Within the dark forest, numerous shadows flew at a rapid speed.
It was such an ominous sight to witness. And the victim of this scene was none other than Akashi, one who was running away from them with Konan in his arms.
'Hanzo is coming.'
Akashi didn't have much information regarding Ame's military force led by Hanzo. They were simply far too secluded, unwilling to let anyone in their walls with a few exceptions such as the envoys from afar.
There were far too many questions unanswered for Akashi to turn back and fight them.
How strong was he compared to Hanzo? Can he dare to fight them all by himself while Konan remains unguarded and subjected to a potential hidden attack?
Therefore, he was running. He wasn't running to necessarily lose their chase, but rather, to buy some time to think about the current situation and observe the enemies.
'If this amount of force was deployed to get us, Yahiko and Nagato likely encountered troubles of their own as well. I'd have to assume that there will be no back-up from them here.'
As he briefly looked back, Akashi noticed that the number of his pursuers decreased.
Akashi's eye narrowed.
'They split their ways, aiming to surround me from all sides.'
As soon as such a thought reached his mind, numerous voices boomed around him.
"""Water Release,"""
In Ame, due to the rain, there was an abundance of water.
Water Release. It was yet another advantage to possess this affinity in Ame, for Water Release utilized in this region was as strong as when used in the land of mist.
Currently, the ninjas surrounding Akashi and Konan in all directions were undergoing a rapid series of hand signs.
Their cheeks bellowed before they spat out a jet stream of water,
"""Wild Water Wave!"""
The loads of water joined one another and formed a huge wave of tsunami that rapidly approached the ground where Akashi stood, holding Konan.
And Akashi caught that this was a chance for him.
Supporting Konan with one arm, Akashi lifted his right hand and formed a simple seal, one with his index and middle fingers extended upward.
In his eye, there existed nothing but calmness, unafraid of the disastrous wave of water that approached him through the woods, shredding whatever lied on its path.
There was a spark of chakra, erupting within Akashi.
Then—boom.
In an instant, a huge volume of fire suddenly exploded centering Akashi and Konan, one that engulfed the area and briefly overtook the enclosing, circular tsunami.
The Ame ninjas in proximity were blown away from the sheer force generated by the collision. With their arms crossed to shield their faces, they quickly regained their ground and landed on either ground or tree branches.
"What in the world...!"
In disbelief, one whispered to himself,
"How can someone exert a Fire Release technique of this extent in Ame?! Enough to overcome the combined Water Release, one that's supposed to be strong against fire?!"
"The only person who is able to do this, as far as we are aware of, is none other than Hanzo-sama himself!"
Then came, the steam—or mist as it quickly cooled down from the rain—which took over the forest.
"KEEP YOUR POSITION!"
One Ame jonin ordered as he raised his guard within this mist, though his voice was muffled. He could only hope that his voice managed to reach as many people as possible.
There was only silence. And the Ame ninjas were well aware of the title of 'Red Blade'.
Among all, he was the most famous for his Kiri-like ways of fighting, such as the use of the 'Hiding in Mist technique'.
This meant that with the mist now having spread all around, Akashi held the advantage.
Just then,
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
There came a huge gust of wind, one that pushed away the mist immediately. As the wind cleared it all, the one who spewed out such a technique revealed to be Hanzo himself, who stood with his hands joined to form a hand seal.
"Hanzo-sama!"
In a relief, the ninjas said in delight, having forgotten their mission for a brief moment. After all, they just escaped a potential death.
Ignoring the calls, Hanzo lowered his arms and frowned.
"...They are gone."
As he said so, Akashi and Konan were gone from the site, nowhere to be seen.
"The smell of rain will quickly erase a scent to trace."
Grimly, Hanzo closed his eyes.
"..."
Then, opening them back up, Hanzo ordered,
"Enhance the security! Patrol the outskirts! Whether they escape Ame or hide somewhere, we must know their whereabouts!"
Nodding firmly upon Hanzo's order, the ninjas moved in an orderly fashion.
There were summons who detected the smell of burns. Ninjas told them to trace down such a smell but summons said that the rain had already erased the scent.
Spreading out wide, the ninjas covered a good deal of land, patrolling and looking around for four individuals whom they were attempting to sight.
Hanzo, standing in the area where Akashi and Konan were last seen, stood still with his arms crossed.
Hours passed. However, there still was no finding.
'How?'
Hanzo found himself confused.
'Even if he managed to use a momentary distraction to quickly escape the chase, how did he evade all the eyes that are laid across Ame?'
Either he truly did achieve such feats, or...
'Or,'
Hanzo's eyes widened,
'He didn't run at all, from the very start.'
He looked down.
'Hiding Like a Mole.'
And as he thought so, a ninja dashed past him, dressed in the black rain cape and forehead protector of standard Ame ninjas.
As they did so, the ninja shifted his lone eye to get a final gaze at Hanzo.
It exhibited that of a cold gleam.
As the he dashed out after, there was an explosive noise from the back; presumably Hanzo's attempt to dig up the ground to expose a potential hiding ground for the enemies.
__________
"Hu..."
Within the rain, Akashi finally came to a stop after a long travel away from the site of the battle.
Slowly taking off the rain cape, Akashi revealed the unconscious Konan whom he was carrying on his back.
Thanks to the setting sun, gloomy forest, and matching black-coloured rain cape, it was easy to fool the eyes—that he was one instead of two.
