Land of Whirlpools – Harbor Town
Naruto Uzumaki and Tazuna were arguing loudly in the middle of the street.
Naruto kept demanding to know why Tazuna had run away earlier and why he was now pretending not to recognize him. Meanwhile, Tazuna complained nonstop about the "short blond brat" accusing him of nonsense.
Sasuke Uchiha watched for a while and quickly realized the man in front of them was the real Tazuna.
But he had no intention of helping Naruto figure that out.
Kakashi Hatake wasn't any better. He simply stood off to the side with his arms folded, quietly enjoying the spectacle.
It was Sakura Haruno who finally noticed something strange.
"Naruto… Mr. Tazuna's injury looks like it's… completely healed."
Naruto blinked and turned.
"Whoa! Sakura, your medical ninjutsu is amazing!"
Sakura brushed her bangs aside, unconvinced. She had only just started learning medical techniques, there was no way she was that good.
Which meant…
"Naruto! This Tazuna might be a fake!"
Naruto froze, suddenly realizing something.
No wonder this Tazuna had been acting so weird. Did that mean the real Mr. Tazuna had already been killed?
"You bas...hey?!" Naruto stepped forward to charge but Kakashi casually grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back.
"Idiot," Sasuke said flatly.
"What did you say, you jerk?!"
"Sorry to break it to you, Naruto," Kakashi said calmly. "But the one from earlier was the fake."
"The one from earlier… was fake?"
Naruto completely froze.
Tazuna: ???
Somewhere in Akio's hidden observation space, Uzumaki Akio laughed so hard he nearly lost his breath.
Two days later – Konoha Village
Inside the home of Kushina Uzumaki.
Naruto's face was red with embarrassment.
"Great-Grandpa, that prank went way too far!"
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And who upset our little Lord Naruto today?"
"Hmph!"
Naruto made an exaggerated "I'm ignoring you" face and stomped back into his room.
Akio's mouth twitched.
Where did he even learn that expression?
If Tsukika does it, it's adorable. When Naruto does it… it's painful to watch.
Next to him, Kushina, the boy's own mother was laughing uncontrollably.
Normally Minato Namikaze would step in to calm things down, but he was currently outside helping Tsukika begin her chakra training.
Which meant Naruto had no emotional support at all.
After a long while, Kushina finally forced herself to stop laughing.
"Grandpa… hah… thanks for arranging that training exercise for Naruto. Hiring two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen for it must have cost a fortune."
Akio nodded.
Even with his status, he never pulled rank to pressure people. Both Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi had been hired at the standard S-rank mission rate, five million ryo each.
Still, Akio had earned 200 Witness Points from the event.
Even if it had cost ten times that amount, it would have been worth it.
His total now sat at 940 points, getting close to the amount needed to fully upgrade two abilities. When the upcoming Chūnin Exams started, he could probably farm the rest easily.
After a moment of thought, he looked up at Kushina.
"The joint Chūnin Exams are only two months away. Naruto's opponents won't be weak… it's time he met a new friend."
Kushina paused, then smiled knowingly.
"You mean the little fox?"
Akio nodded.
"The sealing array I left behind can be loosened a bit more. The other half of the Nine-Tails deserves some daylight too. Leave something locked up too long and it'll eventually go crazy."
Given Naruto's personality, he should have flown into a berserk rage earlier when he thought Tazuna had died.
But he hadn't.
That was because Akio had arranged the seal on the Nine-Tails in a very… unusual way.
It was like the beast was trapped inside a completely sealed dark room, with four small cracks in the ceiling.
One slightly larger crack allowed the Nine-Tails to sabotage Naruto's "Sexy Jutsu."
The other three tiny cracks were meant to increase Naruto's durability and accelerate his training.
But entering the classic Nine-Tails cloak state like in the original story where red chakra coats Naruto's body and tails begin forming was currently impossible.
Of course, even if it were possible, the Nine-Tails would probably restrain itself.
After all, reckless rage only causes trouble.
Akio nodded to himself.
Time to replace one wall of that dark room with iron bars.
He pushed open Naruto's bedroom door.
"Naruto… take your shirt off."
Akio soon discovered something frustrating.
Naruto was harder to deal with than the Nine-Tails itself.
Just getting the boy to take his shirt off took nearly half an hour of arguing and wrestling.
Now Naruto stood surrounded by deep crimson Nine-Tails chakra.
Although Akio had negotiated with the Nine-Tails to release chakra slowly, Naruto still showed signs of discomfort.
Even when controlled, that chakra carried intense heat and corrosive energy. Naruto's body still wasn't fully ready for it.
Thankfully, Naruto had grown used to pain over the years.
In fact… he almost looked like he was enjoying it.
"So strong!" Naruto clenched his fists. "With this power I could totally beat Sasuke!"
The moment he finished speaking, the chakra vanished like a receding tide.
Naruto immediately collapsed, feeling completely drained.
"Huh?!"
"Three seconds," Akio said with a chuckle. "And you think you can beat Sasuke?"
"The first time is always short. Practice makes perfect."
"From now on, activate it once every night before bed. It'll even help you sleep better afterward."
"But within a year, I expect you to hold that state for fifteen minutes. Only then will it count as a real trump card."
"No problem, Great-Grandpa!" Naruto said energetically.
Kushina suddenly entered her own Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, golden chakra blazing around her.
"Naruto, you still have a long way to go. When Grandpa says one year, that's the maximum limit."
"I expect you to do it in six months."
Naruto looked at her glowing form in surprise before grinning.
"Then I'll do it in three months!"
Akio raised an eyebrow.
Three months…
That would line up perfectly with the final stage of the Chūnin Exams.
Akio had assumed the days leading up to the exams would be quiet.
But after only half a month of focusing on nurturing the power in his left eye, someone came to visit.
Obito Uchiha.
"You're saying… Rin is pregnant?" Akio asked in shock.
Two months ago when they were catching stray cats together, he had even been considering giving Obito some "supplements."
Obito was grinning from ear to ear.
"That's right! One month along, we only found out last night!"
Akio took a deep breath.
"That's wonderful news. You're both twenty-seven, it's about time. As your teacher, I'm genuinely happy for you."
Obito scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
"Since Rin's pregnant, it'll be hard for her to keep leading a team. What should we do about Team Eleven's instructor?"
Akio paused.
"Team Eleven… Toneri, Sai, and Uchiha Hoshino."
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
"I'll lead them for the next three months. After the Chūnin Exams, you can assign another mentor."
Obito blinked in surprise.
"You? Leading the team?"
Akio nodded.
Partly because he needed a legitimate role during the Chūnin Exams to gather Witness Points.
But there was another reason as well.
He was very curious about that very striking girl
Uchiha Hoshino.