Akio had originally assumed that, within the dream, he would relive all 123 years of his life.
Instead, the vision cut off abruptly at sixty.
An overwhelming wave of hunger tore him awake.
There was still plenty of food left in the storage space from the trip to the moon. Akio's eyes practically glowed as he shoveled everything he could find into his mouth raw or cooked, it didn't matter.
Worst case scenario?
Indigestion.
And if that happened, he could always have Fat Cat clean up his digestive system.
Once his stomach was finally satisfied, he took a moment to organize his thoughts.
"So… this wasn't a one-night dream," he muttered.
"At least a month or two. Otherwise my body wouldn't be this close to starving."
"Which means… what about the outside world?"
He focused his senses.
A moment later, he relaxed slightly.
None of the emergency seals he had placed on Fat Cat or Sara had been triggered. That meant nothing had gone wrong. Everything was stable.
"Haah…" Akio yawned deeply, exhaustion catching up with him as he glanced at his status panel.
Yin Attribute – Level 10
(10,000,000 / 10,000,000)
(Undergoing Transformation)
"Still transforming… so I really have to finish the whole dream, huh?" he sighed.
"That means I'll probably wake up starving again once or twice. Fantastic."
Muttering under his breath, he stepped out of the space.
Since he was already awake, the dream could wait.
First, he wanted to see the little princess.
Kushina's house. In front of the custom-made crib.
Akio waved his hands lightly. Two miniature Truth-Seeking Orbs reshaped themselves into spinning wind-and-fire wheels, circling the crib in slow loops.
The baby girl giggled, reaching out with tiny hands.
"Ooh oh hey there," Akio cooed instinctively.
"So it's been two months since I left? One day in here equals a year out there… huh?"
"Yes. Two months," Kushina nodded.
"Great-Grandfather, where did you go?"
"To sleep…" Akio yawned again.
He opened his mouth wide and the sudden flash of white teeth startled the baby into tears.
"Oh—whoa!" Akio immediately dismissed the spinning wheels and leaned closer.
"Easy, sweetheart. Great-Grandpa doesn't eat babies."
Kushina laughed as she picked her daughter up.
"She's barely four months old. It's not like she understands you."
"She's four months already," Akio countered seriously.
"I could understand people at two months."
That part was true. As a reincarnator, he'd been able to comprehend basic language almost immediately and he was proud of it.
"At that age, you don't remember anything," Kushina said, unconvinced.
"Oh, I remember just fine," Akio replied calmly.
"I've got a good memory. I've remembered things since the day I was born."
The baby gradually settled in her mother's arms, drifting back to sleep.
Watching her, Akio felt his own eyelids grow heavy.
"If hunger can wake me," he muttered, "then I'm not completely unreachable."
"Kushina, I'm going to lie down. Wake me up for dinner."
That night.
"Naruto, go wake Great-Grandpa for dinner!" Kushina called.
"Okay!" Naruto replied, trotting into the bedroom.
"Great-Grandpa! Time to eat!"
No response.
"Great-Grandpa?" Naruto walked closer and poked him.
"He's sleeping really deeply…"
After several attempts, Naruto hesitated then a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Well… that's not my fault."
Kushina and Minato were still waiting in the dining room.
Naruto glanced around, then quietly rolled up the right leg of Akio's pants.
"Wow… that's a lot of hair," he whispered.
"No wonder he never changes clothes before sleeping…"
He pinched a single leg hair between his fingers.
Yank!
"…Huh? That's tough."
Thirty seconds later—
Kushina pushed the door open and froze.
Naruto had Akio's pant leg rolled all the way up and was leaning in close, face tense with effort.
"NARUTO!"
"What are you doing?!"
Naruto jumped, quickly straightening up and raising a finger to his lips.
"Shhh! He's sleeping super deeply! I can't wake him no matter what!"
Kushina clenched her fist.
"And you leaned in because… you were planning to kiss him awake?"
Naruto shook his head frantically.
"No way! I was trying to pull out one of his leg hairs, but it wouldn't budge. I was gonna try biting it! Mom, come look seriously, it's tough!"
"…Oh?" Kushina stepped closer, curiosity getting the better of her.
She pinched a leg hair herself.
"…Huh."
It didn't come out.
Naruto relaxed a little.
If even Mom couldn't pull one out, then at least it wasn't just him being weak.
But Kushina wasn't satisfied.
She pulled harder.
Her face flushed.
Then a faint layer of Nine-Tails chakra surfaced.
Snap.
The hair finally came loose.
"Mmn…" Akio murmured in his sleep.
Kushina froze, quickly hiding the hair and rolling the pant leg back down.
"Great-Grandfather," she said innocently,
"Dinner's ready."
"…Already?" Akio mumbled, sitting up.
"I've only slept for… half a year."
He rubbed his eyes.
"Why's Naruto here? He couldn't wake me?"
Kushina and Naruto exchanged a glance.
"Very easy to wake!"
"Super easy!" they said in unison.
Akio scratched his head, sensing something off but quickly dismissed it.
"Good. Let's eat."
Over the following days, Akio settled into a routine of eat → sleep → wake → eat at Kushina's house.
It wasn't until early November of Konoha Year 56 that his Yin Attribute finally completed its transformation.
The full awakening of his memories came with clear benefits.
Decades of combat and training experience strengthened his mental foundations, while other memories helped him understand many things he'd never fully grasped before.
But one mystery remained.
"Why did the Yin transformation make the hair on my right leg thinner… but not the left?"
The question bothered him long enough that he even forgot to explore his newly acquired mental space.
"…Wait. The space!"
Akio slapped his fist into his palm.
"The mental space connects to the First Gate… which is in the right side of the brain!"
"Right brain developed → right leg hair thinned. Makes sense."
"It's the same principle as going bald from overthinking. Yep. Clearly, maxing Yin makes me smarter."
Pleased with his conclusion, he rolled up both pant legs.
Then frowned.
"…So if I want symmetry, I'd need to develop the left brain too. That would mean another gate…"
He paused.
"…Or I could just shave."
"Wow. Genius."
A thin blade of wind chakra spun between his fingers.
Razor technology had nothing on this.
In moments, both legs were smooth and clean.
Just then—
The door opened quietly.
Kushina stepped inside.
"…What are you doing?"
She startled.
"Ah! Great-Grandfather, you're awake! I came to call you for lunch!"
"For lunch? Then why sneak in like that?" Akio squinted.
"Trying to fool me?"
"N-No! Of course not! Oh, your legs…"
"What about them?"
"Oh, I shaved. Didn't come out perfectly even."
He pulled his pant legs down.
Kushina relaxed.
"…Shaving is good."
"…Hmm?"
"I—I mean! Your legs are very… pale!"