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"Lady Katsuyu, how long was I unconscious?"
After confirming his surroundings and feeling slightly reassured, Akio finally spoke.
"It's been a month, Lord Akio."
Akio frowned. That was longer than he expected. Still, at least it wasn't something like being unconscious for over a decade...
"A month, huh? That's not too bad..." he muttered. "Thanks for everything, Lady Katsuyu."
Even if it was just for sustaining his life, without his chakra to support her, Katsuyu must've expended a fair amount of energy.
He released the summoning technique, and Katsuyu disappeared. Standing up, Akio casually deactivated the barrier of the AkayÅ Formation with a wave of his hand and walked out of the cave.
"It's night? Probably the middle of the nightā¦"
Akio looked up at the sky with a slight frown.
"No matter. I should head to Konoha first."
Originally, Akio had planned to retrieve Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan, but after experiencing two consecutive dreams that felt disturbingly real, he wasn't even sure if this was reality anymore. He decided to confirm that first.
Having flown this route once before, he reached Konoha much faster the second time.
"Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzenā¦" Akio counted the faces on the Hokage Rock and let out a breath of relief. The timeline didn't seem too far off this time.
Once bitten, twice shy. Even though Katsuyu had told him it had only been a month, he couldn't shake the unease.
"Hmm?" With a brief sensory sweep, Akio noticed that Konoha looked batteredālike it had just gone through a major battle.
"What the hell? Did the Nine-Tails go on a rampage again?" he muttered. He still entered through the front gates, and the two familiar guards didn't even "notice" him.
Inside the village, it was as he feared. Many buildings were damaged, and there were clear signs of combat.
Listening to conversations around him, Akio's frown deepened. "Five powerful enemies invaded, and Mito repelled them?"
After eavesdropping a bit, he started to piece things together.
"Konoha's this vulnerable now? Just five enemies can break in, and Mito herself had to step in?" Akio grew even more suspicious and quickly made his way to the Senju compound.
"This is ridiculousā¦" The once-prosperous compound was in ruins, with a few familiar Senju clan members working on repairs.
He sensed the area briefly and frowned again.
"Mito's not here?"
With a sigh, he gave up on keeping a low profile.
"Kagura Mind's Eye!"
The village alarm sounded as Akio locked onto Mito's chakra signature.
"She's in the hospital? Don't tell me Mito got injuredā¦" he muttered, speeding toward the hospital.
Moments after he left, several ANBU appeared at the scene. Hiruzen arrived shortly afterward.
After surveying the area, Hiruzen pondered for a moment, then waved the ANBU away.
"It must be Elder Akioā¦ He's back."
At Konoha Hospital, Akio was finally reunited with Mito, Tsunade, and a bedridden Nawaki.
"Granduncle, you're backā¦" Mito said softly. Her once-youthful face now looked noticeably older, middle-aged even.
Tsunade's eyes lit up with joy, but before she could speak, Akio interjected with a puzzled look.
"You used that much chakra? What happened? Who attacked?"
Mito shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. There were five very strange individuals... They wore cloaks with red clouds on a black backgroundā¦"
Akio's expression changed instantly. "Akatsuki?"
"No way! This is way too early for the Akatsuki to exist!"
Mito continued, "Their eyes looked like the Rinnegan from legends. Their fields of vision were linkedā¦ They didn't feel alive. It was as if someone else was controlling them from behind."
Akio's face twisted in confusion.
"The Six Paths of Pain? But I just sent little Nagato to the Uzumaki clanā¦ How could there already be a Pain Six Paths?"
He let out a sigh and cursed loudly. "Damn it, Black Zetsu! You're still not done, huh?!"
"Genjutsu Release!"
ā¦
Ten minutes passed. Mito and Tsunade just stared blankly as Akio continued to release genjutsuā¦ into thin air.
Mito thought she knew Akio well, but this time, even she was taken aback.
"Genjutsu Release!"
The illusion didn't shatter. Akio muttered, "What the hell? It won't breakā¦"
He glanced at Mito again and sighed. "Alright thenāgo ahead and put on your performance!"
Instead of continuing to dispel genjutsu, he decided to wait and see what Mito would say next.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Hiruzen walked in.
"Lord Akio. It really is you."
Akio nodded. "Pleaseācontinue your act."
Hiruzen blinked, confused. He glanced at Mito, who shook her head, equally lost.
"Grandpaā¦ what's wrong with you?" Tsunade asked in confusion.
Akio sighed again. "Alright, you three go ahead with your little performance."
The strange comments left the trio bewildered, exchanging confused glances.
After a while, Hiruzen broke the silence. "Tsunade, how's Nawaki doing?"
Tsunade exhaled deeply and shook her head. "He's mostly fine now."
The three decided to ignore Akio for the time being and resumed their conversation.
Akio listened silently, but the longer he did, the stranger he felt. Their dialogue had no apparent flaws. Maybe he was just imagining things?
He glanced at his status screen. The "Yin Element" was still glaringly visible at level 9.
Yin Element (Fusion Possible: 1/7)
LV 9 (5,000,000 / 10,000,000)
"No wayā¦ There's no reason I shouldn't be able to dispel Black Zetsu's influence. Plus, the system already showed a prompt saying I successfully sealed himā¦"
"Could it be that someone already obtained Madara's Rinnegan? And they've already mastered itā¦ in just a month?"
Akio suddenly looked up. The trio had finished talking.
Hiruzen glanced at him again, hesitated, then said, "Elder Akio, I'll take my leave and check on Orochimaru."
As Hiruzen left, Akio furrowed his brow and turned to the two remaining women.
"Why check on Orochimaru? Was he injured too?"
Tsunade shook her head, a bitter expression on her face. "Orochimaru's fineā¦ but his parentsā¦"
Akio froze. So Orochimaru's parentsā¦ still died?
Mito spoke up, "Granduncle, during the attack, the five intruders split up. Three targeted Uchiha Kagami, one went after Orochimaru's parents, and another attacked Nawaki. Kagami and Nawaki were injured, butā¦"
Akio's thoughts clicked into place. "Those five attackersā¦"
"You didn't kill them, did you?" he asked, hoping to examine their corpses and confirm if they resembled the Six Paths of Pain.
"No. Midway through the fight, they just vanishedālike they were reverse summoned. That's why I felt they weren't truly alive."
"It was the Six Paths of Painā¦"
Akio sighed inwardly. "Who got their hands on Madara's Rinnegan? What a headacheā¦"
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