Konoha: A golden flash from the tomb

(Single chapter, but 7k)

The first people to receive the news of the destruction of the Kusanagi were not the Taki Ninja Village and Iwagakure Village, which were closest to the Kusanagi, but the Ume Ninja Village in the Country of Rain, which was adjacent to the Country of Kusanagi.

This is the base of the Akatsuki organization and the country where Nagato, the Samsara Eye, is located.

Although it is a small country with few villages, Akatsuki's intelligence capabilities are not inferior to those of any large country. As a member of Akatsuki, they have the best intelligence gathering ability in the ninja world. Moreover, they have no reluctance to interact with the black market and they also have this map that is all over the ninja world. Intelligence network.

It was Zetsu who passed this horrifying information to Nagato before other countries received the news.

"So, what do you think, Nagato?"

In a quiet room, a delicate woman with blue-purple hair wearing a black and red windbreaker spoke to the skinny man sitting on a strange chair.

The man lowered his head, his messy dark red hair covering half of his face, and the eyes exposed in the hair were strange plural circles.

"Are you making the absolute suggestion, Xiaonan?"

Nagato raised his head, and there was a cold light in his reincarnation eyes. After hearing the news of the return of his samsara, Nagato remembered many things that had happened.

A crimson memory stained red by blood.

"I don't intend to leave Yu Ninja Village, and I can't leave here."

Nagato's answer did not disappoint Konan, or it could be said that Konan already knew the final answer.

Everything Nagato does is to protect and save this country. The Akatsuki organization formed by Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan has been striving for this goal from the beginning.

"But the threat is already approaching. Perhaps Jue is right. What happened in Kusanagi Village is just the beginning. Although the five major countries have completed a peace agreement, for small countries like us, we are not on the same level as them. Capital for negotiating peace.”

"Including our Rain Ninja Village and the Country of Rain."

"But I'm here, Konan."

Nagato stretched out his skinny palm and patted Konan's arm gently, as if he wanted to give her confidence.

"With these eyes of God, I am destined to change and save this wrong world. Although the Kingdom of Rain does not have the power to compare with the five major countries, I am here."

"Even if it's for Yahiko, for you, for the village, I will become Kamisama in this new world."

Although his words were a bit off-kilter, Nagato said these words with full confidence. As he mentioned before, the Samsara Eye gave him the backing strength to support the weight of these words.

Knowing how powerful these eyes are, Nagato clearly knows what he can do, and his words are definitely not weightless lies.

"If Konoha's troops point towards the Land of Rain, then I will bring them painful memories that they will never forget."

"Under this rain..."

Nagato looked up at the window in front of him. The Land of Rain was a country that was always shrouded in the drizzle of rain.

"...No one can stop me, not even Namikaze Minato can stop the power from Kami!"

"I will definitely finish what Yahiko has not finished. This is our agreement, isn't it?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me, Xiaonan."

Nagato's voice was gentle and comforting. He didn't want Konan to worry.

"But your body..."

Konan held Minato's skinny arm. Ever since Nagato activated the power of the Rinnegan and forcibly summoned the heretic demons and killed many rain ninjas loyal to Hanzo, his body had changed due to this heavy burden. Have to lose weight day by day.

"I'm fine. At least I will live well until we fulfill our common wish. I know my body well."

"What's more, Konoha and I still have a bloody debt to settle. If they dare to come to Rain Ninja Village, I will definitely..."

A flash of blood seemed to flash in Nagato's eyes. The scene in his memory of his parents being killed reappeared in his mind. The logo of Konoha Village was clearly visible on his forehead protector stained by splashes of blood.

That was a painful memory that Nagato would never forget, and those eyes also appeared at that time.

Because of this, Nagato believes that he is the chosen one to end this chaotic world. He will definitely achieve true peace for this world and bring a future without war to this world.

Konan didn't respond to Nagato's words. She just squeezed Nagato's hand harder. Otherwise, she didn't understand what Nagato said about revival and true peace. Her wish was actually very small, so small that it could only be tolerated. Let her, Nagato, and Yahiko go.

Although Yahiko left, she still thought that Nagato would be safe and sound. She did not have a grand vision for the world, she only had this simple but difficult little wish.

