Dark clouds billowed overhead, churning across the sky.
The thick cloud cover blocked out the sunlight.
A light drizzle drifted on the breeze, soft and soothing.
One year had passed.
In Amegakure, in the Land of Rain, little seemed to have changed.
If anything was different, it was that the sallow, gaunt look had vanished from the villagers' faces, replaced by a healthy glow.
Every villager looked forward to the future and believed that the village's tomorrow would be brighter.
Though a curtain of rain hung over the village streets, the fine drizzle was nothing to Amegakure's villagers.
A few children played in the streets, not caring that the rain was soaking their clothes.
As they ran and played, their innocent laughter filled the village with joy and vibrant life.
Their families watched with cheerful smiles, not worried at all about the light rain.
Amegakure's children had been born to live alongside the rain.
At the center of the village, atop a building made of black stone, a young man stood with his narrow eyes half-lidded, gazing down at the scene below.
When he saw the smiles on the children's faces, a look of deep satisfaction spread across his own.
Standing by the window, he murmured,
"Father... Mother... can you see it...? The changes in Amegakure..."
"This village has finally emerged from despair... and it's all thanks to that great man's guidance..."
He slowly raised his head and looked up at the clouds, then continued,
"So..."
"I believe that when that great man returns, the whole world will change as well..."
"And I... would give my life for that noble ideal... I hope that, if you can hear me from beyond the grave... you'll forgive me..."
As his words faded, a complicated look flickered across his narrow eyes.
In