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"With Sasori's strength right now, he's still far from being able to kill the Third Kazekage."

In the midst of endless yellow sand, Akio walked while deep in thought.

Roughly calculating, there was less than a year left until Sasori killed the Third Kazekage; it was hard to believe he could experience a qualitative leap in power in such a short time.

"So it really was by poison and scheming, huh…"

"Well, even if he is a genius, how strong can a fifteen-year-old be anyway?"

Akio then recalled the first time he'd exchanged blows with Madara. Back then, Madara was seventeen years old; if not for the bug-like Susano'o, he probably would've been beaten black and blue by the current Third Kazekage.

"Without protagonist privileges, fifteen years old at most means you're almost S-Class. Even Nagato isn't much stronger."

In his estimation, the thirteen-year-old Nagato was only about on the same level as Sasori.

At that thought, Akio suddenly paused.

"Not necessarily… the owner of this little toy might actually be the real genius."

He glanced at the sealing scroll that had appeared in his arms.

Leaving the Sand behind him, Akio stepped out of the Land of Wind and returned to the Land of Fire.

However, instead of continuing east, he veered southeast — heading toward the capital of the Fire Daimyō.

Akio honestly hoped Kushina would give birth to a son… but if it turned out to be a girl, he couldn't be biased. This trip was to see if he could find a suitable "toy" for a girl.

Changing into regular clothes and reverting to his original appearance, Akio wandered through the capital with no problems — somewhat embarrassing, really: no one recognized him. It had been years since he visited the Fire Capital.

A Hidden Village and its host country had a mutually reinforcing relationship — the stronger Konoha became, the stronger the Land of Fire grew too.

The capital had changed so much that Akio couldn't even find the entrance… so he simply walked through a wall.

He browsed a few doll shops — or rather, puppet shops — and was fairly satisfied. Instead of Barbie-like dolls, most of the toys were crudely sewn cats and dogs.

In the end, he bought nothing. Suddenly he felt that if it were a girl, gifting a little kitten might be better than a doll.

Causing no disturbance, Uzumaki Akio's half-day stroll in the capital came to an end, officially wrapping up his gift-buying mission.

"Time to head home and check on my little girl."

He shook his head with a smile. He'd been away for over half a month — from early February to its end.

Using his "Hagoromo" identity to enter Konoha like usual, he didn't expect to be stopped before even reaching his shop.

"What is it, Sakumo? I'm in a hurry to see my daughter."

Sakumo glanced around before whispering, "Elder Akio, Namikaze Minato is injured. He's at Konoha Hospital."

Akio froze, didn't bother asking further, and immediately rushed toward the hospital.

By the time he arrived, he had switched back to his original appearance. Several familiar chakra signatures were inside.

"Great-Grandfather, you're back!"

Tsunade hurried out to greet him. Her expression wasn't grim, allowing Akio to breathe a little — Minato shouldn't be in critical danger.

"What happened to Minato?"

In Akio's mind, someone who had mastered Flying Thunder God should only be injured by a handful of people in the world.

"Was it to protect Obito and the others?" he guessed.

Tsunade shook her head. "It was Akatsuki."

She led Akio into a ward.

"Akatsuki?"

Akio was shocked. For them to target Minato — and actually injure him — it could only have been their leader.

"Great-grandfather!" Kushina sobbed nearby.

Akio nodded, then frowned slightly. Kushina looked utterly exhausted, likely having not rested in a long time.

"Is Minato badly hurt?"

"Elder Akio!" Kakashi called. Behind him, Rin and Obito greeted awkwardly — their first time meeting Akio in this identity.

Akio nodded gravely, looking at Minato lying unconscious on the bed. His waist and abdomen were wrapped in layers of bandages. Akio could faintly sense an arc-shaped penetrating wound.

"That shape… a scythe? Don't tell me Hanzō joined Akatsuki?"

It was hard to imagine anyone else being able to wound Minato.

"Not Hanzō," Tsunade said, signaling Kakashi to explain.

Before Kakashi could speak, Obito blurted out, "A crazy old man!"

"Obito…" Rin tugged him lightly. "Sorry, Elder…"

Seeing the nervous behavior of these two disciples in front of his "true" appearance, Akio relaxed a little.

Minato's injuries were serious but not life-threatening. A few weeks of rest would solve everything — no need to panic.

"Oh? And what's your relationship — that you're apologizing for him?" Akio teased Rin.

Rin froze — his tone sounded a bit familiar…

"Great-grandfather, how can you still joke at a time like this?" Kushina cried.

Akio sighed. "I understand the situation. It's nothing — he just needs to rest. Minato probably got careless. There are countless bizarre techniques in the shinobi world."

Hearing Obito call the assailant a "crazy old man," Akio suddenly recalled intel Jūzō had once brought: Akatsuki had a member from some 'Evil God cult.'

So Minato must've encountered him.

Akio could even imagine the flow of the battle — after piercing the opponent's vitals, Minato must've relaxed a little… only to get sampled for blood.

That kind of immortality was unprecedented in the ninja world — "Death Possession Blood" was a forbidden art no one had seen before. Given that, even Flying Thunder God wasn't invincible.

"Where did this Evil God cult come from, anyway?"

That was what Akio really wanted to know.

In the original timeline, it was only ever mentioned by Hidan, who appeared to be the cult's sole follower.

"Did I change the timeline somewhere?"

He doubted he'd affected anything that would give rise to an Evil-God cult.

After a moment of silence, Akio turned to Kushina.

"Go rest. Minato will be fine — he'll probably wake in a day or so."

Kushina shook her head. "I'll wait for him."

The other three children wore the same stubborn expression.

Akio sighed. "Honestly… I owe you brats."

"All unrelated personnel, leave! I'm going to use a very special medical ninjutsu — nobody peek!"

As he said this, his old face turned slightly embarrassed…

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