A Turning Point

The revolution in Amegakure ended quickly.

When Konan returned to the village carrying Hanzō's head, the Rain Ninja who had held their ground laid down their weapons and surrendered.

And Yahiko, carrying Akatsuki's ideals, became Amegakure's new chief.

Whether or not he could achieve them, Yahiko's ideals gave most of Amegakure something to believe in.

With that, Akatsuki ceased to exist as a separate organization and became part of Amegakure.

Two days later, Yahiko sat in what had once been Hanzō's office.

Leading Akatsuki and leading Amegakure both made him a chief, but the jobs were nothing alike.

The former had been like a guerrilla band—or, bluntly, a ragtag mob. The latter was an internationally recognized institution.

Handling village affairs these past few days had left Yahiko run ragged.

"Take a break. You've slept a total of five hours in the last two days."

"I'd like to, but there's still so much to deal with in the village."

The dark circles under Yahiko's eyes stood out.

Only after becoming a ninja of Amegakure did he understand how hard it would be to realize his ideals.

"Many people in the village are waiting to see where we stand on the war," Nagato reminded him.

War was raging outside. Amegakure sat in the middle of the continent, caught between several major Shinobi Villages. Staying out of it would be difficult.

"We won't take part in the Shinobi World War."

Yahiko hoped Amegakure could become a neutral country like the Land of Iron, untouched by any conflict.

"But we promised Kazan we'd work with Konoha. We've put it off for too long."

Yahiko's face fell again.

Their agreement with Kazan did include helping Konoha. Ideally, they would join forces to drive the other villages away and end the fighting.

"You're right. We've put