Three Years Later
Inside his familiar mindscape, Akio narrowed his eyes and smiled as the system notification echoed:
*Witnessed and significantly altered a major storyline event: Naruto Uzumaki graduates from the Ninja Academy. Reward: 20 (5) Witness Points.
"Finally," he muttered with satisfaction.
Naruto's graduation exam had taken place the day before. The test? The Clone Technique. For Naruto at his current level, it was a walk in the park. Perfect score. Headband earned. No stolen Scroll of Sealing, no dramatic midnight theft, no Mizuki betrayal.
Akio had watched the entire thing unfold.
And gotten nothing.
Apparently, the system hadn't officially recognized Naruto's graduation until today's "Graduate Orientation Assembly."
He crossed his arms.
Worth it.
Beside him, a crisp little voice chid in.
"Big brother looks awful with that headband. And why is he smiling like that? He looks ridiculous."
Akio turned.
Next to him stood a girl of four or five, with long crimson hair cascading over her shoulders and bright, expressive eyes. She wore a dark red dress inspired by traditional Uzumaki colors, modernized for Konoha fashion and her cheeks still held the softness of early childhood.
Adorable enough that anyone would want to pinch them.
So, Akio did.
"Tsukika has excellent taste," he declared.
She hopped back imdiately, dodging his hand.
"Great-Grandpa, stop pinching my cheeks! They'll get chubby!"
As Akio reached again, she quickly pointed behind him.
"Look! The ceremony's starting!"
He chuckled, his eyes narrowing into familiar slits.
Iruka had begun speaking at the front of the classroom, explaining that although the students had graduated, they were still rookie genin. They would be assigned to three-person squads under a jonin ntor to begin taking missions and gaining real-world experience.
He let the suspense build before reading the team assignnts.
Tsukika tugged Akio's sleeve.
"Who's Naruto going to be tead up with?"
Akio smirked.
"With the two people he's most interested in. Ahem, not like that."
"Interested? Sakura… and who?"
Right on cue:
"Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki! Sakura Haruno! Sasuke Uchiha!"
Tsukika blinked.
"Wait… Naruto likes Sasuke?"
Akio's face went blank.
He had absolutely walked into that one.
Before he could recover, the classroom erupted, so students cheering, others groaning.
Naruto leapt to his feet.
"Why am I stuck with that jerk?!"
Iruka raised his voice.
"The teams were assigned personally by the Fifth Hokage. They are final!"
That, incidentally, was Akio's doing. With tiline variables like Toneri floating around, people who hadn't originally existed, team balance could've gone completely sideways. And he wasn't about to hemorrhage Witness Points over ssy squad reshuffles.
As for Toneri…
His pursuit of Hinata had gone nowhere. Akio had considered sending him back to the Uzumaki holand after graduation, but the boy still hadn't given up. Akio let him try. Hope was thin, though.
Back in the classroom, Naruto and Sasuke were already back to their usual "moron vs. bastard" routine. Sakura sat nearby, smiling at being placed with Sasuke but tension lingered in her expression.
Things were different from the original tiline.
Other than Sasuke and Toneri, no one in their class could beat Naruto in a fight. Not even close.
And Sakura knew it.
Akio suddenly paused.
"…Wait."
Tsukika tugged his sleeve again.
"Great-Grandpa! Naruto and Sasuke are arguing again!"
Akio's eyes widened in realization.
Oh.
Right.
He quickly covered Tsukika's eyes with one hand.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"You're too young for what's about to happen."
Then Akio lifted his foot
And kicked Naruto squarely in the backside.
Outside.
Naruto stumbled forward.
The system chid.
*Witnessed and slightly altered a minor subplot: Naruto and Sasuke's first accidental kiss. Reward: 5 (2) Witness Points.
Akio nodded in satisfaction.
"Hey. Every little bit counts."
Tsukika struggled under his hand.
"I want to see!"
Sakura, unfortunately, saw everything.
From her perspective, Naruto and Sasuke were yelling at each other one second
And the next, Naruto had tackled Sasuke to the floor and kissed him.
Hard.
Team dynamics could wait.
Naruto's execution was now the priority.
Akio laughed.
"Tsukika, we're leaving. The next scene is also not for children."
Kushina's House
Tsukika sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes wide with curiosity.
"So, what happened after?"
Kushina glanced between them.
"Great-Grandpa… what did Naruto do this ti?"
Akio shook his head.
"Nothing serious. Tsukika's just not old enough for so scenes."
Tsukika puffed out her cheeks.
"My eyes are huge and I still can't look? Yours are tiny and always closed!"
Akio's expression darkened.
"My eyes used to be very big. Bigger than yours."
Kushina laughed.
"They've been squinting for three years. When are you going to open them again?"
Akio folded his hands dramatically.
"When I open my eyes… the world will change."
Kushina rolled her eyes.
"Sure it will."
He paused.
"…Actually, I can open one now."
"Wait—what?"
Without warning, Akio snapped his right eye open.
A pale ripple-patterned iris revealed itself, six black tomoe evenly spaced within it.
Then he blinked and the eye returned to normal.
"Finally stabilized it."
Right Eye: Six-Tomoe Rinnegan–Sharingan (Maxed)
(10,000,000 / 10,000,000)
Left Eye: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan
(1,234,567 / 2,000,000)
After transplanting his eyes three years ago, Akio had discovered he could "nurture" them using his vitality and chakra. The further he progressed, the slower it beca.
Once both eyes reached Eternal Mangekyō, he shifted all chakra conditioning into one eye. The growth rate doubled.
He'd even spent Witness Points to push his dical ninjutsu mastery to near perfection, gaining finer chakra control and accelerating the process further.
As a bonus, he completely cured Kimimaro's deadly bone disease.
Two birds, one stone.
Now that his right eye was fully stabilized, he could finally
"Walk around with one eye open and one closed?" Kushina teased.
Tsukika nodded solemnly.
"So that's why you look lopsided."
Akio stared at her.
She was biting her lip to keep from laughing.
"…You are exactly like Kushina was at your age," he muttered.
He sighed.
"I can't fully open the left yet. When nurturing the eyes, I can't revert them to normal. Walking around with glowing red Mangekyō eyes tends to frighten civilians. Squinting is… stylish."
He folded his arms.
"And when I open both eyes"
He glanced upward.
"Even if Kaguya herself returns… I'll have options."
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