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Half a month after Genkai's death, his son took over the vacant position of the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools.

Akio had originally planned to implement a selection system, but in the end, it still became a hereditary succession. However, there wasn't a single voice of opposition within the Land of Whirlpools.

"To them, a Daimyō passing down the title from generation to generation is probably the norm."

And so, Kushina's father, Uzumaki Ninagawa, became the second Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools. With the help of the elite patrol forces, he began managing the affairs that had piled up over the past half-month. Meanwhile, Akio returned to Konoha with his three squad members.

This time, it wasn't Akio who was in a rush, but Kushina. She was eager to confirm Minato's intentions—especially since she was planning to "snatch" him back to the Land of Whirlpools. After all, she knew Minato dreamed of becoming Hokage.

"Besides, my dear ancestor the Salamander still hasn't collected payment from Hiruzen!" Akio thought to himself.

In Konoha, Akio headed straight for the Hokage Building, while the three squad members visited the Senju Clan to report recent events in the Land of Whirlpools to Mito.

"Elder Akio, you've returned," Hiruzen greeted him at the entrance.

Akio smiled. "You've probably heard the gist of what's been going on in the Land of Whirlpools, right?"

Hiruzen nodded. A change of Daimyō in an allied nation was no small matter.

"Good. Now, hand over the payment."

Hiruzen was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded and pulled out a ten million ryō pouch from behind his desk.

"Just a small token of appreciation from an ally."

Akio stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing and stuffing the money into his robes. Then he extended his hand again. "I meant the mission reward."

Hiruzen: "..."

He really wanted to say, "Then give me that ten million back," but in the end, he didn't dare. Still...

"Elder Akio, your previous mission didn't include retrieving a live salamander."

"I brought you the ancestor of all salamanders—what more do you want?"

Hiruzen gave a wry smile. "That... creature you brought back, its species is unknown. We're hesitant to use it."

"It's not a salamander?" Akio blinked. "The meat's poisonous?"

Before Hiruzen could reply, Akio continued, "Even without the live salamander, I gathered way more medicinal herbs than expected. And regardless of what that giant creature is, its massive corpse has to be useful somehow."

"You're really not going to give me even a hundred ryō?"

Hiruzen wanted to say, "I already gave you ten million..." After a long sigh, he pulled out more money. It was just an A-rank mission anyway—only 300,000 ryō.

Akio accepted the cash with satisfaction, casually muttering, "Now that's more like it. I've been so broke I couldn't even afford ramen. Time to find Teuchi for a bowl."

Hiruzen could only smile wryly as he saw Akio off.

Akio found a quiet corner and used a Transformation Jutsu, then took a few turns through Konoha's backstreets and headed to Ichiraku Ramen—only to find it under renovation, or rather, expansion.

To Ichiraku's left was Akio's own Kiboku-dō shop, and to the right was a pedestrian street. With no room to grow outward, Teuchi had to expand vertically.

"Teuchi really hit the jackpot—building a two-story ramen shop now," Akio chuckled. Unlike the past when Teuchi had to do all the renovation himself, he now had a team of hired craftsmen hard at work.

Akio also noticed two new signs posted about accepting apprentices. Clearly, even with the whole family pitching in, Teuchi was still short on help.

Seeing the chaos of the construction and the frazzled Teuchi, Akio chose not to interrupt and instead returned to his own store.

There were a few new slips of paper on the counter. At first, he thought they were orders, but after reading them, he realized they were all from Obito, mostly asking where Akio had gone.

"This alias disappeared for half a month, and even a little apprentice noticed."

Akio smiled faintly and dusted off the room a bit before pulling out a sealing scroll. After forming a few hand seals, a pile of "weeds" appeared on the ground—the numbing grass he had collected on the island.

"This stuff is way more useful than weighted gear for training," he muttered as he began weaving "bracelets."

He had collected a lot—enough to make twenty bracelets, with plenty left over.

"That should be enough... now for the rest…" Akio furrowed his brow, then suddenly grinned and started crafting a "Binding Immortal Rope."

He gave the rope a few test swings and frowned. "This looks way too ugly. Gotta find a way to pretty it up. Maybe sprinkle some gold dust?"

Just as he had the thought, someone arrived at his door.

"Sir, you're back—"

It was little Kakashi. Before he could finish speaking, his tongue tangled, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Akio blinked, then realized—he'd probably been paralyzed.

"Looks like this stuff needs some processing before use. Otherwise, anyone wearing a bracelet would paralyze everyone they touch… Hmm, not a bad effect."

While Akio was absorbed in his musings, Kakashi was mentally screaming. The feeling of full-body paralysis was not pleasant, and he was especially worried that he'd been hit by some kind of sneak attack.

After a while, Akio finally remembered Kakashi was still on the floor and asked with a smile, "Kakashi, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Oh, right—you graduated."

Kakashi: "..."

Akio put away the bracelets and rope. Nearly half an hour later, Kakashi finally recovered enough to stand up slowly.

Akio feigned innocence. "You've got to balance rest with training. Look how exhausted you were—fell asleep right here in my shop. If your breathing hadn't been steady, I'd have called an ambulance."

Kakashi didn't know what an "ambulance" was, but he was definitely not breathing steadily at the moment.

"Sir, earlier I—"

"What did you come for?" Akio interrupted casually.

Kakashi took a deep breath. "It's about Obito. You've been gone for a while, and..."

Akio smiled. "He asked you to keep an eye out for when I got back?"

"No, I was worried too. And thank you for the wooden carving you gave me."

"Ah, I see. Thanks for the concern. I was just out gathering a few herbs."

"Herbs…" Kakashi suddenly recalled the scene he saw upon entering. He glanced at his still-numb limbs. "Sir, was that numbing grass?"

Akio's face twitched. Kakashi actually knew what it was?

"Yes, it's numbing grass. Woven into bracelets and properly treated, it's better than weighted gear for training."

Kakashi nodded. "As long as you're safe, I'll take my leave."

"Come see me in a few days—I'll give you a bracelet."

"Thank you, sir."

Watching Kakashi walk off, Akio chuckled to himself:

He clearly came for Obito, but just had to act so awkward about it…

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