Chapter 39

TSUNADE SENJU

The fourth Hokage of the village found herself sitting opposite to a shinobi she had never thought she would see again. The news of Ohashi's death had devastated her, and she had cursed the Gods for taking another one of her precious people from her.

It had felt like Kawaki all over again. She had failed to protect him. Yet the Gods had been merciful this time around as she sat infront of him, sipping her tea as her body recovered from the massive strain of using her sealing mark.

"So, what happened to you?" she questioned as she glanced at him. They had a theory about what had happened to him, yet it was now time to confirm what had truly led to the drastic change in him.

Ohashi sipped his tea as he answered.

"I believe you already have a suspicion," he added, looking at her with his normal eye as an eye patch covered his Sharingan.

"We do, but I would like to learn the truth. So, tell me what happened to you, Ohashi," she questioned again, and the boy sighed.

"Just as I landed the final blow on Danzo, a seal appeared on his body. A self-immolation seal that worked to trap and destroy anything around it. I jumped back, or at least tried to jump back to avoid getting caught in it, when suddenly something from the ground gripped me from below, stopping me from moving back, and I was caught in that seal," he began and she nodded.

"I had thought myself dead until I woke up in a cave tied up, my chakra sealed, and came face to face with a man. A man much older than me with a white mane, the same man who gave me this eye," he continued as he pointed towards his Sharingan.

"Madara," she cut in, and he nodded, confirming their theory.

"He had survived the fight against your grandfather, using and had escaped using a kinjutsu. He had remained hidden, looking for a successor who could carry out his will. And he had chosen me as his successor, and so he molded me. Or at least tried to," he replied.

They had reasoned that much.

"The Izanami?" she questioned and saw his eye widen as he nodded.

"Indeed, and while I was trapped inside I knew that I could not break out of it. And so I hit upon a plan. A plan to fool the technique, so I created an alter ego, one which was a mix between my own personality and what he desired to see. It took time, days, months, years, I don't know yet I managed to hit the perfect balance, as I constructed an alter ego with enough of me to raise suspicion among all those who knew of me, and enough oh him to fool the Izanami into believing it had worked," he finished and she shook her head.

"You fucking monster," she said with a smile, though a part of her felt proud of him for thinking like this. Few shinobi had the courage and the mind to pull of such a thing, especially in the face of an impossible situation.

He smiled at her, as he continued.

"I buried my own sense of self deep in my sub-conscious, and let the alter ego take over hoping that someone would notice the truth," at this he sighed as he leaned back.

"And thankfully they did," he replied and she nodded.

"Good, it was smart of you to think of this," she complimented him as they both looked at each other.

"Speaking of that, I believe I have yet to offer you my congratulations on becoming a Hokage," he said as he pointed towards the torn Kage robe placed in the corner, and she rolled her eyes.

"Ahh, yes. I had no choice but to step in, to clear up all the mess you created; after all, I couldn't let the sacrifice of my little apprentice go to waste now, can I?" she rebuked him as he hit his head, making him wince.

Both of them sat in the room as she told him of what had happened in the village. Yet in the end, he suddenly added.

"I have a request to make, Tsunade-sama," he said as he leaned forward.

"Let Ohashi Hatake remain dead, and allow me to remain in Ame!"

0000

KONAN

The Iwa forces had pulled back out of Ame, yet the situation in the village was dire. The forces under the command of Ohashi had clashed with Iwa forces, and the battle had been bloody, and now the said forces were in distress searching for Ohashi, their leader, as the village faced this crisis of foreign invasion.

In that sense, many in the forces suspected Akatsuki of colluding with the foreign forces, aiming to destabilize Ame. Iwa had its forces still stationed at the border, and the whole village was in a perilous situation as they lacked a powerful enough leader who could lead them through this crisis.

Akatsuki was strong, yet they were small and yet not skilled enough to unite Ame, and while the Ame forces were large in number, they also lacked the strength to keep Ame together.

