The front gate of the Konoha Orphanage.
"Come back anytime, sir!"
Bang!
Yakushi Nonō slammed the orphanage door shut after saying her goodbyes.
Akio stared blankly at the firmly closed entrance before turning his eyes toward Kushina.
Kushina gave a sheepish, awkward laugh. "Heh… Gramps, I was helping you do a good deed! Good guys live long… uh—live twice as long! No—five times as long!"
"Even wishing a five-hundred-year life still sounds like a curse."
Just moments earlier inside the orphanage, Akio had finished giving Naruto a well-deserved spanking and was in excellent spirits, chatting with the others.
Nonō had vented her frustrations: because of the ongoing wars, the orphanage budget was shrinking while the number of children kept rising. They were close to running out of food.
Kushina immediately volunteered to sponsor them—
Then proceeded to… not take out a single coin. She simply stared at Akio expectantly.
Akio didn't mind. It wasn't like he lacked money.
But the moment he pulled out his wallet, planning to donate just a portion, Kushina snatched the entire bundle and handed all of it to Nonō.
"Gramps, it's just some money! Those kids have it rough. Isn't it better to give them a decent life?" she pressed when Akio fell silent.
Akio inhaled slowly. "What you handed over isn't just enough to make things 'decent'… With that amount, this orphanage could open ten more branches. Split evenly, every kid here could live better than a wealthy merchant's child. That's not necessarily a good thing."
"There was that much…?" Kushina muttered, suddenly unsure.
Akio forced a smile. "Back then I made over three hundred million selling wood carvings. I've only spent a few tens of millions over the years, so what you grabbed was around two hundred million… about seven or eight 'Asumas' worth—cough, no, forget that."
"What's done is done. No point taking it back. Hopefully Nonō puts it to good use." Akio waved it off and stepped outside.
Kushina blinked at Minato. "What's with the 'Asuma' thing?"
Minato shrugged and tugged Naruto along. "Who knows? Come on."
Their next stop was clear: the Senju Compound.
Since they'd already made a loop around the village earlier, the Senju had heard they were coming. Mikoto stood waiting at the entrance with a young boy.
"That's Aunt Mikoto… and that jerk Akio," Naruto muttered under his breath.
Akio sighed. Nawaki really had chosen a name just to bother him.
It was his first time meeting the kid. He studied him carefully, then nodded with satisfaction. The boy was handsome enough—worthy of carrying the name Akio.
Black hair, dark eyes, delicate features—more like Mikoto than Nawaki, which made him resemble Sasuke about seventy percent, with the rest leaning toward Nawaki. Except…
"Why does he have those faint marks on both sides of his nose? Itachi, don't tell me you couldn't pick on me, so you took it out on the brother who shares my name?"
While Akio was speculating nonsense, Kushina had already grabbed Mikoto's hands, chatting away enthusiastically.
Naruto had drifted to Senju Akio's side, and the two immediately bonded—with their own special brand of communication.
"Akio, you jerk!"
"Shut it, Naruto, you dummy!"
…
After a long exchange of insults that somehow counted as friendship, Mikoto finally escaped Kushina's grip and turned to Akio and Minato with an apologetic smile.
"Kushina, let's talk inside."
Akio glanced at the little boy who'd been studying him with quiet curiosity. He stepped forward and ruffled the kid's hair.
"Little Akio, you'd better live up to the name your ancestors carried."
"Don't touch my head! And my name isn't 'Little Akio'."
Not every child enjoyed being treated like a cute pet.
Akio chuckled. "When you're in front of me, you are 'Little Akio.' The name Akio isn't something just anyone gets to use. It's a name reserved for geniuses."
"But don't feel too pressured. No need to become a jōnin at ten years old. Just be better than this brat." He pointed at Naruto.
Naruto made a face. "Like that Akio jerk could ever beat me!"
"Idiot Naruto!"
…
Akio shrugged and followed Mikoto inside, leaving the two boys yelling at each other at the gates of the Senju compound.
"Mikoto, didn't you and Nawaki find it awkward calling your kid by my name all these years?"
Mikoto shook her head. "We always call you 'Great-Ancestor,' so it never felt strange."
"So I'm the only one who isn't allowed to be called by name?" Akio muttered.
Mikoto laughed. "Of course not. In front of you, I'll call him Little Akio. Otherwise yes, it is a bit awkward."
"But Great-Ancestor… Did you know he awakened the Sharingan?"
Akio froze. "When did this happen? Does the Uchiha clan know?"
Mikoto paused, her expression softening with a hint of sadness. "Three months ago. My grand-uncle guided him while he refined chakra for the first time. The moment he succeeded… his eyes awakened. My grand-uncle got so excited that he… well… With the clan elder gone, the Uchiha have been coming to see us regularly."
"So it was exposed immediately?" Akio sighed. He recalled hearing about the passing of the Uchiha's Great Elder—not from old age, but from excitement, apparently.
"To awaken on the very first attempt at refining chakra… His talent leans strongly toward ocular power. He might even be close to Itachi's constitution. A Senju–Uchiha mix really does produce monsters." Akio closed his eyes in thought.
Kushina and Minato knew the old agreement from when Nawaki married Mikoto:
If their second child awakened the Sharingan before graduating from the Academy, the child would take the Uchiha surname.
And now? He awakened it before even entering the Academy.
The three exchanged worried glances while sneaking looks at Akio.
Akio scowled. "Enough pretending. You're all just waiting for me to throw away my dignity and undo that agreement."
He hesitated, then sighed.
Of all things, the boy had to share his name. Senju Akio was fine. But Uchiha Akio? He'd never hear the end of it. He'd sooner shamelessly tear up that deal.
A realization struck him.
"Mikoto… did you and Nawaki give him my name on purpose? Were you preparing for this exact situation so I'd step in without hesitation?"
Mikoto stiffened, then forced an innocent smile. "Why would we ever do that?"
"Yeah, right. As if any parent casually names their kid after their ancestor. You said it yourself—it was awkward. So you planned this from the start!" Akio groaned.
"You're not going to just let this go, are you? Are you really letting Little Akio be forced into the Uchiha clan?"
Akio took a deep breath. "Like hell I'm letting that happen! Thanks to you two, my dignity has hit rock bottom anyway!"
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