Hope for the Ninja World

"How have you been these past few years, Teacher Tsunade?"

Uchiha Naro gradually stepped into view, his tone as casual as if he were greeting a neighbor. Uchiha Shisui followed behind him, diligently fulfilling his duty as a subordinate, much as he once had behind Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Tsunade was facing off against Nagato. She had heard the footsteps, but had never expected them to belong to anyone she knew. Now, hearing the word "Teacher," she turned around in confusion and studied him with a frown for several seconds.

"Who are you?"

She searched her memories, but still couldn't recognize the newcomer.

That was only natural. Naro had been nine when he'd done menial work in the battlefield medical unit. He'd been small and inconspicuous, with baby fat on his face. Many years had passed since then. He was now much taller, his features had sharpened, and his calm, unruffled expression made him seem like an entirely different person from the quiet little Genin who had once kept his head down and worked.

"It's only natural that you don't recognize me, Teacher Tsunade." Naro walked to one side of the clearing and sat down on a rock, turning the standoff into a confrontation among four parties. "After all, it's been years since we last met."

Tsunade stared at him, her frown deepening.

Orochimaru leaned against a stone pillar, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes narrowing slightly as he sized Naro up. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth curled.

"Uchiha Naro." He licked his lips as he spoke the name. "Graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy, sent to the battlefield in the Land of Rain at the age of nine, and did odd jobs in Tsunade's medical unit. Later assigned to a combat squad. Returned to Konoha after the Third Shinobi World War and was assigned to the Uchiha Police Force. An unremarkable record, with no outstanding accomplishments or special contributions."

"Senpai Orochimaru certainly knows the Uchiha Clan's records inside and out." Naro nodded, acknowledging Orochimaru's memory.

"I've always taken an interest in the Uchiha Clan. I've read your file; I just didn't expect you to show up here." As he spoke, Orochimaru kept his eyes on the figure behind Naro: a young man with short black hair and handsome features, dressed in dark clothes, standing quietly like an attendant.

"What interests me more is..." He recognized the man. "Uchiha Shisui? You're still alive? My intelligence reports said you were dead."

Shisui bowed slightly, his expression composed and giving nothing away. He didn't answer any of Orochimaru's questions, simply remaining where he stood.

Orochimaru watched Shisui for several seconds. When Shisui said nothing, he didn't press further. But he knew his intelligence was never wrong. Either this Shisui was an impostor, or he'd used some means to return from the brink of death. Still, this wasn't the time to investigate.

Nagato sat on a chair made of paper and barely glanced at Shisui. He wasn't interested in the Uchiha Clan, or in Konoha and its affairs.

"Why did you call me here?" Nagato's voice came from the west, low and calm. "How did you learn about Yahiko? Are you one of Danzo's people?"

"Danzo?" Naro scoffed and turned to look at Nagato. "He's not fit to lead me."

"Then why did you call me here?" Nagato's voice remained calm, but carried a hint of pressure.

Orochimaru's smile faded as he fixed his gaze on Naro. "Yes, I'd like to know that too. You brought two groups together—no, three, if we count Tsunade. Surely this isn't a reunion."

Orochimaru had revealed Uchiha Naro's identity to Tsunade. She still couldn't reconcile the boy she'd once known with the young man standing before her. Nevertheless, she folded her arms and raised her chin. "Go on. What exactly are you after?"

Three pairs of eyes—a pair of golden, slit-pupiled eyes, a pair of purple Rinnegan, and a pair of amber eyes—all fixed on Naro.

Naro calmly waved his hand. At his signal, Shisui stepped up beside him and pressed one palm downward. A tea table appeared, with a pot of tea and six cups arranged on top.

Uchiha Shisui placed a hand on the teapot. After three or four breaths, steam began to rise from it. He poured tea into all six cups, then offered the first one to Uchiha Naro before picking up the other five and heading toward Tsunade.

"Don't be in a hurry, you three." Uchiha took a sip of tea and set his cup on the table beside him. "Before we discuss business, I'd like to tell a few stories."

"Stories?" Tsunade casually took a cup from the tray and frowned at Naro. Shisui's ability to make things appear out of thin air had just now left everyone present baffled.

"Yes, stories." Naro turned toward Tsunade, looking at her calmly. "Let's start with you, Teacher Tsunade."

