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"Guy really didn't pass the exam?" Akio asked in disbelief, looking at the assessment sheet in Uchiha Kagami's hand.
Kagami gave a wry smile. "I already went easy on the genjutsu section and gave him five points. But his ninjutsu score was only two."
Akio sighed and exchanged a glance with Sakumo beside him, both shaking their heads helplessly.
"Well, it is what it is. He didn't pass. But Hiruzen should be able to see his potential in taijutsu, right? Maybe he'll make a special exception to admit him?" Akio said, though not very confident.
Seeing both Sakumo and Kagami looking uncertain, Akio had an idea. "No worries. If Hiruzen dares not admit him, I'll just bring him back to Uzushio."
"Elder Akio…" Hiruzen's voice came from behind. Akio clearly knew he had arrived, and that last sentence was obviously said for him to hear.
"What a coincidence, Hiruzen," Akio turned around with a cheerful smile.
Hiruzen replied with a wry smile, "Quite the coincidence indeed. I heard about Dai's son. Don't worry, Elder Akio. I'll handle it appropriately."
"That's good to hear."
Two days later, Akio accompanied Might Dai and his son to check the final admission list for the Ninja Academy—only to find that Guy's name was truly not on it.
Akio's expression twitched slightly, gritting his teeth. "So this is what Hiruzen calls 'appropriate'? Looks like I will have to take Guy back to Uzushio."
"But… this scene is kind of interesting." Akio muttered, watching Guy bawling while sitting on Dai's shoulders, tears pouring down his face as he soaked Dai's face like a waterfall.
"It's okay, son! There's still time before school starts—you still have a chance!"
"Yes, sir!"
The two of them then hugged each other tightly, crying and shouting about youth...
Akio took a few steps back, mentally distancing himself from the overly dramatic duo.
"Even Jitou wasn't this over-the-top... These two are the true founders of the hot-blooded idiot genre. Jitou was just a knockoff."
The crowd gathering around made Akio uncomfortable from even a distance, so he quickly walked away.
"A calculated move by Hiruzen to stimulate Guy's potential?" A few days later, Akio began to suspect as much.
It did seem effective—failing the exam only made Guy even more fired up… and even more ridiculous.
After several incidents of eye-searing enthusiasm, Akio stopped paying attention altogether. As expected, the day before the official start of the academy, Guy received a notice for provisional admission.
"Provisional admission?" Akio frowned. "That sounds familiar… Wasn't there something like this in the original story?"
In any case, Guy eventually did become classmates with Kakashi. On the day of the new class orientation, Akio went to observe, curious to hear the teacher read out the student roster and see how many familiar names popped up.
The homeroom teacher was a surprise—it was Kato Dan. This definitely differed from canon, since Dan should've already died by now.
During roll call, a somewhat familiar-looking girl caught Akio's attention, and suddenly it all made sense.
"Shizune? So she was in the same class as Kakashi? I guess Dan's personally teaching his niece."
Aside from her, Akio also heard a few familiar names—like Ibiki Morino, Aoba Yamashiro, and others. He couldn't quite remember where they appeared in the original, but the names were definitely familiar.
The visit turned out to be unexpectedly rewarding—Akio gained over seventy Witness Points.
Kakashi and Obito each gave him ten, while Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, and Rin gave him five each. There were also several three-point and two-point additions, probably based on how important the individuals were in the original timeline.
"What a pleasant surprise… Looks like I've missed out on a lot of Witness Points over the years. Like when the Sannin enrolled—I probably lost 30 points right there." Akio winced at the thought. He made a firm decision: from now on, he'd attend every Ninja Academy opening ceremony. Who knows what kind of gains he might make?
With the conclusion of the 39th Ninja Academy entrance season, Akio found himself with time on his hands. He considered selling something interesting on his Kiboku-dō shop… only to be approached by two unexpected guests.
"What's going on... Why is Tsunade with Orochimaru? Jiraiya or Kato Dan would make more sense, but Orochimaru…" Akio couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Luckily, it was just his imagination running wild. Tsunade's words reassured him.
"Grand Elder, Orochimaru has a favor to ask of you!"
Akio was taken aback but didn't ask what it was right away. Instead, he smiled. "And where's Jiraiya? Not glued to your side today?"
"That idiot is busy writing some book or whatever."
"A book?" Akio blinked. "Oh right—this must be when Jiraiya starts writing that novel with Naruto as the main character. What was it called again? That book's kind of important... might earn me quite a few Witness Points."
After thinking it over, Akio turned to Orochimaru. "So, what do you need?"
"Elder, do you know the location of Ryūchi Cave?" Orochimaru rasped.
"Ryūchi Cave…" Akio immediately understood. Orochimaru was likely seeking Sage Mode training but hadn't been able to find the location.
He hesitated. Akio didn't mind Tsunade learning Sage Mode—her being stronger was all upside. But Orochimaru… he was a different story. Already a master of escape and trickery, what might he cook up with Sage Mode? Akio wasn't confident he could keep him in check.
Still, after thinking it through, Akio nodded. He couldn't deny Orochimaru the opportunity to grow just because he might cause problems in the future.
"I have a general idea of where Ryūchi Cave is. I can take you there."
Although the Slug Sage had told him that running straight north from Shikkotsu Forest would eventually lead to Ryūchi Cave, Akio didn't want to take Orochimaru through Shikkotsu Forest. The Slug Sage had helped him plenty—he wasn't going to repay that with betrayal.
"No need to trouble yourself, Elder. If you can just point me in the right direction, I can go alone."
Akio shook his head. "I've already visited two of the three Great Sage Regions. Ryūchi Cave is the only one left—I'm curious about it too."
"Tomorrow morning, come find me. I'll take you there."
"Thank you, Elder," Orochimaru said with a respectful nod, then turned and left, likely to prepare.
Akio looked at Tsunade. "Speaking of Sage Mode, I've never actually seen yours…"
Tsunade waved her hands hastily. "I haven't fully mastered it yet. Maybe next time…" she said, fleeing the scene.
Akio paused, then chuckled as he recalled the appearance of Hashirama's Sage Mode. "Guess Sage Mode isn't exactly flattering, huh? Interesting…"
An image of Tsunade with green war paint plastered across her face surfaced in Akio's mind… and it was too vivid for comfort.
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