It was on a sunny day when Akashi visited a well-known doctor, approximately a year ago.
"I don't know who you may be. This isn't the first time that I've gotten a patient under disguise, and I don't particularly mind, as long as I get my payment."
It was peaceful. The sunlight shone down through the open door. Seated on a soft cushion, Akashi listened to the doctor who seemed to have a lot to say.
"You... I just want to ask... how are you alive?"
"...What do you mean by that."
It wasn't Akashi who asked, but rather, Mei, who visited alongside him.
"Speak!"
"Abnormal heart rate, abnormal body temperature—nearly every parameter is far above average. It's as if... your body decided to sacrifice everything for power."
"That's how I've been since the start, as far as I was aware."
"One's heart can only beat so many times. For it to beat so rapidly, and for a body to maintain a temperature that high... you must've wandered off without a place to settle. Exposed to a cold and harsh environment for years... until, instead of facing death, you adapted."
To Akashi, the doctor's eyes seemed to be asking, of why he was trying so hard to remain alive.
Clearly, this world hated him. From the start, it continued to throw adversities one after another.
And truth to be told, he held no attachment to this world either. Mostly, he lived because of the ongoing momentum. The memories of that shinobi who saved him, Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, and...
...it was something that Akashi never talked about before, but Gin. The face of the dead man haunted him sometimes, telling him to live on.
So, he created a purpose for himself to maintain this momentum of living. That purpose was to 'revenge', to locate Uchiha Madara and end whatever he has been doing.
"Take one of these every day. If you were to run out of them, come back to fetch some more."
"What are these?"
"These are the antipyretics. They lower the body temperature. For now, I will administer these to you... hopefully, they will help."
Mei asked, and the doctor answered.
"I don't need those."
Akashi snorted. Standing up, he rudely left the area, feeling uneasy.
Hurriedly, Mei followed, not forgetting a courtesy as she did so, grabbing the medicine as well in Akashi's stead.
"What's up with you, Akashi? This isn't like you!"
Sunny. Bright sun. Clouds floating.
Mei spoke, but Akashi's attention didn't lie on her words.
"You need to take the advice seriously! This is your health that we're speaking of here! Should—"
"Mei."
Akashi couldn't help but ask back then.
"Why do you follow me?"
The idea of creating an organization named 'Akatsuki' was something that he got out of the whim, in the first place.
Apart from some investigations of Uchiha Madara here and there, there wasn't much that they did, anyway, other than training, having meals together, and chatting.
Rather than a hidden organization of some sort, it felt more like... a group of outcasts who were accepted by no one in this world.
Mei paused as she heard Akashi's question.
"...What is it that's in your mind, Akashi?"
Akashi's eye glanced over the vast horizon.
The nature was beautiful, but unlike the past, it brought no sentiment to him.
"From the start, I was forced to fight. To dirty my hands. I did everything that I could to become stronger. My entire life was based on a momentum that this world inflicted on me."
Akashi couldn't help but chuckle, weakly.
"Looking back on it, it feels as if I barely had any choice in my life. Almost every one of my actions had a reason. There was barely anything that I did simply because I wished to do so."
Clearly, life is harsh.
Clearly, the world hated him.
He's fulfilled his revenge on Danzo. He's given Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato stable lives. He's earned numerous titles and fought against the strongest ones that this world has to offer.
What then? After Uchiha Madara is dealt with, what is there for him to do?
Or, will he even have a choice in the matter? Won't the world, once again, throw another adversity at him?
"...You're thinking too much."
Mei was the one to turn around, stopping Akashi from saying any further.
"Let's head back. We can talk more about it later on."
However, they never talked again about this topic.
Now, Akashi watched as his blade, Ryuma, severed Roshi's head.
The blade, as it always has been, was stained in blood.
By now, he probably drew more blood than his teacher, Gin, ever did.
Lifting his eye from the rolling head, Akashi looked at Han.
His fists were raised. His legs were slightly bent. His guards were up, and his body was emitting an intense hurricane of chakra.
The lethal steam continued to flow out of him. His eyes dangerously glowed. Clearly, Han wasn't going to give Akashi an opening to attack.
However, those weren't what Akashi took note of.
In Han's eyes, Akashi saw the same gleam that he had received from many others.
"Do you fear me?"
Akashi casually asked, and Han swallowed his saliva.
"As if!!"
However, it looked like Akashi's question deeply stuck in Han's mind.
Letting out a war cry, Han was the one to charge at Akashi.
He swung his huge fist. Akashi vanished.
Akashi appeared from the back. Han, having expected this, expelled even greater amount of steam out of his body, preventing Akashi from getting close—
—only for Akashi to disappear with a puff, indicating that he was a clone.
Han, gritting his teeth, slammed his fist on the ground, causing it to crack.
The cracks on the ground spread centered on Han. It then broke, and some pieces elevated while others sank in. A miniature earthquake was generated. Nearby trees fell down, having lost their base. Dust arose from the collision of many things.
Yet, there was no sign of Akashi. Han, not stopping there, proceeded to emit a huge volume of steam all around him. Feeling insecure and having seen how deadly Akashi was at a melee range, Han was doing all that he could to maintain distance with the brown-haired enemy.
Within the steam, Han had no problem seeing through. Just as the ninjas of Kiri used 'Hiding in Mist', Han was able to see through this chakra-made steam that he generated. In fact, this was one of the prominent methods that he used to deal with his enemies.
'...It's... getting hot...?'
