Danzo turned and fled toward Konoha.
Aoki Tsuki fled toward Amegakure.
The screams mixed with the dragon's roar behind them kept them from daring to stop for even a moment.
The two fled for their lives in different directions, with no time to say goodbye. Even from far away, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's might inspired terror that came from the soul.
In the past, Hanzō's core guards had all been arrogant and disdained to speak with him, yet the statue had killed them as easily as chicks.
Aoki Tsuki hurriedly glanced back. Shinonome had already gotten some distance away, but the purple dragon caught up with him and sucked out his soul.
He knew that the wheel of history had begun to turn.
Amegakure's new god had been born, and its old god was about to fall.
Not long after he returned to the village, Hanzō summoned him.
In a dim room, Hanzō sat looking somewhat weary, unease hidden in his eyes. His former commanding presence was gone.
"I didn't expect you to survive under those circumstances..."
Aoki Tsuki dropped to his knees in fright. "My lord, I... I was just too scared... A monster like that isn't something a person can fight... Anyone it gets close to is as good as dead."
He was half acting, but the other half was genuine fear.
His current strength was enough to deal with ordinary people, but he stood no chance against Danzo or Hanzō, let alone a freak like Nagato.
"Forget it! Asking a kid like you to fight it was indeed too much. We suffered heavy losses this time, so I'll promote you to Jonin.
"From now on, continue handling guard and security duty on the perimeter."
Hanzō had had high hopes for Aoki Tsuki, only for him to turn out so timid that he fled in the middle of battle.
In the past, Hanzō would have sent someone like that to the border, but he needed people now, so he could only let it go.
"Thank you for your consideration, my lord."
Aoki Tsuki, however, was delighted. The last thing he wanted was to be valued by an old geezer who was about to kick the bucket.
What was the point of being made first mate on a busted ship that was about to sink?
"Danzo got away too, didn't he?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. He ran much faster than I did!"
"All right, you're dismissed. Remember, you're not to reveal any information about this operation to anyone," Hanzō suddenly said coldly.
Naturally, he wouldn't allow anyone to learn of conduct that damaged his image and authority. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken only his core guards along.
"Rest assured, my lord. I won't breathe a word."
Only after repeatedly giving his assurances did Aoki Tsuki respectfully withdraw from the room.
At noon, Hanzō urgently summoned everyone. Takenaka Osamu, Satō Ichirō, Tsunodahara, Ran'on, and the other few Jonin in the village who were still alive all came.
Hanzō appeared before the gathered crowd.
"Some things have happened, and the village has lost a few people. As of today, Aoki Tsuki, Tanioka, Mino... are promoted to Jonin. Each of you will lead a team responsible for guarding the perimeter."
Everyone immediately began talking among themselves. This was too sudden.
Jonin all had specific posts, and Amegakure was only so big. Every position was already filled.
So many Jonin had been promoted at once, most of whom lacked the strength and qualifications. That could only mean the village's losses had been unusually heavy.
"What happened? So many Jonin died!"
"Just how powerful was the enemy? Have the great ninja villages gone to war with us?"
But Hanzō had no intention of explaining. He simply continued, "Keep strengthening the village's security. Don't let any suspicious people slip through."
"Yes, sir!"
Hanzō turned and left when he was done. Takenaka Osamu, the Jonin responsible for assigning missions, said, "To my fellow Jonin who have just been promoted, please take over your duties as soon as possible."
Kurokawa and Umatsu both stared wide-eyed at Aoki Tsuki.
"Brother, what happened? How did you become a Jonin?"
"Ahem... I'm not very strong, so I was only on guard duty at the perimeter. I don't know the details."
The two clearly didn't believe Aoki Tsuki's explanation, but they couldn't press him either. Lord Hanzō probably didn't want everyone to know.
"I see. Well... congratulations," Kurokawa said, sounding a little envious.
Umatsu chimed in, "Right, right, congratulations..."
"I know becoming a Jonin might sound a little sudden, but isn't this what you wanted?"
Aoki Tsuki knew all too well how unpleasant it felt to watch a coworker become your superior.
"We were joking back then. I didn't think... heh heh..."
Kurokawa scratched his head awkwardly. From now on, he'd have to address him as captain.
Umatsu, however, said, "This is a good thing. With Brother Aoki as our captain, things will be much easier from now on."
