Naruto: System of Akio

Two minutes earlier — Western Konoha Residential District.

A thick, black-and-red chakra aura swirled around the oversized white cat. Its green eyes scanned everything, Neji Hyuga holding the unconscious Tenten, and the wounded (or worse) civilians and shinobi scattered across the area.

"Meow—! How is she?!"

Neji activated his Byakugan, examining her carefully.

"Her chakra's been drained completely. Some kind of unusual jutsu. She's not in immediate danger, but… whether she'll fully recover? I can't say."

"MEOW!!"

The cat's head snapped around, eyes turning cold and vicious.

"You think you can mess with my head, make me attack my own side and almost hurt her?! Pick how you want to go!"

The figure across from it didn't respond.

Instead, in a dull, mechanical tone:

"Susanoo."

A green skeletal giant formed around him, over twenty meters tall. It stared blankly at the cat for a brief moment, then swung a massive blade down.

BOOM!

Two massive red chakra tails lashed out from behind the cat, smashing the sword aside like it weighed nothing. The force alone staggered the Susanoo.

"You're Shisui Uchiha, aren't you?! The one who disappeared years ago! They've been searching everywhere for you and for what? Doesn't matter. I'm flattening you!"

"Neji get her out of here!"

The ground cracked violently.

Neji leapt away with Tenten in his arms, but even from nearly a hundred meters out, the shockwaves nearly knocked him off balance.

That wasn't wind.

That was raw chakra pressure.

Shisui pushed further, his Susanoo evolving into a larger, more complete form, now towering over fifty meters tall.

The disturbance drew attention immediately. Civilians fled. Shinobi rushed toward the scene.

Then

They all stopped dead.

"…That's… a cat?!"

Because towering over everything

Was a colossal white cat.

Over a hundred meters tall. More than three hundred meters long.

With a single swipe

It tore the Susanoo apart.

Right then, Akio appeared, landing lightly atop the cat's head.

"That's Shisui! Don't go for the kill; he's under genjutsu!"

"Meow don't care! He almost made me kill Tenten!"

Akio frowned slightly, sensing carefully as the Susanoo began forming again.

"…Where is she?"

"With Neji!"

Akio vanished instantly.

An enraged cat wasn't exactly easy to reason with and thankfully, most of the area had already been cleared. The real danger was still centered around the stadium.

Let it vent a little, he thought. Shisui's tough enough to survive.

Moments later, Akio reappeared beside Neji and took Tenten into his arms.

Her condition made his expression darken.

"Chakra drained… even her life force's been affected? Since when did that ability get this aggressive?"

He immediately began medical ninjutsu, while extending his sensory range to its limit.

"Sir!" Neji bowed quickly.

Akio nodded then paused, his gaze shifting toward a distant point beyond the battlefield.

"…So you're really here."

He muttered under his breath.

"And not alone… six of them. The Six Paths of Pain."

He finished the treatment and handed Tenten back.

"She'll be fine. Just needs time. What happened?"

Neji hesitated.

"…The 'Queen'—"

Akio blinked.

"…The what?"

Neji seemed to suppress something that might've been a sigh.

"That cat. It made Lee and me call it 'Your Majesty.'"

Akio glanced back at the giant feline casually shredding Susanoo like it was a chew toy.

Under normal circumstances, he might've laughed.

Neji continued,

"It was caught in Shisui's genjutsu and attacked us. The civilians we were protecting… we couldn't save them all."

Akio's expression tightened.

"And Tenten?"

"It was chaotic. Then someone appeared, a strange shinobi. They… kissed her. After that, she collapsed. But the cat snapped out of the genjutsu right after."

"…A kiss?" Akio frowned.

"A bloodline ability, maybe?"

Neji added quickly,

"It was a woman."

Akio's lips curved slightly.

"So… they turned someone with chakra-absorption abilities into the Preta Path? That explains it."

He exhaled slowly.

Tenten does have some Two-Tails chakra… but barely a fraction of the real thing. Still good enough for them to target her? That's unexpected.

Normally, Naruto would be the obvious target but with Minato Namikaze's mark on him, that was a much riskier move.

Akio scanned the area again.

"…Rin's heading this way? She's over five months pregnant… and Naruto's group too? This is getting messy."

He stood.

"Handle things here. I'll deal with the rest."

He reappeared atop the giant cat again.

"Had enough yet? Take a look around, you've trashed half the district. I cleaned house on those bets, but at this rate you're eating into my winnings."

"Meow! Not enough! I'm finishing him!"

Akio sighed.

"Tenten's going to be fine."

He paused, then added casually

"Tell you what. I'll give you half my cut. We're talking serious money; you can eat your way up to two hundred meters tall if you want."

"…Deal!"

SMASH!

The massive paw came down.

The Susanoo shattered layer by layer.

When the dust settled, Shisui lay unconscious, clothes torn, but alive.

Akio sighed.

"Years wasted… he hasn't improved at all. Itachi and the others have already surpassed him."

Then, softer

"…Still. Being alive is what matters. Someone's going to be very happy about that."

The giant cat shrank back down.

Akio gave a few quick instructions:

"Stay here. Watch over Tenten and Shisui. Naruto's going to show up, so keep an eye on him too. As for the rest… listen to Rin."

"Meow, I want sixty percent!"

Akio snorted.

"There are bigger problems waiting for me. If I don't make it back, you can have all of it."

"Meow like you'd die."

Akio just smiled and vanished.

Not far outside Konoha

He stopped.

Six figures stood waiting.

The Six Paths of Pain.

The lead one spoke:

"I expected you sooner, Uzumaki Akio."

Akio didn't respond.

Didn't even look at him.

Instead, his gaze locked onto the woman standing behind them

Long, dark-blue hair swaying slightly.

His expression shifted.

"…Uchiha Chiri."

A pause.

"…It's been a while."

A faint breath.

"…What—over a century now?"

---

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