Rain slid down the slanted roofs of Konoha, drumming steady against wooden tiles. Inside the Hokage's office, the sound was muffled by paper and the quiet presence of advisors gathered around a long table. Hiruzen sat at its head, pipe unlit, his eyes fixed on the report spread before him.
The council chamber was thick with silence. Koharu broke it first, her shawl rustling as she shifted forward.
"This is intolerable."
Homura leaned on his elbows. "If Wave's bridge completes under this so-called Eclipse Order, Fire Country's monopoly on trade will weaken. Hokage cannot ignore this."
Hiruzen finally raised his gaze. "I do not ignore it. That is why Shikaku went in the first place."
Danzo's cane tapped once against the floor. He had not spoken yet, but his silence was as heavy as the rain outside. "And yet," he said finally, "we do nothing."
Hiruzen's eyes cooled. "Wave is not some empty field where you may plant knives at will."
Danzo's jaw flexed but he said nothing more.
Shikaku's half-lidded gaze didn't change. "If we treat them like mere bandits, we'll underestimate them. That's how you lose wars before they start."
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "Wave will draw attention on its own soon enough."
Danzo's grip tightened on his cane.
Far across the sea, in the mist-cloaked towers of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi unrolled her own copy of intelligence reports.
Ao stood stiff-backed before her, the Byakugan eye under his patch glowing faintly. "Zabuza has aligned himself openly with this Eclipse Order. He trains men on Wave's soil. Our hunters reported his sword—the cuts are unmistakable."
Mei rested her chin lightly on one hand. "So the Demon of the Mist chooses new masters. Or perhaps, for once, he chose something other than coin."
Chōjūrō shifted nervously beside her. "Mizukage-sama, should we send the hunter-nin to finish him?"
Mei's eyes narrowed, though her tone stayed calm. "Against Zabuza and a blindfolded man who can stop weapons without chakra? That's not a hunt. That's suicide."
Ao spoke low. "Then what are your orders?"
"Send reconnaissance," Mei said firmly. "I want eyes in Wave, not corpses. If Zabuza builds an army under this Order, we must know it before the sea becomes their ally."
In the deserts of Sunagakure, Kazekage Rasa sat on his throne of sand, a parchment spread across his lap.
"Wave's exports are stabilizing," his advisor reported. "Timber, stone, fish—prices are lower, shipping safer. Their bridge is nearly halfway done. Merchants are whispering about protection that rivals a great nation's."
Rasa's mouth curved faintly downward. "Wave was supposed to be weak. Gato kept them that way. Now, someone else has taken his place."
He tapped the paper once, thinking. "Send envoys. Smile, flatter, negotiate. If Wave grows strong under this Eclipse Order, we will profit. If they falter, we will know before the others."
Behind him, Baki bowed. "And if they resist?"
"Then we find their enemies and fund them," Rasa said coldly. "No nation rises without rivals."
In Kumogakure, thunder rolled beyond the Raikage's tower as A slammed a fist on the council table.
"This blindfolded man deflected a Tailed Beast Bomb in Wave. The reports are consistent."
C frowned, shaking his head. "Yet no chakra signatures were felt. It wasn't ninjutsu."
Darui leaned back with his usual calm. "Does it matter what it was? He stopped something that should have erased half the island."
Raikage A scowled. "Then he is a jinchūriki-level threat without a beast. And he has allies. We prepare for war, or we prepare to recruit him."
And in the stone halls of Iwagakure, old Onoki squinted at a trembling messenger.
"So. Wave Country prospers."
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama. Their streets are… safe. Their taxes, fair. The bridge—"
Onoki cut him off with a grunt. "Order is more dangerous than chaos. A strongman you can buy. A strong system? That spreads."
He rose slowly, back cracking. "Send spies through merchant caravans. I want to know who truly pulls the strings. If it's the blindfolded man, we plan accordingly. If it's someone else, we find him before the world does."
Wave itself no longer whispered; it breathed.
Ren sat at a long table inside their hidden base, scrolls and ledgers spread before him. His Sharingan spun faintly as he marked notes. Firelight flickered against his young face, sharpening the determination there.
Across the courtyard, Escanor's booming voice carried like a bell. At noon, his training sessions shook the air with authority. Wave's recruits staggered under weighted drills, lifted logs, and learned to hold formations under the crushing aura of the Lion Sin of Pride. At night, Escanor grew quiet, shy, retreating into his bar with soft words and poetry, but his soldiers remembered the noon sun.
Gojo strolled through the village openly, blindfold tilted just enough to tease the crowd. Children laughed when he flicked pebbles that curved midair. Mothers whispered thanks when thieves vanished after crossing paths with him. To the public, he was the leader of Eclipse Order—the untouchable protector.
Zabuza and Haku were the shadows behind that light, the reminder that not all protection was kind. When gangs tried to rise again, their bodies were found silent in the mist.
And Ren watched it all, his mind never still.
They see Gojo. They fear Zabuza. They trust Haku. But me… I am the chain tying them together. They must never see it.
He set his brush down, staring at the maps he had drawn of Wave's new order—supply routes, guard rotations, tax collections. Everything in place, everything quiet.
Each village is watching. Good. Let them. The more they see Gojo, the less they see me.
His eyes flickered crimson again, the two tomoe spinning. He thought of the future, of exams that would draw eyes to Konoha, of wars that had not yet begun.
"Wave is ready," he murmured. "The world will learn what Eclipse Order truly is."
The fire crackled. Outside, villagers laughed faintly, their voices carrying into the night.
For the first time in years, Wave felt alive.
And across every hidden village, leaders weighed those voices, wondering if they were hearing the first echoes of a new power rising.