A week passed in the blink of an eye.
After getting a taste of being a gangster, Ino Yamanaka had become a true gang boss.
In the outskirts stood a luxurious villa.
The estate that had once belonged to that woman now belonged to Akira Sarutobi.
Ino Yamanaka took out a bankbook and placed it before Ruri Hyuga.
A few days ago, after Ruri arrived and Ino Yamanaka pulled her in to help, she accelerated the process of unifying the gangs.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan had a maximum viewing range of ten kilometers. It was immensely useful for catching people and scouting locations.
"Ruri, this is your share~. Thanks for the effort."
With the establishment of a legitimate shipping company, everything returned to normal.
In addition, Ino Yamanaka gave a strict order for her underlings to keep their mouths shut.
The goal was to avoid alerting the enemy, successfully meet with the Hidden Mist ninja, and begin the hunting operation.
"..."
The flat-chested Byakugan girl looked at the bankbook in her hands, and her expression shifted slightly.
Because... she had been given far too much.
Since becoming a ninja, she had never seen this much money.
"Money is the root of all evil, but it's also the source of happiness. All right... Ruri, go take a look around today. Buy whatever you want..."
Ino Yamanaka patted her teammate on the shoulder.
Ever since they were children, Ino Yamanaka had played the role of an older sister to Ruri Hyuga.
After all, Ruri Hyuga had a tragic background and suffered from severe depression, so Ino Yamanaka naturally cared for her deeply.
After Ruri Hyuga turned to leave.
Ino Yamanaka waved at her. "Be back before evening... Don't get carried away."
Nighttime was when they would act.
"Let's see how the young master's training is going..."
Ino Yamanaka put away the other bankbooks, quickly turned around, and entered the underground section of the estate.
In the vast underground space.
Akira Sarutobi sat cross-legged in the center, with more than ten identical versions of himself seated before him.
This technique was the "Shadow Clone Power-Up Training Method."
The principle was to create one or more Shadow Clones and have them train in Chakra nature transformation.
Because Shadow Clones could relay their memories, experience, and knowledge back to the original body, it meant one person could multitask.
It was like upgrading from a single computer to parallel processing across multiple computers.
Over the past week.
Akira Sarutobi's original body had remained here the entire time.
The one who went outside had merely been one of his Shadow Clones.
Multiple Shadow Clones training together was equivalent to activating a "multi-experience power-up."
One Shadow Clone could double training speed.
Ten Shadow Clones could increase training speed by more than tenfold.
In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki used this move to master the S-rank Wind Style: Rasenshuriken in just one week.
In theory, the more Shadow Clones one created, the faster one could train.
But there was a prerequisite.
It was "Chakra volume."
If a ninja was neither a Jinchuriki nor exceptionally gifted, then their Chakra volume was actually limited.
The less Chakra one had, the fewer clones they could create with the Shadow Clone technique, and the greater the risk of using it.
As a member of the Sarutobi Clan, Akira Sarutobi possessed a strong body and a relatively large Chakra volume, though not to the absurd extent of a Jinchuriki.
Training with ten Shadow Clones allowed him to maintain a basic level of combat strength and respond to enemies at any time.
Compared to Naruto Uzumaki, however, Akira Sarutobi had one enormous advantage.
That was his intelligence, as well as the Ninjutsu Doctor talent inherited from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A powerful mind and talent granted him the ability to comprehend techniques at lightning speed.
Deconstructing, analyzing, and reconstructing a technique formula was not particularly difficult for him.
Therefore...
Akira Sarutobi's training progress over the past week had been astonishing.
The combination of Shadow Clones and a highly intelligent mind had produced extremely remarkable training results.
After a week of grueling training, Akira Sarutobi's original body and Shadow Clones now all exuded a faint aura of sharpness and strength.
Within the field of vision of his right eye.
Chakra Flow circulated around the ten Shadow Clones before him.
Like a current of air, yet also like a thin membrane, it formed over their skin.
This "membrane," like a force field, was the result of Akira Sarutobi's training... the Steel Style: Kekkei Genkai!
Crimson Lotus
The next second.
Six Shadow Clones dispersed, their memories, experience, and Chakra returning to Akira Sarutobi.
The remaining four Shadow Clones rose and walked toward Akira Sarutobi's original body.
