Akio bounced around like a kid, stretching his arms and legs. At some point, he even pulled out a small mirror from who-knows-where and took a good look at his current face.
"Eleven years old… handsome, gifted, a total prodigy basically the full package," he said, clearly impressed with himself.
They say your mindset shapes your appearance. Akio had always believed that if he'd kept a better attitude after turning twelve, he might've grown up looking like Minato. But at eleven? He was absolutely killing it.
"If I could rewind time, I'd actually take care of my skin for once," he chuckled. "Well, looks like I just got that chance."
"Uzumaki Akio," the Deva Path interrupted coldly, "returning to your younger self makes you this happy… even with death right around the corner?"
Akio paused, quickly scanning his status. Aside from a slight drop in physical strength due to his younger body, nothing had really changed. So why did that sound like
Suddenly, the blind Uchiha Chiri made her move.
In a flash, she cut down one of the Six Paths, then pivoted and struck toward the female Preta Path.
"Universal Pull!"
The Deva Path raised a hand. Gravitational force surged, halting Chiri's blade just inches from its target before dragging her helplessly through the air.
"Uchiha Chiri… why?"
"Uzumaki Akio, run," she said calmly, even as she was pulled away.
Akio remained just as calm. With his maxed-out Yin Release pushing his mind into overdrive, he had already calculated the best possible move.
He dashed forward
And slammed into Chiri, knocking her out of the way of the incoming black rod.
Thud.
The rod pierced straight through his chest.
"Chiri… you've got to… live well…" Akio's head drooped dramatically.
Chiri: ???
Deva Path: ???
Hidden from their view, Akio was grinning like an idiot, mentally giving himself a standing ovation for that perfectly executed "hero saves the girl" moment. At the same time, he focused on sensing the chakra flowing through the rod embedded in him.
"Four-Tails… Six-Tails… Seven-Tails… and a trace of the Two-Tails? So instead of sealing them in the Demonic Statue, you packed them all into your own body to boost your chakra and extend your control range over the Six Paths?" His smile widened. "Smart move. Your real body's about twenty-seven kilometers southwest. Jiri said northwest, so even she was kept in the dark."
Akio lifted his head, still smiling.
The Deva Path's expression shifted instantly. "Almighty"
"Push, push, push, push—yeah, I get it," Akio cut him off lazily. "Save it."
With a casual motion, the remaining five Paths collapsed into lifeless wrecks.
He turned back to Chiri, who was sitting on the ground in stunned silence. His gaze lingered on her blind eyes, and he sighed softly.
"Shame. That was a pretty cool moment, and you missed it."
Chiri stood there for a long moment, then slowly untied her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Uzumaki Akio, send me on… then go deal with his real body. And… apologize to that Uchiha kid for me. These past days…"
Before she could finish, Akio vanished and reappeared behind her, placing a hand on her head.
"We've got time for that later."
His Rinnegan activated. He drew out her soul and sent it into his mental space, while her body gradually dissolved.
"Twenty-seven kilometers, huh? Kid, you're not getting away."
He vanished again.
Inside his mental space
Hashirama was shaking a dice cup enthusiastically. "Tobirama, Kagami, Kensuke what do you think, high or low this time?"
Tobirama sighed. "You go first, brother."
Hashirama thought for a moment. "High!"
"Low!" the other three answered in unison.
Hashirama scratched his head, feeling oddly targeted. "This time, I swear—huh?"
The ground suddenly trembled. The mist in the northwest began to clear as a villa slowly rose from the ground.
"A newcomer?" Hashirama grinned and flipped open the dice cup. "Ha! High!"
Tobirama shook his head. "The ground shook just now. Your dice definitely moved, this round doesn't count."
"Yeah, doesn't count!" the others chimed in.
Hashirama: "…"
Elsewhere, Mito, Nanako, Yoriko, and another relative approached the newly formed villa.
The door creaked open.
A young kunoichi with long dark-blue hair and blind eyes stood at the entrance.
The four exchanged puzzled looks.
"No idea who she is…"
"Looks young… maybe from a later generation?"
In the distance, Kagami suddenly shot to his feet, startling everyone.
"That's Uchiha Chiri-senpai! What about Shisui, what happened to him?!"
About thirty kilometers southwest of Konoha, on a barren mountain
Akio appeared in a flicker.
He was already wearing his Sage cloak. Thankfully, it adjusted to his size, otherwise he'd be making a stop at a tailor.
At eleven, he wasn't short around 150 cm. Still taller than Naruto by a few centimeters, and maybe just edging out Sasuke too… probably.
"About the same height," he muttered, raising an eyebrow. "But obviously, I'm better-looking."
He focused ahead. "This is the place I sensed earlier."
Forming a hand seal, he was about to activate his sensory technique
When a blue barrier suddenly rose around the mountain.
He frowned slightly. Two Truth-Seeking Orbs emerged from his chest and slammed into the barrier, shattering it instantly.
But at the same time, a red glow flared beneath his feet.
BOOM!
The explosion erupted like a volcano.
"Wow, planted explosives, huh?" Akio clicked his tongue, releasing repulsive force to suppress the blast. The explosion rumbled deep within the mountain.
Cracks spread rapidly. The impact pulverized the top several meters of the mountain, instantly shaving off a huge chunk.
"Just buying time…" He formed another seal. "Kagura Mind's Eye."
His senses expanded outward.
He raised an eyebrow. "North? …No, wait."
His gaze snapped forward, twenty meters ahead.
He vanished and reappeared in an instant, throwing a punch.
Boom!
The ground cracked but instead of shattering the entire mountain as expected, it only formed a three-meter-deep fissure.
"A sealing array?" Akio paused, then grinned. "Nice one. Trying to misdirect me? 'The safest place is the most dangerous one,' huh? That thing to the north must be a decoy some kind of modified White Zetsu."
He laughed.
"Orochimaru got outplayed once guess today I get to catch something myself."
Gravity surged.
A massive chunk of earth about three cubic meters was ripped from the ground, covered in dense sealing formulas.
Akio tapped it lightly with his finger.
"Hey. Come out. I'm inviting you to the afterlife for dinner."
Silence.
He sighed, then slammed his palm down. The seals shattered one by one.
Boom!
The mass exploded from within
Revealing a domineering figure.
"A kid? Where'd you come from?"
Akio froze.
"…Wait. I was expecting a turtle in a trap, not Madara."
He blinked.
"What, were you hibernating down here or something?"
---
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