Three Days Later — Noon
Outside Ichiraku Ramen in the Land of Whirlpools, Akio finally let out a relaxed breath, a faint smile on his face.
It was peak lunchtime. The ramen shop was bustling with customers coming and going, completely unaware that they were walking through layer upon layer of hidden sealing arrays.
Some of the arrays were sensory-based.
Some repelled intruders.
Others trapped enemies.
A few were outright lethal.
The final layer was the most terrifying of all. Once activated, even Akio himself would have to enter Sage Mode and smash it five or six times with Truth-Seeking Orbs just to break through.
Add to that the two spore-based Wood clones he'd planted on Sara, plus Nagato's shadow clone stationed roughly a hundred meters from the shop at all times, and the area was as close to impregnable as it could get.
Ever since reaching Level 9 in sealing techniques, Akio hadn't needed to invest this much effort into defensive arrays. It had taken him a full three days.
"All this trouble… because of one letter," Akio muttered, patting the anonymous note he kept on him. "Who knows when it'll turn into a lead."
Someone unknown was watching both him and Sara. That alone was enough to put him on edge so much so that, for a brief and deeply uncomfortable moment, he'd even suspected Teuchi.
A conspiracy decades in the making… starting with teaching Sara how to cook ramen.
Yeah. Paranoia was setting in.
With Ichiraku fully secured and Kimimaro and the others already taken out on a mission by Konan earlier that morning, Akio did one final sweep. Satisfied, he hopped onto his Truth-Seeking flying carpet and headed for Konoha to continue grinding witness points.
Ever since he'd acquired the "football-sized" Truth-Seeking Orbs, he'd stopped flying under his own power. It felt undignified.
The old flying ship was too large and flashy.
The flying carpet, on the other hand, was perfect.
Akio was a low-key person.
He landed discreetly in the center of Konoha Village. After a moment's thought, he headed for Kushina's place; he was still curious what her Sage Mode looked like.
They weren't home.
"At this hour? Where'd they go?"
Because of his commitment to staying low-profile, Akio didn't activate wide-area sensory perception. Instead, he checked a few places the two of them frequented and grabbed something to eat along the way.
He didn't find Minato or Kushina.
What he did find was another familiar figure… lurking near a bathhouse.
"Coincidence," Akio muttered, "or does Jiraiya come here that often for 'research'?"
He seriously considered kicking him on the spot then reconsidered, worried he might accidentally punt him straight into the women's bath.
Jiraiya, sensitive to killing intent honed over years of survival, stiffened and slowly turned around. When he saw Akio, he visibly relaxed, then smiled awkwardly.
The towering man carefully hopped down from the roof, scratching his head.
"Ah—Senior! What a coincidence. You here to… soak in the hot springs?"
Akio gave a dry chuckle. "Hard pass. I don't trust you not to peek."
Jiraiya blinked. "Peek at you? We could just go in together."
Akio took two steps back.
Jiraiya hurriedly waved his hands. "Wait, wait you've got it wrong! I'm investigating this bathhouse."
Akio rolled his eyes. "Investigating whether the women here are pretty? I do vaguely remember this place; it's been around forever."
Jiraiya nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! It's been here since I was a kid. They even claim Konoha was founded because the First Hokage discovered this hot spring!"
"Bullshit," Akio said flatly.
If Hashirama had discovered a casino, maybe. A hot spring? No chance.
Jiraiya straightened. "Right. I checked with the First Hokage himself. Totally false. That's why I'm investigating."
Akio gave him a knowing look.
The original reason might've been legitimate but somewhere along the way, the investigation had definitely gone off the rails.
Still, he didn't press the issue. Getting Jiraiya to quit peeping was about as likely as Tsunade quitting gambling.
They walked side by side through Konoha as Akio casually asked about the situation at the gambling den.
According to Jiraiya, when Akatsuki captured the Four-Tails, Hashirama and Mito hadn't reacted at all no loss of control, no sense of being manipulated.
"So, he's waiting," Akio thought. "Just like I am."
If he reestablished a direct link with Hashirama and Mito, Mito might be able to roughly sense his position giving Akio a chance to finally flush that bastard out.
"By the way," Akio asked, "have you seen Minato and Kushina?"
Jiraiya's face twisted. "Did you teach Kushina a… special kind of Sage Mode?"
Akio's lips curled. "Judging by your face, I'm guessing you've seen what she can do."
Jiraiya sighed. "Minato's been dragged into sparring with her for three straight days."
"Oh?" Akio raised a brow. "So you were worried Minato might collapse, tried to sub in… and lost to Kushina?"
Jiraiya scowled. "That's because I didn't use Sage Mode!"
"Ah," Akio said solemnly. "Understood."
Jiraiya: "..."
Konoha Training Ground No. 1
Akio finally found them.
Calling it a spar was generous; it looked more like a married couple playing a game called Catch the Flash.
Minato's movement speed was absurd. Combined with Flying Thunder God, even Akio couldn't track him with eyesight alone.
This was exactly why Kushina relied on sensing.
In Sage Mode, her once-mediocre sensory ability was amplified to terrifying levels. Several crimson chakra chains extended from her back, locking onto Minato's position again and again only to miss him by a hair each time.
"So she's training Sage Mode sensing," Akio murmured. "Minato's actually a better training partner than Nagato… and yeah, her eyes really did turn red. Red hair, red eyes kind of intense."
Kushina's Sage Mode lasted far longer than Konan's.
Even counting from when Akio and Jiraiya arrived, it had already been seven or eight minutes.
"Ridiculous chakra reserves," Akio said. "Her Sage Mode boost is probably even higher. Jiraiya, are you sure you could beat her with Sage Mode?"
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile. "Honestly? I don't know. These kids… Minato surpassed me a long time ago."
Akio smiled faintly. "Kids these days… not a single one worth fighting."
Jiraiya: "..."
When Kushina's Sage Mode finally expired, the sparring naturally ended. She ran over, eyes sparkling.
"Great-Grandpa! Your Sage Mode is amazing!"
Akio raised an eyebrow, about to respond
and froze.
In an instant, his expression cycled through impossible, you've got to be kidding me, and no way in hell.
"Great-Grandpa?" Kushina asked nervously. "What's wrong?"
Akio blinked, then smiled slowly, brightly.
"…Looks like someone just died."
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