Life is full of choices.
Some shape your entire future.
Others are as trivial as deciding what to have for breakfast.
Even going to sleep requires a choice.
Do you close your left eye first... or your right?
Akio rarely wasted time over questions like that.
He simply closed both eyes at once.
Unfortunately, the choice before him now was far more difficult.
Raising Genetic Engineering & Synthesis to Level 8 had already unlocked a mountain of absurdly advanced techniques. It even included an anti-aging procedure capable of extending a person's lifespan by roughly 60%.
So...
What would Level 10 unlock?
The prospect was incredibly tempting.
But reaching Level 10 required 900 Witness Points, hardly a trivial investment.
More importantly, he was only 1,500 Witness Points away from achieving a fully maxed-out system, unlocking all eight dimensional spaces.
"I'll wait and see how many Witness Points I earn over the coming months... and whether this anti-aging procedure actually works."
As night settled in, Akio performed another exhaustive examination of Isaribi using his newly acquired Level 8 genetic knowledge.
After reassuring her that her condition was completely treatable, he sent her home to get some rest.
Nearby, he created a small wooden cabin with Wood Release and spent the night there himself.
That evening...
He closed both eyes at exactly the same time.
...
The following morning...
Akio and Isaribi set off for Konoha.
She had little tying her to the Land of the Sea, so leaving wasn't difficult.
As for Akio, aside from resisting the urge to pressure the country's daimyō into renaming the bizarre island "Saburō Island," he'd already accomplished everything he'd come to do.
There was nothing left to keep him there.
The only disappointment was that Orochimaru's "children" weren't so easy to recruit.
Akio genuinely saw potential in Guren. Given the right guidance, she could become an exceptional shinobi.
As for Tayuya...
A girl who's only interested in my youthful good looks?
I'll pass.
"With Orochimaru gone without a trace, those two won't wait forever. Sooner or later, abandoned children always end up finding a new home..."
He coughed.
"...Preferably at mine."
Traveling back aboard his flying carpet, Isaribi showed no fear of heights whatsoever.
She happily admired the scenery below, smiling the entire journey.
Only now did she truly believe that the "little brother" traveling beside her was an extraordinary shinobi.
Upon arriving in Konoha, Akio headed straight for the Uchiha district with Isaribi.
He had already worked out the safest method for removing the fish DNA from her body, but the actual treatment would be better left to Rin.
Or so he thought.
Instead, he found someone even more qualified waiting inside.
"Tsunade? When did you get back?"
Holding little Akira in her arms, Tsunade looked up in surprise.
After Rin confirmed Akio's identity, her face lit up.
"Haha! Great-Great-Grandpa! You really did turn into a kid! You're adorable!"
Handing Akira back to Rin, she immediately stepped forward for a hug.
Akio hurriedly held up both hands.
"Not happening! The height difference makes this awkward!"
"Aww, you're blushing now?"
Akio: "..."
After several minutes of playful teasing, Tsunade finally explained why she'd returned to Konoha.
There were plenty of reasons.
Orochimaru's attack on the village and his uncertain fate was one.
Hiruzen's advancing age was another.
Rin having a baby.
Akio suddenly becoming a child.
But the biggest reason was simple.
Jiraiya had tracked her down and told her everything.
Unlike in the original timeline, Tsunade now had far more people she cared about in Konoha.
Taking a couple of years off to wander and gamble had been one thing.
Staying away forever was another.
So she and Jiraiya had returned together the previous afternoon.
"And there's another important reason."
Akio smiled knowingly.
"You and Jiraiya aren't getting any younger."
Tsunade paused...
Then burst into laughter.
"Haha! Great-Great-Grandpa, come here and give me a hug!"
Akio: "..."
After another round of laughter, Tsunade finally noticed Isaribi.
Only then did Akio remember why he'd come.
"She's another victim of Orochimaru's experiments. I happened to find her and brought her back. Originally I planned to ask Rin to treat her, but now that you're here..."
