Young Master, Please Become Hokage

The tremor stopped.

A breath of white mist escaped Akira Sarutobi's mouth.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Akira Sarutobi's tired but spirited eyes were revealed.

"Amazing..."

Akira Sarutobi offered his heartfelt praise for this Taijutsu.

Even with only a preliminary grasp, it allowed his own strength to leap to a new level.

This was the power of "jutsu."

If he continued to train, both its power and his own physical fitness and strength would see exaggerated, continuous progress.

"That's enough for today..." Akira Sarutobi walked to a small river nearby and took a bath directly in it.

Watching her Young Master walk into the night, Ino Yamanaka lay back down, returning to her sleeping bag. "Now the Young Master has become even stronger... The assessment mission is secured..."

Chapter 22: The Lower Body! The Maiden Yakushi Nonō

The sun rose and set.

As dawn broke once more, Akira Sarutobi and Ino Yamanaka arrived at the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire.

Returning to a familiar place, he hadn't had a chance to properly see it during the last mission to the Land of Whirlpools.

Facing the sea, the blonde girl with a ponytail couldn't help but kick off her shoes and step onto the sand.

Splash!

The waves washed over her feet.

Watching the girl face the sea breeze, Akira Sarutobi's usually indifferent expression softened slightly.

In his previous life, Akira Sarutobi came from the bottom of society and had seen plenty of darkness.

In this life, his status had changed, and he had been born into prosperity. However, the ninja path was still fraught with bloodshed and darkness.

He had walked this path like a robot, training, getting stronger, killing... then training, getting stronger, killing... repeating this cycle.

Having lived two lives, the essence of his life didn't seem to have changed much.

Sometimes, he truly envied his childhood friend's carefree and cheerful demeanor.

And with her by his side, his own cold heart felt a sliver of warmth.

The waves continued to crash, he smelled the sea breeze and listened to the sound of the ocean.

As the sun rose, a girl dressed as a civilian walked from the other side of the beach.

She looked to be in her teens, with fair skin and a beautiful face.

Her light golden hair curled at the ends and hung down.

Regarding her figure, Akira Sarutobi couldn't help but steal a few glances.

Her ordinary clothes couldn't hide her... lower body.

That's right, her lower body.

Akira Sarutobi had always thought such a figure only existed in manga and games, never imagining... there were people like this in the real world.

The sun rose over the sea, casting a brilliant glow.

The sea breeze blew, lifting her face covering and revealing her compassionate eyes.

The sanctity of her face, combined with her lower body, created a... unique charm.

Akira Sarutobi stared intently at the approaching figure.

It wasn't until the girl reached him that Akira Sarutobi slowly spoke, "Walking Miko... Yakushi Nonō."

"Young Master Ryo."

Yakushi Nonō nodded slightly and greeted him.

Perhaps everyone in Konoha knew of Akira Sarutobi.

However... very few people knew the alias "Walking Miko."

This title was earned in the dark underworld, unknown to the ninjas in the bright, surface world.

Nonō was slightly surprised, then wondered... if Lord Danzō had personally told this young master.

Yakushi Nonō sized up Akira Sarutobi.

Akira Sarutobi, naturally, was also observing her.

For some reason... this character from the Hokage series seemed to have a very cold attitude towards him, even a hint of hostility.

Of course, as Konoha's top spy, Nonō was skilled at hiding her thoughts.

This coldness flashed and disappeared, replaced by her usual approachable demeanor.

Akira Sarutobi, with his excellent memory, couldn't recall ever offending her.

"I am the contact person for this assessment mission. I've already seen the orders from Lord Danzō..."

Yakushi Nonō adjusted her round glasses.

The glasses lent her an air of intellect.

The ninjas of Root had unique communication methods.

Even from a thousand miles apart, they could transmit messages to each other in a short amount of time.

"Mhm," Akira Sarutobi nodded. "Please tell me the specific objectives of this assessment mission..."

"Don't rush."

Nonō turned and gestured for Akira Sarutobi to follow.

