Squad Formation

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The sale of Explosive Tags went more smoothly than expected. As soon as Ōnoki learned the purpose of Akio's visit, he immediately dispatched dozens of ninja from the village to transport the tags back, and settled the payment on the spot.

With the transaction complete, and seeing that Ōnoki wasn't in the mood for small talk, Akio simply instructed him to establish an outpost along the coastline. The Land of Whirlpools would be sending out fleets from time to time to trade all sorts of goods with the Land of Earth. After a short rest, the group set off on their return journey.

The voyage back was significantly smoother. After all, the Uzushio ninja now had seventeen days of seafaring experience, and many of the giant aquatic summons along the route had already been cleared. It only took fourteen days to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

In the following days, Uzushio also established a maritime route with Sunagakure using the same method. Although the time required was about the same as by land, the sea route was comparatively safer. Mindless aquatic summons were always easier to deal with than cunning and unpredictable ninja.

In less than a year, the Land of Whirlpools had successfully established trade relations with many major and minor nations throughout the shinobi world. Not only did they sell goods via their fleets, but they could now make purchases as well.

With a stable foundation for economic development, all Uzushio needed now was more time and a larger population.

Having resolved the village's economic concerns, Akio once again found himself with free time. He spent his days teaching his two disciples, occasionally guiding Kushina with her sealing techniques, and continuing his training in Gentle Fist.

He had already passed the halfway mark of Level 9 Gentle Fist, and Akio estimated that in another five or six years, he would finally attain his first self-cultivated Level 10 skill.

His two disciples had also reached a bottleneck in their training—likely the limit for their age. Akio decided it was time to take them out on missions to gain real combat experience.

The mission supply in Uzushio wasn't abundant, and most were low-difficulty. After completing a few miscellaneous escort and daily tasks, even Akio felt bored—his disciples likewise found them useless for growth.

"Let's go to Konoha and snatch a few missions from their ninja." It just so happened that the Konoha Calendar was nearing Year 39, and Kakashi was about to enter the Academy at age five. Akio figured he might as well witness that milestone too.

Konoha typically formed three-man squads, sometimes with an additional captain. Akio planned to form one as well. Kushina had already been away from Konoha for two and a half years, so pairing her with his two disciples made a perfect team.

This time, regarding Kushina's return to Konoha, Nanako didn't object. She even took the initiative to ask if she could stay in Konoha for a while.

"You're the wife of a daimyō. What business do you have running off to Konoha to join the fun?"

Nanako could only give a wry smile and shake her head without offering an explanation.

And so, the five of them once again journeyed to Konoha.

"Kushina, excited to see Minato soon?" Akio teased her on the road.

A blush rose to Kushina's cheeks as she shook her head softly, but the expectation in her eyes gave her away completely.

"Minato even asked me to carve a wooden statue of you for him," Akio added with a smirk.

Then his expression turned slightly more serious.

"This trip to Konoha is mainly to build your combat experience. I'll have Hiruzen assign you some A-rank missions, and unless it's necessary, I won't step in. You'll need to take this seriously."

"Don't worry, Great-Grandpa Akio! With me leading them, we've got this!" Kushina declared confidently.

Akio gave her a sidelong glance and shook his head, deflating her ego. "You're probably still not a match for Nagato. Who's protecting whom, really?"

"No way…"

The group grew livelier, while Nanako could only watch and smile wryly from the side.

Upon arriving in Konoha, Akio paused as he caught sight of a small figure running by.

"Still seventeen more to go…"

The corners of Akio's mouth twitched. The runner was none other than Might Guy, who had just turned five. It wasn't surprising that he had already started training at that age—but what he was carrying on his back left Akio momentarily speechless.

"Ichiraku Ramen Delivery? Every time I come to Konoha, there's some new surprise. Five-year-old Guy doing delivery runs… That's not easy." Akio chuckled. Who would've thought that in less than a year away from Konoha, Teuchi had actually taken his suggestion and launched a delivery service?

"Wait a minute… don't tell me…"

A sense of foreboding welled up in Akio. Sure enough, his suspicion proved correct. Not only was Guy involved—Duy and Jitou had joined in too. The three of them treated it as training, delivering ramen for Teuchi free of charge.

"Sensei, Jitou hasn't changed one bit," Nanako quipped.

Akio sighed. "That's my fault."

He glanced over at his two current disciples and felt slightly reassured. Both were a bit introverted—they'd never become like that trio.

While slightly embarrassed, Akio didn't interfere. Those three probably enjoyed it.

Nanako went to visit Mito at the Senju estate, while Akio took the three children to the Hokage's office.

When Hiruzen saw Kushina, he couldn't hide the joy on his face. Two years ago, Akio had taken her back to Uzushio, and Hiruzen had been fretting over who would become the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki. But catching Akio's sharp gaze, he quickly adjusted his expression.

"Elder Akio, may I ask the purpose of your visit?"

"Uzushio's too poor to make ends meet. I brought three kids to Konoha to pick up some missions."

Hiruzen froze, then gave a bitter smile.

Not long ago, Uzushio had practically bled Konoha dry with the Explosive Tags deal, and now Akio was playing the poverty card. But Hiruzen had learned to filter out Akio's nonsense and extract the important parts.

"No problem at all, Elder Akio. Should the three be placed under the command of a Konoha jōnin?"

Akio paused, then shook his head. "I'm planning for them to take on A-rank and above missions. You want Sakumo to lead them?"

"A-rank?" Hiruzen looked visibly hesitant. Missions of that level were rare in Konoha. He had assumed Akio meant B or C-rank tasks.

"Relax. This is just to build their combat experience. One mission every six months is enough. You can even keep half the commission."

Hiruzen let out a breath of relief. "One every six months is fine. As for the commission—please, you keep it."

Akio didn't refuse. "Then it's settled. In a few days, I'll bring them by to accept a mission. Preferably one with lots of combat, but not too time-consuming."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding and agreed.

As they left, Akio smiled at Kushina. "Alright, go find Minato already. Look at you, you're practically vibrating."

Kushina puffed up, acting tsundere. "I'm not going! I'm going to see Grandma!" And with that, she ran off—though clearly in the wrong direction.

Akio turned to Nagato and Konan, smiling. "Let's go too. Time to see how your Brother Nawaki's doing in married life…"

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