hotmtlnovel Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Evaluating Kage-Level Power—Assessing Akira Uchiha’s Strength
Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Evaluating Kage-Level Power—Assessing Akira Uchiha’s Strength
Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Evaluating Kage-Level Power—Assessing Akira Uchiha’s Strength
Sunagakure was intimidated, Iwagakure was defeated, and Kumogakure, unable to stand alone, also withdrew. Akira Uchiha's mission to showcase Konoha's strength at the border had been completed ahead of schedule.
Naturally, after a brief rest, everyone prepared to return to the village.
Hyuga Hiashi, who had originally come to avenge his clan against Kumogakure, found himself without a battle to fight. With the situation resolved before they even reached the Land of Lightning, his journey felt somewhat pointless.
Of course, it wouldn't be appropriate to push Konoha into continuing a conflict with Kumogakure just for personal revenge.
As they prepared to leave, Akira suddenly spoke to Nara Shikaku, "I'll leave the return to Konoha in your hands."
"Akira, what do you mean?" Shikaku and the others looked at Akira in surprise.
He was perfectly fine when they came here-why wasn't he returning now?
They knew that for a shinobi, leaving the village without the Kage's approval was considered desertion, a serious offense.
"I have some matters to attend to. I'll be traveling with Jiraiya, and once we've taken care of things, we'll return," Akira explained briefly.
Well, if Akira was traveling with Jiraiya, that changed everything.
Jiraiya had been absent from the village for years and had never been treated as a missing- nin. Similarly, given Akira's current position as the most likely candidate for the next Hokage, his temporary absence wouldn't raise any issues.
"Understood!" Shikaku responded after a brief pause, recognizing that Akira must have something important to handle.
With that, the Konoha shinobi bid farewell to Akira and headed back to the village.
"Kid, what are you planning? And why drag me along?" Jiraiya asked once the others had left, curious about Akira's intentions.
"Jiraiya, how much do you know about the Akatsuki?" Instead of answering Jiraiya's question directly, Akira posed one of his own.
Hearing this, Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Akira in surprise. "You... you know about the Akatsuki too?"
"Itachi Uchiha has already become a missing-nin of Konoha. He is currently with the Akatsuki," Akira responded.
The fact that Itachi was a mole planted within the Akatsuki by Konoha was top secret, not something that could be shared openly.
However, in the original series, Itachi trusted Jiraiya, and Akira felt the same way.
"I see," Jiraiya said, understanding dawning on him. He also felt a bit touched-Akira had trusted him enough to share such a critical secret. In a way, this meant that Itachi's life was now in Jiraiya's hands.
"The Akatsuki is a deeply hidden organization, and each member's strength is formidable," Jiraiya continued. "So far, we don't know their true objective or who their leader is. But I do know that Orochimaru was once part of the Akatsuki."
"Recent information suggests that Orochimaru has already defected from the Akatsuki," Akira added, glancing at Jiraiya.
Much like Naruto chasing after Sasuke in hopes of bringing him back, Jiraiya had spent years pursuing Orochimaru, hoping to redeem him.
But sadly, in the original series, Jiraiya died without seeing two things: Naruto becoming Hokage and Orochimaru's eventual redemption.
"Oh? So he's already left the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya's expression shifted slightly at the news.
Part of his interest in tracking the Akatsuki had been due to Orochimaru's involvement, but now, hearing that Orochimaru had already left the organization...
"Yes, that's why I asked you to join me I'm going to find him," Akira explained, revealing the reason for their journey together.
The Third Hokage and the Third Tsuchikage were likely in the 40,000 to 50,000 range,
slightly stronger than the Sannin.
That's why Jiraiya needed to be in Sage Mode to pressure the Third Tsuchikage, and Akira had to open at least the Sixth Gate to keep up.
As for why Orochimaru could defeat the Third Hokage in the original series? That was after several more years had passed, and the Third had grown even older, his strength diminishing. Orochimaru had also used Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage, making it a desperate struggle that eventually led to the Third's death.
By using numbers to compare the strength of Kage-level shinobi, Jiraiya began to understand
the relative power levels of different Kage-tier fighters.
"You, kid, in your normal state, are probably just over 10,000," Jiraiya mused.
"But with the Six Gates open, you'd be around 40,000."
"And with the Seventh Gate? Probably around 70,000 to 80,000."
Recalling Akira's formidable performance with the Seventh Gate open, Jiraiya offered his
assessment of Akira's power levels.
"Yeah, that seems about right," Akira nodded, acknowledging that the estimate was fair.
"But something still doesn't add up," Jiraiya added, shaking his head after further reflection. "If Kage-level strength ranges from 10,000 to 70,000, then your power with the Seventh Gate open should be the strongest."
"At least, I haven't seen any Kage-level fighter who could match you in that state."
"So, I have to wonder if any Kage-level shinobi could reach 100,000," Jiraiya speculated.
"That's because you're unaware of Nagato's existence. With the Rinnegan, he's likely the pinnacle of Kage-level strength, and 100,000 would be a fair estimate for him," Akira
thought silently.
Just look at Nagato's feats in the original series.
Orochimaru was brought to his knees with a single Shinra Tensei from Tendo Pain.
The so-called demigod Hanzo, along with his forces from Amegakure, was utterly crushed by
Nagato's Gedo Mazo.
And with one powerful Shinra Tensei, Nagato obliterated the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
Such power was so overwhelming that, compared to him, ordinary Kage-level shinobi
seemed like children.
After evaluating these various power levels, Akira couldn't help but be astounded by the terrifying potential of the Eight Gates.
Especially the final gate, the Eighth Gate-it was unimaginably powerful, defying all logic...
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