The moment Akira stepped into the Hokage's office, he realized this meeting was not going to be simple.
Tsunade was there, as expected.
But so were Jiraiya, Itachi, and Kakashi—three people who had no business being in the same room unless something very serious was happening.
Akira paused only for half a breath. The sight of them practically confirmed his suspicion about why Tsunade had called him here. But he didn't speak. He didn't react. He simply walked to the lone empty chair and sat down with controlled calm, directing his gaze straight at Tsunade.
Tsunade stared back.
For a moment too long.
Akira wasn't immune to it—being wordlessly inspected by a beautiful woman, even one a bit older, could make any boy shift in his seat. He felt a faint flutter of nerves, mild but noticeable. Still, he didn't look away. He didn't mind the attention… though her stare was starting to feel less like an evaluation and more like a medical scan.
Finally—after she had stared enough—Tsunade broke the silence.
"Akira Uchiha," she said, voice firm, "I have a few questions for you. If you answer everything honestly, I will grant you a favor."
Akira's brows twitched.
A favor from Tsunade was no small thing. In a world where injury was a daily hazard, where someone you cared about could be one mission away from disaster, having the greatest medical ninja alive owe you something was priceless. People would kill for that.
He didn't show any reaction, but inside, he made a mental note: this was a very big deal.
Tsunade continued.
"First question," she said. "Do you know someone named Chronarch?"
The name echoed inside the office like a dropped kunai.
Akira nodded calmly.
The moment he did, the pressure in the room shifted. It grew heavier—subtle, but unmistakable. Four Kage level shinobi, all quietly measuring him, studying every breath, every twitch.
For any other ten-year-old, this would've been suffocating. Intimidating. Maybe even terrifying.
For Akira, it felt like every other Tuesday.
He didn't flinch.
Tsunade leaned slightly forward. "Second question. Do you remember what Chronarch looks like? And… can you contact him?"
Her tone was casual on the surface, but every adult in the room held a silent tension.
Akira listened, nodded once, and gave his answer.
Tsunade glanced at her own notes on the desk, then at Akira, then nodded to herself—as if confirming some private theory—before asking the next question.
"Third question. Do you know everything Chronarch did in Konoha?"
The room didn't move, not even a breath out of place, but Akira sensed a shift.
Kakashi, specifically, felt… worried or concerned for him.
Akira understood why.
Maybe it was the weight Kakashi carried toward the Uchiha clan—guilt, regret, debts that could never be repaid.
Maybe it was the time they had spent investigating the truth behind Kakashi's father… and Obito… and the tangled conspiracies between them.
Whatever the reason, Kakashi's unease was real.
But Akira didn't flinch.
He simply nodded again.
As soon as he did, the pressure in the room intensified. Thicker. Heavier. Like standing under a waterfall made of attention.
Still, no one spoke.
They were all waiting for the next question.
Tsunade exhaled slowly.
"Fourth question. Can you arrange a meeting between Chronarch and us?"
This time, Akira shook his head.
The first shake of the entire interrogation.
Tsunade didn't seem surprised. If anything, she had expected that answer.
She took a breath, then asked the final and most delicate question.
" Final question. Is Chronarch on Konoha's side?"
Her voice changed—just slightly.
Less Hokage, more human.
There was a hint of hope in it. Maybe even a quiet plea.
Akira didn't nod this time. He didn't lie, didn't twist, didn't soften it.
"Chronarch takes no side," he said calmly. "He only follows amusement… or self-interest."
Silence blanketed the room.
And despite the uncomfortable truth he'd spoken, no one blamed him. No one questioned him. It was simply accepted.
Tsunade finally leaned back, a long exhale escaping her, and then she smiled—a genuine one.
"Well," she said lightly, "thank you for answering every question. As I promised… if you ever need anything from me, anything at all, you can come to me."
She gestured toward the door.
"You may go, Akira."
He stood, nodded respectfully to each of them—Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Itachi—then turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
The air outside felt lighter.
But he knew this wasn't the end of anything.
If anything, it was the beginning.
