Chapter 453: The Birth Approaches
The Floating Island Completed
After more than three months of training, Akio's secluded retreat finally came to an end with the completion of the Sky Island.
He had left Konoha on July 8.
As for the current date...
He had no idea.
Time had a way of slipping by during training.
After setting up a concealment barrier around the floating island to keep it hidden from prying eyes, he decided to leave the rest of the work for another day.
The food stored in his Eight Trigrams Space was nearly gone, and since he was already close to the Land of Whirlpools, he decided to head home first.
The Land of Whirlpools — Uzukage Building
"Well, look at you, Sensei! You really did get smaller. When Sister Kushina sent word, Konan and I didn't believe it."
Nagato circled around him, examining him from every angle.
"Kushina's got the biggest mouth in the world. She can't keep a secret to save her life."
Akio clicked his tongue. He'd wanted to surprise Nagato. Maybe pretend he was his own long-lost son or something.
...Actually, that sounded ridiculous.
"Sensei, your timing is perfect. There's something I need your opinion on."
Akio blinked.
Why did every conversation with Nagato seem to end with him making another decision?
"You're the Uzukage now. What could possibly require my input?"
Nagato scratched his head.
"This one's a little unusual. Konoha has sent Uchiha Shisui to join the Akatsuki as its representative."
"Oh?"
Akio paused.
Nagato nodded.
"Now the Land of Whirlpools is the only village that hasn't assigned a permanent member."
Akio thought for a moment before snapping his fingers.
"We shouldn't be the odd ones out. Send Kisame."
"Got it."
After a brief silence, Akio spoke again.
"By the way... are you still taking that medicine every day?"
Nagato immediately smiled awkwardly.
"Sensei…"
"Don't give me that look. You and Konan are thirty-two now. You've been married for more than three years and still don't have any children."
"I know you're only trying to help."
"Good. Then I'll give you another year. If nothing changes..." He sighed. "I'll prepare another prescription for Konan."
Nagato could only nod helplessly.
Akio rubbed his forehead.
Why did he always end up dealing with these kinds of problems?
"Anyway, send someone to find Kisame."
Kisame joining the Akatsuki earned Akio twenty Witness Points.
A nice little bonus.
He knew that having Nagato or Konan join the organization would have yielded far more, but that had never been an option.
Making special fertility medicine for his two students had already been embarrassing enough.
In fact, during this trip, he hadn't even worked up the nerve to visit Konan.
After sharing lunch with Sara and catching up on recent events, Akio teleported back to Konoha.
According to Nagato, today was November 10.
He hadn't been gone for a little over three months.
He'd been gone for four.
"If I stay away any longer, Kushina's going to spend every last bit of the money I won. Why on earth did I let her hold onto it in the first place?"
Konoha — Kushina's House
Akio stared at the tightly locked front door.
An ominous feeling immediately settled over him.
Where could the whole family have gone in the middle of the afternoon?
Naruto was probably on a mission.
Maybe Kushina and Minato were teaching Tsukika some new techniques.
Or...
"They didn't use my money to buy a new house, did they?"
Unable to find Kushina, Akio reluctantly teleported to the Hokage Tower to let Obito know he had returned.
Instead, he found Hiruzen sitting in the Hokage's chair once again.
"Why are you here again? Did Obito go on strike?"
Hiruzen stood up with a weary smile.
"Rin's due date is almost here. Obito's been at home taking care of her these past few days, so I'm filling in for another week or two."
Akio blinked.
"Oh, right. Rin... I completely lost track of the date. Is Kushina with her?"
Hiruzen nodded.
"She has been for several days."
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"You gave her my money, right? How much was it?"
"I believe it was around four hundred and sixty million ryō. You have no idea how much the villagers complained at the time"
Hiruzen launched into another lengthy rant.
Akio simply smiled and nodded along.
"Four hundred and sixty million..."
Hiruzen fell silent.
"Perfect. Keep up the good work."
Akio waved and turned to leave, then suddenly paused.
"Oh, and take care of yourself. You're not getting any younger. You don't need to work yourself to death as Hokage."
"How could I possibly"
"That's the spirit. Work hard. Stay motivated. Keep it up!"
He vanished before Hiruzen could respond.
The Third Hokage sat there in confusion.
Was Akio telling him to rest...
Or to keep working?
Uchiha District
Kushina and Rin were chatting when Rin suddenly looked surprised.
"Kushina, watch out behind you!"
Kushina spun around.
A fist-sized black portal had appeared in the air behind her.
A hand slowly emerged from it, clearly intending to tap her on the shoulder.
Then it froze midair after being spotted.
"That hand... Great-Grandpa?"
The portal widened, and Akio stepped out with a helpless expression.
"Rin, does Obito pull this trick on you all the time? How did you notice me so quickly?"
Rin's stomach was already quite large, but her face remained as youthful as ever. When she smiled, the two familiar dimples still appeared.
"Master, you really did become younger. You look adorable!"
Akio pursed his lips.
Was this maternal instinct kicking in?
She'd actually called him adorable.
"Let's go with handsome instead."
He chuckled.
"Where's Obito? Wasn't he supposed to be taking care of you?"
Rin sighed almost imperceptibly.
"He's making dinner."
"Oh? He learned how to cook?"
Akio smiled.
One look at Rin's expression told him everything he needed to know about the quality of the food.
Still, Obito's heart was in the right place.
Then he remembered Kushina's legendary cooking disasters.
Poor Rin had probably suffered quite a bit lately.
"I've finally finished my work. From now on, leave the cooking to me. When's the baby due?"
Rin looked nervous.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
Akio blinked.
"Who's delivering the baby?"
"I'm right here, Great-Grandpa!" Kushina interjected. "I know medical ninjutsu, and I've already delivered Naruto and Tsukika. I've got experience."
Akio smiled bitterly.
"I've been a pretty inattentive teacher."
He shook his head.
"After the baby is born, I'll take care of every meal for an entire month."
Rin smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Master."
Akio turned to Kushina.
"Do you still have my money?"
Kushina froze.
The look of reluctance on her face was almost painful to watch as she slowly reached into her clothes.
"You're actually willing to give it back?"
Akio looked genuinely surprised.
"Fine. Just give me the loose change. You can hold onto the rest but don't spend it recklessly."
"Deal!"
The Next Day — November 11, Year 60 of Konoha
With Akio and Minato repeatedly reassuring an extremely nervous Obito, Rin safely gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing over eight pounds.
After some discussion, Akio made the final decision on the child's name.
Uchiha Akira.
Everyone assumed he had chosen the name because it meant a bright and promising future.
But that wasn't his real reason.
To Akio, the name represented something else entirely.
No mask.
No hatred.
No need for Obito to hide his identity and plunge the shinobi world into darkness.
The name Akira meant to reveal, to make clear.
A reminder that the future had changed.
And, naturally, further proof that he was an extraordinary elder who had saved the world from a very troublesome fate.
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