"Teacher Tsunade was Senju Hashirama's granddaughter and the last direct descendant of the Senju Clan. She was exceptionally talented from a young age. No one could match her Medical Ninjutsu, and she was also a top-tier Taijutsu user. She once had a younger brother, Senju Nawaki, who idolized their grandfather and was always saying he'd become Hokage when he grew up."

Tsunade's expression shifted slightly.

"The two siblings were very close. Nawaki was always following his sister around, wherever she went. Teacher Tsunade thought that when he grew up, the two of them would lead the Senju Clan forward together. The Senju Clan's glory wouldn't fade just because Great-Uncle and Second-Granduncle had passed away."

Naro's voice was soft, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

"But Nawaki died. He died on the battlefield, right in front of his teacher, Senpai Orochimaru. Teacher Tsunade was on another battlefield at the time. She couldn't get back to him in time."

Tsunade clenched her fists. Naro's words had involuntarily brought her back to the past, to memories she'd never dared to revisit.

"Later, she met Dan Katō at a Jonin meeting. None of the Jonin supported her proposal for a medical team. Even Jiraiya, who had fought alongside her for so long, was against it. Only one person present supported her, and that person was..."

"Dan Katō," Orochimaru finished for Naro, naming the one person who'd supported her.

"That's right. Like her, Dan Katō had ideals and talent. He wanted to become Hokage and protect the people around him. She fell in love with him, thinking that this time, things might have a happy ending."

Naro paused, then tossed the tea in his hand into the air. Under Orochimaru and the others' watchful eyes, it didn't fall to the ground, but vanished into thin air.

In the blink of an eye, a fine, steady rain began to fall over the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools.

"Release!" Everyone except Naro and Shisui formed the hand sign to dispel the genjutsu, but the pattering rain still struck them. It wasn't a genjutsu!

"Dan died too. Just like now, a gentle rain was falling. Dan died on the battlefield, his internal organs crushed. She watched him die right before her eyes and couldn't do anything."

"Enough." Tsunade's voice was low and angry. She had no idea what Uchiha Naro was trying to do. She wanted to attack, but remembered the two men were Uchiha, and found herself unable to bring herself to do it.

Naro didn't stop speaking just because Tsunade had told him to.

"After that, Teacher Tsunade changed. She left Konoha after the war and started gambling and drinking, piling up debts. She developed hemophobia and could no longer hold a scalpel. She turned herself into a useless person because she believed she couldn't save anyone or change anything."

"I said enough!" Tsunade slammed her palm against the stone monument beside her. It shattered, sending fragments flying.

Naro stood there without moving. The fragments flew past him without even brushing his clothes.

"I'm not bringing up Teacher Tsunade's wounds to hurt her." Naro looked at Tsunade. "I want you to see what you could have been, and what you've become."

Tsunade gritted her teeth, her chest heaving, but said nothing more.

"Senpai Orochimaru, it's your turn." Naro turned to Orochimaru. Then he waved his hand, and the drizzle over the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools vanished, as if it had only been a scene in a genjutsu. The damp ground was the only proof that the rain had been real.

The smile vanished from Orochimaru's lips, replaced by wariness. Most people who'd fought on Konoha's battlefields knew about Tsunade's past, but only those close to her knew about her hemophobia. And then there was Uchiha Naro's ability to summon and dispel rain.

"He was a genius as a child. That's what everyone said." Naro's voice was as calm as before. "The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, valued him highly and raised him as his successor. Along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, he was known as one of the Sannin, and won great acclaim during the Second Shinobi World War."

"Back then, everyone thought he'd become the Fourth Hokage. He would inherit his teacher's position and lead Konoha toward an even brighter future. He had the ability, and the ambition. Then one day, his very first student—the student he believed in most, Nawaki—fell before him, his body shattered..."

Orochimaru said nothing, but his slit-pupiled eyes narrowed slightly.

"He changed," Naro said. "He'd witnessed countless deaths and thought he'd learned not to fear anything. But that night, for the first time, he began to fear death. For the first time, he began to question the meaning of life."

