Three years.
It was a period of rest and growth for Akashi.
To rest his mind and recover from the arduous journey that withered his heart.
To grow his strength. He studied and trained in whatever means possible.
It truly felt nice to be together with his family once again. Though he wasn't sure about Yahiko's thoughts, the differences in their perspectives regarding peace were none of concern for Akashi.
However, within these three years, there also was another feeling that was rising within Akashi, called curiosity.
"...Kusagakure of the land of grass."
Under the rooftop that blocked the rain from falling onto him, Akashi, while wearing what appeared to be a long, black haori, read a small tour pamphlet of the village.
"Nice view and environment, the world's biggest exporter of rice, and friendly people."
Akashi chuckled, wondering to what extent the information stands true today when Iwagakure technically took over the village to war Konohagakure.
"But anyhow,"
If there was another thing that Akashi's been doing, it was to serve as Jiraiya's informant together with Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. For all that the man's done for them, it was the least that they could do—especially when he was in a war.
And as he conducted his information-gathering process, he gradually came to learn—the connection between the Energy Release and Shizen clan of Kusagakure.
"Energy Release, in other word, is an incomplete 'Yang Release.'"
Akashi mumbled as he let go of the pamphlet,
"What I did was to extract 'Yang' from the ordinary chakra that is a mix of Yin and Yang."
Akashi recalled the time when he opened the first gate of Eight Gates during the period of his naivety. The elevated sense of his body during then, at the cost of vitality—it was the autonomous conversion of his chakra into pure yang chakra, one which was fed to his body to temporarily raise his physical capability.
He was quite certain that it was through this experience that he subconsciously recalled the idea of 'Energy Release' and came to harness the ability.
However, he let go of such a thought, knowing that now wasn't the time for that.
"Third Shinobi World War, overtaking the entire Elemental Nation at its current period."
Akashi closed his eye.
"Even though the war didn't directly spread onto Amegakure, the deserters often end up finding their way into this area. When driven by instinct, human beings aren't too pretty. Hanzo's definition of village fits only to those within the borders, for the majority of those at the outskirts are 'war refugees'. Those people remain unprotected."
With a line drawn to guarantee the safety of he and his family the most, Akashi was roaming around, saving those he could at his capability. He didn't believe that it had much significance, but nonetheless, it was better than doing nothing.
"What then? What should be my next step here?"
In the end, there wasn't much that he knew.
Akashi opened his eye back with another chuckle, knowing the answer very well,
"Train more. Become stronger. Stay hidden."
After all, he was a shinobi, and he knew the importance of secrecy.
"Akashi."
Then, a feminine voice was heard from the back. Turning around, he saw Konan coming with a plate held by her hands.
"Have some tea while you rest."
"Thanks, Konan."
Smiling, Akashi took hold of one tea-filled cup and took a sip out of it, numb of heat.
"Now this is life,"
Remarked Akashi, filled with content as he gazed at the rainy sky with Konan seated next to him.
"What about Yahiko and Nagato?"
Konan shrugged to Akashi's question,
"Out for their work."
__________
A kunai was pointed and held at one kneeling shinobi's neck.
This kunai, held by Yahiko, gleamed as a dim light reflected against its blade.
"...Kill me. It's my loss."
The shinobi exclaimed in resignation.
"Heh, to think this is how I would meet my end—"
And yet, the kunai was retracted without drawing my blood.
"—What?"
"...Killing and killing more, that isn't the way to end this never-ending cycle of hatred. This village must be defended, but... killing just isn't the way."
Yahiko spoke solemnly.
"I won't kill you. However, in return, you won't kill anyone either. Without any further hostility, you will leave this village."
A gleam of hope entered the shinobi's eyes. He nodded frantically,
"If I were to be given a second chance, I will, without a doubt."
"Go."
As Yahiko pointed, the shinobi dashed away, running at the maximum speed that he could muster.
Watching as the man became distant, Nagato spoke,
"...And there he goes."
Losing his strong demeanour, Yahiko let out a fatigue-filled sigh as he leaned against a metal railing nearby.
"...And what now."
Yahiko muttered,
"We try our hardest to achieve peace and protect this village. We aren't getting recognized or rewarded, but nonetheless we do. But the thing is, for how long and how many times must we do this to reach our goals?"
"Such is the peace, Yahiko. It comes at a huge price."
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I..."
Yahiko grimaced,
"Will that man, one whom we let go of just now, change his ways?"
Nagato hovered his eyes elsewhere, entering a thought.
"...That's one that I can't answer now. Only time will tell."
"Only time will tell, you say..."
Muttered Yahiko as he casted his eyes on the floor.
"At the cost of everything? Even for the lives of your loved ones?"
Akashi's voice seemed to be ringing in Yahiko's mind as he dazed off.
"...But at the very least, what Akashi says won't be happening."
And to that, Yahiko had to whisper.
"I am going to protect it all."
And to that, Nagato smiled,
"Yes, you will, Yahiko."
As the rain continued to pour down unto this land of rain, Yahiko finally spoke,
"...Nagato, I have an idea."
"Which is?"
