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Ever since receiving the news of Sasori's defection, Akio had been keeping a close eye on Sunagakure's movements, partly out of curiosity about what exactly had changed, and partly to see whether the Third Great Ninja War would still unfold as it was supposed to.

Unexpectedly, nothing noteworthy came from Sunagakure. Instead, a messenger from Uzushiogakure arrived with news, but since they couldn't find Akio, the message had been delivered to Hiruzen instead.

"Elder Akio! Kumogakure is showing signs of unrest!" Sakumo had sought him out personally.

Akio blinked, confusion written all over his face.

Over the years, Kumogakure had recovered a fair bit of its strength, and the Fourth Raikage had already succeeded the title, but compared to Uzushiogakure, they were still leagues behind. Even without him, Uzushiogakure might not lose to the Hidden Cloud.

And the Cloud Village knew that well. Their yearly "tributes" had always arrived promptly, never once late.

Akio studied Sakumo for a moment before nodding. "I see. No other reports? Nothing from Kirigakure or Sunagakure?"

Sakumo hesitated briefly, then spoke.

"Kirigakure seems stable, but there's something odd about Sunagakure. Their movements are… unusual."

"That makes more sense." Akio smiled faintly. "Whether it's Sasori's defection or the death of the Third Kazekage, at least something should've happened. It'd be strange if the Sand were completely quiet."

"And the Cloud?"

Sakumo shook his head. "We haven't been able to determine what's going on."

Akio chuckled. "No big deal. Probably some minor issue. I'll head back to Uzushiogakure and take a look myself."

He didn't believe Kumogakure would be foolish enough to pick a fight with Uzushiogakure at this point. There had to be another reason.

And since this was a good opportunity, Akio decided to return to the village, there were some things he wanted to take care of anyway.

After giving Sara a few instructions, he once again entrusted her to Ichiraku Ramen. She barely needed his supervision these days. Ever since she'd become an apprentice there, she'd learned to handle both big and small matters without troubling him.

"If my two disciples show up, just tell them I'm out on business. Let them in and have them wait." Akio said before departing.

Then, without detouring to find Nanako or Jitou, he didn't expect to need their help; Akio flew straight back toward Uzushiogakure.

He wasn't moving at full speed, though, since he was holding a small white kitten in his arms.

"You've really become a well-traveled cat, haven't you?" Akio chuckled.

"Meow~" The kitten pressed closer against him, trembling in fear, not exactly a response, just pure instinct.

"You're not a baby anymore. Can't keep calling you 'Little Kitten.' From now on, I'll call you… Flower."

For some reason, despite the cat being completely white, Akio insisted on naming it "Flower."

After flying for over an hour, he finally arrived at Uzushiogakure and went straight to find Izuko.

"Sensei, you're ba....oh, and… you brought a cat?" she said, catching sight of the creature in his arms.

Akio sighed, half amused. "That's your greeting?" He set the cat down, and it immediately bolted off to hide in the corner.

"I heard Kumogakure's getting restless, so I came to check things out."

Izuko nodded. "I've sent scouts to investigate as well. Nothing conclusive so far, they don't seem to be preparing for war, but they've been sending out reconnaissance teams more frequently."

"I see," Akio mused, then grinned. "Why bother sneaking around? Just send someone to ask them. We can even offer to help, with a service fee, of course."

Izuko blinked, confused, but eventually nodded in mild bewilderment.

"And if they refuse to talk?"

"Then forget it. Ignore them. I'll be staying in Uzushiogakure for a while anyway. Let's see if they've really lost their minds."

Akio smirked. He seriously doubted that the Fourth Raikage, brash on the surface but meticulous underneath, would dare challenge "the Great Demon King" of Uzushiogakure.

With a burst of gravitational pull, the poor white cat; Flower, was dragged unwillingly back into his arms, looking utterly miserable.

Leaving Izuko behind, Akio went to the training grounds to find his two younger disciples.

"Sensei!" they greeted him in unison.

Akio nodded. "Haven't checked on your training lately. Any progress?"

At fourteen, both were growing quickly, physically and in skill. They were changing by the day, so his question was practically rhetorical.

As expected, they replied with a simple, "Yes, Sensei, we've improved."

But then;

"How fast is your hundred-meter sprint now?"

The question instantly froze their expressions. The memory of being tormented by endless sprint tests flashed before their eyes. Measuring ninja speed in meters per second was, in their opinion, pure madness. Even Nagato hated it.

"I'm kidding," Akio said, smiling faintly. "Don't worry. Nagato, keep training on your own for now. Konan, it's time to make more explosive tags."

That, in truth, was Akio's main reason for returning. Whether the Third Great War happened on schedule or not, it never hurt to stockpile explosive tags. You never knew when they'd come in handy.

"Yes, Sensei," both responded, and Konan followed Akio to find Yuna.

By now, Konan's chakra reserves weren't small at all. At fourteen, she had nearly 200 points by Akio's measurement, second only to Nagato and far above her peers.

Still, to efficiently mass-produce explosive tags, Akio had to assist; otherwise, the process would take ten times longer.

"Elder Akio, bringing Konan to make explosive tags again?" Yuna asked with a laugh. "You both know how to use the equipment by now. Don't tell me you still need me here?"

Ever since their last mass-production run, Akio had made it a routine, bringing Konan to craft small batches every so often. These days, even ordinary Uzushiogakure ninjas practiced throwing explosive tags in training. The village had money to burn, quite literally.

"Yuna, you don't have any important projects at the moment, right?"

"Not really."

"Good." Akio handed her the white cat. "Then take care of this one for me for a while."

Yuna: "…"

"Alright, Konan. Let's get started."

Akio felt much lighter without the cat.

Meanwhile, Nagato had gone to a quiet forest on the outskirts of Uzushiogakure to train his chakra control. This was one of Akio's methods, hanging upside down from a tree branch while using chakra to cling and refine it simultaneously. It wasn't actually more effective, but it made the boring practice feel less dull.

"Training, training…" Nagato muttered, already half-hypnotizing himself into focus. As soon as he hung from the tree, he entered a meditative state.

Two seconds later, he sensed something off.

"Who's there?!" Nagato's eyes snapped open, staring toward a large tree nearby.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, from behind the trunk stepped a dark-skinned boy wearing sunglasses and carrying several swords strapped to his back.

"Who are you?" Nagato demanded cautiously.

"Yo!" the boy suddenly thrust both hands forward, shouting dramatically and startling Nagato enough to make him draw a kunai.

"Walkin' through the woods, takin' a break~

Saw a red-haired kid trainin' hard today~

Didn't expect to get caught this way~

Oh yeah!"

Nagato: "???"

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