Path of the Beast-A Grand Serial Release!

The other side had come late at night for nothing more than the intelligence they could get about Kirigakure. Saving her was probably for that reason too.

After all, the title of Seven Ninja Swordsmen was quite intimidating.

As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, she more or less... knew some highly valuable intelligence.

As for betraying her village.

Would anyone really swear unwavering loyalty to a hellhole like Kirigakure?

Ah... there were people like that.

There were far too many blindly loyal fools in Kirigakure.

They had been played like fiddles by that old bastard, the Third Mizukage...

Thoughts churned through Ringo Ameyuri's mind as she considered all sorts of things.

"What do you want to know? Where should I start...?"

However, Akira Sarutobi did not care what she said at all.

Because it was time to test a certain function of the "system."

In the darkness, Ringo Ameyuri felt her scalp tingle.

The other party's presence came from above her head.

Lying on the bed, she could not move, and the treatment had left her body even weaker.

This was supposed to be the time for proper rest.

Outside, thunder and rain raged.

If Raiga Kurosuki had mastered Thunder Sword Fang, he could naturally try to draw down heavenly lightning in this weather and attack with it, breaking the barrier faster.

But in reality, having only just obtained the Thunder Sword, he could not fully unleash its power.

So...

"Three days from now, you won't be the only one who has grown stronger..."

That guy Raiga Kurosuki was surely becoming familiar with how to use the Thunder Sword as well.

Only then did Akira Sarutobi respond. "You don't need to worry about that... I only want to ask you one thing. Even if you kill Raiga Kurosuki instead, you still won't return to the village, will you?"

"..."

Ringo Ameyuri fell silent.

Her appearance was exceptionally clear within the field of vision of Akira Sarutobi's right eye.

Even darkness could not stop him from seeing.

As he continued using his right eye, its functions expanded further and further.

"The ones who want you dead are Kirigakure's higher-ups. They have decided that Raiga Kurosuki is the next inheritor of the Thunder Sword, so... they set a trap and sent forty people here. On the surface, they were here to help you complete the mission, but in truth... they were here to ensure that Raiga Kurosuki could successfully recover Thunder Sword Fang..."

Akira Sarutobi's string of analysis brought a flash of bitterness to Ringo Ameyuri's eyes.

She had worked so hard for Kirigakure her entire life.

That life had not been very long.

But why... did it still make her feel so sad?

All of her time had been spent training, carrying out missions, scheming against others, and surviving...

Fighting alone, enduring unimaginable loneliness.

She really... wanted to fall in love...

Ringo Ameyuri had never had a boyfriend. If there was any great regret in her life—perhaps her only regret—

It was that she had never experienced love.

Before Ringo Ameyuri could indulge in a girl's particular sentimentality,

Akira Sarutobi had already reached out and placed his palms on either side of her head.

Sizzle...

As Akira Sarutobi pulled toward the head of the bed—that was, toward himself—

Ringo Ameyuri's head was pulled off the bed.

It looked as though everything below her neck remained on the bed, while her head hung in the air, held between two palms.

"What... is this guy going to do?"

With her head pinned down, Ringo Ameyuri felt extremely uncomfortable.

It was an instinctive reaction.

Ninjas of Kirigakure kept their distance from others, like... lone wolves.

No matter how hard she racked her brains, she could not guess what Akira Sarutobi intended to do next.

"I have a good suggestion..."

Akira Sarutobi spoke again, his voice carrying a certain temptation...

Just as Danzo had said, Akira Sarutobi was an extremely pure person.

At the same time, there was light within him, as well as darkness that even Danzo had not yet clearly seen.

Danzo only knew that the darkness in Akira Sarutobi's heart was equally pure.

But exactly what form it took... was something even Danzo did not yet understand.

And now.

Akira Sarutobi, merged with the darkness, finally let the darkness within his heart erupt.

In truth, Akira Sarutobi had never claimed to be a good person, much less a saint.

Even so, it did not stop him from having a good side he wished to uphold.

After all, people... were inherently mixtures of good and evil.

Like the Gemini Gold Saint, with two sides in one body.

"What suggestion?" Ringo Ameyuri's face turned a little paler.

With someone restraining her head, what could she do?

"I'll help you kill Raiga Kurosuki. After that... I hope you'll become my partner..."

"Oh?" Akira Sarutobi's suggestion brought back the teasing expression she had worn when they first met.

At that moment... confidence, elegance, and a hint of wildness emerged from her.

This was... one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

"Sounds good, but what extra benefits are there to becoming your partner?"

"Money, help with solving troubles, a place to hide..."

Akira Sarutobi listed a whole host of benefits.

When Ringo Ameyuri heard that Akira Sarutobi had unified the underworld of that port town and taken control of that woman's business,

Her eyes began to brighten, or rather... her expression became somewhat strange.

"You're... kind of interesting..."

"My wish is to become Hokage and the strongest ninja, and ultimately change Konoha and the ninja world..."

Akira Sarutobi revealed his ambition.

"As for why I saved you..."

Akira Sarutobi paused, giving her time to digest it.

"At present... Konoha has the same problem. My swordsmanship teacher... Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, has encountered a situation similar to yours..."

"..."

Ringo Ameyuri's eyes suddenly widened.

After the shock came a flood of disbelief.

Konoha really is dark. You're even trying to frame a powerhouse like Konoha's White Fang to death?

The name Konoha's White Fang was famous far and wide.

Before him, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were nothing.

Ringo Ameyuri had no doubt that if any one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen faced Konoha's White Fang alone, they would be killed in an instant.

They were simply not opponents on the same level.

Such a powerhouse, someone before whom even the Legendary Sannin seemed vague and distant—Konoha... actually wanted to abandon him?

"There's not much time left..."

Akira Sarutobi murmured.

Kakashi should have already graduated and joined Minato Namikaze's team by now.

That meant Hatake Sakumo's date of death was drawing near.

With his arrival in this world, many things would no longer develop as they had in the original story.

Some events might very well happen ahead of time.

So he had to make preparations early instead of rigidly waiting for set event timelines.

He had to become stronger.

Strength, power, money...

Then he would take control of his own life and the lives of others, changing every tragedy.

Changing... everything bad.

In the end, he would let the light of the Will of Fire shine upon the entire planet!

"Then..."

Akira Sarutobi lowered his head and looked at the shocked genius girl.

"To make our partnership more pleasant, I need to... add a few small restraints..."

"Steel Release"!

In the darkness, the Sarutobi Clan's summoned weapon, the immensely powerful Adamantine Staff... slowly rose.

Ringo Ameyuri had yet to foresee the approaching danger.

Then, Akira Sarutobi covered the weapon with another layer of Steel Release.

Holding Ringo Ameyuri's head,

Akira Sarutobi struck fiercely.

Screech~!

"Ugh~!"

Chapter 39: Path of the Beast—A Grand Serial Release!

Boom!

Thunder crackled through the forest.

Rain poured down.

On this stormy night, Ino Yamanaka, Nonō, and Ruri Hyuga slept.

Outside the barrier.

Thirty Kirigakure ninjas, including Raiga Kurosuki, had also fallen into shallow sleep.

Some things were quietly happening, unknown to anyone.

Darkness... ran rampant within the room where Ringo Ameyuri was held.