The matter of recruiting future members of Akatsuki was not Aoki's priority at the moment. He let that thought drift away like a passing breeze, while his eyes once again settled on the war map spread across the broad wooden table in the strategy chamber of Oni's Main Headquarters.
...
...
...
Time passed swiftly; it had already been two months since Aoki last received news about the battle between Minato and A, the future Fourth Raikage, along with Killer B. Now, Aoki had obtained new information once again.
The night air was cold, biting against the skin as Aoki leaned back on the wooden chair in his small meeting room. The oil lamp in the corner flickered restlessly, its flame trembling as the wind slipped through the cracks in the window frame.
Those two months that had slipped by so quickly felt no more than the span of a single breath in and out, yet so many events had already unfolded on the battlefield. Aoki's eyes fixed on the freshly delivered report he held, his fingers trembling ever so slightly—not out of fatigue, but from the gnawing unease that had haunted him for days.
It was about Minato, who, all by himself, had halted an invasion of a thousand Iwa shinobi. This time, Minato had truly earned the title of the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
Aoki read that line again, slowly, as if unable to accept the reality written before him.
The image of Minato flashed through Aoki's mind—blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and movements faster than anything the human eye could possibly follow.
Just imagining him single-handedly standing against thousands of Iwa shinobi made the hairs on Aoki's neck bristle.
In his mind's eye, Aoki saw the battlefield: a ground trembling beneath the thunderous march of countless footsteps, filled with cries and screams, and then suddenly, streaks of golden light darting from one point to another, cutting down enemies without pause. The title "Yellow Flash" was no longer just a rumor, but an undeniable recognition by the shinobi world itself.
Aside from that, Aoki also received information regarding Ao. Ao had managed to steal a Sharingan—yes, instead of acquiring a Byakugan eye as in Naruto's original story, Ao of Kirigakure had instead obtained a Sharingan.
Aoki fell silent, his brows furrowing sharply. He still remembered the broad strokes of this world's storyline, yet now everything was beginning to stray.
The Sharingan—a pair of eyes shrouded in mystery and power, capable of piercing through illusions, reading movements, and even controlling the tide of battle.
And Ao, a shinobi of Kirigakure who should have been linked with the Byakugan, now possessed an eye he was never meant to wield.
Aoki felt his chest tighten, an indescribable sensation flowing through him. It was as though a massive stone had been hurled into a still pond, sending ripples surging across the surface of fate itself.
When Aoki heard this piece of information, he was utterly stunned—the butterfly effect had finally begun to manifest! But why? How? And why did it have to be this?
Aoki himself was uncertain of the answer.
His mind was in turmoil, thoughts whirling like a raging storm within his head. His eyes widened slightly, his lips pressed into a thin line, while his breathing quickened and grew shallow.
The butterfly effect—something Aoki had feared from the very beginning—was now baring its fangs at last. Why the Sharingan? Why Ao of all people?
Those questions spun wildly in his thoughts, each one clawing deeper, leaving him restless and unsettled.
Yet one thing was certain: the butterfly effect was happening. That truth alone filled Aoki with both dread and urgency, and he decided that the time had come to begin forming a new organization.
His hand clenched tightly into a fist against the wooden table, the knuckles whitening under the strain. Aoki knew well that even the smallest divergence could change the course of this world in ways he could never predict. His anxiety began to harden into a cold, unyielding resolve.
A sharp glint flashed within his eyes, as though a new flame had been ignited inside him. If this world insisted on straying from its destined path, then Aoki would have to prepare something powerful enough to withstand the great storm that was surely on its way.
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