Hiss...
As the four Shadow Clones assumed their stances, their fists and kicks rained down upon the original body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
A rapid series of blows immediately echoed through the underground space.
Akira Sarutobi's original body stood in the center, unmoving as a towering mountain.
Only after the barrage of punches and kicks stopped did Akira Sarutobi completely dismiss the remaining four Shadow Clones.
"Phew..."
Letting out a long breath, Akira Sarutobi inspected the surface of his body.
The Steel Style Chakra flowing across his skin had grown denser.
This Kekkei Genkai, similar to the hard-body training, Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth Shirt, and even internal force techniques from his previous life, gave Akira Sarutobi additional resistance to attacks.
He casually took out a kunai and slashed it across his palm.
A faint red mark appeared, and traces of blood slowly seeped out.
Akira Sarutobi could not help but nod. "My resistance to blunt attacks has risen sharply... I've also gained a slight resistance to sharp weapons..."
By fusing Earth Style and Yang Style in the proper ratio, he had successfully created the Steel Style: Kekkei Genkai. This was not as simple as gaining an extra ability.
A Kekkei Genkai... would gradually alter a person's DNA.
From the moment Akira Sarutobi created Steel Style Chakra, his body had begun transforming in an unknown direction.
For example, Pakura of the Scorching Style from the original story.
Logically speaking, the great desert environment of the Land of Wind should severely erode human skin over time.
Therefore, people living in the desert, especially ninja exposed to the elements, generally did not have good skin.
But... Pakura was an exception.
Fair skin, beautiful features, a proud bust, long legs... her skin was left exposed, yet it remained as white and smooth as milk.
That was because the Scorching Style Bloodline Limit was formed from the combination of Wind and Fire.
Pakura could not only withstand the desert's scorching heat, but could even ignore fierce winds.
That was the effect of a Kekkei Genkai altering human DNA.
At this moment.
Akira Sarutobi could clearly feel that his skin and subcutaneous tissue had undergone obvious changes.
The Steel Style: Kekkei Genkai had permanently altered them.
"Let's test the offensive side too..."
Akira Sarutobi took his stance and walked toward a one-cubic-meter iron block in the corner.
"Ha..."
He threw a punch. With a deafening clang, Ino Yamanaka, who had entered the underground space, could not help covering her ears. "Ugh..."
A piercing ringing echoed in her mind.
The Blonde Ponytail Girl could not help sighing. "The young master has become even stronger..."
Not to mention ordinary people—even among ninja, few would dare use their fists to directly clash against solid metal.
That was no different from being insane.
After throwing the punch, Akira Sarutobi withdrew his hand in satisfaction. "Not bad... My attack power has improved too. As for the recoil, it spreads from the fist to the arm and distributes the impact, which indirectly improves both offense and defense..."
"Young master, congratulations." Ino Yamanaka walked over and offered her congratulations.
"Mm. Give me a report on the situation."
Akira Sarutobi turned and headed toward the surface.
Now that his training had borne fruit, it was time to rest properly, get some sleep, and rise at night to begin the operation.
Ino Yamanaka followed behind him and explained the recent situation.
With the aid of Ruri's Byakugan perception, the security throughout the entire town had been thoroughly cleaned up.
The gangs that had once run wild had transformed into legitimate transportation companies that could provide jobs for ordinary people.
The former gang members had become something like security guards and city inspectors.
Of course, Ino Yamanaka had dealt with those with particularly bad records. For the time being, the entire port town's security had become exceptionally orderly.
"This is last month's income..."
Ino Yamanaka took out several bankbooks.
After the stolen money was used to make up for unpaid taxes, the remainder was returned to the local residents and used for construction and development.
What remained in the end was clean profit, Akira Sarutobi's share.
Akira Sarutobi casually took out a bankbook and handed it to Ino Yamanaka. "A-Hui, thanks for the effort..."
The girl shifted shyly, her face flushing slightly.
In a soft voice, she said, "This is... our family's..."
Ever since he kissed her last time and instilled the Will of Fire into her, some changes had quietly begun to take place.
Then, Ino Yamanaka snatched the bankbook away and carefully put it aside.
When Akira Sarutobi reached the surface, every piece of furniture he could need was already in place.
From now on, this place would become both an asset and a base.
Before you continue