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In the hospital ward, Akio finally managed to push and shoo the three kids out, leaving only Kushina and Tsunade behind.

Kushina was adamant about staying, while Tsunade seemed curious to see what kind of "special medical ninjutsu" Akio was talking about… though she didn't quite believe it. She knew very well what Akio's medical skills looked like.

Akio glanced at the two of them and sighed. Today, he was about to throw his dignity out the window.

Rolling up his sleeve, he said, "Help Minato up and have him bite me once—that's all it takes."

This ability, somewhat similar to Karin's, had only manifested when his Yin and Yang attributes both reached level nine. Even now, he still didn't understand the exact principle behind it. And he'd never actually used it before, mainly because…

Kushina's face turned strange. "Great-Grandpa, what is this…?"

Akio gave a wry smile. How was he supposed to explain?

"This is a special ability of mine. One bite cures any illness."

Tsunade's expression was full of curiosity—she had never heard of such a thing.

"Alright, don't give me that look. This is the first time I've ever used it. It's normal you haven't heard of it."

Kushina carefully supported Minato and had him bite down on Akio's forearm.

The wound on Minato's abdomen began to heal rapidly, while Akio felt something draining from his own body. He checked his status—no noticeable changes.

"Must be life force," he mused. "But not much—my age didn't even increase by a year."

He frowned slightly and looked at Minato, whose complexion had already shifted from pale to healthy. Akio pulled his arm away.

"Great-Grandpa, Minato's not fully recovered yet!" Kushina protested.

"That's enough. Any longer and I'll be shaving years off my life." Outwardly, Akio sounded casual, but in truth, he thought that just two more seconds would've been enough for Minato to wake up. And given the situation, the eye contact that would follow… would be painfully awkward.

Kushina nodded repeatedly and turned her attention back to taking care of Minato, leaving Akio helpless.

"Ancestor, what was that just now?" Tsunade asked curiously.

Akio first felt a twinge of discomfort, then realized why—it was the difference in how they addressed him. Kushina called him Great-Grandpa, while Tsunade called him Ancestor.

"This family tree is a mess…"

"Don't tell anyone about that ability," he warned. "Just knowing it yourself is enough. It's an extremely rare trait of the Uzumaki clan."

Tsunade nodded, though her expression was a little awkward—she also thought Minato biting Akio just now had been… uncomfortable to watch.

Akio gave a bitter smile, having thrown away his dignity, and waved them off as he left the ward.

"Elder Akio, how's sensei?" Kakashi asked the moment he appeared, the other two kids also looking anxious.

"It's nothing serious. He should wake up in an hour or two and will just need a couple of days of rest."

Obito's face lit up, and he was about to rush inside, but Akio stopped him.

"Don't be in such a hurry to disturb your teacher and teacher's wife. First, tell me about that crazy old man you encountered."

Obito hesitated, but Kakashi spoke up instead: "Earlier, sensei took us on our first C-rank mission—to escort a caravan to Yugakure. That's where we met the crazy old man. He attacked us outright."

"He attacked you directly?" Akio blinked. In his mind, Akatsuki shouldn't have been targeting Minato outright…

"That's right. He came at us swinging. Oh, and I think he was muttering something when he charged—sounded pretty deranged."

Akio nodded. "A half-finished product, then? All ability and no brains—or at least not much intelligence." He suspected that Hidan's abilities were the result of some experiment, and perhaps, due to his own past influence, the Jashin cult had gained a defective experimental subject.

He pressed for more details about the battle. Kakashi's account matched what Akio imagined—Minato had easily driven a kunai into the man's chest, but to their shock, it had no effect. The old man had only needed a drop of Minato's blood to unleash a bizarre curse technique.

Fortunately, Minato realized something was wrong in time, avoiding a fatal hit. He barely managed to repel the attacker before losing consciousness, and the three students had carried him back.

"How could Minato be so careless…" Akio sighed, waving for the three kids to go see their teacher, while he left the Konoha Hospital and headed straight for the Hokage's office.

"Elder Akio, how's Minato?" Hiruzen greeted him immediately.

"He's fine. How are you handling this? Who did you send to pursue that Akatsuki member?" If Minato's injury hadn't already been two days old, Akio would've gone himself.

"I sent Jiraiya and Orochimaru. But… I'm still a little uneasy," Hiruzen admitted.

"Both of them went? Then relax—nothing will go wrong." Akio nodded. With those two together, failure was unlikely.

He hadn't seen Jiraiya in Minato's ward earlier, so he'd guessed the man had gone to seek revenge. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to join him.

Hiruzen shook his head. "They should've returned from Yugakure by now."

"It's fine. Maybe they needed to track someone down. Even if all of Akatsuki came at them, those two together wouldn't have a problem." After all, Orochimaru now knew Sage Techniques, and Jiraiya's strength was at its peak.

Hiruzen nodded, still frowning. "I just don't understand why Akatsuki would suddenly target Minato. Ever since their last attack on Konoha, they've been quiet for a long time. And now, with the ninja world on the brink of chaos…"

His voice was filled with worry.

"That's your problem, not mine." Akio grinned and waved it off, leaving Hiruzen with only a bitter smile.

With nothing urgent on his plate, Akio decided to head home to see his daughter—but unexpectedly, the ever-unpredictable Sakumo appeared in front of him.

"What is it this time?"

"Minato's awake."

Akio froze. It had barely been ten minutes. Youth really was something else.

"Well, good for him. I'm not going." The memory of the earlier "treatment" still made him feel awkward.

"…Fine, I'll go." After a moment's hesitation, he decided he might as well hear Minato's account firsthand—there might be some new detail.

When he returned to the ward, Minato was already smiling brightly, reassuring Kushina and his three students. But upon seeing Akio, his expression stiffened.

Akio blinked, then glanced at Kushina—sure enough, she was trying to hide a laugh.

"You…" Akio was at a loss for words. They had agreed to keep it a secret, yet she had obviously told him.

Akio sighed, resigned. "Fine, whatever. So you know—big deal."

Then he turned to Minato. "Why were you so careless this time? There are plenty of people in the ninja world who can survive a pierced heart—at least temporarily."

Minato gave a wry smile. "When my kunai pierced that old man's chest, he said something to me: 'You're not Brother Minato.' It threw me off for just a moment…"

Akio shook his head with a chuckle. "You fell for such a simple trick? As if you could be anyone's big brother…"

But as he laughed, his smile slowly froze.

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