Chapter 98 - After Battle

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Akio sat atop a small dirt mound in the Shikkotsu Forest, sighing repeatedly.

"No wonder the Eight Gates are classified as a forbidden jutsu... better not use it again unless absolutely necessary."

It had been a full month since the battle in the Land of Rivers. Akio had been unconscious for half that time, and the rest was spent recuperating—yet his body still ached all over.

"Why couldn't I just be Uzumaki the Negotiator... no, I had to become Uzumaki the Challenger... I nearly got Tobirama killed."

Over the past two weeks, Akio had been reflecting deeply. Armed with foresight and strength, he'd grown too arrogant—underestimating the Hidden Cloud and brazenly setting up the Hidden Stone.

And now, he was paying the price. That battle had nearly cost him his life.

Glancing at his stat panel, Akio sighed again.

Name: Uzumaki Akio

Age: 67 (–)

Ninjutsu: 1108 (+)

Taijutsu: 402 (+)

Genjutsu: 5133 (+)

... [Omitted]

Overall Rating: S+6

Witness Points: 3009

"My life is just one catastrophe after another. I almost lost everything. If it weren't for the 300 witness points I got from saving Tobirama, I'd have been reset back to square one overnight…"

His physical stats had taken a major hit—more than half gone. Part of that was due to his age catching up to him, but more critically, the extended use of the Eight Gates had severely deteriorated his physical functions.

For days, Akio hesitated, but he finally decided not to spend witness points to reduce his age anymore. It would decrease naturally each year anyway—it was better to save those points to upgrade his core stats.

"If I hadn't wasted points on useless things like sculpting or gambling skills, all my core stats would've hit level 8 by now. I could've one-shotted Kinkaku and Ginkaku…"

After the Valley of the End incident, Akio had relaxed on improving his power, convinced that he was already strong enough to face anything.

But after the recent battle, he realized he was still far behind Madara and Hashirama. Right now, his power scale was: crush Two-S ranks, match Three-S, struggle with Four-S, gamble with Five-S, and run from Six-S...

Though even Konoha probably only had five or six S-rank shinobi in total, the chances of being ganged up on by that many were slim.

Then again, knowing his tendency to attract trouble… well, wasn't it five S-rank shinobi who showed up last time and nearly got Tobirama killed?

"And worst of all... I accomplished nothing in that battle." He hadn't managed to learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode—who knew where the Third Raikage had been blasted off to. He didn't reclaim the Nine-Tails' chakra—Kinkaku and Ginkaku dragged it into the afterlife. And the Six Paths' tools? Scattered who-knows-where, unrecovered.

"At least Tobirama doesn't have to die…"

"Lord Akio, it's time to eat," came the voice of one of the Slug Sage's clones, interrupting his wandering thoughts.

"Oh, right... more grass again? I feel like my body's crying out for meat, Lady Slug."

"There are no other animals in the Shikkotsu Forest. Where am I supposed to get you meat?"

…

After chewing a few mouthfuls of leaves, Akio felt like he was turning green. He was getting fed up with life in the Shikkotsu Forest.

He went to see the Slug Sage. Tobirama was still encased in the sage's body, showing no signs of waking up.

Akio frowned. "Lady Slug, how is Tobirama doing?"

"He's gravely injured. For the past days, I've only been able to keep him alive using Sage Chakra. He's only just begun to recover."

"How long will it take for him to fully heal?" Akio asked again.

"It depends on his own recovery ability. The shortest would be three months. The longest, a full year."

"That long…" Akio muttered. "If he doesn't eat for that long, won't his body suffer?"

Even for powerful shinobi, they weren't like the cultivators in fantasy novels—they couldn't fast indefinitely. The stronger you were, the more you had to eat. Akio himself couldn't go without two meals a day, and that was just with grass. If he had meat, he could eat eight meals a day…

"Don't worry. While encased in my body, I supply him with all necessary daily nutrients," the Slug Sage said calmly.

Akio's face twisted. "You supply nutrients? What exactly are we talking about here? Slug... juice? Tobirama's got it pretty good…"

"You survived your own two weeks of unconsciousness the same way," the Slug Sage added.

Akio's expression froze. After a long pause, he exhaled deeply. "My life really is a string of misfortunes…"

Shaking his head, Akio decided he couldn't stay in the Shikkotsu Forest any longer.

"Lady Slug, I came this time to say goodbye. Tobirama and I have been missing for too long, and Konoha is still at war with the Sand. I'm not at ease just sitting here."

"When Tobirama recovers, please inform me. I'll come back immediately."

"Go," the Slug Sage replied.

Akio turned and left.

As he exited the forest, he glanced up at the five massive Rashōmon gates. Muttering to himself, he said, "Where did Hashirama stash the scroll for summoning Rashōmon? Maybe I should form a summoning contract... my defensive jutsu arsenal is lacking."

"This area shouldn't be far from the battlefield between Konoha and the Hidden Sand. I'll take a look first."

Akio flew quickly through the air. In just over ten minutes, he arrived at the battlefield.

"Empty?" He activated his full sensory perception and scanned the scene. Various ninja tools half-buried in the sand and two types of headbands told the tale.

"Phew… good. Judging by the gear and headbands, Konoha's casualties were less than one-third of the Sand's. It must've been a decisive victory."

Relieved, Akio no longer rushed. He began flying slowly toward Konoha. In his heart, he knew—with the war over, the only thing left in the village would be political infighting.

"They're probably fighting over who gets to be the Third Hokage. Let them fight—watching their expressions when I return will be so satisfying."

Akio's current appearance was far different from before. When using Transformation Jutsu, he used to look around 53 years old—not too old for an Uzumaki, still considered middle-aged. But now, at 67, he didn't even need the jutsu. He looked like a frail old man. His once-red hair had turned completely white, and deep wrinkles covered his face. Unless they knew him personally, most wouldn't recognize him at a glance.

"At least now I don't need a transformation jutsu... but I still won't go in through the front gate."

He approached the western side of Konoha—since the main gate faced south.

"This side will do. I designed Konoha's barrier system myself…" Akio murmured. Sneaking into Konoha was way easier than sneaking into the Hidden Cloud.

"Never noticed before, but the west side of Konoha is really nice. Mountains, rivers, trees..."

Akio looked up—and his expression changed drastically.

"What the hell?!"

A mysterious object came crashing down directly onto him. Akio hit the ground with a wry smile. He'd only let his mind wander for a second, admiring the scenery...

Looking down, he realized it was a person.

"People still jump off cliffs in the shinobi world? My life really is cursed…"

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