Even in the Land of Fire, where the climate stayed mild year-round, the air in July still carried a restless, oppressive heat.
Akio greeted Chiri briefly, then expanded his sensory perception to its limit. After a moment, he frowned and muttered, "Nothing… the real body's hidden pretty far away."
"Uzumaki Akio… you truly lived all the way into this era. Even now, standing face-to-face with you, I can hardly believe it."
The gentle voice froze Akio in place.
"Chiri, you…" He hadn't expected that person to leave her with her own will.
"I've never controlled Uchiha Chiri," the voice continued calmly. "Everything she's done has been by her own choice. It's not surprising after all, she and I share the same deep hatred for you."
Akio pressed his lips together. He almost blurted out, You've got the wrong guy, but… how was he supposed to explain that?
I've carried more blame in my life than I can count, one more won't kill me, he thought wryly. But this particular accusation? That one he didn't want.
"Chiri, what 'deep hatred' are we talking about? Because I don't remember it."
"You really don't know? It's not exactly a small grudge."
Chiri lifted her hands and tied back her long, dark-blue hair. Her remaining right eye spun rapidly, the three tomoe shifting into a pattern of three hollow circles linked together.
"So, you awakened the Mangekyō… and that design's pretty unique," Akio murmured, thoughtful. Then he let out a quiet chuckle. "Hatred, huh…"
His narrowed eyes snapped open.
One ordinary Rinnegan.
One six-tomoe Rinnegan-Sharingan.
Both revealed together for the first time.
"Grudges can wait. Let me deal with the pests first, then we can sit down and talk."
"You won't get that chance," one of the Six Paths said coldly.
Akio glanced at her, finding her familiar. She had appeared in the original story…
"Fūka… the one who drains chakra through a kiss. Right, if you ignore the movies, Naruto's first kiss with a girl was with her." Akio remembered some ridiculous forum thread from his previous life about Naruto's "luck with women." Before Hinata, there were four or five girls who'd already kissed him. As a lifelong single guy, Akio had found that detail… unforgettable. "So she's the one who drained Tenten's chakra…"
After a brief pause, he shook his head.
"If you really thought you could keep me here, your real body would've shown itself instead of hiding outside my sensory range. Enough talk, show me what you've got. This is your Mangekyō ability, isn't it?"
The Six Paths scattered instantly. Chiri stepped forward, her calm, beautiful face directly facing Akio as her Mangekyō locked onto him.
"You're not going to dodge? The prodigy of the Uzumaki clan?"
Akio smiled faintly. "It's been a long time since anyone called me a prodigy…"
"Time Wheel!"
The moment she spoke, the world around him shifted.
The forest vanished, replaced by barren wasteland.
It was a battlefield he knew well.
And standing before him… was a familiar figure.
An eleven-year-old Uchiha Chiri.
And Akio…
Was also eleven.
"So you can actually pull me into a genjutsu like this. Impressive. Recreating our fight from back then? Pretty nostalgic." He smiled. "But we can reminisce later, now's not the time."
Clang!
Chiri drew her blade.
"Relax, Uzumaki Akio. No matter how long we fight here, no time will pass outside."
With that, she charged.
"That fight back then never really had a winner," she said. "Let's settle it now!"
Akio paused, then nodded lightly. From a ninja pouch he hadn't used in decades, he drew a single kunai and stepped forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Steel rang against steel. His kunai flickered with dazzling speed, stopping for a split second at Jiri's throat… before pulling back.
"In the past hundred years, I haven't fought all that much, but I'd like to think I've improved at least a little. If I still couldn't beat you in this recreated fight, I'd have wasted my life." He lowered his voice. "Tell me… do you really hate me?"
Chiri froze, then stepped back with a quiet sigh.
"What happened back then… who was right or wrong, it's impossible to say now. But I've already died, this grudge should've died with me. It shouldn't be used by someone with ulterior motives." She paused briefly. "The real body is in a barren mountain about twenty kilometers northwest of here."
Akio chuckled softly. "I figured as much. I've studied your personality plenty over the years. Twenty kilometers of mountains is still a big search area, but it's better than nothing."
Chiri raised her blade again, pointing it at him.
"One more fight. Defeat me in this space, and you'll leave."
Akio shook his head with a smile. The fact that she could even drag someone like him, whose Yin Release was at its peak into a genjutsu was already remarkable. Breaking out of it? Easy.
Still… seeing her charge again, he lifted his kunai and met her.
At the instant their weapons clashed, he suddenly let go of his kunai
And allowed her blade to cut straight through him.
"You—?!" Chiri's expression shifted in shock.
"Right or wrong aside, you were the one who suffered back then. Consider this repayment."
His body began to dissolve.
"This is my genjutsu…"
"It's fine. Don't forget, I'm the greatest prodigy the Uzumaki clan's ever had. After living over a century, I'm far stronger than you can imagine." Akio raised an eyebrow. "Let the past end with that strike. As for everything else… we've got time. No rush."
Chiri's long hair swayed gently. Her expression grew complicated.
"Uzumaki Akio… how are you still this foolish after living more than a hundred years?"
Akio: ???
His body crumbled away, and the illusion shattered with it.
When his consciousness returned to reality, the positions of the Six Paths and Chiri hadn't changed at all, proof that everything in the illusion had happened in a mere instant.
Akio frowned, still trying to figure out what she meant by calling him foolish.
There was no way he was accepting that.
"Uchiha Chiri, did it work?" the Preta Path asked.
Chiri hesitated, then sighed. "It worked. Akio… honestly, I don't even know what to say about you anymore. You're always… unexpected."
As she spoke, the light in her Mangekyō faded rapidly. Both eyes turned dull gray
She had gone completely blind.
"A genjutsu that consumes all ocular power?" Akio's expression darkened slightly. Something about this wasn't right…
At that moment, he suddenly noticed something strange.
Everyone else seemed to be getting taller.
No
He was shrinking.
Name: Uzumaki Akio
Age: 11 (+)
"Time Wheel… Time Wheel! So that's what it does…"
Akio's lips slowly curled upward.
"This is… incredible."
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