novelraw Chapter 405: Born Twice, Bound Once
Chapter 405: Born Twice, Bound Once
Allocating points into Yin Release was nothing like Kushina giving birth.
When Kushina was in labor, Akio had still been on the Moon but if anything went wrong, the fat cat could have reverse-summoned him back instantly.
But allocating stats was different.
"If I end up 'birthing' another orb, I might be stuck in that space for two months," Akio thought.
"And Yin Release is tied to the mind and soul. There's a real chance I'll lose consciousness during the breakthrough."
Because of that, he spent nearly half a month setting up layered safeguards throughout Konoha, making absolutely sure nothing could go wrong, then he flashed into the space.
"Supplies are ready. Let's hurry up and produce Orb Number Two so I can go back and see the little princess."
With that, Akio pulled up his status panel and dumped 500 points straight into Yin Release.
The familiar pressure returned to his chest as a sphere, about the size of a soccer ball slowly forced its way out.
Akio rolled his eyes, calmly waiting for the second orb to follow.
Instead… nothing.
The floating Truth-Seeking Orb suddenly softened, melted, and collapsed into a pool of viscous black liquid.
"…Is this supposed to be some kind of legendary dark god-juice?" Akio muttered, raising an eyebrow.
The change wasn't over.
The black liquid split in two, then gradually solidified into two smaller black orbs, each slightly smaller than the original.
"Of course I wouldn't end up with just one orb!" Akio beamed.
"Two of them, nice symmetry!"
Then his vision went black, and he collapsed face-first.
"…So yeah. Passing out was mandatory."
He opened his eyes almost instantly but something was wrong.
The world around him was black and white.
"…Is this a mental space?"
Voices echoed through the void.
"He's born! He's born!"
"It's a boy!"
"A little brother!"
The familiar sounds, mixed with a baby's cry, made Akio freeze.
"A boy? Did I fall into some kind of nightmare? And those voices definitely not Tsunade, Minato, or Naruto…"
"Congratulations, Clan Head! Another son!"
"Clan head?" Akio frowned.
Then a gentle, weakened female voice spoke.
"Yingfu… please name the child."
Akio's eyes widened.
Yingfu?!
"Let's call him Akio. Uzumaki Akio."
Color slowly returned to the world.
As time passed, Akio gradually understood what was happening.
His consciousness had attached itself to his newborn self or perhaps, upon raising Yin Release to its peak, the deepest layer of his memories had awakened.
As for why he didn't have memories of a previous life… Akio had no answer.
Maybe the stat system only existed in this life.
Either way, he didn't mind.
Watching his own childhood unfold from an observer's perspective was… strangely fascinating.
At three, he could read and write.
At four, he began formal training.
At five, he learned chakra extraction and succeeded within half a day, earning the title of the Uzumaki clan's greatest prodigy in decades.
That same day, young Akio discovered the status panel, his personal cheat.
There were no witnesses back then, so the panel only helped him understand himself better, allowing more efficient training. That disappointment lingered for quite a while.
But praise from his father, his older brother, and the clan soon swept it away.
After all, in another life, he'd been nothing special just an ordinary shut-in.
"Dropped into the Warring States era with a mediocre cheat," six-year-old Akio concluded.
"I can't compete with those two monsters but becoming the strongest below them should be doable. Build Konoha. Secure a future for the Uzumaki. And once Hashirama and Madara are gone… I'll be on top."
That became his goal.
Then came endless training.
At seven, a moment of curiosity led him to accidentally invent the Sexy Technique. He tried it on his brother and got beaten senseless.
At eight, he stood in the Uzumaki training field, hands on his hips.
"None of you genin can touch me."
At nine, his rank indicator shifted from genin to chunin. He immediately ran off to find his brother.
"Uzumaki Shoichi! Your time has come!"
Akio winced at the memory. His brother was nine years older.
"…Yeah. That didn't go well."
At ten, he tried again.
"You brats come at me together! I'll take ten of you!"
"We're different now!" Uzumaki Shyang shouted.
"We've survived the battlefield!"
Akio scoffed.
"If you hadn't, you still wouldn't interest me."
A one-versus-seven fight.
Total victory.
At eleven, he was just about ready to declare:
"None of you chunin can touch me either!"
Then one day, his father's expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
"Akio. Prepare for war."
Young Akio lit up.
"I finally get to fight?"
"This will involve the entire clan," Uzumaki Yingfu said.
"Our enemy is the Uchiha. But don't worry, your strength is more than enough. Be careful, stay with your brother, and you'll be fine."
"My first war is against the Uchiha?" Akio grinned.
"This is exciting!"
"Don't underestimate them," his father warned.
"Their main forces are engaged elsewhere, but that doesn't make them weak."
"…Elsewhere?" Akio frowned.
"Shouldn't it be the Senju?"
He'd spent years focused solely on growing stronger, knowing little of the outside world.
"Father… is Uchiha Madara coming?"
"Uchiha Madara?" Yingfu frowned.
"Who's that?"
Akio's heartbeat skipped.
"The clan head's eldest son…?"
"The clan head's eldest son is Uchiha Kōhiro," Yingfu corrected.
"He's not coming. Instead, it's the second daughter, Uchiha Chiri. Same age as you. A prodigy renowned throughout the era."
Then he looked Akio straight in the eye.
"I want you to defeat her."
"Uchiha Chiri…" young Akio murmured.
"…Something feels off."
But seeing his father's expectations, he straightened his posture.
"Don't worry, Father. None of them can beat me."
Akio watched everything in silence, unable to interfere.
Finally, he let out a quiet sigh, one no one could hear.
"This is the war that shifted me from an unstoppable powerhouse… to a survivor who learned restraint."
"I really don't want to watch this again."
"But if I don't… I probably won't wake up."
"…Guess I'm stuck."