Chapter 52
NOHARA RIN
It had been quite some time since she had begun living in the new manse of the water daimyo, her captivity had lasted months yet today it would end as she found herself standing outside a fully decked caravan ready to leave the city for the peace talks with Konoha.
"I thought the talks were not going to happen for another month?" she asked the water daimyo who stood beside her as the final preparations were being done.
"Well, that was the plan, but plans change, and things fell in the way they did," he answered as he looked towards her, the lower half of his face now hidden by a white cloth.
"Shouldn't you be happy now, Rin-san? You are getting to go home early," he added with a chuckle, and she was indeed relieved.
"The peace talks have not begun yet. We do not know how they will finish," she added worriedly.
"No need to worry about that," he replied as she felt a pair of footsteps walk up to them.
"We will have peace, that is without question. Neither I nor my half-brother wish for any more conflict; these talks are more of a formality," he added, surprising her.
"Is everything ready, yondaime Mizukage?" he suddenly said. She perked up at those words and looked up and found herself staring at a rather familiar face.
"You..." she gasped out, recognizing those orange hairs.
"Everything is ready. We have made contact with the liaison from Konoha as well," she added as she took off her hat, making her eyes widen.
"The yondaime Hokage is on his way as well, alongside the daimyo of fire country," she added.
"That is good, let us be on our way as well," and with that he suddenly turned towards her, just like the Mizukage.
"I believe introductions are in order," he began as he saw her surprise.
"Nohara Rin, I would like you to meet the yondaime Mizukage, Terumei Mei," and just as he was about to point towards her.
"I know who this brat is," she began.
"She is the yellow Flash's precious student I rescued," she remarked as they began to move. As they boarded a giant ship, she did not miss the small whisper.
"Is the other package secure?"
"It is, I have my best nin placed around it. But I do not understand the reason for it. Who are we protecting him from?"
"I do not know, but the only thing he mentioned was that he must always be guarded."
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JIRAIYA
Jiraiya has been in Ame for a month now, acting as a representative of the Fire daimyo as he oversaw the dissipation of aid to the war-torn regions and saw to the establishment of a truce and peace talks between the two factions of power in Ame.
His students had, of course, been delighted to see him and thankful for his help in saving their lives, yet the implications behind the attack had not been lost to him. Orochimaru's attack had been targeted and specific. He had not come to kill them. No, he was here for Nagato's eyes and the way their young daimyo had paled at the sight of the red-headed Ame-nin. Jiraiya had an inkling that the young lord knew more than all of them about this whole thing.
He had heard about the young lord from Tsunade, yet seeing him with his own eyes had only heightened his curiosity; the young lord was an enigma to him, breaking the usual norms of nobility. His chakra was trained to such an extent that he would be able to become a good Jounin, which was quite an achievement given his age.
And there was his little conversation with the infamous Hanzo Hattori. There was a reason Ame had continued to stand despite its atrocious geography, and the mere existence of Ame as an entity could be traced back to man.
He had noticed a visible shift in the man's demeanor since his meeting with their young daimyo, evident by how the man now sat opposite to the two young leaders of Akatsuki as the two opposing factions of power in Ame sat down for the parlay that may decide the future of the world.
"I accept," Hanzo's voice rang out and he could feel that everyone was surprised by the man's descisons.
"What?" Yahiko gasped out in surprise.
"I said that I accept these terms," Hanzo the Salamander reiterated.
"It is time indeed that Ame gives up on its isolationist policies. We have tried to shut down our borders in fear, yet despite our best efforts, it has brought only carnage to our lands," he began.
"Perhaps it is time to move forward and start a new age," he added as he glanced toward the Yahiko and Konan.
"Ame shall form a new government separate from the ninja village body. The Village Hidden in the Rain and the Rain Country shall become separate entities, with one ruled by a king and the other by a daimyo as the rest of the Five Great Nations," he offered.
"We accept," Yahiko answered resolutely, his fists balled up in excitement, and Jiraiya felt that at this moment, he was experiencing the beginning of the next great change, that he saw history being made and that the map of the world was about to change once more after nearly half a century.