"Afterward, with his teacher's help, he began studying forbidden jutsu and conducting human experiments, using living people as test subjects. After the Fourth Hokage died, the Third Hokage suddenly discovered his research. The Third didn't kill him; he let him go. Orochimaru became a rogue ninja from Konoha and was hunted by everyone."

"What are you trying to say?" Orochimaru's voice was a little hoarse. He narrowed his eyes at Uchiha Naro. He'd never told anyone about his fear or his doubts, not even Tsunade or Jiraiya.

"You should have been the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. Instead, you became an S-rank rogue ninja wanted throughout the Ninja World." Naro looked at Orochimaru and shook his head. "Not because you weren't capable enough, but because you were too capable."

Orochimaru fell silent for a few seconds, then laughed. But there was no warmth in his smile.

"Too capable? How do you know whether I'm capable enough now? And what's your purpose in showing up here?"

Naro didn't answer Orochimaru's questions. He shifted his gaze to Nagato and Konan.

"Nagato Uzumaki."

Hearing his identity exposed, Nagato showed no reaction. He simply stared at Naro with his Rinnegan. Konan seemed about to say something, but Nagato stopped her.

"As a child, he was an orphan in the Land of Rain. His parents were killed by Konoha Ninja. Later, after an encounter while fleeing from ninja, he met two other orphans: Yahiko and Konan. The three of them depended on one another and scraped by amid the flames of war."

"Later, they met Jiraiya. When Jiraiya saw Nagato's Rinnegan, he remembered the Great Toad's prophecy and thought Nagato might be the child of destiny. Jiraiya taught all three of them ninjutsu and how to live."

"After Jiraiya left, the three of them founded Akatsuki under Yahiko's leadership. They wanted to change the Land of Rain and the Ninja World through peaceful means. Yahiko came up with their ideals and became the organization's leader. Nagato had the Rinnegan and was their strongest fighter, while Konan handled logistics. The three of them made the perfect team."

Nagato and Konan's expressions shifted slightly.

"But Yahiko died. He died in a conspiracy between Hanzo of the Salamander of the Land of Rain and Konoha's Root. Nagato could only watch him die, unable to do anything."

Nagato gripped the armrest of his paper chair. Behind him, Konan rested a hand on his shoulder. She knew how much Nagato regretted what had happened and was worried he might lose control of his emotions. They didn't yet know what Naro was capable of, and the others present were all Konoha Ninja. They couldn't make the first move.

"After that, Nagato changed. He began to believe that only by making everyone feel the same pain could true peace be achieved. Akatsuki changed from a peaceful organization into a terrorist group. At the urging of certain people, the organization set out to collect the Tailed Beasts and create a massive jutsu, so that the whole world would experience the pain he'd suffered—and then welcome peace after pain."

Nagato was silent for a long time. When his emotions had settled a little, he finally spoke. "Why are you telling us all this?"

Naro faced them all, watching the different expressions on their faces.

"I'm telling you this because all three of you could have become hope for the Ninja World. Tsunade could have become the pillar of the Senju Clan and led it to continued glory. Orochimaru could have become the Fourth Hokage and led Konoha toward a better future. Nagato could have become the savior of the Land of Rain and led Akatsuki to achieve true peace."

He raised a hand and pointed toward the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools.

"Just like the once-prosperous Land of Whirlpools, war and conspiracy took everything and turned you into what you are now. Tsunade became a wandering gambler, Orochimaru became a rogue ninja, and Nagato became a terrorist. You lost everything and became the very people you never wanted to be."

The clearing fell silent, broken only by the sea breeze sweeping through the ruins.

Nagato stared at Naro for several seconds, then glanced at the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools around them. He patted Konan's hand on his shoulder and spoke calmly. "I don't care about what you've said. The past is past. I just want to know why you called me here."

Naro's words had brought Tsunade back to her senses as well. She turned her attention to Uchiha Naro. "That's right. Stop beating around the bush. I don't want to hear about old history."

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Just tell us what you want, kid."

"Fine. I'll be direct." Naro looked at the three of them, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"I called you here to offer you a chance—a chance to change the Ninja World."

"Change the Ninja World?" Tsunade had heard talk like Jiraiya's before, and frowned in displeasure. "And you think you can?"

"I do." Naro said, "I've spent many years researching and successfully created a system of cultivation completely different from chakra cultivation. I call it—the Luck Cultivation System."