Naruto: Akatsuki

When Konan slowly opened her eyes, she found an unfamiliar ceiling above her.

For a second, she remained daze. Then, as she breathed, she realized how dry her lips were.

'For how long...'

She tried to process why she was here, of what she was doing prior to her regaining consciousness atop this... bed.

Looking around, she saw that there was Nagato on a bed separate from hers. Looking down, she saw that underneath her garments, there were bandages wrapped to seal the wounds.

'Injuries...'

Konan's eyes widened.

'Explosion.'

Everything happened in an instant. Loosened up due to the momentary peace that they had for three years, Konan was slow in noticing the presence outside. By the time she realized, there was a huge explosion, and she blacked out without having a chance to do anything.

"...Konan."

And only did she realize after that Yahiko was with them all along, relieved to see that she was awake.

Quickly turning her head to Yahiko who was sitting on a chair nearby, Konan stared at him with nothing but confusion in her eyes. After the silence, she finally opened her mouth,

"What... happened...?"

Yahiko shut his eyes tight. He pondered if he should tell the truth.

"I will leave the rest to you."

The answer to that question was obvious... as a ninja, that is.

However...

"It's been three days since you passed out. In such a short span of time, many things happened."

Yahiko thought over and over again.

What ninja? What nindo?

Being a ninja wasn't a noble thing. Rather, it was simply a skill that one must possess in this harsh world to protect oneself.

If hiding the truth from one's friends and living in a facade of white lies defined the ninja way, then Yahiko refused to become one.

"Many things indeed... it will take some time for you to adjust."

Currently, no one was in the room. Yahiko reached his hand to take hold of a cup. Reaching for a nearby tap, he filled the cup with water, and then seemed to be walking toward Konan to hand it to her—

—before he slammed it to the ground as if he was angry, that is.

Konan jolted in a surprise. The water splashed all over the ground as the noise rang throughout the room.

In this span of time, Yahiko rolled his right arm widely as if trying to catch Konan's attention. Naturally, her eyes were fixated on his finger, which reached his thigh and began to tap.

Konan immediately caught on that Yahiko was trying to communicate via codes.

"Ugh..."

Nagato groaned, seemingly having been woken up by the noise.

'Whatever... you will hear... about... Akashi... they are likely... the truth... but they did... all that for... us... he is... still... good...'

Konan quickly interpreted the message. Just as she did so, Yahiko held his forehead and sighed as if having a headache.

"My bad. I really need a rest at the moment."

Konan's face turned stoic as she processed Yahiko's message.

"...Are we in the walls?"

"...Yes."

Konan closed her eyes and wrinkled her face as if in pain.

"Once again, huh."

"...Once again, yes."

Some would've thought that they were talking about how they returned to the hub of Amegakure. But no.

It was the fact that Akashi was gone from them yet again, that they were speaking of.

Then, the door was knocked from the outside.

"I heard a noise from the outside. Is everything fine?"

Konan felt goosebumps in her arms. She didn't hear any footsteps or presence before the knocking on the door.

Clearly, there were ears on them. After the cup of water shattered, they intentionally waited for some time to see if Yahiko and Konan had any secrets to spill.

"Yes, my apologies."

Yahiko replied stoically before opening the door. Beyond, they saw someone in a doctor's attire waiting just outside with a concerned look on his face.

"I was bringing my friend a cup of water but accidentally lost the grip on it."

"Oh my... I hope you weren't injured from it."

"Thankfully, I didn't."

After a brief conversation, the doctor stepped aside to reveal a shinobi just behind him, holding onto what appeared to be... a basket of flowers.

On it, a ribbon was wrapped around, and it read: Hope you get well soon, hero and his friends!

"This is..."

Walking past the shards of the shattered cup and placing the basket down on a table, the shinobi spoke in a monotone,

"Yahiko. Hanzo-sama is requesting your presence."

Yahiko turned to Konan and stated,

"I'll be back soon. Take some more rest."

"...Hope he doesn't keep you for long. You also need to rest."

Konan spoke back.

Yahiko nodded slightly before walking out of the room with the shinobi.

__________

"..."

Staring at the far horizon while seated on a rock and receiving the heavy rainfall, the armoured man, Hanzo of the Salamander, thought over the events that went by.

The sword potent enough to withstand a fire wrapped around its blade, huge chakra reserve and stamina, the familiar green glow—the 'Energy Release' that Hanzo saw before, and...

"I killed Danzo. Such is a given fact."

"It was a revenge on my part."

"Danzo was the culprit of your daughter's death, Hanzo."

The one whom Hanzo was trying to locate and recruit for years, one whom he tried to kill a few days ago... was his last remaining heritage.

His very own... grandson.

'...And I thought I was now alone in this world.'

Lowering his head, he stared at his shaky hands. They felt cold and more blood-stained than ever.

'...Why? Why didn't you say it earlier?'

If only Hanzo realized it sooner, if he had taken more interest in the matter of his dead family members...

...For years, Hanzo was engulfed by loneliness.

What peace? What was the point of all that when he couldn't protect anyone he loved?

