The Uchiha settlement was unusually loud that morning. Children's chatter and parents' scolding carried down the streets, the noise thickest near one particular stand where two long lines had already formed.
But today, only one merchant stood behind it - Mimo.
The young boy who usually sold popsicles was gone, and the old man was left to handle his work as well.
"Grandpa, where's Seji?" Sasuke called out, relief washing over him as he saw the popsicles were still being sold despite the absence.
"He caught a cold," the old merchant said, waving a hand dismissively, though the smile on his face looked a little strained. "I sent him home with the passing caravan. Anyway, who wants a popsicle?"
"Me!"
"I want two!"
"Please, me!"
…
The children's excited cries quickly drowned out the strange aura clinging to Mimo as they rushed in, eager to get their treat. None of them noticed the difference. But disappointment was inevitable, because this time, the popsicles weren't made using the Suijingan, the very ingredient that made them special.
<<<>>>
'What could've happened?' Kaoru wondered, a restlessness nesting in his chest.
The message from Takimura had been brief, too brief. Yko's communication device had carried only one instruction - to return home as quickly as possible. Nothing else. No explanation, no warning. Even his attempt to reply had failed. Takimura hadn't responded.
'Could it be that negotiations with Jiraiya collapsed, and now we're at war with Konoha?' His eyes narrowed as the spray of a wave broke against the ship's hull, droplets reaching his face. 'But if that were true, why wouldn't the message say so? There's no way Maki would leave me without a warning.'
Another surge slammed into the vessel, larger than the last, forcing Kaoru to abandon the prow and climb down toward the safety of the cabins. He wasn't worried about the rainstorm or the violent sea, his power could have kept them at bay, but he disliked using Suijingan in the open, especially with Konoha's ships scattered through these waters. The tension between their villages was sharp enough already.
'The other possibility is that Takimura might have already uncovered the true mastermind behind the attacks. If so, then there was no point in me staying at the Uchiha settlement any longer…'
Kaoru settled into a hammock strung between two wooden posts. The cramped room was packed with passengers, their sweat and filth saturating the air into something foul and stagnant. The stench was so heavy that for a moment Kaoru thought he could almost see it - a green haze clinging in the gloom. He even considered going back up to the storm, rain and crashing waves preferable to the suffocating air here.
But he decided against it.
Instead, he pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose, muting the smell enough to endure it. The rocking of the ship, once enough to make him seasick, now lulled him into stillness. Within minutes, Kaoru's heavy mind drifted into uneasy sleep.
<<<>>>
When Kaoru reached Takimura, something felt wrong at once. The air was heavy. People wore dark, sunken expressions, their eyes downcast, refusing to meet his. Some had tears streaking down their faces.
'What the hell is happening?' His chest tightened, his heart hammering so hard it felt as though it would tear through his ribs.
He flickered, darting toward the Takime compound in search of answers. Streets that were usually crowded with food stalls now stood empty, most of them closed. He passed the training grounds near the center, vacant for the first time he could remember - those fields were always filled, often booked weeks ahead.
'Shiiiit…' His stomach sank deeper with every step. He didn't know what had happened, but every corner of the village screamed disaster, even if the buildings themselves looked untouched.
At last he reached the Takime compound. The bridges stretched neatly across the waterways, connecting the houses on their separate islands. Pristine water flowed beneath them, koi fish swimming lazily in colors that should have soothed the eye. But the sight brought him no peace. The absence of people did the opposite; it made his skin crawl.
He ran faster, until his own house came into view beside the clan's communication hall. And there, outside, he saw them. His clan. Every single Takime gathered together, weeping uncontrollably.
"W-what…" Kaoru's voice cracked apart. He swallowed hard, forcing words through the knot in his throat. "What happened?"
"Lord Kaoru…" they wailed, but no one gave him the answer he needed.
"What the fuck happened?!" Kaoru's roar broke through their cries, his voice filled with panic and desperation. "Answer me!"
"Lord," Misa's voice cut through the chaos before anyone could speak and possibly give him the answers he sought. She pushed her way out of the building, her face pale, her hands trembling as she grabbed his arm. "Come with me…"
"Who is it?" Kaoru demanded as he stumbled forward after her, his legs suddenly heavy, weak. "Sensei? Akura? Did something happen to Mizuki?"
Faces flashed through his mind one after another, but when Mizuki's surfaced his vision dimmed. That possibility felt too real, too plausible.
Maki would never have told him in a message if Mizuki had been hurt. She would have waited, would have made him return first. Everything lined up now.
"Where is she?!" His voice exploded, so loud and sharp it made Misa freeze.
She turned slowly. Her eyes were bloodshot, her swollen lids refusing to hold any more tears.
"We don't know…" she whispered. "Please, come. Akura-san will tell you everything."
Kaoru followed, numb, his mind clawing for reason even as his feet carried him into the next room.
