"Shark-face, you raising your sword against me really breaks my heart."
Akio gazed sorrowfully at the short blade hovering inches from his chest.
"Go on then, stab me! Kill me if you must!"
He shouted lines straight out of a melodramatic soap opera, at Kisame, of all people.
Kisame's face twisted into a snarl. The veins on his right hand bulged as he trembled, the short sword still held tightly. He really did look like he couldn't bring himself to do it though of course, that wasn't the case.
The truth was, his blade simply couldn't move any farther. It stopped five centimeters from Akio's chest. In his heart, Kisame was more than eager to stab the man to death…
"Look," Akio said, nodding toward the distance, "your boss is getting pummeled."
After unleashing his jutsu, Suikazan Fuguki hadn't paid any attention to Akio. In his mind, a loudmouthed civilian like that would've been instantly wiped out by his indiscriminate Water Release. He had already fused with Samehada and was continuing his battle against Hōzuki Mangetsu.
But fighting a member of the Hōzuki Clan underwater was exhausting, breathing freely didn't help much when your opponent could liquefy at will.
The dueling field was now utter chaos. The arena only had so many exits, and few had escaped before the water filled everything.
The rich merchants who had paid for "protection" were the most miserable, those ninja bodyguards were now too busy saving themselves to care.
"'Husband and wife are birds of the same forest until disaster strikes, and each flies their own way.'"
Akio sighed, quoting the line casually.
Amid the chaos, no one paid any attention to him, the cause of all this mess and no one noticed that his area was completely untouched by the flood, dry and calm.
Well, almost no one.
Ao, with his Byakugan active, had noticed the anomaly and darted straight into Akio's safe zone.
"Who are you?" Ao demanded warily. Even now, he couldn't detect a shred of chakra coming from Akio.
Akio sighed inwardly. Why do people always ask that question in situations like this?
He hid his identity precisely because he didn't want to answer it. What did they expect him to say? 'I'm your ancestor, Uzumaki Akio'?
Glancing at Ao's Byakugan, Akio smiled faintly. He released his chakra suppression, letting Ao sense his chakra level, intending to intimidate him a little.
To his surprise, Ao's expression shifted dramatically.
"Such chakra reserves… which Jinchūriki are you?"
Akio was speechless. Well, to be fair, the Mist did have a wild Three-Tails wandering around, and his current chakra levels were probably about the same… so the misunderstanding wasn't totally unreasonable.
"Trying to act cool totally backfired. This is painful…" he muttered.
But Ao's eyes suddenly lit up in realization.
"You're the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki from Iwagakure! I heard you clashed with the Third Tsuchikage and went rogue, but I never thought you'd have the guts to come to the Hidden Mist!"
Akio: "..."
What could he even say to that? He was just as dumbfounded.
"Lord Ao," Kisame cut in, unable to stand it anymore, "whether or not he's the Four-Tails' host, we should stop Lord Fuguki and Lord Mangetsu before they destroy the entire field. We can deal with this man afterward!"
Ao blinked, and before he could respond, Akio shouted, "Didn't you hear him? Do what he said already!"
Before Ao could react, the immense Water Release technique blanketing the arena began to subside. The duel had ended, Fuguki had conceded. After using that technique, he'd never intended to win anyway; he'd just struggled a bit for form's sake.
"Cat-hugging bastard! You're still alive?!" Fuguki's booming voice echoed as he finally noticed Akio.
Akio released his control over Kisame, letting him go explain things to the big guy himself.
As the water drained away, more and more Mist-nin gathered at the scene. The commotion had drawn nearly the entire village. The other two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen trio from the previous day also arrived. Soon, everyone's gaze focused on Akio, now facing off against Ao.
"Unintentionally causing chaos again," Akio muttered. "It's really hard to keep a low profile…"
(He never reflected on why that kept happening, of course.)
Recognizing him as an obvious outsider, the Mist-nin wordlessly coordinated. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Hōzuki Mangetsu surrounded Akio on all sides.
"Be careful, everyone!" Ao warned loudly. "His chakra levels are abnormally high, he must be Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi!"
"Everyone else, fall back! If he transforms, the damage will be catastrophic!"
Akio rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.
A moment later, a Tailed Beast Ball began forming in his mouth and he fired it straight at Ao.
"Confirmed—he's a Jinchūriki!" someone shouted.
The explosion shook the entire village. A towering mushroom cloud rose into the sky, the dueling grounds crumbling into rubble. Ao's voice could still be heard through the chaos, barking orders.
The domed ceiling of the arena collapsed inward, and the surrounding ninja scrambled to block the falling debris.
Akio narrowed his eyes, fully activating his sensory abilities. He quickly locked onto several distinct chakra signatures.
"Notebook target number one," he murmured.
He vanished, reappearing beside a cold-faced young ninja, one of the gate guards from when he'd first entered the village. The man didn't even have time to react before Akio tossed him into his personal space.
"Notebook target number two."
A moment later, he appeared behind Ameyuri Ringo. She reacted instantly, spinning around with her Lightning Blade crackling with electricity.
Akio's right hand flared with lightning as well; he grabbed the blade barehanded and tossed it into his space. While she stood frozen in shock, he threw Ringo in after it.
"With this space ability, I really am stronger," he said with satisfaction.
This was his first real battle since gaining the space ability. Before, taking down an S-rank ninja required some effort. Now, he just needed to throw them in.
"Well then… notebook target number three no, wait, this one's serious business."
Akio focused on Ao's chakra.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Prison Shark Dance!"
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
A torrent of jutsu surged toward him from every direction as the Mist-nin regained order. Akio vanished twice in rapid succession, reappearing right beside Ao...
Ten minutes later.
High atop a mountain near Kirigakure, Akio weighed a small box in his hand. Inside lay a single Byakugan.
He recalled the moment he'd appeared beside Ao. The man had practically offered his right eye to him. Remembering his earlier awkward "Four-Tails Jinchūriki" accusation, Akio couldn't help but sigh.
"He must've figured it out… stayed calm, didn't resist, and willingly returned the eye. Makes me feel a bit guilty about wrecking the place afterward."
Originally, his plan had been to collect all seven ninja swords but in the end, he'd only managed to grab the Lightning Blade.
"Now my space has two men and one woman locked inside… and in a sealed chamber, no less," he mused with a grin, before shaking his head.
"That tomboy's way more dangerous than the other two combined."
Akio didn't check on the situation inside. He simply soothed the fat cat trembling from the earlier chaos, it was a big cat, but even it had been terrified by the battle.
Muttering to himself, he said, "So, the next Mizukage is basically confirmed, Hōzuki Mangetsu it is. Guess I'll sneak back and witness the coronation myself…"
As he thought that, his expression suddenly darkened. He sensed the signal of a slug.
"Tsunade's summoning… something's happened?"
Biting his thumb, he slammed his hand down. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Two seconds later....
"You said WHO died?! That's impossible!!"
Akio's roar echoed through the heavens.
---
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