Inside the Hokage Tower
Akio followed Hiruzen and Jiraiya through a modest building near the Hokage Tower. Hidden passages led them deep underground.
"I've actually never been down here before."
"Sen" Jiraiya stopped himself and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Calling you 'sir' feels strange now. You really think Orochimaru survived?"
"You two know him better than anyone. Does Orochimaru seem like the kind of guy who gets blasted into a barrier, turns into ash, and dies that easily?"
"It did seem suspicious," Jiraiya admitted. "That's why we kept the barrier active and searched carefully afterward. Even Karin confirmed that his chakra vanished completely at that moment. If he's alive... how did he escape?"
Akio thought for a moment.
"Maybe he transformed into a fly and buzzed away while nobody was looking."
Jiraiya stared.
Akio was joking, but the question still bothered him. He had no idea what trick Orochimaru had used.
"Then again," he muttered, "even if he turned into a fly, he wouldn't magically know how to fly. He's Orochimaru, not some monkey sage. Maybe he really did die and found a way to come back."
Before they reached the bottom of the stairs, they ran into Ibiki and Inoichi coming up from below.
"Lord Third. Lord Jiraiya."
The two men bowed respectfully while secretly eyeing the unfamiliar child accompanying them.
With a puff of smoke, Akio returned to his normal appearance.
"It's me."
"Senior!"
Both men looked relieved and thoroughly confused.
"Did you get anything useful?" Hiruzen asked.
Inoichi nodded.
"The prisoners are members of Otogakure, the Hidden Sound Village. Orochimaru founded it himself."
"Orochimaru founded his own village?" Hiruzen and Jiraiya exchanged surprised looks.
"The Sound Four are among its highest-ranking members. Above them are only three people: a Crystal Release kunoichi named Guren, a talkative fanatic named Hidan, and one undercover operative hidden inside Konoha. The village-wide genjutsu earlier was cast by that operative."
"A spy inside Konoha..." Hiruzen frowned. "Do we know who it is?"
Ibiki shook his head.
"Their memories don't contain his identity."
Akio hesitated.
He knew exactly who it was.
Kabuto.
But Orochimaru had already suffered enough today. Adding another nail to the coffin felt excessive even by his standards.
"There's one more thing," Inoichi continued. "Orochimaru's objective was to assassinate you, Lord Third."
"I see..." Hiruzen's expression grew complicated.
Akio coughed deliberately.
"That's enough nostalgia for one day. You already know how to verify whether Orochimaru survived. Send a team to the Hidden Sound Village. If Guren and Hidan are gone while everyone else remains, that's practically proof he escaped."
Jiraiya nodded.
"That does sound like something Orochimaru would do. Disposable pieces stay behind."
"I'll go myself. With Itachi and Yunchu, that should be enough."
Hiruzen glanced at Akio.
"Senior...?"
"Go ahead. But if you run into that Hidan guy, don't let him draw blood. He's effectively immortal, and his jutsu is trouble."
"The Jashin cultist?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "So Orochimaru really did..."
He stopped, understanding.
"I'll handle it."
A moment later, he vanished.
Hiruzen looked at Akio with the unmistakable expression of a man holding a hundred questions he wasn't sure he wanted answered.
Akio chuckled.
"You want to know why I know so much? Or whether Orochimaru's attack had something to do with me?"
He shook his head.
"I can't explain everything. Just know that Orochimaru never intended to kill you. Oh, and the destruction in Konoha's western district came from that oversized cat fighting Uchiha Shisui. I'll cover the damages."
"With the money I won betting on the Chūnin Exams."
Hiruzen blinked.
A dangerous thought crossed his mind.
There was a nonzero chance Akio had somehow orchestrated the entire disaster just to win a wager.
Fortunately, wisdom told him to keep that theory to himself.
"I understand," Hiruzen said slowly. "Shisui's return alone is enough to shake things up. Once Obito learns what happened to him, he'll lose his mind. I should go see him."
The Sound Four remained imprisoned while everyone waited for news from the Hidden Sound Village.
Depending on what Jiraiya found, they would either become bait for a trap or remain locked up indefinitely.
Konoha had rarely carried out executions in its history, and these four certainly weren't war criminals on that level.
Akio spent a moment studying Jirōbō.
The kid who had once been a chubby little ball of energy had grown into something considerably less adorable.
He shook his head and moved on.
Turning Orochimaru's subordinates into defectors wouldn't be easy.
Still, they gave him an idea.
Maybe Kimimaro could form a new "Five Guardians of Uzushio."
That sounded entertaining.
There might even be Witness Points in it.
For now, though, Akio pushed everything else aside.
He headed straight for Kushina's house, collapsed onto Naruto's bed, and projected his consciousness into his mental realm.
Inside the Mental Realm
The teahouse was crowded.
Everyone except Hashirama, who was off reconnecting with the "untamed beast" locked inside the newest mansion had gathered around Uchiha Chiri.
She sat calmly recounting stories from the Warring States Era while Akio's nephew occasionally added details.
Akio's form gradually materialized.
The first thing he did was inspect himself.
"My soul hasn't changed."
That made sense.
If Chiri's Mangekyō technique could have reduced his spiritual age as well, it would have been truly terrifying.
"Great-Uncle!"
Tobirama noticed him first.
The others turned to greet him.
Most were trying and failing to hide amused expressions.
Akio sighed.
Any authority he once possessed as an elder had clearly evaporated.
Then again, it had never been especially strong to begin with.
"Chiri," he said, "settling in alright?"
"It's not unpleasant."
Her blind gray eyes turned toward him.
"Did you find the man behind everything?"
Akio studied those sightless eyes.
A pulse of spiritual energy spread from him before fading away moments later.
"Even here, restoring your vision won't be easy. I'll have to figure something out."
He shook his head.
"No. He got away. The only thing I managed to catch was one very grumpy Uchiha."
"Have you ever visited his hideout?"
Chiri shook her head.
"He never fully trusted me. Even until the end. The only thing I know is his name."
"What name?"
"Tenshi."
Akio froze.
Then he laughed.
"Tenshi?"
Now that was a name with history.
Fragments of old memories resurfaced.
"Tenshi... Right. Kaguya's husband. The Land of Ancestors."
His eyes widened.
"So it really was him."
"No wonder he wants to resurrect Kaguya."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"If that's who he is, then the other version of me must have done something spectacular."
"Great-Uncle?" Tobirama asked suspiciously.
Akio instantly wiped the grin away.
"Nothing."
He glanced around the room before looking back at Chiri.
"You don't actually know that much about my younger days. Since everyone's curious..."
He straightened proudly.
"Allow me to tell the accurate version of events."
Because if Chiri kept telling the story, they were all going to hear the heavily edited version.
And Akio much preferred the legendary one.
---
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!