Young Master, Please Become Hokage

The mask's appearance seemed to be smiling, giving off a chilling feeling.

At this moment, Akira Sarutobi was only 3 meters away from the opponent.

The distance was too short, leaving the opponent no time to react.

A cold killing intent poured out, directly freezing the blood of the several gangsters present.

Killing intent.

In his previous life, it might have been considered metaphysics.

But in the world of Naruto, it was a tangible thing.

For example, Zabuza's killing intent made the young Team 7 members tremble.

Or Orochimaru's killing intent made Kakashi see an illusion of his own head being blown off.

The essence of killing intent was the release of spiritual energy.

And spiritual energy was one of the components that formed chakra.

The stronger a ninja was, the more people they had killed, the stronger their spiritual energy, and naturally, the stronger their killing intent.

Akira Sarutobi's promotion to Jonin wasn't due to his status as the Second Hokage's son, but through his own hard work, carving his path through mountains of corpses. Therefore, his killing intent was incredibly substantial.

"Crushing Palm."

Akira Sarutobi raised his hand, without any unnecessary words.

Bang!

In his raised palm, transparent shockwaves began to ripple.

But this scene was not as simple as Jirobō blocking Choji's Human Bullet Tank in the original story.

As the powerful shockwaves swept through the area, transmitting their force.

To the gangsters, the speed of the power was so fast they couldn't see it. Their leader had no reaction, only a crack sound from his neck, and his entire head was sent flying.

"..."

The surrounding individuals stood frozen in place.

There was shock, disbelief... but none of it mattered.

Facing Akira Sarutobi, whose strength had reached Jonin level, their bodies were as fragile as paper.

The gap between a Jonin and an ordinary wild samurai was like the difference between clouds and mud.

Soon, screams erupted, the sounds of broken bones echoing on the night street...

Not long after, several corpses were discovered here.

That very night, the gangsters mobilized. They began searching the surrounding areas, questioning residents, trying to find the killer.

However, this was merely the beginning.

In the following days, the situation developed beyond the gang's expectations.

Several leaders were attacked in different ways.

Some had their hearts exploded, others had their heads blown off... They had one thing in common: they were killed in a single move.

From small-scale searches at the start, to the entire port town in chaos.

As the gang's leaders died one after another, panic began to spread.

And according to eyewitness accounts from ordinary people, the killer they saw was a figure wearing a white mask and dressed all in black.

After committing multiple consecutive crimes, the culprit gained a nickname.

People called him the "Black Reaper."

"Black Reaper, haha... they really know how to come up with nicknames."

Ino Yamanaka was clearly enthusiastic about this killing game, thinking of different ways to torment the gangsters every day and offering various assassination suggestions to Akira Sarutobi.

"..."

Akira Sarutobi frowned.

What a common nickname, he thought.

"It's quite good, Young Master," Ino Yamanaka said, hugging one of Akira Sarutobi's arms. "Look... Minato Namikaze is called the Golden Flash, and you're called the Black Reaper. Not only does it create symmetry, but the Reaper is far more powerful than the Flash, isn't it?"

Akira Sarutobi shook his head, not bothering with these trivial matters. Instead, he looked at Yakushi Nonō, whose expression was solemn.

"Young Master Ryo, according to our informants, your actions were very successful... The one in the Land of Fire's capital can't sit still any longer and is coming from there..."

"That one," naturally referred to one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi.

But even with Yakushi Nonō's intelligence-gathering capabilities, it was impossible to infiltrate the Daimyo's mansion at close range without being detected by the 12 experts.

Therefore, she still didn't know whether the matter of selling national assets was the work of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, or... if it involved high-ranking officials, or even the Daimyo himself.

If the investigation yielded unsatisfactory results, the mission would have to be terminated, and the matter would be treated as if it never happened.

"It's nothing. If it's one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, I'll just kill them. If it's the Daimyo himself, I'll report it to Lord Third Hokage."

Akira Sarutobi replied with neither humility nor arrogance. His recent decisive actions seemed to have slightly improved Yakushi Nonō's attitude.

"I need detailed information on the Twelve Guardian Shinobi."

Akira Sarutobi stated his request.

If that person came, he would have to be prepared.

"Hmm..." Nonō nodded and produced a scroll.

Akira Sarutobi unrolled it and quickly scanned the information.