"We need more people, ones who will share beliefs with us. If we become bigger and stronger, we will gain more power to save more people."
A new light entered Yahiko's eyes.
__________
Staring at the rainy weather with a gloomy expression was the old-aged man wearing a metal-made helmet-like respirator.
Hanzo of the Salamander. Still standing as the ruler of Amegakure, he was the number one reason why Amegakure managed to procure its relative peace within the Third Shinobi World War.
"...And?"
Behind Hanzo was a genuflecting shinobi, one who wore the forehead protector of Amegakure. In front of the shinobi was a decapitated head—one that belonged to the man whom Yahiko and Nagato let go of.
"A new tactic of spy operation has recently been developed by Iwagakure, where the ninjas have 'supposedly' entered the borders of Amegakure as they ran away from the war sites."
"So they speculate that we decided to join hands with Konohagakure..."
Hanzo frowned.
"I thought we gave enough evidences that we'll remain silent this time around."
Raising his head, the genuflecting shinobi voiced once more,
"And that isn't the end, Hanzo-sama."
Hanzo raised an eyebrow, wondering what the shinobi had to say.
Taking silence as an implied consent to speak, the shinobi continued,
"This paranoia behind Iwagakure... there seems to be two additional factors to consider."
"Additional factors?"
"The first is the huge victory that Konoha managed to pull off against Iwa just a day ago—namely the debut of Konoha's 'Yellow Flash.'"
"...Ah yes, the decimation of over ten Iwa jonins by one single prodigy."
Hanzo snorted,
"Of course the naive ones would believe in such propagandas. Konoha has always been skilled at such deceits, one that targets their own people—"
"The information has been confirmed to be true."
"...What?"
Hanzo paused upon hearing the shinobi's words.
"How can it be true?"
Turning around, Hanzo faced the shinobi with disbelief written in his eyes.
"In such a short amount of time, they managed to find Danzo's replacement?"
"...It seems like so."
Sighing, Hanzo quickly calmed down, thinking of the next steps.
"And what may be the second factor then?"
"Recently, the name of 'Red Blade' has been spreading within the underworld market."
"Red Blade? You mean—"
"Akashi of the 'Red Blade', one who suddenly popped up three years ago, defeated Kakuzu and Danzo, before disappearing without a trace from the eyes of public."
"...One who's been escaping our chase for the past three years."
Akashi of the Red Blade. Hanzo knew that this name had been circulating in Amegakure for a good amount of time by now.
If there was Hanzo of the Salamander whom the enemies feared the most, the ninjas were gradually becoming aware of the second layer of protection of Amegakure—the reaper who slays all the intruders of the land.
Though his face was sketched, no one knew how accurate it was.
And Hanzo didn't know if he was happy with the existence of this man. While he contributed to Amegakure's peace, at the same time, he threatened Hanzo's leadership—whether it was intended or not.
"I pursue after him to offer him a position in our ranks, but every time we attempt to make contact with him, he simply disappears..."
Hanzo's frown deepened, wondering what that young man was thinking of.
__________
__________
"And so, how is the progress, Madara?"
Within the darkness, the looming figure of a humanoid, white-coloured creature spoke.
In response, an old man with long, jagged white hair raised his head to gaze at such a creature.
"...Zetsu."
Raising his frail arm, Madara stared at it briefly.
"...My time is running out. And the death of Shimura Danzo..."
"Complicates many things, yes."
The white-coloured creature, named Zetsu, chuckled.
"I mean, you already got a placeholder for your eyes. Uh, Nagato? Was that the guy's name? Anyway, that's one down. Now, you need to convince someone to convince Nagato revive you, and at the same time, collect tailed beasts into that Gedo Statue—holy shit. My brain's already about to bust, hahaha!"
"...I cannot plan even to smallest details. However, I do know... that the opportunities only come by during the times of chaos."
Whispering, Madara reminisced how he tweaked a few things here and there to give rise to the current Third Shinobi World War.
"With Shimura Danzo gone... more work will be on you, Zetsu."
"Yes, yes, speak away. What should I do? Abduct a random Uchiha to give a speech of Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
"For that to happen... there needs to be a greater casualty on Konohagakure. Though the alliance of Iwagakure and Kumogakure has slowly been pressuring them, the process has to be accelerated before my time runs out."
"Yes, so what do I do?"
"If more grounds are given to Konohagakure, given the situation, they will attempt to make peace. Hence, having things work against their favour... will be of our favour."
"Okay! So what do I do?"
"Sunagakure has recently had a replacement of its leader, as the third Kazakage was assassinated by the defect of the village named Sasori. However, the power of the village has greatly diminished due tot he aftermaths of the Second Shinobi World War, and therefore, Sunagakure is not an ideal target."
"So, what should I do, man? Just speak!"
"On the other hand, Kirigakure can be considered to be in the state worse than Sunagakure. Following the deaths of second Tsuchikage and third Mizukage during their battle, Kiri has been in a state of divergence—the disunited nation without a leader, without a Mizukage."
"Soooo?"
"There has been a missing-nin from Kiri, hasn't it? Namely..."
Madara finally decided,
"...The jinchuriki of Six-Tails."