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Gentle Fist LV9
(5,000,000 / 10,000,000)
That long-lost feeling of becoming stronger once again surged through Akio. He let out a long breath, a sense of satisfaction washing over him—this was the first skill he had trained to level nine on his own.
Perhaps it was because the Level 9 Yang attribute had already significantly enhanced his physical stats, but the boost from leveling up the Gentle Fist wasn't as impressive as he'd hoped. It had only added a bit over 500 points, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
After a moment of reflection, Akio shook his head. "Guess I'm getting a little greedy. Still, 500 points is an improvement—it's not bad. And I still have one more level to go. This technique doesn't seem to have a bottleneck. Maybe Gentle Fist will be the first skill I max out."
Just as he was lost in thought, a crisp young girl's voice rang out from nearby.
"Sensei!"
Startled, Akio looked over with a smile.
Walking toward him was his fifth disciple—Konan. It had been two months since he brought her back, and she no longer looked like the little beggar she used to be. Her clothes were now refined, and her features appeared more delicate. Though she wasn't of the Uzumaki clan by blood, becoming Akio's disciple naturally made her the little princess of the Land of Whirlpools.
"What's up? Having trouble with your training? Didn't Nagato help?" Akio asked with a smile.
Over the past two months, Akio had taught Konan some foundational knowledge about chakra and ninja training before leaving her in Nagato's care. It wasn't that he was neglectful—early training like chakra extraction and the Three Basic Techniques required tedious effort. He hadn't watched Nagato every day back then either.
"No, Sensei," Konan shook her head and pulled out a paper flower from her hair.
Akio blinked. He had noticed something different about her earlier—it was the paper flower in her hair.
"Oh, right. Konan's a Paper Release user," he muttered.
"Look, Sensei." Konan channeled a bit of chakra, and the flower slowly unfolded into several paper sheets.
"Oh?" Akio's eyes lit up with interest. He had seen many techniques over the years, but this was unlike anything he had encountered.
"Can you fold it back?" Akio asked, activating his full sensory abilities to examine the technique more closely.
Konan nodded seriously. The fully unfolded paper sheets slowly folded back into a flower.
"A chakra mutation?" Akio frowned. He only sensed Earth-nature chakra in the paper—not a Kekkei Genkai.
"Maybe it's like how Kushina naturally suppresses Tailed Beasts—some kind of unique chakra mutation," he said with a smile, not thinking too much of it. Paper Release was interesting, but it didn't seem to offer more than novelty compared to regular Earth Release.
"Sensei, I can add another chakra nature too," Konan added, making Akio pause.
"Add another one? Show me. That would make it a Kekkei Genkai," Akio said, now intrigued again.
Konan hesitated. "If I do… it'll explode."
"Oh?" Akio raised a brow, remembering that Konan had both Fire and Earth natures. The added chakra must be Fire.
"Paper catches fire and explodes… The world of Naruto is really unscientific sometimes."
"No worries. Just throw the exploding paper at me."
Konan obeyed. A paper slip floated toward Akio.
He performed a sealing technique, creating a light-blue crystal-like barrier—a miniature version of the Four Violet Flames Formation. Though smaller, it maintained its formidable defense. Akio had no doubt it could withstand the explosion.
The floating paper was enveloped in the barrier. Akio placed his hands on the sides, focusing.
Boom!
His hands trembled slightly from the shockwave.
"Comparable to an Explosive Tag? Not bad…" Akio muttered—then a thought struck him.
"Wait a second. Doesn't this make Konan a walking Explosive Tag factory?"
"Konan, can you delay the explosion after adding Fire chakra to the paper?" he asked.
Konan nodded. "But only for about ten minutes. I can't hold it longer than that."
"That's plenty! You'll improve with time," Akio thought, joy rising in his chest. "Make another one."
As Konan nervously handed him another paper slip, Akio smiled. "Don't worry—even if it explodes, it won't hurt your Sensei."
Boom!
Akio: "…"
After finally scrubbing the soot off his hands, Akio looked at the embarrassed Konan with a sigh.
"You were testing whether your Sensei was bluffing, weren't you?" he teased.
Konan giggled awkwardly and created another slip.
Akio took it and examined it closely. "First-Level Sealing!"
With a basic sealing jutsu, he suppressed the raging chakra inside the paper.
"Alright, you don't need to keep controlling it anymore," he told her.
Konan released her focus, and the paper didn't explode.
"It really works!" Akio could barely contain his excitement. All he needed to do now was add a simple trigger formula—one that would unseal when chakra was applied—and he'd have a ready-made Explosive Tag. Any member of the Uzumaki sealing corps could mass-produce them.
"This is way cheaper than making standard tags!" he thought, practically seeing the Land of Whirlpools bathed in gold. His eyes sparkled like diamonds as he looked at Konan again.
"But Konan's chakra control isn't strong enough yet. She's still far from mass production…" Akio calmed himself down.
"Still, this ability must be kept secret. It's too valuable—she's practically a gold mine in human form."
"Come to think of it, Kakuzu spent his life hoarding money and running finances… and might not have ended up richer than Konan," he murmured, glancing at her again with a touch of sympathy for the fallen Akatsuki member.
"But I can't let this stunt her jutsu development either. Once these tags start piling up, their destructive power will skyrocket. If she could make ten thousand… no, over a million of them—even I would get hurt without proper defenses."
He had completely forgotten that in the original story, Konan had used 600 billion Explosive Tags to protect Nagato's body. If Tobi hadn't used Izanagi, that might've been the end of the series right there.
"Sensei?" Konan's gentle voice snapped Akio out of his daze.
Smiling warmly, he looked at her. "Keep training hard. One day, you might be even more important to the Land of Whirlpools than Nagato."
Konan blinked in confusion. At just seven and a half years old, she couldn't yet grasp the significance of her power.
"Don't use that exploding paper technique lightly—keep it hidden as a trump card. Only use it when it'll take your enemies by surprise," Akio advised. Seeing her nod, he continued, "Come on, let's go to the training field and check on your and Nagato's progress."
The thought of the Land of Whirlpools becoming suddenly wealthy put Akio in such a good mood that even his steps felt lighter.
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