Akio hadn't been away from the Hyūga compound for long when Hizashi and Hiashi gathered their clan members. After coordinating with Hiruzen, they quickly mobilized under Hizashi's lead toward the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
Hiashi, meanwhile, stayed behind to work with the other Hyūga elders on restoring their lost clan techniques. Akio wasn't in any rush, he continued practicing his space-time ninjutsu while waiting for results from their research.
He didn't bother testing the sixty-four spatial nodes for now. Jumping back and forth was too troublesome, and he had plenty of time to experiment later.
For the moment, improving his chakra control had become his top priority. The fact that he still couldn't even perform the most basic form of Dust Release was honestly infuriating.
Time slipped by quickly in training. Half a month later, Akio smiled in satisfaction as he looked down at a small, white crystal floating above his palm.
"A mere space–time jutsu interfering with me? Ridiculous."
Taking a deep breath, he slowly compressed the crystal back into nothingness. If he'd used Dust Release inside the shop, he might've vaporized the whole place.
"Father, you're still training?"
Sara's voice startled him. His concentration slipped, and the Dust Release nearly detonated. In an instant, he retreated into his personal dimension.
"Meow!"
A sharp cry rang out the fat cat. Akio looked over and winced.
A chunk of the cat's fur had been sheared clean off. The beam of Dust Release had just grazed it.
Scooping the trembling creature into his arms, Akio flickered out of the dimension and reappeared in front of a confused Sara.
"Father, where did you go just now? And what happened to Shiro?"
"Shiro?" Akio twitched his mouth and glanced at the fat cat. Such a delicate name really didn't suit it.
"I was just giving the fat cat a little trim, nothing to worry about. But seriously, why are you home so early?"
The poor thing was terrified, curled tightly in Akio's arms and shivering like a plump, quivering furball.
Sara smiled softly. "Business has been slow lately because of the war. My teacher and I decided to take turns managing the shop half a day each, so we both get some rest."
"I see." Akio nodded in understanding. Half the village was either evacuated or deployed; of course business had slowed down.
"Still," he added, "don't forget to keep up with your ninjutsu training, even with the extra rest."
Sara giggled, hesitated a moment, then stepped behind him. "Father, you've been training so hard… let me give you a shoulder massage."
Akio froze completely. This kind of luxury was entirely new to him.
"Ah, having a daughter isn't so bad after all… though it'd be better if massages didn't come with requests afterward."
Sara's hands paused briefly before she moved in front of him again. "Then I'll massage your legs too, Father."
Akio raised a brow. "All right, out with it, who's the lucky guy you've taken a liking to? I'll go arrange the marriage myself."
Sara's face turned bright red. "F-Father, it's not that! It's about my teacher…"
"What?!" Akio jumped up. "That bastard Teuchi just as I suspected! I'll kill him!"
Sara hurriedly grabbed his arm. "No! It's not like that! My teacher just wants to open a branch of Ichiraku Ramen in the Land of Whirlpools and asked if I'd go manage it!"
Akio blinked, caught off guard.
Teuchi had mentioned expanding before, but Akio never thought he'd drag Sara into it.
"So you're planning to go?" Akio sighed. Deep down, he didn't like the idea, he'd be staying in Konoha for quite a while, after all.
Sara shook her head. "I don't want to. Even if that's your homeland, Father, Konoha has already become my home."
Akio smiled. "Then it's simple just refuse. Tell Teuchi to handle it himself."
Sara chuckled helplessly. "Father, how could Ichiraku Ramen in Konoha possibly run without me?"
"Then he'll just have to figure something out."
Sara sighed inwardly. She'd come for advice, hoping her father would help her come up with a tactful way to decline but as always, he was hopeless in such matters.
The fat cat had finally recovered from its near-death experience and decided to take revenge by gnawing on Akio's sleeve, its hind legs kicking furiously.
Akio sighed, setting it down before pulling out some dried fish. "All right, little troublemaker, I won't put you back in the space dimension anymore. You can stay here from now on."
After the earlier incident, he realized it wasn't safe to keep living creatures in there until his spatial control improved.
Seeing the cat's uneven fur, Akio took out a carving knife. In a flash, the coat was perfectly trimmed again.
"If I had this kind of hand speed in my previous life, I could've made a fortune running a barbershop," he muttered wryly.
"Father," Sara said, looking toward the door, "I think Obito's heading this way."
"I know. That brat's been off training somewhere half a month I've been back and he only noticed now."
Sure enough, Obito burst in a moment later, shouting, "Sensei! When did you get back? Were you on the battlefield?"
Then he spotted Sara and immediately switched to a meek tone. "Ah, Sara-nee-san's here too…"
Akio chuckled, amused by the instant shift.
"I've been back for half a month already. Where've you been hiding to train?"
Obito's eyes lit up. "Sensei, you really went to the battlefield?"
Akio paused. Why did these kids always treat the battlefield like some kind of adventure? Nawaki had been the same thinking war was the fast track to greatness and the Hokage's seat.
"Went or not, what difference does it make?" Akio said with a mysterious air, leaving Obito speechless.
"So… did you actually go or not?"
Akio grinned. "I did. But there wasn't much to do, so I came back."
Seeing Obito's eager curiosity, he added, "The current generation of shinobi is really impressive. That Hatake Kakashi youngest on the field, yet already stronger than most adults…"
As Akio went on describing Kakashi's "glorious deeds," Obito's face turned redder and redder.
"Father, you're teasing Obito again," Sara said, laughing.
Obito blinked, realizing he'd been played again.
"I'll go make you two some ramen," Sara said with a smile, heading for the door.
Akio glanced at the clock. "Good idea, it's almost noon."
Once she left, Obito spoke again, more quietly this time. "Sensei… what's the battlefield really like?"
Akio didn't dodge the question this time. He sighed softly. "The battlefield isn't a place of glory, Obito. It's filled with death. Every step is a risk, one careless move, and you die. You think Kakashi's doing anything special there? He's just sticking close to Minato or Sakumo, trying to gain experience. He still has a long way to go."
Obito muttered, "Kakashi…" but the admiration in his eyes didn't fade.
Akio shook his head, smiling wryly. "Keep training. If the war drags on, maybe in six months I'll take you there myself for a look, not a fight."
Obito's eyes lit up. "You promise, Sensei?"
Akio nodded. "Yeah. For now, go help your Sara-nee-san bring the ramen."
"Okay!" Obito ran off eagerly.
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