Catching an Uchiha instead of his real target left Akio unsure whether to laugh or sigh.
"That guy to the north might've been the real one… or maybe not. He's getting more cautious by the minute," Akio muttered, letting out a long breath. "Madara's just one of his backup plans and who knows if he's the last one? …Missed him again."
Madara slowly took in the devastated surroundings, then frowned at the boy in front of him.
"This level of destruction isn't something a kid could pull off. Brat, what just happened here?"
Akio narrowed his eyes. "Who're you calling a brat, turtle?"
Madara's frown deepened. Something about the boy felt… familiar. The attitude, the face…
"You're from the Uzumaki clan, aren't you? What's your connection to that old man?"
Akio blinked. Didn't recognize me? Right, he's only seen me in my twenties. And now I'm eleven again… and this good-looking? No way he'd guess.
After a moment's thought, Akio shot back with a completely serious question:
"Well? Handsome or not?"
Madara: ???
His eyes sharpened. The Mangekyō Sharingan spun
Genjutsu.
Akio's expression twitched. His eyes snapped wide open.
"Who do you think you're trying that on?!"
"Rinnegan?!" Madara rarely showed surprise, but this time it was obvious. A moment later, his expression twisted. "Damn it! Which Uchiha disgraced the clan by marrying that old fossil?! At his age"
Akio: "…"
Has he been buried too long? This guy's thought process is… something else. Still smells like dirt, too.
Madara quickly caught up with himself. Awakening the Rinnegan wasn't something that just happened and the kid in front of him was far too young. And that cloak… clearly condensed Sage chakra.
"…Old man?"
Akio shook his head. "Hey now, who are you calling old? I'm just a kid."
"…Then who are you?"
Akio grinned.
"Call me Uzumaki Sandbag Punch."
Madara: "…"
"A Transformation Technique?"
"Nope. I just aged backward."
Madara: "…"
Then
"Hahahahahaha!"
Madara threw his head back and laughed. His Perfect Susanoo erupted around him.
"Fine! Let's fight, old man!"
Akio looked up in silence.
Did he just accept that? Or did I actually break him?
"…Was I too harsh?"
"…No?"
"…Then let's go even harder."
He clasped his hands together.
"Sage Art: Wood Release True Thousand Hands! And on top of that… a thousand extra sandbag-sized punches!"
"Bastard!"
A short while later inside the mental space.
Another villa rose from the ground.
Everyone listening to Uchiha Chiri recount stories of the past paused in surprise.
"Another one? Busy day today."
But the tremors didn't stop.
Around the villa, thick white walls burst from the ground, enclosing it completely. Written across them in bold black letters:
"Restricted Area. Dangerous, uncontained beast inside.
No entry—except Hashirama."
Everyone exchanged looks.
"Hmph." Tobirama snorted and turned away. "Lady Chiri , why don't you continue telling us about the old days?"
Chiri smiled faintly. "I've already shared most of what I know. Anything else would just be secondhand stories."
"That's fine," Mito said gently, following along.
Hashirama, however, stood there for a moment, then broke into a wide grin. Carrying his dice cup, he walked straight toward the wall. It didn't stop him at all.
"Looks like I've got a new gambling buddy… Madara!"
Back in the real world
Akio stood on what used to be a barren mountain, now flattened into a forested plain. He looked slightly wistful.
"Even holding back and just using Wood Release, Madara couldn't last ten minutes against me. Being this strong is… kind of lonely." He grinned. "Heh."
He glanced into his mental space and his expression immediately darkened.
Chiri … did you really have to tell them everything?
"…Ah, whatever. Let them talk." He pinched his smooth, youthful cheek. "Dignity's overrated anyway."
He stretched lazily.
"Time to head back to Konoha and collect some rewards. Wonder how badly Orochimaru got wrecked…"
Konoha had four major civilian districts.
The western district… was gone.
Completely destroyed by the clash between the giant cat and Shisui.
Over a thousand civilians were suddenly homeless, about eighty percent of them still unconscious. Imagine waking up from a nap and finding your house gone. Not exactly a great day.
Luckily, most people had been at the arena watching the exams, so casualties were relatively low just a few dozen.
Rin, even five months pregnant, personally oversaw the rescue effort. The injured were treated, and in the end, fewer than twenty people died.
A tragedy but it could've been far worse.
Akio stayed hidden nearby, watching as Rin assigned Naruto and the other examinees, along with several genin, D-rank missions to clear debris. Then he vanished again.
The battle at the arena had already ended. Obito, Nawaki, and the others were heading this way.
Inside the arena
Half the unconscious civilians had already been evacuated. The rest?
Left where they were.
The fight was over. Let them sleep it off.
Kushina held little Tsukika in her arms, still unconscious. Kimimaro and the others stood nearby.
Akio appeared beside Kushina.
"Where's Orochimaru?"
She turned, confused. "And whose kid are you?"
Akio grinned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well? Was I handsome back in my prime?"
"Lord!" Kimimaro blurted out.
"What?!" Karin's eyes went wide. "That brat is the elder?!"
Akio paused. Kimimaro recognizing him wasn't too surprising but Karin's reaction…
Shouldn't she be saying, No way someone that good-looking is him?
"You're really him?!" Kushina's voice echoed across the entire arena.
Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Minato all turned at once.
"What's going on?"
Ten minutes later
Everyone had reluctantly accepted the truth: Akio had literally become young again.
Hiruzen looked especially conflicted.
Kushina, meanwhile, had no sense of restraint; she was happily messing up Akio's hair, while Karin kept comparing their heights like it was a contest.
Yeah… there are definitely downsides to being young again.
Jiraiya looked like he wanted to crack a joke but instead just sighed.
Akio finally got back to the point, swatting Kushina's hand away.
"Orochimaru got away?"
"…He's dead."
"…Not a chance."
They led him to the center of the arena. Jiraiya pointed at a scorched patch of ground.
"He ran straight into the Four Crimson Ray Formation…"
Akio crouched and rubbed some ash between his fingers.
Nothing unusual.
But he didn't believe it for a second.
A notification echoed in his mind:
"Significant alteration to the Naruto storyline: Konoha Crush—Reward: 30 × 5 Witness Points."
"Significant alteration?" Akio chuckled. "Yeah… he's definitely not dead."
He paused, then frowned slightly.
"Wait… Orochimaru only targeted Hiruzen. Does wrecking the arena count as the whole Konoha Crush plan? This system really has its own way of judging things…"
---
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