It's just that Nagato said that he wanted to continue Yahiko's dream and complete the future without war. Konan would not refuse to stand beside Nagato and devote all his efforts to him.

"I'm really fine, Konan. Besides, didn't that Uchiha Madara give me something special?"

Nagato reached out and took out a small bottle filled with white liquid. The item handed over by Zetsu was said to be able to inject powerful vitality into him and could be used as a trump card against powerful enemies.

However, Nagato was skeptical about this statement.

The reason is simple. Uchiha Madara is now seriously injured. Zetsu told him that in the next year, Uchiha Madara will not be able to participate in operations. After being attacked by Minato, his current condition is very poor.

Nagato was already very wary of this collaborator who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, but now his exposed lack of strength made Nagato even more suspicious of his true identity.

In Nagato's understanding, Uchiha Madara should be a powerful ninja as famous as Senju Hashirama. Even in the Iwagakure Village adjacent to the Land of Rain, Onoki suffered from the shadow of Uchiha Madara when he was very young. .

After witnessing the first generation Iwagakure being hung and beaten in a fancy manner by Uchiha Madara, he was most afraid of this terrifying man standing behind the god of the ninja world.

Although Namikaze Minato is also very famous in the ninja world, in Nagato's view, he is not as good as Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara doesn't have to worry about being defeated so easily by Minato, even if it is a sneak attack.

Zetsu, who dared and could not reveal all Obito's information to Nagato, naturally had something to hide, but because of this, Nagato confirmed his suspicions.

What kind of weight can the so-called 'trump card' handed to him by a weakling have?This is a question worth thinking about.

If he really had this trump card, how could Madara Uchiha be paralyzed by Minato and have to recuperate for a whole year?

"Let's stop talking about this matter, Xiaonan."

Nagato took the initiative to end the topic.

"What we need to do now is to absorb more power and be fully prepared for the dawn of the future."

"Are there any new members to choose?"

"Yes." Xiaonan nodded, "The rebel Ninja of Taki Ninja Village, it is said that the ninja who fought against Senju Hashirama, Kakuzu."

Akatsuki, shrouded in rain, continued to wait for the day when dawn would be reborn and the sun would shine brightly, while in the distant Konoha.

----

The task of escorting Sara back to Konoha Village has been completed. Kakashi left home after finishing the day's training. After passing by the flower shop of Yamanaka's family, he had a handful of white chrysanthemums and a handful of white flowers in his hand. Rose.

Walking on the path filled with sunset, Kakashi walked through the village to Konoha's cemetery. He first swept away the dust on his father Hatake Sakumo's tombstone, then put down the white chrysanthemum and sat in silence. After a while, he stood up and walked to another part of the cemetery.

Two of his companions are buried there.

Although Uchiha has his own separate cemetery, there are also tombstones of ninjas in Konoha's Heroes' Tomb. After all, they are all ninjas of Konoha.

"So you are sweeping the grave, Kakashi."

The words carried by the breeze were Minato's voice. Minato, who was still wearing an apron, must have just finished cooking.

"Yes, Minato-sensei, let me see them."

Kakashi knelt down. He placed the white rose in front of Lin's tombstone and cleaned the dust on the inscription. But just as he was about to walk to Obito's tomb, Minato held his hand.

"That's enough Lin. Obito is not dead. All we have lost is the Obito we once knew."

Although Minato told Fugaku about Uchiha Obito, Fugaku did not spread the news, and Minato did not disclose the matter about Obito. Minato did not intend to make this matter completely public until the traitor was dealt with. Because that has no effect except bringing criticism to the Uchiha clan and affecting the stability of the village.

He couldn't catch Obito, who was protected by Black Zetsu, just by being angry. It would be better to postpone the matter for a while and wait for the dust to settle before taking any action.

"Teacher?!" Kakashi looked at Minato in disbelief after hearing the news: "Are you telling the truth? Where is Obito now? Why doesn't he return to Konoha?"

"Let's eat first and say goodbye to Lin. We'll talk after dinner, otherwise you might lose your appetite."

"I've been tired all day, so I have to fill my stomach first."