'Akura? How could Akura possibly know? Wait… Why isn't Maki greeting me?' The thought came just as he stepped inside, his eyes catching the cloth that had been draped over the windows.
And then he saw him.
Akura lay on the floor, his body broken, his right arm gone.
"Wha…" Kaoru mumbled, the word breaking apart before it could form. His mind clawed at the edges of reason, but hope fought back, refusing to let the thought take shape; the thought that could explain everything he was seeing.
"No…" He dropped to his knees, tears spilling to the floor. "It can't be!"
Only Misa and Akura were in the room, or at least those were the only figures his eyes could register.
He wanted to ask. To beg for answers. To shake Akura awake and demand to know what had happened. But fear rooted him. Fear of the truth.
Then Akura stirred. His broken body shifted slightly, his remaining shoulder trembling. He forced his eyes open, the focus wavering before finally fixing on Kaoru. Tears welled instantly, his mouth clenched shut, but a single desperate groan escaped.
"Ah…"
Kaoru didn't say anything. His gaze was locked to the floor, as if his eyes saw beyond it, unfocused, lost.
"Kaoru…" Akura's voice cracked, trembling as tears streamed into his mouth. He was too weak to sit up, too mangled to even raise his remaining hand. "I'm sorry… Maki…"
"NO!" Kaoru's roar shook the room as he lurched back to his feet. "It can't be. Anyone but her! Anyone but Maki!"
His heart pounded in his ears. The space warped, shadows stretching darker than they should, the room spinning around him. But none of that mattered. What consumed him was the desperate need for an explanation, anything to prove this nightmare false.
'How? Who could ever defeat Maki?! No one! My sister would never fall to anyone! She's too strong, too fierce to be beaten…' For a fleeting moment, hope clung to him. But then his gaze fell on Akura again, broken and weeping, and the fragile illusion crumbled. A new wave of tears broke loose, this time quieter, steadier.
"Tell me what happened," he forced out between his teeth, his despair hardening into fury.
"I… I'm not sure," Akura rasped, gathering what strength he had left. "We were traveling to meet the Hokage when we were ambushed. The group… the same one that tried to kidnap Mizuki and kill Shin. They all wore long dark robes… marked with crimson clouds."
Kaoru froze.
'Akatsuki? Why? It's too early. They shouldn't be making moves this grand… Attacking the Suikage now doesn't make sense.'
"…We struggled at first, but we began to turn the tide once the Six-Tails entered the fight. Until…" Akura's teeth ground together, a sharp crack audible as he bit down in rage. "Until that bastard appeared out of nowhere. I don't know what kind of power he had. I've never seen anything like it. He defeated me and the Six-Tails in moments."
Kaoru leaned forward, his mind clearing. He needed every detail, every fragment of information. He needed to know the face of the man who dared to raise his hand against Maki.
"I was dying… bleeding out from this cursed wound, when Maki took control of the battlefield and engaged him herself. But…" Akura's voice broke, his eyes brimming. "Even she couldn't stop him. Forget stopping him, he brushed aside her attacks like they were nothing..."
"What happened next?" Kaoru demanded, cutting in as Akura's eyelids began to droop. "Is Maki…" his voice cracked "...is she alive?"
The words jolted Akura, forcing his eyes open again. He blinked hard, fighting to stay conscious.
"I don't know," he whispered. "The last thing I remember… Maki told Maru to carry me back to Takimura."
Kaoru's breath came in ragged bursts. "How did the bastard look?" He already knew. His gut told him which Akatsuki this was. But he needed to hear it. He needed it confirmed.
Akura swallowed, his voice weak. "He had strange eyes… circles layered inside one another. Orange hair. Pale skin…"
Kaoru felt hollow, his body weak as if the strength had been drained from him. He wanted to scream, to swear he would hunt down and slaughter the man responsible. But the words never came. Rage and despair clashed inside him, and from that storm rose something else - clarity.
He understood.
There was no chance he could defeat Pain. No chance he could stand against Nagato Uzumaki, bearer of the Rinnegan.
'I need more strength. And stronger allies,' he thought, his fists clenching as his Suijingan flared instinctively, its glow reflecting the turmoil in his chest. 'But first… I must know if Maki is alive. I must go there.'
His voice came quieter, steadying itself as he glanced at Akura, who had slipped into exhausted slumber.
"Where are the rest? Why isn't Sensei or Mei here?" He could not bring himself to blame Akura, what man alive could stand before the Rinnegan and survive?
"They went to the battlefield," Misa answered, her voice hoarse as she wiped at her swollen eyes.
"When did this happen?"
"They left yesterday, Lord Kaoru. They should return…"
Her words broke off as a shinobi appeared at the doorway. He knocked softly on the open frame but did not step inside, his body stiff with unease.
"What is it?" Misa asked quickly, noticing Kaoru was still lost in thought.
The shinobi bowed his head. "They've returned. Our shinobi have come back."
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