Drop Some power stones! If you like the chapter! It helps to keep me motivated to upload more!đź’Žđź’Žđź’ŽÂ
------
Akio sat down on the ground. He had already deactivated both Sage Mode and the Eight Gates, and had dispelled his Transformation Technique as well.
"I really didn't expect Kinkaku and Ginkaku to be this strong. Aside from the Seventh Gate, I went all out…"
In his sensory perception, Tobirama was still fiercely battling the Second Raikage and his forces. Of the jonin the Raikage had brought, only a dozen or so remained. Tobirama's chakra reserves were also running low—he was now relying entirely on the Flying Thunder God Technique to keep up the fight.
Akio let out a sigh and staggered to his feet. "Sigh… This battle might just shorten my lifespan. My old bones are really getting pushed to the limit… I'll open the Seventh Gate later and end this quickly."
He quickly headed toward Tobirama's position.
When he arrived at the battlefield, Akio was pleasantly surprised to see Tobirama use the Flying Thunder God to attach an Explosive Tag onto the Second Raikage.
Tobirama widened the distance, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
A smile appeared on Akio's face. Taking one of them down first would make things much easier…
However, a grin also spread across the Second Raikage's face. Akio froze for a second—then his expression changed drastically.
"Tobirama, get out of there!"
A man completely wrapped in bandages seemed to emerge from thin air. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
"Damn it, invisibility… It's Mu!" Akio cursed.
Tobirama disappeared with Flying Thunder God and reappeared in front of Akio. Akio breathed a small sigh of relief.
But then Tobirama slowly turned toward him with a bitter smile, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed.
Akio finally noticed—there was a chunk of flesh about three centimeters deep missing from Tobirama's upper right chest. His lungs had been damaged and were exposed to the air.
"Damn, he still got grazed by the Dust Release?" Akio bit his finger. "Summoning Technique!"
"Lady Katsuyu! No time to explain—please, help me treat Tobirama!"
Without a word, Katsuyu immediately attached herself to Tobirama.
"Uzumaki Akio… it's been a long time. I didn't expect your Dust Release to be so powerful. Is it Sage Art…?" Mu spoke slowly.
Akio waved him off. "No time for chit-chat! Lady Katsuyu, how's Tobirama?"
"Not good… The injuries are too severe."
Akio fell silent for a moment, then turned his head toward Mu, twitching his mouth. "Long time no see, huh?"
"Uzumaki Akio, you look like you've used some forbidden technique… It seems Kinkaku and Ginkaku have fallen by your hand. In order to take you and the Hokage down, we of the Hidden Cloud have paid a heavy price. You should be proud."
Akio's mouth twitched again. "Proud, huh?"
"Seventh Gate—Gate of Shock, Open!"
A massive burst of blue steam erupted. Cracking sounds came from Akio's body—it was clear that his body had exceeded its limits after prolonged combat.
"Sage Mode—Activate!"
"This old guy's going all in! Everyone, stay alert!" the Second Raikage shouted.
"Sage Art: Dust Release—Detachment of the Limitless Realm!"
Mu and Bee quickly evaded. The Second Raikage glanced at the few remaining jonin behind him, his expression tightening. He once again assumed a strange pose. The Dust Release warped briefly—then immediately stabilized.
The Raikage's face twisted in shock. "Heavenly Transfer Technique is ineffective?!"
A massive explosion followed. The Second Raikage and the remaining dozen or so jonin were wiped out by the Dust Release.
"Heavenly Transfer Technique?" Akio muttered. "Didn't know you could use it like that… But you really thought it was Kamui, huh."
Familiar kanji flashed before his eyes:
*"Witnessed and completely altered a Naruto world side event: Death of the Second Raikage. Witness Points gained: 5 (10)."
"Big Brother!" Bee's shout echoed across the battlefield.
"He really had that kind of power…?" Mu murmured. "I'm not dying with this old guy." And with that, he vanished again.
Akio scanned the area. Even his sensory abilities couldn't detect Mu.
He sighed. "I can't let you escape that easily…" Akio rose high into the sky.
"Sage Art: Dust Release—Detachment of the Limitless Realm!"
"Sage Art: Dust Release—Detachment of the Limitless Realm!"
…
He unleashed six consecutive blasts, completely reshaping the terrain in front of him. He had no time to worry about potential casualties among the Land of Rivers' civilians and shinobi. More than half of his chakra had been depleted.
"He's still not dead?" Akio hadn't received a system prompt. He looked around—Bee was gone too.
"The Third Raikage… also fled?"
Akio furrowed his brow and slowly descended. He could feel Tobirama's chakra growing fainter…
Sitting down beside Tobirama, Akio released the Eight Gates again and plopped onto the ground.
"Lady Katsuyu… Is there really no way to save him?" Akio's heart was heavy. He felt responsible—Mu joining the battle was clearly because of him.
"There's nothing more I can do… If he were in Shikkotsu Forest, my main body might be able to save him. But this clone can't."
Akio shot to his feet. "You can save him—and you didn't say so earlier?!"
"Eight Gates—Seventh Gate, Gate of Shock: Open!"
He reopened the gates he had just closed. The pain wracking his body made him grimace deeply.
"Lady Katsuyu, please wrap him up! I'm taking you both to Shikkotsu Forest!"
"Understood!"
Akio lifted both Katsuyu and Tobirama, then flew at top speed toward Shikkotsu Forest.
A few minutes later, Akio began to feel his strength rapidly fading. He frowned. He hadn't closed the Eight Gates, so why? He opened his status screen:
Name: Uzumaki Akio
Age: 67(-)
As he watched, his age shifted from 66 to 67.
"So the Eight Gates drain lifespan if used for too long…? It shows as my age increasing rapidly…"
Looking at his witness points, he saw he still had over 230 saved up—more than 100 were stored before, and Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and the Second Raikage's deaths had earned him another 100. He quickly used them to reduce his age.
Thus, Akio raced forward with the Seventh Gate active, carrying Tobirama and the massive Katsuyu. He passed through the Land of Rivers, the former Land of Hot Water, into northern Fire Country, and crossed its entire breadth to reach the northwestern region—Shikkotsu Forest.
It took less than half an hour, but Akio now looked aged beyond recognition. His witness points were all spent, but thankfully Tobirama's chakra had not yet disappeared.
"We made it…" Akio kicked open the Rashōmon gate and stepped into Shikkotsu Forest.
The Slug Sage was already waiting at the entrance. Before Akio could speak, she had her clone merge Tobirama into her body.
Moments later, she said, "Don't worry. He can still be saved. But your condition is quite dire. You should rest first…"
Akio collapsed on the ground, smiling bitterly and shaking his head. "How can I rest easy like this…"
He didn't finish the sentence—his expression suddenly turned joyful.
"Haha…"
He laughed twice, then toppled over and passed out.
A look of puzzlement crossed the Slug Sage's massive face—she had no idea why Akio could smile at a time like this.
But just before he lost consciousness, familiar kanji flashed before Akio's eyes again:
*"Witnessed and completely altered a Naruto world main event: Death of Senju Tobirama. Witness Points gained: 30 (10)."
His final thought was:
"Completely altered… Tobirama won't die!"
---
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!