---
After leaving the Hokage's office, Akira stepped back into the warm Konoha sunlight. He didn't head home immediately; instead, he wandered lazily through the streets, letting his eyes drift over every new stall, every renovated shop, every little change that had appeared in the village over the last three years.
He had known this day of questioning would come.
In fact, he was surprised it had taken this long.
But worried?
Not even slightly.
There were four reasons why Akira had answered everything so openly inside the Hokage's office—why he hadn't tried to hide, deflect, or pretend.
---
1. He trusted the current Konoha leadership.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Itachi… this wasn't the era of smiling Hiruzen on the surface and Danzo in the shadows ordering children to be kidnapped.
Akira knew Tsunade wouldn't harm him.
Jiraiya wouldn't.
Kakashi certainly wouldn't.
And Itachi? Itachi would break the world itself before letting that happen.
This leadership was different.
They didn't play dirty games with children.
---
2. He was talented enough to matter.
Prodigies attract protection; they are investments of the village.
On paper, Akira had the strength of a jōnin.
In reality, in comparison to official Konoha grading, he was somewhere near elite jōnin level—stronger than most jōnin, still far from a Kage, but undeniably a future pillar.
Konoha wasn't foolish.
You don't bully your future pillars.
You don't treat them roughly.
You don't force answers out of them.
They needed Akira.
---
3. He was Uchiha—and the clan would never allow manipulation.
The Uchiha clan would burn the village before letting anyone dig into Akira's mind.
No memory extraction.
No genjutsu interrogation.
No hypnosis.
Akira was their hope after Itachi—a prodigy with a strange fate.
The clan had already decided:
No one touches him. No one crosses him.
---
4. The biggest reason of all: Chronarch.
Akira was the only person in Konoha with any connection—any thread—to Chronarch.
And Chronarch… terrified the high-levels more than any enemy village.
Chronarch hadn't harmed Konoha yet.
But that was the problem—they didn't know if he would.
No one wanted to provoke him by harming Akira.
Because if Chronarch became angry?
The old Konoha leadership had already learned what "results" could look like.
But strength wasn't what they feared most.
They feared Chronarch's information.
Chronarch knew everything they knew…
and everything they didn't.
If that information reached enemy villages, Konoha would collapse overnight.
So, for safety, for fear, for common sense—they treated Akira politely.
---
Akira walked calmly through the village, remembering all these reasons.
He didn't feel guilty about any of it.
He wasn't manipulating anyone—they were just acting according to their own logic.
And truthfully?
Even if the entire village attacked him right now, Akira knew he would survive.
Not because he was strong.
But because of the system.
In the last three years, he had never used a single Lucky Simulation.
Next month, he would get another.
The month after, another one.
Soon, he would have:
8 Lucky Simulations
Or
4 Enhanced Lucky Simulations
If he used them all at once, he could easily reach Kage-level or even higher.
So no—Akira wasn't concerned.
Besides, this whole incident had given him something valuable:
Background. Recognition. A presence among Konoha's high-levels.
No petty ninja could scheme against him now.
Not even Danzo's old remnants would dare.
---
As for why he saved his Lucky Simulations ?
Two years ago, when he had only two Lucky Simulations, he'd struggled between two choices:
Option 1:
Use every Lucky Simulation as soon as possible.
That would give him extra time inside each simulation—an extra year of training.
But if he received powerful rewards—Rinnegan, Mangekyou, rare abilities—his young body wouldn't handle it.
The system would "optimize" the reward and weaken it.
Wasted potential.
Option 2:
Wait until his body matured.
Then use all Lucky Simulations at once and gain their full power without weakening.
After thinking for days, Akira chose the second option.
And now he had six Lucky simulations.
He would perform his Lucky Simulation on the night of the graduation exam—the same night he'd receive his seventh.
Why that night?
Simple:
Everything aligned perfectly.
---
After wandering for several more minutes, Akira finally reached home.
He opened the door.
"Mom, I'm home."
Nanao Uchiha—turned from the kitchen and smiled warmly.
"Well, relax yourself," she said.
Akira exhaled and slipped into the familiar comfort of home.
---