"OK, all right."

Kakashi nodded. He carefully cleaned Lin's tombstone. After placing the white roses, he grabbed Minato's sleeve and left Konoha's cemetery.

The current Minato family is very lively, with Naruto, Kakashi, Kimimaro who is trying hard to find the value of his life, and the timid Kokoro.

The dinner prepared by Minato himself was sumptuous and delicious. After the lively meal, Kimimaro took over the task of clearing the plates, while Naruto and Kaoru stepped aside to help take over the washed dishes. .

Minato took Kakashi to the backyard of the house. It was now dark, and sparse starlight appeared in the night sky, which seemed a little more bleak than before.

After simply setting up a barrier to prevent prying eyes, Minato opened up the chatterbox and told Kakashi all the information about Obito.

"I went to Kirigakure Village with the intention of killing him there and dealing with the Black Zetsu hiding behind him. To be more precise, Black Zetsu was my real target at that time. He was Kaguya Otsutsuki. His will is the mastermind who has been hiding in the ninja world for thousands of years."

"He was involved in the split between Indra and Asura, and he was responsible for the long-standing hostility between Uchiha and Senju. It's even a bit exaggerated. I think the Warring States period that lasted for hundreds of years in the ninja world was due to his plan. Including, only troubled times can give him enough time and opportunity to provoke and plan."

"Compared with Black Zetsu, Obito is actually only a small addition. What I want to kill more is Black Zetsu. If we fail to deal with this cunning guy, the ninja world will have endless troubles."

"Actually, I could have killed Obito that day, but I misjudged the consumption of my eyes at the time. When I couldn't kill Black Zetsu, it was actually a good thing to let Obito live a little longer. "

"If Obito, who is Uchiha Madara's chess piece, dies, without this tool, Black Zetsu will most likely take away the Rinnegan and hide in the dark, waiting for the next hundred years, waiting for the next suitable time to come, and then go back to the dark. Start his plan."

"It's not that I'm soft-hearted and poisoned the book and didn't kill him, but I can't. Just like the Grass Ninja Village, I can't make things happen unless I can eradicate the roots. The mad dog who is forced to a point of no return is I really dare to show my teeth and bite you."

"I can bear the backlash from a mad dog, but why should we get bitten by a dog when there are other better solutions?"

After listening to Minato's words, Kakashi fell into silence. This cruel reality that broke the beautiful memory made it difficult for him to accept and couldn't agree with it for a while.

He reached out and touched Konoha's forehead protector. The forehead protector worn diagonally on his forehead covered his left eye. It was a three-magatama Sharingan that made him copy the name of ninja. 'The eyes entrusted to him are witnesses of their former friendship and bond.

And now, Minato told him that Obito was not dead, and that the death of his master and his wife was planned by Obito. For the so-called "world with Lin", Obito, who was easily deceived and bewitched, completely gave up his life. Everything about being a human being.

"Why... why didn't he meet me then?"

Kakashi, who was emotionally broken, covered his face with his hands, and his eyes exposed from between his fingers were trembling and flickering.

"It's not that I wanted to kill Lin. At that time, I didn't even expect that Lin would suddenly stand in front of me. It wasn't her that I wanted to kill, but the fog ninja who kidnapped Lin..."

"Those who don't know how to cherish their companions are not worthy of becoming ninjas!"

Kakashi gritted his teeth and whispered these words.

"I have never thought about betraying my companions! In your eyes, I am a ruthless executioner. I can really take the initiative to kill her, the only thing left after your death... ..."

"....Companion?"

The three Magatama Sharingan in the left eye socket began to spin crazily at this moment, and the Mangekyo Sharingan named Kamui was quietly born in the midst of rage.

Kakashi's face turned pale. The three Magatama Sharingan, which was already difficult to bear, put a heavier pressure on him after he advanced. The loss of chakra made Kakashi weak.

"Why... didn't you ask me then?"

Kakashi closed his eyes in pain.

"It's not like that... It's not like that... Obito... Lin... No..."

"Master Watergate."

Kakashi opened his eyes again and looked directly into Minato's blue eyes.

"Where is Obito? I'm going to find him."

"But not now." Minato shook his head, "The time has not come yet."

