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Since Kenji's wedding, life had remained peaceful for over a year.
Akio had been eagerly anticipating the birth of the Three Legendary Sannin, but there had been no signs of it yet. This made Kenji feel increasingly awkward under the expectant gaze of his great-grandfather. Meanwhile, the Valley of the End battle Akio dreaded was drawing closer.
Lately, Akio had been staying alert and preparedâbut before Madara appeared, his grandnephew did.
"Second Uncle, bad news! We just got wordâour Uzumaki Clan has been attacked by some strange enemy!"
Akio frowned. "Strange enemy?" A bad feeling welled up in his chest.
"They're strange humanoid creatures, entirely white. They used Transformation Jutsu to infiltrate us, then launched surprise attacks. After killing two of them, the rest of us became suspicious of one anotherâno one can be trustedâŠ" his grandnephew explained.
Akio shot to his feet, then slowly sat back down.
"White Zetsu? So the Valley of the End is imminent. Black Zetsu is trying to draw me awayâŠ"
"Second Uncle?" His grandnephew noticed Akio's odd reaction and called to him softly.
"I'm fine. I'll head back shortly," Akio nodded, escorting his worried grandnephew out.
"PhewâŠ" Akio let out a long breath, feeling oddly more relaxed now.
"So this is Black Zetsu's way of stirring trouble? Hmph⊠Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Akio created two shadow clones, each carrying 30% of his chakra.
"Thirty percent should be enough for one use of Sage Art: Dust Release â Limitless Stripping TechniqueâŠ"
"I don't need to fight alongside Hashirama the whole time. One well-placed blast should be enough. If not one, then two!"
Leaving the two clones behind, Akioânow with 40% chakraârushed toward the Uzumaki clan's territory.
Watching from nearby, his grandnephew breathed a sigh of relief...
Two hours later, Akio arrived near the Uzumaki grounds. He formed the Tiger hand seal with his right hand. "Kagura's Mind Eye!"
After thirty seconds, Akio sighed. Even though Kagura's Mind Eye was among the strongest sensory techniques, it still couldn't detect Black and White Zetsu.
"White Zetsu's Transformation Jutsu⊠in the original story, it was called the strongest transformation technique. I wonder how it compares to mineâŠ" Akio muttered as he flew into the Uzumaki territory.
At the same time, in Konohaâ
Akio's two shadow clones suddenly changed expression, glanced at each other, and nodded. In their sensory range, Madara had appeared dozens of miles outside the village.
One clone immediately headed to the Hokage building to find Hashirama, while the other concealed itself.
"Hashirama, Madara is here!" the clone shouted upon entering the Hokage hall.
"GranduncleâŠ" Hashirama looked up, frowning. "Is that⊠a shadow clone?"
Akio's clone scowled. "Don't worry about that. I'm telling youâMadara is back!"
Hashirama was momentarily stunned, then excited. "Madara's back?"
Akio was speechless. "He's still several dozen miles out. I doubt he's here for a friendly visit."
Hashirama's intellect finally kicked in. He nodded solemnly. "Let's go check it out!"
They quickly informed Tobirama to put Konoha on high alert, then rushed out to intercept Madara about ten miles from the village.
Madara's chakra was so dense it was nearly physical. One look was enough to know he didn't come in peace. Seeing Akio and Hashirama barring his path, he paused.
"Madara, youâ" Hashirama began to shout.
"Old man, you sensed I was coming? Wait, that's⊠a shadow clone?" Madara ignored Hashirama and addressed Akio.
Akio's eyes flicked. "Didn't you send someone to stir up trouble in the Uzumaki Clan? I returned to deal with it and left this clone to guard against you!"
"I sent someone to the Uzumaki Clan?" Madara frowned, his expression hardening.
"That guy⊠the one claiming to be the embodiment of my will⊠Something's off," Madara thought to himself.
Deep underground, Black Zetsu nearly exploded with rage.
"Well then, old man, what can you do as just a shadow clone?" Madara sneered.
"Hmph. A clone might not be able toâ" Akio began, but with a puff, the shadow clone vanished.
Hashirama blinked and looked at Madara. Madara was also stunned, his face quickly turning grim.
"That so-called will of mine⊠can cause this much trouble for the old man?"
Back at the Uzumaki territoryâ
Akio wasn't in danger. His chakra had simply run low.
Half an hour earlier, upon returning, he found the clan in a state of total paranoia.
"Sensei!" His two female disciples rushed to him first. Seeing they were unharmed, Akio felt a bit more at ease.
"Elder!" Next came Uzumaki Genkai, now the clan head.
Akio glanced at him and nodded. "Where are the bodies of the two creatures? Take me there."
Privately, he thought, "Looks like my grandnephew misjudged him. Genkai doesn't seem like the honest typeâŠ" Still, since Genkai was Nanako's husband, Akio said nothing.
In the room where the corpses were kept, Akio sighed. "As expectedâWhite Zetsu."
He no longer clung to hope. "Konoha is probably under attack by Madara by nowâŠ"
Looking around at the still-suspicious clansmenâeven with him presentâAkio sighed again.
"No need to be so wary. Transformation Jutsu won't work on meâŠ" Just as he said this, a clansman behind Izuko suddenly attacked her.
Akio's face darkened. Of all people to attack, you chose Izuko? Sure enough, she didn't even turn her head. A Rasengan instantly formed in her hand and slammed into her attacker. Two seconds later, the assailant reverted to White Zetsu.
As all eyes turned to him, Akio blushed. "Damn it⊠even I got fooled by that Transformation JutsuâŠ"
Seeing the clan even more on edge, he sighed again. "Guess I'll have to use Yin-Yang Release⊠but if I do that, I might not have enough chakra leftâŠ"
"As long as I time it right during the fight between Hashirama and Madara, one shot should be enough! Release Shadow Clone!"
With that, the clone in front of Hashirama and Madara disappearedâŠ
Back in the Uzumaki territory, Akio bit his finger and summoned a massive amount of chakra. "Summoning Jutsu!"
He summoned one-tenth of the Great Slug Katsuyu.
"Lady Katsuyu, sorry for the trouble. We've been infiltrated by a strange enemy. Please attach a clone to every clansmanâI'll handle the detection."
Katsuyu agreed and split into thousands of smaller slugs, each attaching to a clan member.
Akio focused his mind, sending Yin-Yang Release chakra through Katsuyu.
As expected, the White Zetsu couldn't maintain their transformation under Yin-Yang Release and reverted to their original forms. The clan members swiftly destroyed them one by one.
Akio exhaled in relief and gestured to Genkai, signaling that he could take it from here.
With everything settled, Akio sat down cross-legged, focusing on recovering his chakra. He still wasn't fully confident in how things were going on Hashirama's endâŠ
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