Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Uchiha Akira: Hinata, The Doctor Says I Should Take It Easy
In a small grove, Uchiha Akira and Hinata were together, chatting and enjoying each other's company.
Hidden among the trees, the couple, deeply in love, naturally shared a few affectionate moments. Hinata, ever the shy one, blushed deeply.
"Hinata, you're so beautiful!" Despite the night sky, nothing hindered Uchiha Akira's keen eyesight.
Hinata's face turned an even deeper shade of red, but her heart felt incredibly sweet. Regardless of her shyness, one thing remained true—every girl loves to hear sweet words, and Hinata was no exception.
The sweeter the words, the more they touched her, especially when spoken by someone so dear to her.
Seeing Hinata's reaction, Uchiha Akira reached out and gently patted her head, running his hand through her long, silky hair. The sensation was wonderful.
Hinata closed her eyes slightly, like a contented kitten enjoying the attention.
Though Hinata's shy demeanor was adorable, Akira didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, so he shifted the conversation to other topics.
They talked about training, the theories behind the Eight Trigrams, the summonings of Ryuchi Cave, and even the Tenseigan. Slowly, Hinata's emotions began to settle.
"By the way, Akira…" After a long conversation, Hinata suddenly asked, "Is something going to happen soon?"
"Oh? Why do you ask?" Uchiha Akira looked at her curiously.
"Because lately, there's been a lot of activity in the village, and I feel like you've been a bit troubled," Hinata replied.
"You…" Uchiha Akira pulled Hinata closer upon hearing her words.
He had tried not to let his troubled thoughts show, but Hinata had noticed anyway. This was the attentiveness that came from truly caring for someone.
"Yes, something will happen in Konoha soon, that's true, but my worries aren't about that," Akira said.
"Then what is it?" Hinata raised her head, her pure white eyes staring directly at Akira.
"It's probably because I'm short on money recently!"
After thinking about it, they were practically like an old married couple by now, so there was nothing to hide. Uchiha Akira answered honestly.
Yes, the twenty million ryo from Kakuzu had already been spent, and once again, Akira found himself low on funds.
"Short on money? That's an easy fix. I have fifty million ryo saved; take it all," Hinata said earnestly.
"Huh?" Akira looked at her, stunned.
"I've been taking missions lately, including a few A-rank ones, and saved quite a bit. My money is your money!" Hinata said, her voice soft and gentle.
"Alright, then I won't be shy about it," Akira said with a smile.
With Hinata offering like this, refusing would only make things awkward.
Hinata handed over her savings, a total of fifty million ryo, to Akira.
"No wonder so many guys like to take it easy!"
"I have to say, it does feel pretty great!"
"Hinata, the doctor said my stomach's sensitive, so I need to take it easy," Akira thought to himself as he accepted the money.
After spending some more time with Hinata, Akira felt at ease. The fifty million ryo would be enough for five rounds of using the life simulator, and along with another twenty million coming from the Mist Village, he wouldn't have to worry about funds for the foreseeable future.
From the life simulator, Akira had run through multiple scenarios of Konoha being attacked. It was like running a mission in a game—challenging at first, but after ten or so runs, it became much easier.
That was exactly the case for Akira now. The Akatsuki's attack on Konoha felt like a rehearsed mission.
Time flew by, and ten days had passed. Uchiha Akira's chakra reserves had increased once again. In numerical terms, his chakra level had reached around 140,000 units.
Since breaking through to the Super Kage level, Akira had gained an additional 40,000 units through the simulations. Such an increase was remarkable.
Besides the chakra growth, Akira had made great progress in his ninjutsu training.
Most notably, Akira had unlocked a higher-level Wood Release technique—the "True Several Thousand Hands." However, using this technique consumed an immense amount of chakra, and Akira could only manage to use it two or three times at most.
Finally, the day of the Akatsuki's attack on Konoha had arrived!
The village mobilized the night before, guiding all residents into the shelters in an orderly manner.
Over the past half month, Konoha had held several "war drills" to train the villagers on how to take shelter quickly. Thus, the villagers were well-prepared, and they calmly moved into the shelters.
After three hours, just as dawn was breaking, all of Konoha's residents were safely hidden in the underground shelters.
"Shelter One is sealed, all villagers accounted for!"
"Shelter Three is sealed!"
"Shelter Sixteen is sealed!"
The responsible ninjas used radios to report the situation to the Hokage and Uchiha Akira, summarizing the status of each shelter.
Knowing that all the villagers were safe in the shelters, Akira finally relaxed.
After about two more hours of waiting, the Akatsuki arrived in Konoha, led by the Six Paths of Pain.
Alongside them was Otsutsuki Urashiki.
"Something's wrong here… It's completely empty!" Deidara said, puzzled as he looked around the vacant village.
"More precisely, it's that the villagers are gone, and only the ninjas remain," Itachi Uchiha added.
"All the villagers are hiding in the underground shelters, which are sealed by powerful barriers—breaking them won't be easy," Urashiki said to the members of the Akatsuki.
With his Byakugan active, Urashiki could clearly see the villagers hiding in the underground shelters.
"So…" Urashiki trailed off, his gaze shifting skeptically to the others. "Does Akatsuki have a traitor? Otherwise, how could Konoha have known in advance about our attack today?"
Urashiki's words made the Akatsuki members exchange glances.
There was some logic to his suspicion—Konoha's preparedness did suggest they might have an inside informant.
"It's not likely that there's a traitor." At that moment, Tendo Pain spoke, drawing everyone's attention.
Although Tendo Pain had been bisected by Urashiki earlier, the Hell Path summoned the King of Hell and restored him quickly.
While everyone knew Nagato was the true leader behind Akatsuki, they were used to seeing Tendo Pain in command. Therefore, Nagato let Tendo Pain speak, as it carried a certain level of authority.
"What do you mean?" Urashiki looked at Tendo Pain and asked.
"We've had many encounters with Uchiha Akira. On numerous occasions, he has been prepared in advance for our moves," Tendo Pain explained.
"Once or twice might be a coincidence, but it's been like this nearly every time.
"It seems Uchiha Akira possesses some kind of unique ability to foresee our actions," Pain concluded.
His words caused the Akatsuki members to grow visibly uneasy.
Did Uchiha Akira really have such an ability? If so, wouldn't that mean he could predict their every move?
Such an ability was arguably more terrifying than even the power of the Rinnegan.
Upon reflection, thinking about Akatsuki's recent activities—whether against the Sand Village, Mist Village, or even the Land of Iron—Akira always seemed to have anticipated them. Pain's deduction seemed plausible.
"Could it be the power to foresee the future?" Hearing this, Otsutsuki Urashiki's expression turned serious.
He remembered his attack on the Stone Village, where both Sasuke and Akira had been waiting for him in advance. At first, Urashiki thought it was just a coincidence.
But if Akira truly had the power to foresee the future, then what happened at the Sand Village was no accident.
Akira had known in advance that Urashiki would attack, which was why he and Sasuke had been lying in wait.
Thinking along these lines, Urashiki grew even more cautious.
If that were true, the outcome of today's battle was far from certain.
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POWER STONE!!!
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