"Sleep at my house tonight. You can think about what you should do at that time. Don't be carried away by hatred and anger. As long as I am here, I can undo many tragedies in the future and many tragedies in the past."

"Get some rest Kakashi, you have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Okay, Minato-sensei, disciple... take your leave."

Kakashi, who barely stood up while holding on to the table, left the backyard and returned to the house, but Minato did not remove the barrier. Instead, he spoke to the grass next to the back door.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you don't need to eavesdrop."

"Ahaha..." Suddenly a light appeared in the grass... uh... a white-haired hedgehog. Jiraiya touched his hair with some embarrassment and sat across from Minato.

"Actually, I originally planned to come and talk to you directly, but I didn't expect you to chat with Kakashi first, and I didn't come out. I'm sorry, I'm used to asking for information outside, and I haven't changed it back."

"It seems that the women's bathhouse has trained your stealth skills?"

"Cough cough cough... That's just taking materials, taking materials, there is no other meaning."

After coughing twice, Jiraiya tried his best to change the topic and showed a serious expression.

"I came tonight to ask you another question."

"Grass Ninja Village?"

My teacher was not a very knowledgeable person, and many of his thoughts could actually be seen on his expression, especially for a disciple like Minato who knew Jiraiya very well.

"That's right. Do you know how much noise you caused in the ninja world by massacring the entire Grass Ninja Village and beginning to annex the Country of Grass?"

"Minato, there are already many names in the ninja world about you being murderous and cruel and ruthless. This is a bad sign. It's really not a good sign."

Jiraiya's expression was a little worried. As a teacher, he naturally cared about his disciples. In his heart, Minato was not fundamentally different from his son.

"But what does it matter? My Hokage of Konoha is at most the Hokage of the Land of Fire. No matter what those people outside say, what does it have to do with me?"

"They are neither under my jurisdiction, nor do they belong to Konoha's companions. No matter how fierce they are outside and how harshly they scold me, the people in the village will not pay any attention to them, let alone hurt me in the slightest. ."

"Teacher, as you can see, Konoha is now in a prosperous period. I have expanded business routes and made the village richer. The children in the orphanage are well taken care of. Ordinary civilians don't have to worry about being bullied. Soldiers who have withdrawn from the battlefield due to injuries and illnesses are also guaranteed, and everyone has a worry-free life, no worries about their wives and children, and no worries about their future."

"As long as they live in the Country of Fire, as long as they live in the country that I protect, they can enjoy true peace and stability. At least for now, this is enough."

"But you shouldn't be so cruel. Killing will not bring peace. Killing will only create more hatred and conflicts."

Minato was indeed right, but Jiraiya also had his own insistence. When he mentioned the Kusanagi, it was just because Minato had used cruel and cruel methods. He was afraid that Minato had changed and become something he didn't dare or couldn't do. Willing to face it.

"Do you know the death toll from the three wars?"

"Excluding the casualties of ninjas from the five major nations?"

Hearing Minato's question, Jiraiya shook his head hesitantly, "I'm not very sure, what's going on?"

"The Third Ninja War began in Konoha 45 and ended at the end of Konoha 47 and the beginning of 48. It lasted less than three years."

"The number of ninja casualties in the five major countries is about 40. As for the several small countries on the battlefield, their populations have dropped by two-thirds in less than three years, and more than half of them died from famine caused by the war. , looting, turmoil, etc., plus the casualties of civilians in the five major countries, the number of dead and missing people is roughly estimated to exceed [-]."

"However, the losses caused by the Third Ninja World War were actually the lowest. The number of casualties was initially estimated to be less than a quarter of the first and second Ninja World War."

"The total number of people in Grass Ninja Village is only 3. Compared with the death toll in the Ninja World War, these numbers should be less than a hundred and one, right?"

"It has only been 52 years since Lord Hashirama ended the Warring States Period, but the three wars took up nearly one-third of the time. On average, the number of deaths due to wars every year is as high as more than [-]."

"I massacred all the grass ninjas. The death of these 3 people will at least prevent any war and turmoil in the ninja world in the next two years. No one dares to risk the possibility of national annihilation and annihilation by my soldiers. Go against my will."

