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The moment Jiraiya's house exploded, Akio sensed several familiar chakra signatures rapidly approaching.

He glanced at Jiraiya, who was sitting in the ruins, utterly devastated and on the verge of tears. Feeling satisfied, Akio deactivated the Eight Gates and Sage Mode.

"Elder Akio, what happened here?" The first to arrive was Sakumo, dressed in standard ANBU uniform with a mask covering his face.

Waving his hand dismissively, Akio looked around. Fortunately, Jiraiya's neighbors were all shinobi, so there were no accidental injuries—just a bunch of them secretly observing from a distance.

"Nothing serious. I was just sparring with Jiraiya, and I might've gone a bit overboard."

Sakumo paused. It was obvious he didn't buy the explanation. Why on earth would Jiraiya spar with someone like Akio?

"Well, if that's all…" he said, clearly not wanting to get involved, turning to leave.

Akio quickly stepped in to stop him and gestured to the surroundings. "More and more people are gathering. Go clear them out."

Behind the mask, Sakumo's expression remained hidden, but it was obvious… he was not pleased.

Akio glanced at Jiraiya's heartbroken face and felt a little guilty. Maybe I overdid it…

"It's just a house, isn't it? I'll pay to have a better one rebuilt for you, no problem."

Jiraiya raised his head, utterly dejected. "You old monster… You destroyed my entire collection. This is the only book I have left… Are you trying to drive me down the same path as that other predecessor?"

He shivered at his own words.

Akio's face darkened. So much for feeling guilty—what a waste of emotion. This guy…

"And the half-finished novel I spent a whole week writing—it was going to be my first published work!" Jiraiya added, drowning in sorrow.

Akio sighed. Okay, now I actually feel kind of bad.

"No worries, the second version will be even better. And besides, it's not like I did it on purpose. That book in your hand… I wrote it."

Jiraiya leapt up. "I knew it! No wonder you got so worked up! One little trick and you confessed. I didn't think you were that kind of person, old monster!"

Akio froze, a thousand curses flooding his mind.

He glanced at the ruins and turned to leave. "Great. You can sleep on Konoha's streets tonight."

"Wait! Senior! Didn't you say you'd compensate me with a better house?" The title of address immediately changed back to senior.

Akio ignored him. Jiraiya kept shouting after him, even threatening, "Careful or I'll tell everyone about the kind of books you write!"

Akio called back without hesitation, "Then I'll tell them your thing for Tsunade is just a front, and you're really into Orochimaru. Let's see who they believe!"

Jiraiya watched Akio disappear into the distance, then looked back at the ruined house. Now he truly felt like crying.

"Why couldn't I hold back…"

Meanwhile, Akio strolled farther and farther away before realizing—he had completely forgotten his original purpose.

"Whatever. Jiraiya won't be writing anything for a while anyway—not until he finds a place to live. And honestly, I don't feel like seeing him right now."

Never in his wildest dreams did Akio imagine that the identity of senior writer would become a black mark on his legacy.

After a few turns, he arrived at the Konoha Training Ground, planning to check on the three kids and see if they were slacking off.

But before he got too close, a fight on the outskirts caught his eye.

Two boys, about five or six years old—Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi—were going head-to-head!

"Oh right, it's the weekend. Ninja Academy must be on break. So Guy's already challenged Kakashi to a match? He should be a lot stronger than he was at this age in the previous timeline. It makes sense that the spar came earlier. I just wonder how many rounds this is."

Perhaps due to the emotional toll from Jiraiya earlier, Akio's first thought on seeing the kids wasn't about the outcome of the match—but concern.

"Come to think of it… in the original story, neither of them ever got married. Could it be…?"

Akio shook his head quickly to drive away the absurd thoughts and refocused on the fight.

Neither boy was using weapons or the basic three ninjutsu. It was a pure taijutsu match, and their strikes were evenly matched, each blow crisp and sharp.

Akio didn't intervene, just quietly observed for a while, eventually forming a judgment.

"Right now, Guy still falls short of Kakashi. Their taijutsu is roughly equal, but Kakashi is nearly a year younger, and at this age, that's a big deal. Plus, Kakashi will eventually train in kenjutsu too…"

He eyed the short sword strapped to Kakashi's back.

At this point, even jōnin-level fights felt dull to Akio—but this match between two children? It was surprisingly entertaining.

"Go for the face, Guy!" Akio muttered, somewhat wickedly curious to see Kakashi with a bruised nose… well, maybe not bruised exactly.

And as if he heard Akio's thought, Kakashi suddenly kicked Guy hard in the cheek, sending him flying.

Guy landed with a thud and stayed down, showing no sign of getting up anytime soon. Kakashi caught his breath and flopped onto the ground as well.

"You win again, Kakashi…" Guy finally muttered after a while.

"Yeah." Kakashi squinted. "Two-nil."

Akio chuckled from afar. "Only the second round, and Kakashi's already so competitive."

But Guy wasn't one to fall behind. He sprang to his feet and declared, "Kakashi! Let's have the third Battle of Youth!"

Even though his legs were still shaking as he said it.

Kakashi refused to back down and stood up as well.

Akio frowned. With their current stamina, another round could cause lasting damage. He was about to step in when the two boys exchanged a knowing glance.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Akio twitched. Oh right, I forgot about that.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"I won, Kakashi!" Guy cheered.

Akio's eyes lit up and he approached them.

"Elder Akio!"

"Ancestor!"

The boys' greetings reflected the respect passed down from their fathers.

"I saw you two playing rock-paper-scissors. Want to learn a more advanced version? It's more challenging…"

As soon as he heard the word challenging, Guy leapt in eagerly. Kakashi remained quiet but didn't object.

"Alright, let me teach you."

"Left punch, right punch—then retract one fist and reveal the result with the other."

"And don't forget the chant: 'Left punch, right punch, let's both pull back one punch!'"

Watching the two boys try it out cautiously, Akio nodded in satisfaction and stepped back.

Suddenly, words appeared before his eyes:

"You have witnessed and completely altered a side storyline in the Naruto world: Guy vs. Kakashi – Reward: 10 (x10) Witness Points."

"Completely altered?" Akio was delighted, though he had no idea what had changed.

It wasn't until much later that he learned—ever since learning the "Left Punch, Right Punch" version of the game, Guy never won a single round of rock-paper-scissors again.

After all, he used to rely on luck.

Now… it depended on intelligence.

And intelligence… was one thing Guy lacked.

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