That was why he succumbed to the idea of power and self-preservation. If he couldn't protect anyone, then he would refuse to form any bonds. He would only love himself and live for himself...

"...Hah."

Such thoughts no longer lingered in his mind.

"You killed hundreds of my men. You wreaked havoc in the center of Amegakure. You did all that for..."

'Those three puny weaklings, ones whom I find no value for.'

Hanzo chuckled dryly. In a way, Akashi was the exact opposite of who he used to be in the past.

Hanzo let his family members die in exchange for the safety of Ame—for those within the walls at the very least. On the other hand, Akashi directly killed all of them and neglected his past actions of guarding the Ame's borders—to have his three friends be accepted by the citizens of Ame.

"You make me more curious, Akashi."

And yet, Hanzo's mind felt clearer than ever. Reaching for his chest, Hanzo felt that his heart was yet bumping fine.

"If this is what you wanted... then as someone who should've been your caregiver but neglected such duty for years..."

Hanzo whispered,

"...I will do as you wish."

Up in the sky, beyond the cloud, there was a light. Hanzo didn't see the sun directly, but he knew it existed, for the cloud was glowing.

'Red cloud... how aesthetic.'

Giving it a last look, Hanzo turned around.

From afar, he saw Yahiko walking toward him with his henchman of a shinobi.

"Yahiko... was it,"

Hanzo's eyes narrowed, signaling a new start for Ame.

__________

__________

[One Year After]

"Akashi of the 'Red Blade'. S-Ranked Ninja. Crimes charged: Assassination of Shimura Danzo of Konohagakure, the massacre of elite troops of Amegakure, and the attempted assassination of Hanzo. Note: Also known for the murder of a huge number of bounty hunters including Kakuzu. Reward issued from: Konohagakure, Amegakure, and Iwagakure—"

"Geez, alright. Stop."

With a pale expression, one man with a pale face held his hand up to stop the other man from speaking.

"Just who is this man? Might as well be considered the worst criminal of the current era."

"Heh, perhaps."

Placing the bingo book back on the table, the other man lifted a small cup filled with sake and emptied it.

"But guess what?"

"What?"

"You know how bounty hunters these days are recruited by the warring nations as mercenaries, right?"

"Duh? Aren't we one of them? Recruited by Iwa?"

"Exactly!"

Slamming the empty cup down, the man with a blush on his cheeks grinned excitedly.

"Apparently, some of the warring nations are sneakily trying to hire this Red Blade for themselves. I mean, it's a rumour at best, but it sounds quite likely, don't you think?"

"Hmm, I mean, given the feats of this guy, having him join the war will surely be a tie-breaker... heh, now that sounds funny. Haven't we talked a week ago about how that 'Yellow Flash' of Konoha is a tie-former?"

The two names that have risen over the years, 'Red Blade' and 'Yellow Flash', were always the topic brought up on many occasions.

Red Blade, well known for defeating the renowned shinobis of the world.

Yellow Flash, well known for a one-sided massacre on the battlefield, bringing huge victories to Konoha every time he shows up.

Above all things, they ended up wondering,

If the two of them fight, who wins?

It wasn't just the public who thought of this.

"First, three sannins, and now, this Yellow Flash...! Just how come those geniuses only appear in Konohagakure?!"

The death of Danzo was long forgotten as the presence of 'Yellow Flash' did more than just replace the weight of his name.

Those who were fighting Konoha, namely Iwa and Kumo, thought of ways to end this war that had been stalled due to one man.

And really,

Akashi of the 'Red Blade'. That was the best solution that they could find. The other option, being the jinchurikis, were far too risky.

...

Recently, there was an intel that was spread from who-knows-where.

"Red Blade was last seen in the Land of Snow."

And to this snow-covered country, the ninjas began to gather,

"Tch... just admit it, Mei."

And one of them was the group of ninjas from Kiri, along with a small child, Maito Gai, who's been with them for a year by now.

The teen with jagged hair, Momochi Zabuza, complained in annoyance.

"This was a stupid idea from the very start. What after reaching this Red Blade? Before we even got to reach the Land of River, dude freaking tried to kill Hanzo before running away!"

"Which piqued my interest even further, that is."

And to that, the red-haired teen, Terumi Mei, smiled mischievously.

"You also noticed, Zabuza. Up until that day's incident, Red Blade only killed those who chased after him or entered the borders of Ame. Furthermore,"

Looking outside at the snowy weather, Mei stated,

"I don't judge people based on rumours. We will find him, and if applicable, proceed with our plan to hire him."

"...Haa, too optimistic always,"

Zabuza sighed before eyeing the man who remained silent: Ao.

"Hey, aren't you going to say something? Technically, we're on a mission and you're our leader."

"...Back in my days, we used to—"

"Ok, ok, stop! My bad! No yapping!"

"..."

Ignoring the fuss between Zabuza and Ao, Gai followed Mei's gaze and looked outside.

'Red Blade...'

His hands closed into fists.

'...Dad, what if—'

He didn't know what to think. It was already a year since he ran away from Konoha.

As a young and naive child, Gai simply hoped that this Red Blade was someone who is willing to help him rescue his father, Maito Dai.