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Uchiha Madara's departure had little to no impact on the clans or civilians of Konoha.
Life went on as usual, time flowed as always—the only noticeable change was that the Uchiha clan's voice in Konoha had grown weaker.
Although Uchiha Izma took Madara's place and joined the Elders, even Madara had struggled to handle the other three Elders during his time—Izma fared no better.
In the blink of an eye, it was now Year Five of Konoha's founding. The Hidden Leaf Village had been established for a full four years.
Akio strolled through the village streets, still sensing the lingering festivity of the recent anniversary.
Ever since Madara left, Akio had returned to focusing on improving his strength. Over the past six months, he had devoted himself to training. Once he adapted to the enhancements from his stat increases, he began progressing steadily down the path of combining Yin and Yang Release…
However, until now, he had made no progress. With the anniversary just past, he'd decided to get out and clear his mind in hopes of finding a new perspective.
As Akio pondered the reasons for his failed attempts at fusion, the distant clang of metalwork pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up and saw someone busying themselves atop the massive cliff behind the Hokage Building.
"They're carving the Hokage Rock?" Akio murmured.
He knew Hashirama had wanted to do this ever since founding Konoha. Originally, Hashirama had hoped Madara would become Hokage, intending to carve Madara's face into the cliff for the villagers to admire.
But in the end, it was Hashirama who became Hokage. He'd never mentioned the idea again—until now. With Madara gone, work on the Hokage Rock had finally begun.
Without realizing it, Akio had walked to the base of the cliff, staring up in quiet contemplation.
"So this is the future landmark of Konoha—Hokage Rock. You can already see the shape of Hashirama's face taking form…"
The person working on the cliff was a shinobi. Upon noticing Akio watching from below, he quickly descended the rock face.
"Elder Akio!" he greeted respectfully.
Akio nodded and glanced back at the carving. "You're doing well—the facial structure looks quite accurate."
The sculptor chuckled. "You flatter me, Elder. It's actually not that hard. As long as you get the proportions right, anyone can do it. For example, the Hokage's face has a length-to-width ratio of about 6:4. The distance from the eyes to the mouth makes up about 35% of the full length…"
He continued explaining, but Akio wasn't listening anymore. His mind was stuck on that one phrase: "As long as you get the proportions right…"
"Could the fusion of Yin and Yang Release also depend on the right ratio?" Akio murmured.
Up to now, when fusing Kekkei Genkai or Kekkei Tōta, he had always merged chakra in a 1:1 ratio. So for Yin–Yang Release, he hadn't even considered using a different balance.
He acted immediately. Without replying to the sculptor, he began merging Yin and Yang chakra within his body.
After several attempts, he finally settled on a 2:8 ratio of Yin to Yang.
Before he could celebrate, his expression soured. The newly fused chakra surged uncontrollably within him. Thankfully, the amount wasn't large—otherwise, he might've exploded on the spot.
Akio glanced around. The area was full of civilian homes. Then he turned to the Hokage Rock. Looking at the still-chatty sculptor in front of him, he gave a wry smile.
"Sorry, brother… I've got no choice."
He gathered his chakra—then released it.
The sculptor watched in horror as Akio's expression suddenly turned grim, a black sphere forming in his mouth mid-conversation. And then—
Boom.
The painstakingly carved Hokage Rock exploded.
It exploded.
It… exploded.
"Elder, you—!"
"Apologies. I don't know what came over me… I think I just launched a Tailed Beast Bomb or something."
Half an hour later, at the Hokage Building…
Hashirama sat with a slight headache, staring at Akio.
"You're telling me… you accidentally blew up the Hokage Rock?"
Akio scratched his head sheepishly. "I don't know what happened. I think I might've turned into a Tailed Beast for a second… and fired a Bijūdama…"
Hashirama clearly didn't buy it, but he didn't know how to pursue it either. "Then…"
Akio spoke up first. "No worries. It's just a Hokage Rock, right? I'll carve a new one myself!"
"There's no need, Elder Akio!" The sculptor—who had come to report the incident—hadn't said a word since arriving. After all, between the Hokage and an Elder, he couldn't exactly butt in. But when Akio offered to carve the rock himself, he couldn't hold back.
Being able to carve the Hokage's face was an honor for any sculptor—especially Hashirama's. He didn't want to give that up.
Akio could tell what he was thinking. "Alright then, let's do it together. Two people will get it done faster anyway."
So, for the next while, Akio joined in the carving of Hokage Rock.
At first, he caused nothing but chaos, leaving the sculptor frustrated and questioning his life choices.
But by the next day, Akio had become a carving master, leaving the sculptor absolutely dumbfounded.
Of course, the reason was simple—Akio had spent some witness points:
Carving LV6 (10,000/20,000)
He still had 20 witness points left, but it wasn't necessary to spend more—no need to make Hashirama too lifelike. That would strip the First Hokage of his sense of dignity.
A month later, Akio stood at the base of the cliff, gazing up in a daze.
"One day, this rock will hold the faces of Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, Kakashi, Naruto…"
"No, wait—Tobirama shouldn't be up there. He should just spend his life as Hashirama's bodyguard…"
"Hey, Grandpa Akio, I heard the Hokage Rock is finished?" Tobirama's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Yeah. Go call your brother to come see it," Akio said, smiling as he turned. You'd never guess he'd just been "cursing" Tobirama moments earlier. "Actually, that sculptor might've already gone to find Hashirama."
"Grandpa Akio, your carving makes my brother look kinda stern," Tobirama noted, examining the rock. But before Akio could explain, he added, "But that's perfect."
"Exactly what I thought," Akio laughed. "Otherwise, if future generations saw the First Hokage as a goofball, they might… lose faith in the village."
Not long after, Hashirama arrived. He was quite satisfied with the finished carving—perhaps because in his heart, he truly saw himself as a stern leader…
With the Hokage Rock incident finally settled, Akio could finally return to researching the fusion of Yin–Yang Release.
"Could it really be a Tailed Beast Bomb…? But I'm not a Jinchūriki."
In a secluded area, Akio tested again—only to once more spew out a chakra sphere from his mouth.
Next, he experimented with incorporating a 2:8 ratio of Yin–Yang Release into his Rasengan and Rasenshuriken. The resulting jutsu turned a deep black jade color, with greatly enhanced power—yet without a major increase in chakra consumption.
"With this, I now have another high-damage option besides Dust Release. It might not be as destructive, but it's far more chakra-efficient…"
"Still… did I really use a Bijūdama?"
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