Konoha Year 54, January 3rd Noon
Uzu Arena
The huge stadium was filled with a clean five hundred seats, every one of them occupied.
At the center, on a simple raised platform, Killer B and Nagato whispered to each other.
"Nagato, a place this big and only five hundred tickets? Man, that's way too few. We should've sold more," B grumbled, clearly wanting a bigger audience.
Nagato, already tense, murmured, "Yo… maybe. But it's enough…"
B tapped a beat on his thigh:
"Ee-yo~
Don't be nervous,
Showtime's close,
Rehearse that verse!"
Nagato puffed out a breath. "Yo…"
Just as the atmosphere reached peak awkwardness, Akio and the others entered the stadium.
Walking through the crowd, Kushina tugged on Konan's sleeve, pointing left and right.
"Konan, you recognize anyone?"
Konan shook her head. "Uzu's gotten huge. A few faces feel familiar, but I can't name a single one."
Minato, holding Naruto's hand, leaned close to Akio.
"Elder… these people are all predecessors of yours, right?"
Kushina overheard him.
"Predecessors? Minato, you know them?"
Minato blinked. "Nope."
Akio didn't even bother hiding it, Minato had figured out the shadow-clone trick, and Akio wasn't trying to keep it secret anyway. He'd only agreed to this concert because Killer B suggested something so ridiculous that Akio couldn't resist seeing where it went.
But he couldn't risk letting B traumatize the general population of Uzushio, so… five hundred clones it was.
Every single person present was an imitation of some legendary shinobi from Akio's generation or the one after it. Even that wasn't enough, so he'd thrown in a few faces inspired by entertainers from his previous life just to fill the numbers.
"Kimimaro, look!" Karin pointed suddenly. "That uncle over there has two red dots on his forehead, just like you!"
Kimimaro squinted. "I… don't see anything?"
"Huh? Maybe I imagined it?"
Akio covered his face. That clone had copied Kaguya's forehead markings too literally…
They joked their way toward the front row and took their seats.
"Sensei… why is the stadium so quiet?" Konan finally whispered.
Akio shrugged.
"Well, it'd be weird for them to chat loudly when I'm sitting right here."
Konan rolled her eyes. Naruto muttered under his breath, "Old man's shameless…"
Akio cracked his knuckles with ominous enthusiasm.
Everyone sat down. Nervously, Nagato stepped forward and leaned close to Akio.
"Sensei… t-there are so many people. I'm getting nervous."
Akio chuckled.
"Relax. This is a turning point for you. Think of every person here as me, and just sing."
Konan offered a warm smile. "Nagato, you can do it."
Nagato flushed, met her eyes, then quickly looked away. "I'll try!"
He walked to the center and raised his voice.
"Thank you all… for coming to my concert!"
Five hundred pairs of eyes looked back at him, every expression screaming Oh, this is gonna be good.
Nagato froze. Why were they all looking at him like that?
He shot a panicked glance at B.
Killer B took a step back, thrust out two thumbs, and cheered, "Yo! Believe in your flow!"
Nagato inhaled sharply and looked to Akio for reassurance.
Akio gave him a fatherly thumbs-up.
Nagato nodded, bowed slightly, and cleared his throat.
"The first song was written by my teacher, the Elder of Uzushio, Akio Uzumaki! Thank you, Sensei!"
Kushina's jaw dropped. "Old man, you write songs?!"
"Nothing's impossible for him," Kimimaro declared immediately.
Karin and Naruto spoke in unison: "I've got a bad feeling about this…"
Konan adjusted the white paper flower in her hair. "Why is Nagato blushing again today…?"
Minato smiled knowingly. Things were becoming very clear.
Akio gestured again, encouraging Nagato.
Nagato nodded once more, took a deep breath
"Yo!"
And began:
"There's a girl in the village,
Name's Konan~
Kind and sweet,
Like no one~
Her eyes so bright,
Hair blue and light
Shines like the sky in springtime~
Yo~"
Everyone around Akio froze, faces stretching with disbelief.
Then all eyes, all drifted toward Konan.
Konan's face reddened so quickly it was almost visible chakra flow. She stared at Nagato, then shot a look at Akio like he was the culprit.
Akio coughed loudly.
"Bit awkward, huh?"
Instantly, every clone in the stadium burst into applause. A few even shouted, "Way to go, Chief!"
"Old man… what did you do…?" Kushina whispered.
Konan hid her face. Minato sighed.
He knew Akio would cause chaos.
The four kids were traumatized into silence.
Akio leaned toward Konan.
"Well? Nagato practically confessed to you. Surprised?"
Konan didn't know where to look. Nagato, encouraged by the applause, sang louder, and the lyrics got even mushier.
Finally, Konan snapped. She shot Nagato a flustered glare, then looked helplessly at Akio… and simply launched herself into the air on paper wings, fleeing the arena.
"Yo?" Nagato faltered mid-note.
Akio blinked.
Right. What did one do in this situation?
His clones reacted instantly.
"Go after her, Chief Nagato!"
"Yeah! Don't chicken out!"
Nagato straightened, gathered chakra, and flew after her.
Akio grinned.
Maybe this time his disciple wouldn't stay single forever.
Kushina sighed deeply.
"Old man… was there really no other way?"
Akio coughed.
"Uh… B came up with it. Pretty good idea, don't you think?"
Minato laughed helplessly. "Oh, it's definitely something."
Nagato gone, the "guest performer," Killer B, took the stage.
His heart was pounding with excitement. He was supposed to only close the show but with Nagato gone, this was basically his concert now.
Five hundred people! This was the biggest audience he'd ever have. No way he'd get this crowd anywhere else.
"Ee-yo!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Like strings of firecrackers, every shadow clone in the stadium popped in sequence. Within half a minute, all five hundred vanished.
Akio laughed, grabbed the three kids, and teleported away.
Minato sighed, scooped up Kushina and Naruto, and flashed out with Flying Thunder God.
The massive Uzu Arena was left with exactly one person:
Killer B.
Wind blowing. Empty seats. Echoing silence.
B stared blankly, confused and betrayed.
"…Yo?"
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