Previously, when the mist was briefly generated, Akashi used the opportunity to knock out a couple of ninjas and take over the garments of one of them.
The purpose of 'knock out' was to make the enemies think that ninjas fainted from the force blown from his exertion of the Fire Release technique.
Akashi's been observing the enemies throughout the run, of their characteristics. Following the knock out was the switcheroo—of him becoming a person who appeared big in size. Being a silent one even as others reacted and shouted, Akashi was able to get around without being detected as he impersonated this man for a brief period of time.
It was a risky choice but with a greater return upon success. After all, the ninjas who went on patrolling duty probably didn't expect that their target of search was on their back instead of the front.
"...Hanzo. Ruler of the rain,"
'And my biological grandfather, according to Jiraiya.'
Akashi muttered to himself as he placed Konan down next to a tree, wrapped by the black rain cape.
"I do admit... that in the past, I was biased. Contrary to what I believed, that you were a dictator who had no concerns for those outside of the walls, you too held a desire for peace."
Having taken the past three years to learn about the past, Akashi found the flaws in his reasoning of the past.
Hanzo released the sannins. He put an end to the war within the Ame. It wasn't that the outskirts were unprotected. Rather, the outskirts were filled with refugees from other nations, and there were incidences where Hanzo accepted them, only for them to rouse others to form a rebellion against him.
Akashi, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were... simply the unlucky ones.
"But today,"
Hanzo's taken a hostile stance at Akashi after Akashi refused to meet him—no, his stance towards Akashi wasn't good from the start.
Hanzo placed a heavy sum of bounty on his head for the purpose of negotiation with Konoha. After, he pressured Akashi to meet him at his home ground probably to make Akashi become his henchman.
If Akashi followed and refused whatever offer Hanzo had to present, Akashi would've been killed without a doubt.
"You don't seem like someone who seeks peace as the books depicted."
Akashi recalled Hanzo's eyes in the long past, one which he saw when he was a child.
Those eyes were burning with a will of their own, which he didn't understand back then.
Today, the eyes that Akashi saw held nothing but paranoia.
And if there was one thing that Akashi grew confident of, it was his ability to observe others.
"..."
For some time, Akashi remained silent, deep in thought.
Then, he lifted Konan back up and resumed his way, dashing within the rain that seemed never-ending.
__________
When Akashi finally came to a stop during the midnight, it was the old cave the he stopped in front of.
Yes, it was the same old cave, the first shelter that Akashi found with his friends.
"...Akashi."
And Yahiko, standing right behind the entrance, greeted Akashi weakly.
They knew each other far too well, enough to know where they'd be at if something bad happened.
"...What happened to Nagato."
Akashi asked as he read Yahiko's grim expression.
Yahiko simply walked into the cave, which Akashi followed with Konan still in his arms.
Upon arrival, Akashi's face turned stoic.
Nagato, with a pale expression, was laid unconscious.
There was a fire lit up in the middle of the cave, which Akashi assumed to have taken more than an hour due to the humidity.
Though Nagato was wrapped around in a cloak that Akashi believed to belong to Yahiko, Akashi knew that it wasn't enough.
"Stomach."
Yahiko mumbled,
"He was stabbed. Bleeding barely stopped, but there is a potential risk of infection, and—"
"He needs a treatment."
Sighing, Yahiko nodded upon Akashi's statement.
Slowly placing Konan down next to Nagato and enlarging the bonfire with his chakra, Akashi then motioned Yahiko to follow him outside.
"Come."
Yahiko tiredly stared at Akashi for a moment before following him.
...
"As you can see... we aren't in a state to think of stuff like peace right now. I hope you understand this much."
"...I know. No need to remind me that much."
On a rock, the same one that they sat atop in the past, Akashi and Yahiko talked under the rain.
"I think..."
Akashi cast his head down.
"What happened today is on me. It's my fault."
"Nonsense."
To that, Yahiko frowned.
"You—"
"Say, Yahiko,"
Akashi raised his head up and stared at the dark night's sky.
"If you become one of Ame, you know, official Ame citizens, will that help in your works of peace?"
"...What are you thinking of?"
Catching that Akashi was being unusual, Yahiko stood up. Facing Akashi, Yahiko growled,
"You aren't thinking of anything strange, are you?"
"Answer me first."
Akashi stared back at Yahiko with his lone eye. Its azure colour was the same as he remembered, Yahiko couldn't help but think.
"You aren't being recognized. You are being estranged and betrayed because of the status of being a rogue."
Akashi spoke honestly,
"This nation would've appreciated your work. Hailed you as a hero. All those would've happened if... you were recognized as one of them."
Yahiko's breathing momentarily stopped as he imagined those things that Akashi mentioned.
And he couldn't help but... be mesmerized by such a thought for a moment.
And that's all that Akashi needed to know.
Akashi stood up.
"Wait, Akashi—"
"Everything will be fine, Yahiko. I'll make sure that Konan and Yahiko get treated."
Yahiko held his hand out, but Akashi, with his eye holding nothing but determination, spoke,
"Have I ever failed you?"
The grin that Akashi held was strained and forcible. However, the moment such words were spoken, Yahiko felt as if his mind was put at ease.
Out of instinct, Yahiko muttered,
"...No, leader."
And he watched, as Akashi traveled away from them, leaving Yahiko to take care of Konan and Nagato.