Akio thought about it for a long while before it finally clicked
the blonde girl from the original canon's Konohamaru Trio was named Moegi.
And judging by the little girl standing in front of him, this was unmistakably the same person.
For a brief moment… no, not just a moment
Akio's mind went wild.
Moegi's father, Senju Windtsuri, was twenty-two years old, born in Konoha Year 34. Around this point in canon history, the Senju clan was already beginning its quiet decline for reasons never fully explained.
So maybe Windtsuri had survived simply because he was still an infant back then?
Kishimoto never drew this part… and here I am filling in the blanks, Akio thought with a grin. Guess you really do see everything if you live long enough.
"Senju Moegi. Sarutobi Konohamaru. Let me guess, there's also an Uchiha kid named Udon somewhere?"
Those thoughts flashed through Akio's mind
…Actually, no.
He stood there thinking it over for quite a while.
From Nawaki and Dozan's perspective, things looked far stranger.
After praising Moegi for being well-behaved, Akio suddenly froze in place, staring at her with a goofy smile plastered across his face.
Five whole minutes passed.
Neither of them dared interrupt him. Who knew what the old ancestor had noticed?
Moegi herself wasn't shy at all. She stared straight back at Akio without blinking once.
Only when Akio finally snapped out of it did this bizarre, cross-generational staring contest come to an end.
"Why are you staring at me?" Moegi asked.
"Don't move, I haven't finished counting your hair yet!"
Akio blinked, then rubbed his own bright red hair.
"Quite a lot, huh? Guess hair loss really does skip a few generations…"
"Great-Grandfather, kids say strange things sometimes, please don't take it seriously," Dozan hurriedly said. "Did you… notice anything unusual about Moegi just now?"
"Notice anything?" Akio paused. "Hmm… well, she's adorable. When she grows up, she'll definitely be a real beauty."
Dozan stiffened, then immediately turned around.
"Moegi, you've been out long enough. I'll walk you home."
"Oh, and if you're planning to take her in as a goddaughter, I'm fine with it," Akio added casually from behind. "Just don't forget to tell Hashirama and Mito."
"Got it! Thank you, Great-Grandfather!"
Watching Dozan hurry off, Akio scratched his head in confusion. When he turned to Nawaki and saw him struggling not to laugh, realization dawned.
"…You little brat. What was that about?"
Nawaki's expression tightened. He shook his head rapidly.
"Nothing at all...hey! Why is it so noisy over there? I'll go take a look!"
Akio tilted his head slightly, listening. It didn't take long to figure it out.
The young clan head, Itachi, had returned completely drenched and looking miserable.
That alone was enough to cause a commotion among the Senju.
As the one responsible for soaking him in the first place, Akio figured it was best not to show his face. He wasn't thick-skinned enough to handle that kind of attention.
For once, Akio truly had nothing to do.
So he willingly demoted himself to a human ultrasound scanner and moved into Kushina's house.
Judging by how protective Kushina was of the baby in her belly, Akio figured there was zero chance he'd overhear anything inappropriate.
The house only had two bedrooms, one for Kushina and Minato, and the other…
Akio wasn't picky. Sharing with Naruto was fine.
Which meant that every night, Naruto whose sleeping posture was a complete disaster would get gently but firmly pushed into the wall by Akio's repulsion technique, leaving Akio to claim most of the bed.
Given Naruto's usual feral energy, he should've exploded by now.
But he didn't.
Because the clan ancestor himself was personally training him.
If it meant beating Sasuke and Toneri someday, a little suffering was nothing!
What Naruto didn't know was that the real suffering was still on the way.
Konoha Year 55, early August. Night. Kushina's house.
After dinner, Akio gave Kushina a reassuring nod, everything with the baby was perfectly fine then returned to the bedroom with Naruto.
"Great-Grandpa! No more brutal throwing drills today? What you taught me was awesome! I feel like I'll surpass those two jerks any day now!"
Akio nodded.
"I'd say you're almost there. So today, we're learning something new."
Naruto scratched his head, sensing something was off but his excitement quickly won out.
"What are we learning?"
"Hand seals." Akio replied calmly, hands still tucked in his pockets.
"Hand seals? Isn't that just for transformation"
Poof!
Naruto's eyes went wide.
He looked at Akio's hands still in his pockets then at the extra Akio clone standing beside him.
"Wait… you can skip hand seals?!"
Akio shook his head.
"I didn't skip them. I just formed them faster than your eyes can follow. Want to learn?"
Naruto froze.
In his mind, a vision appeared:
The Shadow Clone exam.
Naruto steps forward, hands in his pockets.
Iruka yells:
"Naruto! What are you doing?! This is a clone exam hands out!"
Naruto gives him a calm glance
Poof!
A clone appears.
The classroom explodes in shock. Sakura gasps. Sasuke stiffens. Toneri
"I WANT TO LEARN!"
Akio chuckled.
"Then brace yourself. Hold out your hands."
Naruto obediently did so.
Akio extended his right index finger, moving so fast it blurred, tapping every joint of Naruto's fingers
Naruto stared at his limp, useless hands in disbelief.
"…Huh?!"
"Alright. Start practicing hand seals."
"IT HURTS! GREAT-GRANDPA, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HAND SEALS LIKE THIS?!"
Akio glanced at him.
"So, are you learning or not?"
"…I'M LEARNING!"
Akio nodded in quiet approval.
This kid had his good points. At least he could endure pain.
Of course, Akio had other methods but this one was the fastest.
Yes.
Definitely just because it was fast.
By mid-August, Naruto's training gained new layers.
Akio loosened the Nine-Tails seal just a bit more. After a very friendly negotiation, Kurama agreed to supply chakra at a controlled rate one unit per second.
Then…
Akio used good old-fashioned fists and feet to forcibly accelerate Naruto's physical growth and chakra capacity.
Thanks to Naruto's absurd stamina and Akio's near-godlike medical ninjutsu, no matter how badly Naruto was beaten, he'd recover almost instantly.
Again, there were gentler methods.
This was just faster.
Late August. Dinner time.
Akio kept glancing at Naruto, planning that night's new training routine.
Naruto, meanwhile, wore a miserable expression. If it weren't for the fact that his strength had genuinely skyrocketed; he'd even managed to land a headbutt on Sasuke during sparring; he would've reported elder abuse by now.
Life had gotten so rough that even his dad's cooking didn't taste good anymore.
"Great-Grandpa, is the baby healthy today?" Kushina asked, the only thing she cared about now.
Akio smiled and nodded, finishing his last bite.
"Alright, Naruto, let's start tonight's new training hmm?"
A knock sounded at the door.
Mikoto rushed in, clearly anxious, heading straight for Akio.
"Great Ancestor, Itachi and Shisui went out on a mission together earlier. But only Itachi came back. He says Shisui disappeared suddenly. The Uchiha clan refuses to accept that explanation… they've already come demanding answers."
"Disappeared?" Akio raised an eyebrow, then sighed softly.
"…That kid never could behave himself."
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