In that sense, they only had a single option.

And she found herself sitting opposite to him. Ohashi Hatake, the killer of Hanzo, Konoha's infamous Shimmering Mist, the man who had killed Iwa's jinchuriki, sat infront of her as he recovered from his various injuries.

His scarlet sharingan was now covered by an eye patch as he sat opposite to her, his body covered in bandages as he processed what she had just requested of him.

"I still don't understand; you wish for me to remain here in Ame," he questioned, and she nodded.

"Yes, yes I do," she replied as she stared into his sole visible eye.

"But you do know who I am. That I am a Konoha shinobi. How would your forces even trust me after this," he questioned, and this was the biggest issue.

If his true identity became known to everyone, then there was a rare chance that he would be able to lead Amegakure.

"Only a few people know of your true identity as Ohashi Hatake, and if you do decide on staying back, I believe they would be inclined to keep it a secret, and if you presume your identity from before this battle, none would have any reason to suspect anything," she argued, having already discussed it with Yahiko and Nagato, both of whom had decided to let her take the lead on this.

"So, you would have me give up on my own identity," he confirmed, and she nodded.

This was a big ask, to ask a person to give up their name and heritage. Especially for a person who had supposedly lost his own free will previously, which was what she suspected had happened to him, given the massive shift she felt in his chakra.

He was quiet for a moment, and she could tell that his mind was racing as he thought about what to do, as finally he opened his mouth and asked the most important question.

"Even if I were to agree to your proposal, how could you and your forces ever trust me, afterall I did kill Hanzo and in a way caused all this destabilization," he questioned, and she sighed as she looked him in the eye.

Yahiko and Nagato had asked the same question, for giving someone like him so much power without any recourse was dangerous. And though she could understand their concern, she also knew that Ame needed him, that they needed him. And so, she had come up with a solution.

She reached into her pocket and took out a sealing tag she had prepared, and placed it infront of him.

"Though, from what I can sense, I trust you enough for this, yet Yahiko and Nagato, the two who lead AK…."

"I know who they are," he cut in as he looked towards her with a narrowed gaze.

"And I also know what that is. You would have me place my very life in your hands whilst you are seeking my help," he said in a sharp tone as his chakra cut through the air, making her shrink onto herself.

This was another big ask, one that no one in their right mind would agree to.

"I trust you," she cut in for some reason, and the tension in the room subsided.

"Though it may not mean much, but I do trust you. That was why I decided to help you. In part, Nagato and Yahiko do, too, because of how Jiraiya-sensei speaks of you. And I know what I ask of you is a big sacrifice, yet our village would fracture without it. A village that has been shrouded in darkness for years, and the first ray of hope that appeared was you, despite the nature and intentions of your actions," and then she bowed her head slightly.

"So, please help us. Help us fulfill the very dream you spoke of when you took control of Ame, the dream of peace and prosperity for these lands," she pleaded as she clenched her coat.

Her eyes remained pinched shut as silence reigned in the room until his voice cut in.

"Ok," he added, and she looked up and found him placing the tag on her chest and activating it, and her eyes widened.

"I will help you," he said as he gave her a smile.

"Though I do hope in the future you could trust me enough to remove this tag from me," he said as he stood up and began to walk out.

0000

SHIYORI HATTORI-Vice commander of Ame forces

"Where is he!"

"Has he abandoned us!"

"They are heading for us. We have to do something!"

"SHUT UP!" she shouted as the shinobi behind her became silent as she glared at them. Her own heart lept in her chest with lingering doubt and fear, yet she could not let it control her. She had to overcome it, if not for herself, then for the village. For AMEGAKURE!

"He asked us to put our trust in him! He helped cleanse these lands of all those foreign agents, bringing order and safety to our people. Safety that we have not enjoyed for decades! And you all stand here and doubt him!" she shouted and saw some of the Ame forces glance down at her words in embarrassment.

