After more than half a month — the Konoha Casino.
The casino manager stood hunched in front of Akio, nervously wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
Akio frowned as he flipped through the ledger. After a moment, he looked up, surprised.
"Why are you so tense? Relax. We're about to hit the jackpot."
The manager forced a bitter smile.
"You're really sure this is going to make money? The total bets are already pushing a billion,. and still climbing. If we lose…"
"Lose? Yeah, right." Akio shot him a glare. "My skills at the table are unbeatable."
With his maxed-out gambling ability, anything involving bets was practically under his control. He'd calculated the odds down to the smallest detail, short of catastrophically misjudging four out of the final eight outcomes, there was no way he'd lose. At worst, it was just a question of how much he'd win.
And if he did somehow miss four… then Obito was definitely rigging things behind the scenes. And Akio would personally beat him into the ground.
"As long as you're confident…" The manager let out a breath. "There are still ten days until the third round of the Chūnin Exams. Should we… keep accepting bets?"
Akio glared again.
"Of course we keep taking them! Try acting like someone who's actually aiming big. At this rate, I might as well gamble alone!"
The manager shook his head helplessly. Akio had the entire Land of Whirlpools backing him, even if things went south, he'd be fine. But the manager? Even covering twenty percent of the losses would wipe out most of his wealth.
And what worried him more… was that if things did go wrong, Akio might just pin everything on him.
He was about to say more when Kimimaro suddenly appeared in a flash.
"My lord, the mission is complete!"
Akio broke into a grin.
"Finally back, huh? Took you long enough."
A few steps outside the casino, Akio spotted Karin and Haku escorting a very familiar white-haired figure, Jiraiya toward him.
Under Akio's orders, the three of them had been staking out the women's bathhouse in Konoha, waiting for Jiraiya. It had taken them over half a month to finally "catch" him.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, looked utterly drained. He'd just returned to Konoha and hadn't even had the chance to… well, you know… before getting dragged here by three kids. It seriously killed his creative mood.
But the moment he saw Akio, his expression flipped into cheerful enthusiasm.
"Senior! Long time no see! You were looking for me? I just got back and was about to relax in a nice hot bath…"
"Cut it out." Akio chuckled. "No need to play innocent, just look at Karin's expression."
Jiraiya glanced at Karin, saw her look of pure disdain, and quietly turned back with a sigh.
"…So what do you need?"
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"Something important."
They talked as they walked, eventually arriving at Training Ground 41. Kakashi was there, training Naruto and Sakura for the upcoming third round of the Chūnin Exams.
"Using shadow clones to form the Rasengan pretty creative," Jiraiya remarked.
Akio cleared his throat.
"My idea. I taught him."
Jiraiya nodded in realization, then continued watching Naruto from a distance.
"His chakra reserves are definitely enough for summoning techniques. His overall strength… barely passable."
Akio laughed.
"You forgetting what you were like at twelve? Hell, even Orochimaru at that age might not beat him."
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"I was just building up my strength. Laying the groundwork."
Akio gave him a sideways look but didn't call him out. Instead, he shouted:
"Hey, Naruto! Look who's here!"
Naruto turned, his shadow clones popping out of existence with a series of poofs. His face lit up.
"Pervy Sage! When did you get back?!"
Jiraiya: "...Senior, what exactly have you been telling Naruto about me?"
Akio looked away. Like I need to say anything? Jiraiya, you really have zero self-awareness…
Half an hour later, the western cliff of Konoha.
"Naruto, when you use the Summoning Jutsu for the first time, you have to go all in commit completely! Pour all your chakra into it in one go!"
Jiraiya frowned slightly.
"For a first attempt, it's better to take it slow. Use less chakra and make sure it works first"
"Nope!" Akio cut him off. "Naruto's a genius. He needs to succeed on the first try. Ideally, he should summon Gamabunta right away!"
Naruto looked back and forth between them, completely torn.
"Uh… Grandpa, Pervy Sage… which one do I listen to?"
"Listen to me," Akio said kindly. "Have I ever led you wrong?"
Naruto shuddered, memories of Akio's "training" flashing through his mind… Then he looked at Jiraiya. Sure, the guy was a total perv and unreliable, but at least he hadn't actively messed with him.
"…I'll go with less chakra…" Naruto muttered, forming hand seals and biting his finger.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A line of text flashed by:
"Witnessed and participated in side story: Naruto's Summoning Technique. Reward: 10 Witness Points."
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA—A tadpole?!" Jiraiya burst out laughing.
Akio's eye twitched. He cracked his knuckles.
"I told you to use more chakra and you used that? Naruto, you're asking for it!"
Even summoning a two-legged frog would've been an improvement. At least that might've changed something and earned more witness points… Forget it. Time for some hands-on discipline.
"AHH! Grandpa, I'm sorry! Wait, Pervy Sage, you tricked me too?!"
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"Why 'too'? …Man, Naruto's had it rough, hasn't he…"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Ahh! Grandpa, stop! …Huh? You actually stopped?"
Akio's raised hand froze mid-air. His gaze locked onto Naruto's backside, as if something had suddenly caught his attention…
"Grandpa… what are you planning?!"
One minute earlier — the border of the Land of Wind.
The Fourth Kazekage stood battered and bloodied, clutching his wounded arm. Around him lay the corpses of his entire guard unit. His expression was grim as he stared at the two enemies before him.
"Orochimaru! As a rogue ninja of Konoha, you dare attack the Kazekage directly? Are you trying to get on the Akatsuki's hit list?!"
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Oh? That would be quite the honor."
The Kazekage frowned and shifted his gaze to the silver-haired man beside him. Ever since his arm had been wounded, the man had been performing strange, unsettling movements, triggering a bad feeling in his gut.
After a moment of hesitation, the Kazekage gritted his teeth and pulled out a scroll, something Akio had given him.
On it was written:
"Recite aloud: 'During the Chūnin Exams, the Sand Village will fully comply with Konoha's arrangements,' and a divine being will appear to grant you three wishes…"
"Preparation complete!" the silver-haired man suddenly shouted, his expression turning feral as his skin darkened and strange white markings spread across it.
The Kazekage's heart sank.
"Some kind of bizarre jutsu… This better actually work."
He took a breath.
"During the Chūnin Exams, the Sand Village will"
Shk!
A sharp piercing sound cut him off. His eyes widened.
Orochimaru had driven a kunai straight into his companion's chest.
"Orochimaru-sama… why so impatient? That really hurts…" the man gasped.
Orochimaru said nothing, twisting the blade to deepen the wound.
"Ah—damn, that hurts…!"
The Kazekage's face turned ashen. He clutched his chest as he collapsed, forcing out the final words:
"…will fully comply… with Konoha's arrangements…"
The wind howled, sand swirling violently.
A faint cyan figure slowly emerged from the scroll.
"Foolish mortal… was it you who summoned me, Uzumaki, the God of Art? I shall grant you three wishes… hmm?"
"Hey! Orochimaru-sama, what is that thing?!" the silver-haired man shouted.
Orochimaru licked his lips again, eyes gleaming.
"Senior… you're as unpredictable as ever."
Impossible to guard against…
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