He couldn't help but wish such a powerful summoning beast belonged to him.
After all, a strong summoned beast could truly elevate a ninja to the peak of life.
The best example?
The "Legendary Three" — Konoha's top-tier superstar trio.
Even outsiders were shocked,
let alone Akira's two best friends.
Honda Taka and Yamakawa Koji exchanged bewildered glances,
wondering if the Akira they usually knew was just a hallucination.
Because normally, their buddy either skipped school or just lay around doing nothing.
And yet, right now — in front of their stunned eyes…
Whoosh!
A figure shot out from the shattered ground, charging straight at Akira.
It was Kakashi.
Clang!
His short sword was blocked by the sharp beak of Taiichi (Akira's summoned ninja crow).
Beak strikes, claw swipes, wing slashes!
Taiichi forcefully blocked Kakashi's swift and ruthless attacks.
And it wasn't just defense —
whenever Kakashi tried to maneuver around,
the nearly person-sized Taiichi would launch aggressive counterattacks, forcing him to retreat and defend.
Don't underestimate the ninja crow —
with the help of its wings, its short-distance lunges were no slower than Kakashi.
After several exchanges,
Kakashi was clearly losing steam.
Realizing his taijutsu couldn't handle Taiichi,
Kakashi leapt back, putting some distance between them.
He quickly formed hand signs while taking a deep breath.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A fireball the size of a wagon wheel shot forward.
(Note: The Uchiha clan's Fireball Jutsu is a secret technique — compared to the Flame Bullet, it's stronger and consumes less chakra. There are many such powerful fire-style clan techniques, which is why the Uchiha can rightfully call themselves the "strongest fire-style family.")
Caw!
Facing the incoming flame bullet, Taiichi spread its wings and inhaled sharply.
The surrounding air pressure spiked dramatically.
Seeing this,
the watching ninjas around the field grew alarmed.
"What's it doing?!"
"Stop it, quick!"
"It's too late!"
…
Just by the buildup, they knew the next attack would be no joke.
It wouldn't threaten seasoned ninjas,
but for a mere ninja student — not even a genin — it could be deadly.
However, because of the sealing barrier around the field,
it was now too late to intervene.
BOOM!
A violent wave of fire burst out from Taiichi, surging forward and instantly engulfing the area several meters ahead.
Crash!
"Kakashi!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen (the Third Hokage) forcibly smashed through the barrier and rushed into the training field.
Only after confirming Kakashi had merely passed out from the heat did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
On the other side…
Having unleashed its full-strength attack,
Taiichi's chakra was completely depleted,
forcing it to end the summoning contract and disappear.
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, Akira Sato was immediately surrounded.
"Akira Sato, we suspect you're a spy from another ninja village.
You'll come with us to the ANBU for questioning."
The leading ANBU ninja's voice was cold and sharp.
Hearing this, Akira didn't argue —
because, frankly, he had no standing to argue.
By status, he was just a ninja academy student, not even a genin.
By strength, even going all-out, he was only below genin level.
Taiichi, when going all-out, might threaten a chunin —
but that was only if the opponent didn't know its abilities.
So, whether by rank or by power,
Akira had no room to resist.
As for appealing to reason?
Sorry — being a ninja was never a job about fairness or reason.
But Akira didn't regret anything.
Just moments ago, Kakashi had attacked with the determination to kill him.
In the world of ninjas,
you could only kill if you were prepared to be killed.
Kakashi surely understood that.
The fact that Kakashi survived Taiichi's full-force attack was pure skill —
it wasn't because Akira had held back.
If someone's trying to kill you,
holding back is just plain stupidity.
Still, Akira didn't hate Kakashi.
Because the one truly after his life wasn't Kakashi —
it was that old fox Danzo.
He hadn't expected that after all his efforts to lay low,
he still couldn't dodge the trap in the end.
Just as Akira was wondering whether he should risk everything in a desperate move…