"And in that respect, I would have liked to nominate you, Yahiko, as the new kage of the village." Hanzo's words made the whole room still, and his own eyes widened.
"But you are too weak as you are. And I shall not let you disgrace the name of Amegakure with your weakness," he taunted. Though Yahiko was angry at the insult, he was indeed weaker and nowhere near the level of a kage.
He was strong, yet not at the level of a kage.
"Then will you take the position for yourself, Hanzo-sama?" Konan questioned sharply and the man shook his head.
"You seem to forget my second name. I am Hanzo no Hattori, head of Amegakure and the Hattori clan. If I am to become the Kage, then who shall lead the country?" he scoffed, then suddenly felt the atmosphere in the room shift as the Salamander let go of his chakra. His suffocating presence permeated across the room.
"Tell me, boy! You wish to change to change your country, yet you are too weak! AME IS BEING HELD BACK BY YOUR WEAKNESS! WHAT WILL YOU ABOUT THAT!" he barked out as the wood where the three of them sat began to crack, and he could see Yahiko stiffen at those words.
Konan, on seeing the distress, tried to intervene.
"He is not...."
"No, he is right," Yahiko began as he began through gritted teeth.
"I am weak. I couldn't protect you or Nagato when we were attacked. How can I change the world, change Amegakure, if I cannot even protect my friends," he answered before he looked up, and Jiraiya smirked as he saw the glint in those eyes.
"So, help me!" he began as everyone in the room looked at the boy with wide eyes as he slammed his head on the ground.
SMACK!
"HELP ME BECOME SOMEONE CAPABLE OF THAT POSITION! SOMEONE CAPABLE OF LEADING AMEGAKURE, OF PROTECTING MY FRIENDS!" he shouted, and he saw Hanzo's eyes narrow.
"Do you have any idea what you are asking, boy?"
"Yes! And I believe you are the only person who can help me become the person I must! So I BEG YOU TRAIN ME!" he begged again as Jiraiya saw the wood turn scarlet as blood seeped from Yahiko's head.
"I will not coddle you like Hiruzens, brat. I am Hanzo the Salamander, a man feared all over the continent. If you wish to become my successor, then you must be prepared to die. Otherwise, you can give up on your dream of becoming a kage in my village. So, tell me, Yahiko of Akatsuki, are you prepared to die for your ideals?"
"I am!" Yahiko shouted.
And then he saw the man stand as he began to walk towards the door.
"Then meet me in the yard tomorrow. We have around six months to see if you are capable of becoming my successor."
.
.
.
Hours later, Jiraiya found himself alone with the man who had once nearly killed him.
"Why did you agree to those terms?" he questioned. The same question had been plaguing his mind ever since the end of the parley. The truth was that despite Konoha's and Fire country's influence, there was little they could force the man to do.
His decision to restructure Ame and step down were both his own.
"I am old," the man answered after a few seconds of silence as he sat there staring at the moon in the sky.
"Old enough to remember when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha decided to join hands and lay the foundation for Konohagakure and form the first Hidden Village. That time, I was extended a hand to join the incoming change, to become a part of it," he expanded and he recalled reading how Lord Hashirama had extended an offer of alliance to Ame when Konoha had been first made.
"...and to this day, I often think what would have become of my lands had I taken that offer. Of how different the world would have been today had I joined hands with that man," he scoffed as he turned to look him in the eye.
"In all these years, I have slain thousands of men and women, shinobi and nobles, yet to this day, I have yet to see a man with the same gaze as that man," he answered.
"That was until I met him, your young daimyo, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity I had denied myself all those years ago."
0000
"He is on the move, Madara-sama," A white and black plantine creature spoke as it knelt infront of the ailing form of the Ghost of the Uchiha clan.
"Good, then I believe you already know what you must do with that information," the old, decrepit voice said into the shadow as the red Sharingan spun ominously in the darkness.
"Yes."
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