Akio sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder, smiling as he watched the three-on-three battle unfold in the distance.
Since Karin's reputation had upgraded from "pretty good with throwing kunai" to "walking demolition expert," Kimimaro's team had finally patched their last major weakness.
Under the pressure of Ōnoki's three disciples, the trio's strength had skyrocketed over the past month. They'd gone from barely holding their own in three-on-two skirmishes, to actually winning them, and now to surviving, albeit narrowly, in full three-on-three battles.
Of course, Kimimaro's growth also pushed Ōnoki's students to improve in turn. The competition became a positive feedback loop. Deidara, in particular, had made noticeable progressm, he was already capable of producing much larger explosions. The very first person to test those new techniques had been Akio himself…
As time passed, the balance of the fight began to tip again. Kimimaro's side was slipping toward defeat. Akio stood up from the boulder, preparing to step in and stop the match.
"Thirteen minutes," he noted with satisfaction. "Thirty seconds longer than yesterday. At this rate, two more months and you'll be able to fight them evenly. Actually winning… that'll probably take a full year."
Just as he was about to move, Akio froze.
Kimimaro had done something downright terrifying..
He tore his own spine free and cleaved straight through Akatsuchi's Earth Release defense with it.
"…He can already do that?" Akio paused, then hopped back onto the boulder. "That kind of growth is scary fast."
...
Five minutes later, Akio finally intervened. The overall gap in power was still there, no matter how hard Kimimaro pushed himself, the fight ended in their defeat.
Akio knelt beside Kimimaro, medical ninjutsu glowing softly in his hands.
"Your spine is tougher and stronger than most of your bones," Akio said calmly, "but unless I'm right next to you, don't use that technique again. It puts too much strain on your bloodline illness."
Kimimaro flushed slightly. "Understood… my lord."
Karin, kneading clay beside them, spoke quietly. "Elder, please teach me that medical ninjutsu. I'll always stay with Kimimaro."
"You'd better focus on shaping your bombs first," Akio replied flatly. "Medical ninjutsu isn't something you pick up overnight."
Karin puffed up her cheeks and slammed the clay onto the ground. "Then why do I even have to shape them like that? If it's a ball you can throw and it explodes, isn't that enough?"
"Keep it down," Akio muttered, glancing toward Kurotsuchi's group, who were clearly doing extra training under the pressure Kimimaro had put on them.
Karin clicked her tongue. "Elder, how long do you think this secret's going to last? Aside from that dense Deidara, the other two have figured it out already."
Akio sighed. Whether Ōnoki was simply blunt or doing it on purpose, not a single person in Iwagakure had interfered with the sparring between the Tsuchikage's students and the "outsiders" all month. Kurotsuchi was far too sharp not to have her own theories by now.
"As long as Deidara stays clueless, it's fine," Akio said lightly. "That way he'll keep trying new explosions to provoke me, and I can 'bully' him without it looking suspicious."
Karin shot him a look full of pure disdain. She was about to fire back when she noticed Kimimaro watching her.
Her tone instantly changed. "Y-you're really… considerate of the younger generation."
She was losing all sense of shame at record speed just to impress Kimimaro.
The soft white glow of the healing technique faded. "You're good to go, Kimimaro."
"Thank you for the treatment."
Kimimaro straightened, stretched his body, then glanced at the clay in front of Karin. "You'll need to work harder, Karin."
"No problem, Kimimaro!" Encouraged by him, Karin immediately lit up, overflowing with motivation.
Akio gently shook his head, deciding not to tell her the truth, that Kimimaro was politely saying she'd been holding the team back.
As Kimimaro grew stronger, the battle-hungry instinct inherited from the Kaguya bloodline became more pronounced. Freshly healed, he immediately resumed training.
Out of the six kids, five were training. Only Haku stood quietly at the cliff's edge, peering through the monocular Akio had given her, watching the steady flow of life within Iwagakure. Without Akio backing her, that behavior alone would've gotten her arrested as a spy.
"You look every day," Akio said as he walked over. "Is it really that interesting?"
Haku gave him a dazzling smile and avoided the question. "Thank you for the gift, Elder."
"So what exactly is worth watching?" Akio asked, gazing toward the village.
Even with his improved eyesight, clearly seeing everything from over two kilometers away was still beyond him.
"Hmm?" Haku let out a soft sound of surprise.
Akio frowned and turned. "What is it?"
"Nothing," she replied gently. "Just… two people who seemed a bit odd."
Akio waved it off. "There are plenty of odd people. Wasn't Zabuza odd? Who grows up without eyebrows? And Kisame too…"
Haku's smile stiffened for just a split second. "Zabuza-san… is doing fine."
Akio chuckled, took the monocular from her hands, and looked for himself. "Still alive, still scary. Let me see."
He scanned the village, then laughed and shook his head. "I don't see anything strange at all."
"They went into the Tsuchikage's building," Haku said softly.
"I see." Akio handed the monocular back. "Probably just some clients from the middle of nowhere. Don't worry about it. It's almost noon, get ready. We're eating in the village today."
After gathering all six kids, Kurotsuchi looked disappointed. "Uncle Shanks, you're skipping lunch duty again?"
Akio sighed. "You've already put on a little weight. Eating less wouldn't hurt."
Kurotsuchi grinned shamelessly. "That's fine! I'll slim down after you leave."
Akio shot her a glare. "Keep dreaming. I'm paying for lunch in your village, be grateful."
He turned away and suddenly felt his heart jolt.
A massive white, cone-shaped pillar of crystalline light tore through the sky, slicing cleanly through the clouds.
"What… was that?" Karin whispered.
Kurotsuchi's group exchanged looks. Akatsuchi rumbled, "Looks like the Tsuchikage's Dust Release."
"What's the old man thinking, firing something like that inside the village? Hmm!" Deidara muttered.
"Grandpa…" Kurotsuchi's face tightened with worry.
Akio frowned slightly.
He knew better than anyone, that was unmistakably Dust Release.
"…Ōnoki," he murmured.
"Who are you fighting?"
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