Chapter 45: A New Research Project

"Judging by his reluctance to show his true face, I don't think he's really Uchiha Madara," Akira said, his face contemplative. "However, he's definitely awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, so he must be connected to Madara in some way—maybe even as his successor."

"What about his abilities?" Hiruzen pressed for more details.

"In our brief encounter, it was clear his Fire Release skills are exceptional, and his reflexes are incredibly sharp—definitely not just an average ninja." Akira then looked at Minato Namikaze. "On top of that, he has a space-time ninjutsu similar to yours, Minato. He's quite proficient in it."

"Troublesome... space-time ninjutsu..." Hiruzen muttered, feeling a vein throbbing in his temple as he sensed his blood pressure rising. Space-time jutsu opponents rendered many defensive measures ineffective.

Minato's fame largely stemmed from his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique. Against an enemy with similar abilities, it was nearly impossible to prevent their escape.

There's no sealing barrier in the ninja world that can fully counter space-time ninjutsu.

Koharu turned to Hiruzen with a serious expression. "Hiruzen, what do we do?"

Hiruzen shook his head, unable to come up with a plan on the spot. Gathering an elite force to storm the Amegakure was out of the question.

The Akatsuki's base location was unknown. Such a move would only alert them, pushing them to hide deeper underground—a troublesome outcome indeed.

After pondering for a while, Hiruzen had to admit that Konoha currently had no effective countermeasures.

He looked around the room at the jonin assembled and asked, "Does anyone have any ideas?"

The jonin exchanged glances, but no one spoke. Handling an enemy with space-time ninjutsu was no small feat.

If they had pinpointed the Akatsuki's base, a surprise attack might work—especially if they could separate their targets and neutralize the ninja with the Rinnegan. But without knowing their location, the plan was unworkable.

The meeting concluded without any concrete results. In the end, Hiruzen could only remind each clan to stay vigilant around Konoha's perimeter and instructed the Uchiha to strengthen their patrols.

As for Jiraiya, Hiruzen decided to temporarily restrict his movements, keeping him from leaving Konoha. How long that would last depended entirely on Hiruzen's judgment. For now, Konoha didn't need Jiraiya out in the field, keeping him here would prevent him from charging into the Amegakure and meeting a premature end.

Instead of returning to the Uchiha compound right away, Akira headed to the ShinTen Biotech, where he had his own lab. Here, he stored rare items he had obtained, like the severed tail of the Six-Tails and the shell of the Ten-Tails' body he had taken.

This lab was restricte,; only he had access.

He gazed at the budding Divine Tree on the table—a massive, gnarled branch, seemingly composed of blood and flesh from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Akira stroked his chin, his eyes thoughtful.

After a moment, he cut a fist-sized piece of the Six-Tails' flesh from a container nearby and placed it on the half-meter-long branch. Then, he activated his scarlet Sharingan, watching intently.

After a few moments, he muttered to himself, "Just as I thought... The branch formed from the statue's flesh has a natural tendency to absorb chakra."

Through his Sharingan, he could clearly see the Six-Tails' flesh, as though drawn by an invisible vortex, being absorbed into the branch. Bit by bit, the flesh turned into chakra, melding into the branch.

Thirty minutes passed, and the piece of Six-Tails' flesh had completely vanished, as if it had never existed. The branch from the statue appeared unchanged, looking no different from any ordinary piece of deadwood.

"What would happen if I allowed this branch to absorb chakra from all nine Tailed Beasts? Could it revive the Ten-Tails? Would that grant me the power of the Six Paths?"

Akira rubbed his chin thoughtfully, sensing the potential in this line of experimentation. He wasn't expecting to cultivate an actual Divine Tree, but the possibility of acquiring Six Paths power was tempting.

If it came down to it, he could follow in the footsteps of the Gold and Silver Brothers, consuming Ten-Tails' flesh directly to become a pseudo-Ten-Tails jinchuriki.

(T/N: The brothers survived inside Kurama for two weeks by eating the beast's flesh; this would eventually lead to the fox regurgitating them. This left them with unusually large chakra-reserves and abilities similar to those of a jinchūriki.)

A pseudo-Ten-Tails jinchuriki—such an entity would wield power akin to a true Ten-Tails jinchuriki, possessing the strength of the Six Paths. Their might and very essence would be on an entirely different level.

With this in mind, Akira took the half-meter-long branch and went to find Nonō Yakushi, who was busy working in the lab.

"Akira, did you need something?" Nonō looked up, noticing the large branch Akira was holding, and seemed curious.

Instead of explaining directly, Akira asked, "Are you managing your workload alright?"

"It's manageable. Compared to my time as a spy, this is nothing. At least now, I still have time to care for the children," Nonō replied with a gentle smile.

"Good," Akira nodded. "If you have time, I'd like you to assemble a new team to study this branch. Your goal is to analyze its properties thoroughly, and, ideally, see if it can be revived and made to grow."

Nonō took the branch from him, inspecting it carefully before nodding with resolve.

"I'll put together a new team right away. But how soon we'll understand its properties... that, I can't promise."

Akira nodded. "I understand. Just focus on the research. If you need more people, reach out to HR. Have them keep hiring as needed."

"Got it. Rest assured, the research won't lag due to lack of personnel," Nonō said with determination.

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