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After the wedding of Nawaki and Mikoto, Akio remained in Konoha for a week under both of his identities. One shadow clone accompanied Genkai to visit and "foster relations" with the daimyōs of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. After all, the Land of Whirlpools was destined to become one of the new Five Great Nations—diplomatic outreach was essential.

As for his identity as the online shopkeeper, Akio kept up the role for a week. Once he was certain nothing unexpected would happen, he found a moment to dispel the clone and personally took over.

"Over the past year and a half, Nagato and Konan have made impressive progress."

The shadow clone had lasted for a full year and a half. Initially created with 50% of Akio's chakra, by the end it was running on fumes, only retaining about 20% as it couldn't replenish itself. Since the clone had never been dispelled, Akio had remained unaware of events in the Land of Whirlpools during that time.

Now receiving the clone's accumulated memories all at once, Akio was momentarily stunned. Fortunately, the clone's time had been fairly routine, and he was able to quickly regain his composure.

What pleased him most in those memories was the progress of his two disciples. Nine-year-old Nagato had already reached the level of a jōnin. At this rate, he could easily become an S-rank ninja by the age of fourteen or fifteen—a level befitting a protagonist. Konan, though slightly behind Nagato, had achieved chūnin-level strength. What made Akio even happier was her growing proficiency in creating explosive tags.

"Elder, it's time for us to go," Genkai's voice pulled Akio back to reality.

"Genkai, it's been nearly two years—we've both aged," Akio said with a smile. Genkai, now sixty-four, had indeed been burdened with the responsibilities of leading the Land of Whirlpools.

"Two years?" Genkai looked puzzled. He was about to point out that they'd seen each other every day recently.

Akio waved it off and interrupted, "Let's go—time to return to the Land of Whirlpools."

Only the two of them had come to Konoha, so there were no security concerns or need for formalities. As per the shadow clone's arrangements, everything was kept simple.

The return journey was far easier than the one before—back then they had brought several scrolls of sealed gifts for the wedding, all of which had been handed out a week earlier.

"Hashirama... your great-grandson may one day surpass even you. You might live to witness that moment yourself," Akio mused on the way back.

A union between the Senju and Uchiha… Who knew what kind of "monster" that could produce? With everything now settled, Akio was no longer fixated on the storyline and instead began to look forward to what lay ahead.

"If I don't push myself harder, I might actually get left behind," he thought, a bit self-conscious. For a man over a hundred years old, being outpaced by the younger generation would be rather humiliating.

"Bloodline Aggregation… The next best opportunity to earn Witness Points would be through Kakashi. Graduated at five, chūnin at six, jōnin at twelve—there should be points to gain at each of those milestones."

Since the plot had already changed, Akio had to plan his future carefully. He spent time combing through his remaining memories of the original story, focusing on events unlikely to shift.

Over the past year and a half, Akio had not only protected Nawaki and Mikoto but also managed to get Sakumo to revert his son's name from "Kaoridong" back to "Kakashi." He simply couldn't tolerate the alternative. It hadn't been easy—he had to persist relentlessly to succeed.

Sakumo, on the other hand, had to endure an earful from his wife for it.

"I told you from the start the child should be named Kakashi! But no, you just had to use the name Elder Akio suggested—Kaoridong. And now you're changing it back…"

This amusing scene had been entirely filled in by Akio's imagination, based on Sakumo's sheepish smile when he described the situation. Akio gave a moment of silent tribute to the man.

"Sensei, you're back!" Nagato and Konan's voices pulled him from his thoughts. Only then did he realize they had already returned to the Land of Whirlpools. A few people were waiting to greet them at the border.

"You two have made some nice progress," Akio said after sensing their chakra. The clone's memories really didn't compare to firsthand experience.

"Let's go. I want to inspect your training at the training field."

"Didn't you already check just before you left for Konoha a week ago?" the two children complained.

Akio smiled but didn't explain, "Frequent inspections will speed up your growth."

Naturally, Akio didn't inspect their training with his own hands.

He noted with some embarrassment that his clone had built a rather odd training setup in the field—two tracks, one for 100 meters, another for 400 meters, plus a pull-up bar. Even Akio himself found it awkward, so it was no wonder the kids were reluctant.

Still, the equipment was already there—might as well use it.

But…

In the training field, Akio's face darkened. On the pull-up bar, one person was going so fast he was a blur.

"Oh! Sensei, you're back!" That person noticed Akio and launched into a 1,080-degree aerial spin, landing in front of him—but staggered a bit upon landing.

Akio frowned but didn't help him up. He forced a smile. "Jitou, still training?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Jitou looked up with admiration. "These devices you built make training so efficient!"

CRASH

As soon as he finished speaking, the pull-up bar collapsed completely. Akio sighed.

"I made those for Nagato and Konan. Why are you even here? If you're so bored, why not go visit Konoha? Duy's son is already five—you might even find a training partner."

As he watched the excited Jitou run off, Akio's mood sank. In his eyes, Jitou's physical condition had begun to decline. After all, he was over sixty now—staying at peak form forever wasn't realistic.

"Only two tests left. We'll skip the 400 meters—just run the 100. I want to see if you two have been slacking off. Then we'll check your ninjutsu."

"Yes, Sensei…" the two kids replied weakly. They always thought the 100-meter dash was silly.

Of course, ninja didn't sprint by pumping their arms—rather, they kept both hands behind them. Akio didn't really understand the mechanics, but after all these years, he was used to it.

"Does it reduce drag or something?"

He nodded slightly at their times—Nagato at just over five seconds, Konan at a little over seven. For nine-year-olds relying purely on physical ability—chakra use was prohibited on the track—it was a solid performance. Sakumo himself might clock close to two seconds.

"Not bad, but no real improvement from last time," Akio commented. The two immediately gave him pitiful looks—he finally remembered he'd tested them just a week ago.

"Do shadow clones lose memory fidelity if they last too long?" Akio frowned. No one else had ever kept one active for a year and a half, and certainly not with his chakra reserves.

"Looks like I shouldn't use them that long again."

He turned back to the kids. "Your progress is decent. Let me see how your ninjutsu training is going…"

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