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Stolen… The Wind Altar was taken. Akio felt like this mission had been a huge success.
After finding a secluded spot to rest for the night, Akio launched into what he dubbed "Akio Chases the Sun" the next morning.
"The sun rises in the east… right? It better not rise in the west in the Naruto world. Huh, never really paid attention," Akio muttered. He was completely lost and could only fly eastward, figuring that the Land of Fire lay east of the Land of Wind.
"So bright…"
After wandering around for several days, Akio finally set foot on the familiar soil of the Land of Fire. He took a break, cleaned up, changed clothes, and activated the Transformation Jutsu—straight toward Konoha.
"Now that I think about it, how many days did it take Naruto to reach the Land of Wind to save Gaara? I've been on this trip for over half a month…" Akio scratched his head. "And to think, I got scammed by Hashirama this time. What a failure…"
Near the Hidden Leaf Village.
"One, two… seven!" Akio cursed under his breath, sensing the chakra of seven tailed beasts. "So aside from the Nine-Tails in Madara's summoning realm, mine's the last one?"
"Hashirama, you're dead meat…"
Akio sped up, heading straight to confront Hashirama.
Arriving at the village gates, Akio nearly laughed aloud. What was this—Tailed Beast security guards?
Seven tailed beasts sat neatly in a row on both sides of the gate, firmly bound by Hashirama's Wood Style, all unconscious. Judging by the technique, they must've been hit with Hashirama's signature "Smiling Headpat no Jutsu."
"Elder, you've returned! The Hokage has been waiting for you!" a member of the Hyūga clan standing guard greeted him.
Akio nodded. "I know. I'll go see him now."
Hokage's Office.
"Gramps, you're finally back! A round trip to the Land of Wind should only take about a week. You've been gone so long I was starting to worry," Hashirama said before Akio could even speak.
Akio's face darkened. What could I do? I was hopelessly lost… Like I'm going to admit that.
Putting on a serious face, Akio replied, "Didn't I say it was a government-funded vacation? I just took a scenic detour. Don't forget to reimburse me later."
"Uh… fine. As long as you're okay. Did you catch the One-Tail?" Hashirama asked.
"With me on the job, of course I did. It's right here in this sealing scroll!" Akio said, pulling out a scroll. Then he remembered something and added, "By the way, you sure caught the rest fast. I saw them all lined up at the gate."
"Yeah," Hashirama replied, "I used Wood Clones to split up and catch them. The last one came in just two days ago."
"That so…" Akio scratched his head, something still felt off.
Sensing that Akio might catch on, Hashirama quickly changed the subject. "Let's head out of the village and re-seal the One-Tail!"
The mention of the One-Tail quickly distracted Akio, and he followed Hashirama out of the village.
Out of Akio's sight, Hashirama threw a victory sign behind his back. Tobirama was hiding there, stifling a laugh. If Akio had seen them, he would've realized the two brothers had tricked him together.
They arrived at an open field about ten miles outside Konoha. Akio took out the sealing scroll. Release!
The Wind Altar appeared before them. Hashirama began forming hand seals—only to realize that what emerged wasn't the One-Tail.
"Wait… isn't this the Wind Altar from the Land of Wind?" Hashirama wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "Gramps… don't tell me you attacked the Land of Wind?!"
"Don't sweat the small stuff!" Akio chuckled. "The One-Tail is in here, I swear."
They entered the altar. Half a minute later, Akio came out holding a small urn.
"Sealing Release!" He tried to undo the seal—but nothing happened.
"…Don't tell me this thing has a password," Akio muttered, face twitching. "Do I need to chant sutras or something?"
"Gramps?" Hashirama asked cautiously. "About that urn…"
"Ah…" Akio forced a smile. "This urn holds the One-Tail. I… borrowed it from an old monk."
"You stole it, didn't you…" Hashirama deadpanned. "So you didn't seal Shukaku yourself?"
"I said stop worrying about the details!" Akio snapped. "Now how the hell do I unseal this thing…"
When in doubt—ask the system. Akio opened his status screen.
Sealing Technique: LV6 (420,328/600,000) (+)
Witness Points: 180
"I'm rich with witness points now! If level 7's not enough, I'll go to 8. If 8's not enough, I'll max it out!"
But after spending 58 witness points, Akio's mouth twitched again.
Sealing Technique: LV8 (1,000,328/5,000,000) (+)
"Seriously?! Five million?! How high do I need to go to max this out?" He'd once thought that by the Fourth Great Ninja War, he'd be a max-level boss with every skill capped. Now he wasn't so sure…
"Gramps? Where's Shukaku?" Hashirama asked, snapping him out of his despair.
"Ah—right! Sealing Release!" Akio tried again. This time, his level 8 Sealing Technique kicked in. Even without the proper chant, the seal on the urn was undone.
A massive tanuki with violet markings emerged before them.
"RAWR! That damn monk!!" Shukaku screeched, scanning the area as its grating voice pierced the air.
Akio winced and covered his ears.
After the screeching stopped, Shukaku noticed the two men standing before him. Lowering its head, it glared. "You two let me out? As thanks, I'll EAT YOU!"
"Hashirama, shut it up already!" Akio barked.
Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!
Wood Style: Wood Human Technique!
Hokage-Style: Peaceful Ears Technique – Kuōan's Gentle Grip!
A massive wooden hand with the kanji "seat" smacked Shukaku's head, silencing the tailed beast instantly.
"Why does it feel like Hashirama's gotten even stronger…" Akio muttered. "He's in his thirties and still leveling up?"
Hashirama used his Wood Style to drag the One-Tail back to the Konoha gates. Now all eight tailed beasts were lined up.
"Tailed beasts, side by side," Akio grinned. Then his expression froze. "Hashirama, switch the positions of the Eight-Tails and Five-Tails."
Though confused, Hashirama complied.
"Much better." Akio nodded. "Left of the gate: One, Three, Five, Seven. Right of the gate: Two, Four, Six, Eight. A paradise for anyone with OCD."
Hashirama: "…"
"Well, Gramps, I've got stuff to take care of. Tobirama's waiting for me."
"Wait—you're just going to hold onto the tailed beasts like this?" Akio asked, puzzled.
"Yeah. We'll figure it out later," Hashirama waved, quickly making his exit.
Akio stared after him, dazed. "I feel like I forgot something…"
"Oh well. After running around all this time, I should head home…" Akio looked at the urn in his hand and gave it a shake. "At least the trip wasn't for nothing. A sealing artifact like this… priceless."
In the distance, the Wind Altar wept…
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