go alone. As for the reason... Well, Tanaka could think of several, but for now, he waited.

"Tanaka-kun, come here for a moment."

Before he boarded the ship, Masashi called out to him.

"Old man, don't say anything unnecessary." Shiori elbowed him in warning.

"Ah, ah... I get it, I'm not going to talk about that, relax." Masashi replied, feigning pain.

"Tsk, really?" Shiori didn't seem to believe him.

Tanaka, witnessing their interaction, raised his left eyebrow.

In the blink of an eye, Masashi appeared beside Tanaka, draping his right arm around his neck, and with his left hand, he created a barrier near Tanaka's ear as he murmured, "Those forehead protectors you made... I tested them and found a potential traitor. I still need to investigate further, and for now, I've left him free while I gather more evidence to see if there's someone behind him."

"Really?" Tanaka murmured. "It would be nice if it was just a malfunction, but if it's truly a traitor, it's good we found out before something like last time happens."

"Hmm, I'll keep you informed," murmured Masashi before making a personal request. "Tanaka-kun, I know you still keep some things secret. While I don't wish to invade your privacy, since your loyalty to the village is clear, I ask only that if anything bad threatens my daughter, you..."

Tanaka interrupted him: "Don't worry, Masashi-san. I'll do everything I can to ensure Shiori-san's safety."

"Hearing that, I feel more at ease." Masashi sighed.

After the two parted ways and Tanaka boarded the sailboat, Shiori approached him.

"Hey, Tanaka-kun, my father didn't say anything unnecessary about me, did he?" Shiori asked a bit aggressively. However, deep down, she seemed insecure.

"No, we just talked about something related to an item I sold him." Tanaka didn't lie, though he didn't tell the whole truth either...

"I see." Shiori looked at him suspiciously, but not detecting any lies, she let it go.

[11-18=VII]

As soon as Mito arrived in the village, she saw many faces looking at her anxiously.

"Everything will be fine, I'm here," Mito told them. "And Uzushio will send reinforcements."

"That's good."

"What a relief…"

Her words reassured them.

"Grandma, I want to go. I'm already a ninja, I want to defend the village that my grandparents built!"

In front of her was a 12-year-old boy with short light-brown hair, gray-green eyes, and highly flushed cheeks. He tried to act brave in front of her, but it only made him look cute.

Smiling, Mito said, "Nawaki-kun, you're still young. Although I'm happy with what you said, you've barely graduated and become a genin. Going to war is suicide."

"Grandfather-sama is right." Tsunade, who was present, delivered a firm punch to Nawaki's head, causing him to cry out in pain. She continued, "You're young. You don't yet have what it takes to go to war. Enduring is also part of growing stronger and supporting the ninjas who are fighting for the village. Right now, you'd be more of a hindrance than a help, do you hear me?"

Only those who understood the horrors of war could grasp what Tsunade was trying to say. Nawaki, who was the future leader of the Senju Clan, didn't seem to understand, though he pretended to.

"I understand, Oneechan, but… I still want to defend our village!" Nawaki exclaimed loudly. "And, Oneechan, I won't die before I achieve my dream of becoming Hokage!"

"Oh my, how stubborn… I have no idea where he gets that from…" Tsunade sighed exasperatedly.

The people around them cast skeptical glances in her direction, as if their eyes were saying, "Seriously, you really don't know?"

They struggled to suppress the urge to roll their eyes at Tsunade's comment.

"Oneechan, aren't you just like me?" Nawaki looked confused as he commented, scratching his cheek.

"You little brat…" Tsunade's expression turned fierce as she ran after him. "Get back here, Nawaki!"

"Will you two stop!" Mito lost her patience, placing a hand on her forehead.

"Yes!" Both Nawaki and Tsunade replied.

After all, in front of their grandmother, even Tsunade had to restrain herself and show respect.

"I'm going to reinforce the village's barrier now," Mito told the leader of the Nara Clan. "While I defend the village, you must drive them out of our country."

In other words, she was confident in creating a barrier strong enough to protect the village. All they needed to do was defeat the enemy to the point where they realized there was no sense in trying to fight them.