She then pointed towards the direction from where they were sensing the presence of Kiri's army and shouted.

"Those people heading towards us, seek to maim our village. To bring us down, like they have already done, to make it nothing more than a playground for the Five Great Nations!" she said.

"They are strong! Yet they aren't the only ones!" she shouted loudly and saw many of them become nervous at her words.

"Iwa wishes to strike at us as well, and there are even those among us who fail to see the future of these lands!"

"LOOK THERE!" one of her men shouted, and she turned back and stilled as she saw a literal tidal wave rushing towards them, powerful enough to devour them all. The strength of that attack was at such a level that it confirmed the rumors that it was none other than the Mizukage himself leading the Kirir army.

Right now, she stood there with two hundred men; the other half she had sent West to protect against Iwa's incursion as their silver-haired benefactor tried to deal with those rebellious bastards of the Akatsuki.

But now they needed him, and he was not here.

Yet she could not give up. The Ame she had grown up in was one unsafe and destitute, always wallowing in fear of the Great nations, which had basically turned it into their playground, carrying out false flags against each other using their lands.

Hanzo, their lords and protector who had once dreamt of changing the world, joined hands with these men, allowing them to operate in their village for money and power.

And then in a bit over two months, he had changed it all. She had watched him, cleanse their lands of all those foreign invaders with her own eyes, watched as he had brought down the infamous Hanzo the Salamander to his knees, and for a moment it had felt that the dark clouds covering Ame had cracked. And now it was under threat once more.

And without him, it fell to her to stop these men, even at the cost of her own life.

"HOLD THE LINE!" she shouted.

"KATON AND DOTO…."

"That will not be necessary," suddenly, a calm and composed voice cut in from above, and she stilled as she recognized that voice.

And then she felt the tension in the air break, as four figures landed infront of her. Three of them wore that accursed cloak of the Akatsuki, those rebels who controlled the western portion of the village.

Yet in front of them was their leader, clad in a dark cloak, his silver hair drenched in rain and covered his face, as he looked towards her.

"You have done well, Shiori. But I will take it from here," he said as he stepped forward, and she recognized the three people who had arrived with him.

"You! You are the leader of the Akatsuki!" she shouted, angry and enraged; they had caused all that issue, and from some reports, they had joined hands with Konoha to bring down their leader.

"Yes," the orange-haired boy answered.

"Though I believe Akatsuki has been dissolved now," the red-haired boy added, making her frown, and then she finally noticed that all three of them now had headbands on their foreheads, headbands with Amegakure's hitai-ate.

"After today, we are shinobi of Amegakure," the purple-haired girl began as she slowly tapped her forehead protector.

"Yahiko…"
"Nagato…"
"…Konan no Ame, all shinobi of Amegakure led by him!" she said as she pointed towards their silver-haired leader.

"The Kage of Amegakure…"

"…Sharingan no Yūrei!" the girl named Konan announced, and she watched as their leader unwrapped the bandages around his eyes. They fell to the ground, and she stilled as he pulled up his hair, appearing unbothered by the tidal wave headed toward them.

And then she finally saw it: one of his eyes wasn't black like the other but shone a bright red in the darkness of Ame, spinning violently as his chakra rippled through the air.

THRUNG! THRUNG!

"KATON…." She heard him shout as his hands cycled through a set of hand seals before he stopped on the horse hand sign.

"…. MAJESTIC DESTORYER FLAME!"

00000

In another corner of the same village, a snake slithered on the ground, stopping as it reached the remains of a cave that seemed to have only recently caved in, and then moments later, a shin obi stepped out of the shadow stepping up beside the small snake, which slithered up his leg, as he looked at the destroyed cave with glinting golden irises.

"So, this is where you were hiding for all these years…."

"Madara Uchiha!"

0000

YUREI means 'ghost' as Ohashi is now a literal ghost. The name makes sense.

Shiori is like a jounin commander