Behind them, Ino Yamanaka quickly ran to pick up the shoes.

"For this assessment mission, based on my observations, it would be most suitable to act at night..."

A female ninja who had rendered great service to Konoha during the war, now returned to the country for post-war cleanup duties.

"The target of the mission belongs to a yakuza organization that has taken root in the local port."

Yakuza organizations are also known as criminal syndicates.

Similar to real-world Japan... the yakuza in this world were mostly composed of former samurai, ronin, and rogue ninjas.

During the Warring States period, ninjas had driven the samurai off the historical stage.

Some samurai went to the Land of Iron and established a neutral nation.

Others chose to work as bodyguards, escorts... or formed yakuza organizations to make a living.

Even the ninjas of the Five Great Nations couldn't possibly be involved in every aspect of a country's internal affairs.

Therefore, tacitly allowing the existence of these samurai and ronin became a universally observed rule.

"Look there."

Entering the outskirts of the small town, Yakushi Nonō arrived at the rooftop of an abandoned building and pointed into the distance.

The eyesight of ninjas was generally very good.

In the original work, during the Chunin Exams, Might Guy and Kakashi could clearly see Orochimaru within the Purple Fire Formation from hundreds of meters away.

As for Akira Sarutobi... because of the System, farsightedness was no longer a problem.

As his right pupil contracted and dilated.

The distant scenery immediately zoomed in, allowing him to observe the target with a higher magnification.

On the dock, a group of workers were transporting goods back and forth.

A small number of samurai and ronin were distinct from them.

These samurai maintained order, and their unified attire indicated their affiliation with the yakuza organization.

"Young Master, they're all ordinary people..."

Ino Yamanaka, who had caught up at some point, sensed the area in the distance and found that they were indeed all ordinary people.

Even the samurai were only slightly stronger physically and had a bit more chakra.

They were far from the level of the samurai in the Land of Iron.

One had to know that the samurai of the Land of Iron could contend with ninjas.

"Who is their mastermind?" Akira Sarutobi turned his head to look at the spy, the female ninja, who was shorter than him.

"..."

Nonō fell silent.

She wondered if this young master had figured it out himself or if Lord Danzō had told him.

"The Twelve Guardian Shinobi... the people beside the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire."

"Oh?"

Akira Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

Just as Yakushi Nonō thought this young master, the Second Generation Hokage's descendant, would choose to make a long-term plan, or even contact Lord Hokage...

The words that came out of Akira Sarutobi's mouth left her stunned: "Then let's kill these yakuza leaders one by one first, and lure out the mastermind."

"What, is there a problem?" Nonō's expression changed slightly at Akira Sarutobi's directness.

"No problem, we'll proceed according to your plan, Young Master Ryo."

Nonō nodded.

"If we're going to act, I still suggest doing it at night... that way we won't startle the ordinary people..."

"Mhm, alright... Next, I need to scout the area..."

After speaking, Akira Sarutobi left directly with Ino Yamanaka.

Gazing at their retreating figures, Nonō adjusted her glasses, a hint of curiosity about this young master stirring within her.

"Perhaps... the description in the intelligence isn't entirely accurate..."

Chapter 23: Black Reaper · Akira Sarutobi

The docks at night were calm and peaceful.

After a busy day, people extinguished their lights after dinner.

The entire port town slowly sank into darkness.

Not long after, the quiet road was disturbed by a growing commotion from afar.

A leader of the local yakuza, after gorging himself, was returning to their hideout with a few subordinates.

However, they soon stopped in their tracks.

Because...

Under the dim streetlights ahead, a figure stood there, entirely black, wearing a white mask.

Soon, the figure began walking towards them, their speed increasing.

"Who is it?!"

Years of navigating the underbelly made the yakuza members instantly tense up.

As the yakuza leader spoke, Akira Sarutobi had already reached them.

Covered from head to toe, Akira Sarutobi only revealed his hair and ears.

His face was completely hidden by the white mask.