The Twelve Guardian Shinobi were private soldiers specifically tasked with protecting the Daimyo.

Apart from Asuma, who joined them in later years, the selection of ninja for this role was always conducted among the populace.

The Land of Fire was vast and prosperous, and the Konoha ninja village couldn't possibly oversee every inch of its territory.

Therefore, rogue ninja from various backgrounds who possessed some aptitude became candidates for recruitment.

"The qualification for the Twelve Guardian Shinobi assessment requires Jonin as a basic prerequisite..."

Nonō adjusted her glasses and explained.

In other words, every single one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi was at least Jonin-level in strength.

"Because they are the Daimyo's private soldiers and not from Konoha... some of them may have political views that don't align with ours..."

Nonō's explanation was rather vague.

Simply put, these individuals, leveraging their position with the Daimyo, didn't pay much heed to Konoha.

"I've already mobilized comrades from the 'Root' in the surrounding areas. It's best to capture her alive, and we'll decide after interrogation..."

"Understood..."

Akira Sarutobi replied calmly and rolled up the scroll.

He then stood up and entered the underground space compacted by Earth Style jutsu.

There, Akira Sarutobi would conduct his daily training, as he had been doing for the past few days.

Soon, muffled explosions could be heard from underground.

Within Ino Yamanaka's sensory field, her Young Master's strength... was growing stronger and stronger...

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Twelve Guardian Shinobi, the Enemy Appears!

Two afternoons later.

The sun began to set.

A girl with blonde hair tied in a single ponytail stood on the beach, watching the sunset.

The orange-golden light cast a dazzling glow on her fair, delicate face.

Akira Sarutobi gazed at her profile, having finished their day's outing.

At his childhood friend's insistent request, Akira Sarutobi had not practiced Taijutsu today but had spent the entire day playing with her.

"Young Master~, I want to eat street food later..."

The girl turned her head, revealing a brilliant smile.

Her smile possessed a deeply infectious quality. Akira Sarutobi nodded slightly and then took her hand.

Ino Yamanaka's cheeks flushed, and she seemed to recall their first kiss from that night.

The two strolled along the beach, listening to the sound of the waves.

They slowly made their way back to the street.

By the time darkness fully enveloped the sky, the port town had once again become lively.

Vendors selling goods and food were everywhere.

"I want to eat takoyaki."

Ino Yamanaka pointed to a stall.

A moment later, she was holding a generous handful of takoyaki.

As the two were aimlessly wandering, a woman in lavish attire approached them.

From her clothing to her jewelry, it was evident that she was wealthy.

Describing her as bedecked in jewels and pearls wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"Little girl, are you here for a vacation too?" she stopped in front of Ino Yamanaka and began to examine them.

"Yes." Ino Yamanaka blinked, her expression innocent and naive. "Are you a tourist too, big sister?"

Akira Sarutobi remained silent beside her.

Ever since the other party appeared, Akira Sarutobi's expression hadn't changed, but his mind was already on high alert.

Every muscle, every bone, was ready to explode into action, prepared for battle at any moment.

This was because, within his right eye's field of vision, the opponent's body was like a fireball, emitting a large amount of light and heat.

This clearly distinguished her from the vast crowd around.

Judging by the intensity of her chakra, she had reached Jonin-level quality.

It was like throwing a star into a pile of dull pebbles.

Jonin-level power was active within the other party's body.

What made Akira Sarutobi feel even more familiar was the scent of blood that clung to her... or rather, the faint killing intent.

The arrogant disdain of a predator towards its prey was displayed perfectly on her.

After a brief chat, the other party let out a series of bell-like laughs, "It might get a little chaotic here in the next few days... Little sister, you should hurry and leave with your companions..."

"..."

Akira Sarutobi coldly watched the other party disappear into the vast sea of people.

At this moment, Ino Yamanaka's expression also shifted from innocent and pure to a mischievous, devilish grin, "Heh... Is this the target? She doesn't seem ordinary..."

In the original story, Pain said that each of the Five Great Nations had a population starting from 100 million.

Therefore... the Twelve Guardian Shinobi were the elite chosen from 100 million people.

Even if the Twelve weren't the absolute strongest, they were at least first-class experts.

Countless people flocked to the Daimyo's recruitment each time; how could such existences be mere background characters?

"Let's go, back."