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"So the Ryūmyaku really isn't some infinite chakra source after all."

Akio had partially undone the sealing formula at the altar that bound the Ryūmyaku, reaching in with both hands to personally sense its chakra. Though massive in scale, it was only about four or five times his own—still not on par with that of the Great Toad Sage.

"It must be because of its rapid regeneration that people thought it had infinite chakra."

He nodded in thought, but then frowned slightly.

"But just that alone wouldn't enable time travel. If that were the case, then once my Yang Release reaches level ten, couldn't I just send anyone through time?"

Akio shook his head, feeling like something crucial was missing.

"Come to think of it, the Ryūmyaku feels more like a summoning beast sealed away here—no physical form, just immense chakra and incredible recovery speed."

"What would happen if the seal were fully undone?" he muttered to himself. But he didn't take any further action—he wanted to wait until he'd seen Naruto before deciding on that.

Peeking outside, Akio sensed that Mukade's chakra was no longer present—likely busy "mass-producing soldiers." Not that he cared.

"Hiruzen exaggerated. Said it could threaten Uzushiogakure. With those puppet soldiers? I could take on a hundred million of them."

Shaking his head, he was just about to step outside, planning to pop out just after Minato and Naruto's father-son moment.

But before he could leave, the red-haired girl walked in again, eyes wide and watery as she stared at him.

Akio forced a smile.

"I'm really not your father, how could I—"

Before he could finish the sentence, the girl suddenly burst into song without warning.

Her voice was clear and melodic, though it ended in soft sobbing.

"Nice singing. Keep it up," Akio replied half-heartedly before vanishing in a flicker, sensing her presence just enough to escape.

The girl's sobs paused for a moment in confusion.

Seconds later, Akio reappeared before Mukade.

"You bastard—how did you get here?!"

All the puppets were under Mukade's control and essentially acted as his eyes, yet he hadn't noticed Akio's approach at all.

Seeing the cautious look on his face, Akio chuckled.

"Take a guess."

"I—"

As Mukade opened his mouth, his eyes went blank—caught in Akio's genjutsu.

"Alright, time for some Q&A."

There were things Akio needed to clarify.

"Question one: What era are you from?"

Akio couldn't quite remember the timeline of this particular movie arc.

"Year 62 of the Hidden Sand calendar."

"So that would be Year 63 of the Hidden Leaf calendar, then."

Akio nodded.

"Question two: How did you achieve time travel?"

"I absorbed both the Ryūmyaku's chakra and the sealing formula left by Namikaze Minato more than twenty years ago."

"I see."

Akio frowned slightly.

"Question three: Why did you directly absorb the sealing formula instead of dismantling it slowly?"

"I was being pursued by Leaf ninja."

Akio sighed in relief.

"Alright, question four—"

BOOM!

Before he could ask, Mukade collapsed face-first onto the ground, unconscious.

"That's it? He's done already? This guy thinks he can use puppets to take on the Five Great Nations?"

Akio shook his head in disbelief. Still, he had gotten the answers he wanted. The rest could wait until the Leaf ninja arrived—hopefully Naruto among them.

"So it was Year 63 in Konoha. And the method was to seal both Minato's formula and the Ryūmyaku's chakra together…"

"Minato must've used a Flying Thunder God formula to seal the Ryūmyaku, which somehow triggered the time-space displacement. That means… I might be able to go back, too."

Akio's interest was suddenly piqued.

"Alright then, I'll wait here for Minato to arrive. I'll leave Mukade to him. Once he reestablishes the seal…"

Akio entered his Kaguya Will Mode, sinking into the ground to observe from below.

Half a day later, a panicked Mukade awoke and immediately issued a nationwide manhunt for Akio. He even accused Akio of previously harming the Queen of Rōran. Unexpectedly, the civilians believed him instantly, uniting in outrage.

Beneath the surface, Akio gritted his teeth in fury. He barely held himself back. If he acted too soon, he might miss Naruto—or worse, if Minato asked him to set up the seal, lacking a space-time affinity would render time travel impossible.

Time passed. Two days later…

Akio's awaited arrival finally came—Minato and three companions, each wearing an ANBU mask.

Instead of taking action immediately, the team concealed their presence and began covertly investigating the state of this foreign nation.

But then…

"Minato, doesn't the person who harmed the Queen of Rōran look kinda like Elder Akio?"

Dingza's comment made Akio pop out of the ground involuntarily.

"Dingza, that's just enemy deception. Don't fall for it," Aburame Shihi quickly interjected.

Akio awkwardly tried to burrow back down—but Minato had already seen him.

"Elder Akio."

Minato greeted him calmly.

"Ah, you're here. I was just scouting ahead for you. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

Akio nodded with a smile, preparing to disappear again.

"Wait, Elder Akio. Since you arrived two days earlier, could you brief us on the state of the country? And why you've been labeled a wanted man?"

Minato stepped in to stop him.

"The situation? Well… it's complicated. Good luck. It's an S-rank mission after all—I wouldn't want to interfere."

Leaving behind that line, Akio decisively retreated back underground. If he sealed the Ryūmyaku now, who knew where Naruto would end up?

The four exchanged glances, utterly confused.

Without Akio's help, they split up to investigate—Kakashi on his own, and the other three as a group.

Akio felt a bit uncertain.

"Minato doesn't seriously have a grudge against Kakashi, right? Sending him off alone in such a dangerous place?"

Luckily, even though Kakashi was still a Genin, his skills were well above Chūnin level. He wouldn't be caught by mere puppets.

Over the next two days, while Minato's team remained cautious, Rōran itself became lively—the coronation of its new queen was imminent.

"That red-haired girl is the new queen? No wonder she looked familiar—she did appear in the movie. A canon character can't possibly be my daughter," Akio told himself, nearly believing otherwise.

Then, on the eve of Sara's coronation, a sudden surge of chakra erupted from the Ryūmyaku's direction.

Akio's eyes lit up.

"Finally!"

He dashed toward it at full speed.

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