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After unlocking the seventh gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation, Akio's training had temporarily come to an end.
"Now that I've opened the Seventh Gate, I should be able to hold my own against Madara and Hashirama... The Uzumaki Akio is back!" he muttered to himself.
"Hiss... but this hurts like hell," Akio grimaced, gritting his teeth. He wasn't as thick-skinned as the bushy-browed duo.
"If I don't need to use the Eight Gates, I won't. Besides, I just got another 20 Witness Points—I'll just invest those into Dust Release!"
Earth Style: (Can be fused 1/3)
Level 7 (606,598 / 1,000,000) (+)
Wind Style: (Can be fused 1/3)
Level 7 (607,738 / 1,000,000) (+)
Fire Style: (Can be fused 1/3)
Level 7 (602,243 / 1,000,000) (+)
He had already spent 42 Witness Points. Looking at the progress of his Earth, Wind, and Fire styles, Akio nodded in satisfaction.
"Just as expected, at Level 7, I can now fuse three elements. Dust Release, here I come!"
Eagerly, Akio fused the three chakra natures together.
"A loop... It's fused, isn't it?" In his perception, the three chakra natures within him were now interconnected in a triangular formation: Wind connected to Fire, Fire to Earth, and Earth back to Wind.
Dust Release: Level 7 (1,816,579 / 3,000,000) (+)
"Phew..." Akio let out a long breath. He had finally attained Dust Release—but something still felt off.
Brushing the feeling aside, Akio immediately headed to the forest outside the clan grounds to test his new jutsu.
As for why not the First Training Ground... well, this was the Uzumaki Clan, not the Senju.
Activating his Kagura's Mind Eye to confirm no one was around, he formed hand seals:
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A conical crystal beam swept through, felling countless trees and carving a deep trench into the ground.
"This power..." Akio fell silent. "Doesn't seem all that impressive... In terms of destructive force, it's not that much stronger than my Rasenshuriken." He scratched his head, slightly disappointed.
But as he approached the impact site, he noticed a difference. Dust Release didn't just shatter the area—it obliterated it completely. In contrast, the Rasenshuriken merely blasted things apart.
Akio nodded, finally satisfied.
"Now then, time to test another technique... If I'm right..." He focused, sensing that he could control even the dust in the air—something only achievable with Level 7 Earth Style.
Concentrating, he manipulated the dust particles beneath his feet, lifting himself off the ground.
"As expected! I can fly now!"
Grinning, Akio hovered into the air.
"Let's try this next one." Forming seals again, he called out:
"Dust Release: Boundary Annihilation Technique!"
A blinding white light burst from his palm—but faded instantly.
Akio staggered in the air, nearly falling.
"I can't use the enhanced version? Then again, in the original, it took both Tsunade and Ōnoki to pull it off... In that case—"
Sage Mode—activate!
Transforming into Sage Mode, he formed seals once more:
"Sage Art: Dust Release—Boundary Annihilation Technique!"
This time, the white light launched from his hand. His vision was immediately consumed by blinding white. No sound. Not even the explosion. The world was silent.
A full minute passed before the light faded. In front of Akio now stood nothing but an enormous crater. No trees. No grass. Nothing remained.
"The forest... disappeared?" Surprisingly, Akio didn't marvel at the technique's power. Instead, he thought: I should get Hashirama to help reforest this place when he has time.
Only after spacing out for a moment did he realize what he had done.
"I used up nearly half my Sage Chakra... That's over three times the cost of a Rasenshuriken. But the power—it must be at least thirty times greater."
Akio was ecstatic. After 66 years of life in the Warring States Era, he finally had a technique powerful enough to serve as a true trump card. Even Madara's Complete Susanoo wouldn't walk away unscathed if hit head-on.
"This technique might even outclass Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands from the Great Mine War..."
As Akio was deep in thought, his Kagura's Mind Eye sensed a large group of chakra signatures approaching. Leading them was the Uzumaki Clan Chief.
Glancing at the ruined forest, Akio muttered, "Time to follow in the footsteps of our role model, do good deeds without leaving a name..." He rose higher and flew off through the sky.
Back at the training ground, Akio was still buzzing with excitement—though his chakra reserves were cut in half.
"I'd better cancel Dust Release and recover some chakra..." he murmured.
"Cancel, cancel, cancel…"
"…Why isn't there an option to split Dust Release back up?"
After tinkering for a while, he realized the three chakra natures were still tightly bound. No sign of separation.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"Â Forming seals, he watched as stone spears burst from the ground. He sighed in relief.
"Makes sense... Even the Tsuchikage used Earth Style normally."
"Let's try the little fireball now!"
"Little fireball?"
"Lava Release: Melting Armor?"
…
After repeated testing, Akio discovered he could still use basic Earth, Wind, and Fire techniques—but all the kekkei genkai (bloodline limits) like Scorch Release and Dark Release were no longer usable. Once the chakra formed a closed loop, it could no longer recombine into other configurations.
"Ah! My Scorch Release! My Dark Release! I haven't even used Lava Release yet! Why can't Dust Release be split apart?!" Akio shouted in his mind.
A tall middle-aged man with glasses appeared in his memory—his middle school math teacher from seventy years ago.
"A triangle is the most stable structure!"
"A triangle is the most stable structure?" Akio muttered, letting out a bitter smile. "This just goes to show—never forget what you learned in school!"
"Oh well... With Dust Release in hand, those other bloodline limits are basically obsolete."
After his little breakdown, Akio quickly regained his optimism.
But his face soon fell again—someone had come to inform him the Uzumaki Clan Chief wanted to see him. He felt a bit guilty, having just obliterated the entire forest.
At the clan hall, Akio was relieved to see his grandnephew's face looking normal.
"Uncle, what kind of jutsu were you testing? That was some serious power," the Clan Chief asked.
Akio froze for a moment. "Huh? Jutsu? What jutsu?"
"Don't try to dodge it, Uncle. That explosion outside the clan—if it wasn't you, you'd have gone to check it out," the Chief laughed.
Akio's expression shifted. He hadn't expected that to be his giveaway. Just as he was about to explain, the Chief continued, "It's fine. If you've developed a powerful new technique, I'm nothing but happy for you! These are chaotic times. If the forest's gone, then so be it."
"Chaotic times?" Akio stopped trying to explain and instead asked in confusion.
"Uchiha Madara has reappeared. He clashed with Hashirama again—the terrain over a hundred miles was reshaped. It was an even fight. I sent scouts to investigate. The battlefield didn't even seem human-made. The other clans are now calling them the 'Twin Gods of the Shinobi World.'"
Akio was stunned—then his face broke into a wide smile.
"Madara... has finally returned? Then the final battle isn't far off! Konoha... it's finally coming!"
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