"It's true that 3 people died, but how many people can be saved by at least two years of peace?"

"But you are sophistry!" Jiraiya was so angry at Minato's words that he scratched his head and was a little stuck for a moment. He could not accept the redemption in exchange for massacre, although it sounded right at first glance.

"But it is undeniable." Minato comforted the somewhat angry Jiraiya, "After the incident in Kusanagi Village, the return of the Senju and Uzumaki clan members has been much faster, and no one dares to take any chances with them anymore. All bounties on the black market for the Senju and Uzumaki bloodlines have been removed from the shelves, and my ANBU also received several mysterious packages containing the heads of their 'employers'."

"Those spiders hiding in dark corners and building webs all know that once they get involved with these things, I will kill them until their blood is everywhere, leaving no trace of their corpses."

"Now is the most peaceful period in the ninja world. We don't even dare to have small-scale conflicts and disputes. Because I destroyed the Grass Ninja Village and took away the Ghost Lantern City, I am frantically arresting prisoners and preparing to fill up the prison. Full to the brim.”

"All this obedience, all this peace, all this order, started when I massacred the entire Grass Ninja Village and warned the entire Ninja World."

"Jiraiya-sensei, please tell me, how many lives have been saved in the ninja world by the deaths of 3 people?"

"Whether you call me an executioner or a brutal butcher, at least I have brought peace and stability to my people and the country I shelter in a true sense that they have never experienced before."

"Every Konoha person is proud of this, and even every civilian in the Fire Nation has tasted happiness because of the peace amid this killing."

"The people who died are not our people, why do you sympathize with them?"

Jiraiya was a little silent about this, so Minato said while the iron was hot.

"The peaceful world you talk about where everyone understands each other is simply a fantasy land that does not exist. As long as greed and desire exist, there can be no true understanding between people."

"Only by establishing order and establishing iron-clad laws, allowing the strong to be restrained and lawbreakers to be punished, can good people live in peace of mind and the weak be protected."

"Order and law are the necessary conditions to ensure peace and stability. To achieve this, I need to use the most iron-blooded means to break the ancient shackles that have been imprisoned in the ninja world for thousands of years and abandon the old customs. Toward true unity.”

"Truth only exists on the edge of the sword, and peace exists within the range of the tailed beast cannon. If I can turn all the land illuminated by the sun and moon into my country, why is there so-called war, and why can't I embrace peace? ?”

"At that time, I did not need to resort to force, because there was the law as a yardstick to limit the world for me, and I only had to stand beside the law and declare that this was an iron rule that could not be crossed or shaken. "

"But one day we will turn into a handful of loess and leave the world. I know Orochimaru is chasing eternal life, but can eternal life really exist? Maybe 1000 or 2000 years is a long time, but in the end we will be erased by time. traces."

After thinking for a long time, Jiraiya sat down on the chair with some dejection. He spoke to Minato calmly and stopped arguing loudly.

"Yes, maybe we will eventually turn into a handful of loess, but at that time, will people really dare to restart the old customs of the ninja world and let power rule everything as absolute authority?"

"As long as I kill hard enough now to make all of them tremble and tremble when they think of this period of history, even if I die, even if I am no longer in this world, they will not dare to release this power called power. The beast that unleashes the next me will only use the law as an iron rope to strangle him to death in his infancy."

"With the law as the yardstick to ensure the most basic bottom line, even war and killing will no longer be cruel and bloody with no bottom line today."

"Although it is said that the lesson that mankind has learned from history is that mankind can never learn a lesson, but at least when they go to repeat the reincarnation of their predecessors, they can see the land soaked in blood under their feet, and because of the reason ahead In the mud, their steps will be much shorter than before."

"Isn't this progress?"

"Now is not the time to think about these things, Teacher Jiraiya. Although eternal life does not mean immortality, you want to wait until the day I die..."

"Then we'll have to wait."

"1000 years is not long, and 1 years is not short. We live as long as heaven and earth. Why can it only be a fantasy?"

"If peace can last forever, then I will last forever too."

"If not, then wait until the day peace ends and you will call me an executioner and an inhumane butcher."