Han noticed an anomaly. Even within the hot steam, Han felt that the temperature around him was getting hotter and hotter. The environment was getting brighter—as if sun was nearing him.
Instinctively, he raised his head.
His eyes widened.
...The fact that Han had all the time to prepare the steam around him meant that Akashi, too, had the time of his own.
There he was, in the sky, standing on top of Ryuma, which was floating high.
His palm held the miniature sun, one that he used to deal with two Bijuudamas that Han and Roshi used, simultaneously.
Fire Release,
Han knew, that there was no way to dodge, that there was not enough time to prepare even one bijuudama.
He was too shocked by Akashi beheading Roshi, that he forgot of how Akashi managed to counter their bijuudamas in the first place.
'Strong at a long distance. Strong at a close distance. High mastery over at least the fire release and wind release ninjutsu. High mastery over fuinjutsu—one that's linked with space-time ninjutsu. High mastery over kenjutsu. High chakra reserve. High chakra control. Deceitful and cautious.'
Han felt like letting out a snort of disbelief as he saw the sun descend toward him.
'Does this man have a weakness? Where did someone like him even drop from?'
He learned that fighting back is futile.
What then, release the five tails in him and go with a bang?
'...Heh, no.'
Han sat down, watching as the sun continued to head down at him.
'It's better for me to die with dignity.'
Those who kill, be prepared to be killed.
Thinking of such words that he's heard somewhere in the past, Han watched as his surroundings turned white.
Then, darkness.
Tap.
Akashi landed in the middle of the gigantic crater.
What used to be Han was nothing more than a pile of ash.
There were many whom Akashi reduced to ashes. After seeing this multiple times, he began to feel nothing.
From a hopeful, visionary child to a bitter man who learned the world.
"Perhaps, one day, just as I took the lives of many, I too will meet a similar fate."
Leaving such a comment, Akashi turned around, knowing that the work wasn't over yet.
Clones, deal with other Iwa ninjas, subdue the invasion, check Konan and Nagato's situations, and solve them—
The original plan to have Nagato read the copy of what was written in Naka shrine was no more.
For now, he'd follow the momentum, just as he always did.
...
It was just one man.
Akashi.
The man whose black cloak with red cloud symbols fluttered.
He and his clones dashed all across the village, locating numerous Iwa ninjas and ending their lives in the most efficient manner that others could only imagine.
People couldn't understand why the worst criminal, the one who tried to assassinate Hanzo, was helping them. For now, they decided to take a breath of relief, however.
"...How splendid."
Hanzo watched Akashi's endeavors over the village.
The strength, the resiliency, and the eye that knew the reality—Akashi clearly had something that no others did.
...It was a thought that was hovering in Hanzo's mind for a long while.
'I am growing old. There is only so much that I can do... this battle was the proof of it.'
Hanzo's eyes continued to chase after Akashi.
'This village... needs a new leader. A successor of mine.'
Yahiko wasn't fitting due to his idealistic and naive views.
Nagato and Konan were followers rather than leaders.
None other in Ame truly stood out. The village of the never-stopping rain was filled with those who suffered from the post-war depression; should Hanzo not have regained his senses, the village would've been in a state much worse than now.
"...What are you thinking?"
From the side, Mei asked with suspicion.
"...Heh, you have a sharp intuition, girl."
Hanzo couldn't help but smile, although his expression was mostly hidden behind his metal mask.
"Whenever my grandson is involved, you seem to grow a sixth sense."
"...Someone has to look out for him."
Mei, not denying Hanzo's words, stated darkly.
"When he doesn't bother to look after himself."
"Is that so?"
"Now answer my question."
Hanzo and Mei watched as the Iwa ninjas, those who hadn't come across Akashi yet, began to retreat.
The symbol of a red cloud would forever be engraved in the memories of the Iwa ninjas. It would haunt them in their sleeps, and they won't even dare to look at Ame, knowing that it was, at the very least, connected to the owner of this symbol, Akashi of the Red Blade.
The civilians viewed the standing form of Akashi with mixed feelings.
Should they thank him? Should they stay away from him?
Was he an ally or an enemy with an ulterior motive? Was he a hero or yet another villain to them?
"Leader."
Hanzo finally answered, fully mesmerized by the sight of his grandson.
Standing right before the sun, Akashi seemed to glow in his eyes.
"I plan to make him the successor of this village."
"...You plan to place more loads on his shoulders? On top of all that he's bearing right now?"
Hanzo's smile faltered as Mei said so.
"He is my grandson. He is the only one worthy of succeeding me."
"He was left in this village as an orphan. This village provided him no shelter, no kindness. Yet, you now want him to uphold the task of keeping this village safe? You want him to give to this village, when this village gave nothing to him?"
"He will get the glory of being the highest one standing in this entire land of rain!"
"Glory my ass... does glory feed you? Does it give you peace?"
Mei stared at Akashi with a vivid worry in her eyes.
"What he needs isn't more load of work or responsibility."
"Then what, girl?"
"He needs to be free of the burdens. His body is free, but his mind is more shackled than any other."
"...And how will you do that?"
Snorting, Mei turned to stare at Hanzo with an evident dislike.
"That's none of your business."
Just as she said, Akashi walked toward them with quick steps. The civilians and conscious ninjas watched, but he ignored them all.
"Follow me. We head over to where Yahiko and Nagato are."
The conversation ended. Nodding, Mei followed Akashi, dashing away from the site.
After some contemplation, Hanzo too followed, with a mixed feeling in him.