"Orochimaru's experiments?"
Tsunade frowned as she walked toward the visibly nervous Isaribi.
Akio reassured her.
"Don't be afraid. This is Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin alongside Orochimaru. She's the greatest medical ninja alive."
"She'll help you."
Isaribi froze.
For a split second, she almost bolted.
Akio chuckled.
"Relax. Not every member of the Legendary Sannin is a villain."
"...Actually, come to think of it, she's the only one who isn't."
Before Isaribi could escape, Tsunade gently caught her wrist.
A small pulse of chakra flowed into her body.
Moments later, her mermaid traits began to emerge.
Nearby, Rin stared in astonishment while holding Akira.
"A human-animal hybrid experiment?"
Tsunade gently touched the fin atop Isaribi's head.
"...That bastard Orochimaru."
"I can treat this..."
She hesitated.
"...But..."
"I'll explain the procedure afterward."
Akio nodded.
"There won't be any lasting side effects."
Tsunade blinked.
"Since when did you become an expert in genetics?"
Akio folded his arms proudly.
"Your great-great-grandfather excels at everything."
"Then why don't you perform the operation yourself?"
Akio scratched his head awkwardly.
"Some of the areas where the fish DNA fused..."
"...would be rather inappropriate for me to examine."
A teasing smile spread across Tsunade's face.
"Is this girl even twenty?"
"She's practically a child compared to you."
"Since when did you become so bashful?"
"Is it because your body got younger?"
"So cute."
"Come here and let me hug you!"
Akio's face darkened.
"You menace."
...
Working in Rin's home, Akio guided Tsunade through Isaribi's first treatment.
Watching the young girl quietly cry tears of relief as her body slowly recovered was more emotional than he cared to admit.
Leaving her in Rin's care, Akio pulled Tsunade aside.
"I've discovered something."
He explained the anti-aging procedure.
Tsunade's eyes widened.
"You're serious?"
"Extending someone's lifespan by sixty percent?"
"That's impossible!"
"Wouldn't that mean people could routinely live well past a hundred?"
"Not exactly."
Akio shook his head.
"It depends on how much life they have left."
"Take Jiraiya."
"He's fifty now."
"...Wow."
"I can't believe he's already fifty."
Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"Great-Great-Grandpa, spare me."
Akio laughed.
"Let's say he naturally lives to eighty."
"That's thirty years remaining."
"Extend that by sixty percent, and he'd gain another eighteen years."
"So he'd live eighteen years longer."
Tsunade considered it.
"So the younger someone receives the procedure, the better?"
"Not necessarily."
Akio shook his head again.
"I still don't know whether removing these genes could interfere with normal development."
"That's something that needs testing."
"So why are you telling me?"
"So I can teach you."
"Aging-related genes are scattered throughout the entire body."
"There are certain patients like Kushina and the others whom I simply can't operate on personally."
Understanding immediately, Tsunade nodded.
This time she resisted making another joke.
She knew when something was truly important.
"Should I study the theory first..."
"...or will you teach me during surgery?"
Akio waved dismissively.
"You can learn by assisting."
"As for our first patient..."
He smiled.
"We'll use Jiraiya."
Tsunade: "..."
That's quite the setup.
"Don't worry."
Akio laughed.
"We won't do it until after the New Year."
"I still need to verify that it's completely safe."
Tsunade assured him she wasn't in any hurry.
It was now mid-December of Konoha Year 60.
Over the next two weeks, Akio repeatedly refined the anti-aging procedure.
He never looked for test subjects.
Instead...
He experimented on himself.
By the final day of the year, after plenty of trial and error, he had successfully removed all 268 aging-related genes from his own body.
"Now, even without the system..."
"...this old ancestor should have another 128 years ahead of him."
He paused.
"...Assuming there aren't any unexpected side effects."
"Oh well."
"Every breakthrough in science requires someone willing to take the first leap."
---
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