"Don't worry, brothers. I'm not the kind of blackhearted captain who likes to squeeze his team members dry. If you don't believe me, ask my old subordinates. Which one of them doesn't praise me?"
Aoki Tsuki took over Satō Ichirō's former post, while Satō had been promoted to one of Hanzō's core guards.
The handover went very smoothly.
"Captain, congratulations on your promotion. You'll always be my captain," Aoki Tsuki said.
How could he not be happy? All of Hanzō's core guards had died, creating a power vacuum.
His old boss had become a core guard, so wouldn't he be able to do as he pleased in the village from now on?
Satō Ichirō, however, wasn't as happy as Aoki Tsuki had imagined. "You should know better than I do that the village has provoked a formidable enemy this time. Even Lord Hanzō was left in such a sorry state.
"Sigh... I really don't want to be a core guard."
Before, he had been a captain of the perimeter guards, taking things easy and planning to see out his days in comfort.
Now that he'd been promoted to core guard, would the enemy spare him when they came for revenge?
Shinonome had spent all day scheming to climb the ranks and finally became one of Hanzō's core guards, only to die so soon afterward.
"Don't worry, Captain. If that day really comes, Lord Hanzō will step in."
Satō Ichirō shook his head. That reassurance had worked for everything before, but not anymore.
Only Hanzō had returned this time, which meant the enemy was at least as strong as he was. Hanzō could no longer protect his own subordinates.
After the handover, Aoki Tsuki had thought he could take over another squad directly.
To his surprise, he was informed that the original squad had been transferred away. The village was preparing to promote a batch of Genin to Chunin and wanted him to pick a new squad himself.
There had been major changes among the perimeter guards as a whole.
Aoki Tsuki saw his former subordinates on the list of newly promoted Chunin and promptly chose the people he knew.
"Ryōta and Shinichi have finally become Chunin too. It wasn't easy."
In addition, Tsunodahara had been promoted to core guard. Aoki Tsuki used his authority as a Jonin to transfer Shioame under his command, forming a squad with Ryōta and Shinichi.
He also picked a Chunin named Takuno to join the team.
There were two squads in total, with three people in each, and he was in charge of assigning their duties.
He used the previous duty arrangement: two shifts, with the squads taking turns on duty. As captain, he was only on duty in the afternoon and the first half of the night.
For him, standing guard and training could be done at the same time, so neither got in the way of the other.
Ever since the last encounter, Hanzō had stayed inside all day without showing himself. The meals delivered to him each day showed that he had begun drinking more often.
"That old geezer's starting to go downhill. Did he take that big a blow?"
Hanzō had rarely drunk before. He had hardly ever lost a battle, let alone fled in defeat like this.
The psychological blow was no small one.
Every month, Aoki Tsuki contacted Root once as usual. Now he could do so openly.
There was nothing much to it; he was just keeping in touch.
There was no longer any information on Hanzō's side worth passing on to Root, so his value in Root's eyes quickly declined. Even the hidden spy had largely stopped contacting him.
It was as if they'd forgotten him.
Aoki Tsuki actually felt a little disappointed.
The only thing Hanzō cared about now was Akatsuki. At first, he asked about them every day, but gradually he stopped asking, choosing to forget.
After Yahiko's death, Akatsuki had gone completely underground and vanished without a trace.
Nothing more was heard about Akatsuki, as if the organization had disappeared entirely with Yahiko's death.
Another six months passed. The main fighting of the Shinobi World War had ended, and the various nations had signed ceasefire agreements one after another. A few local conflicts were of no consequence.
Yet beneath this apparent peace, new undercurrents were beginning to stir.
The only thing Aoki Tsuki could do was make the most of his time to grow stronger, so he would have enough power to protect himself before the crisis arrived.
Fortunately, through persistent effort, his spiritual power had made another breakthrough. He had already built a three-bedroom apartment in his spiritual world.
For example, he could control a mass of water and turn it into various simple shapes.
He could even perform shape transformation with lightning, the most difficult of all.
Most importantly, the breakthrough in his spiritual power had allowed him to take a crucial step toward comprehending natural energy.
One day, Aoki Tsuki went to work with his left hand wrapped in bandages.
"Captain, what happened to you?" Ryōta asked.
Aoki Tsuki explained, "It's nothing. I accidentally sprained it while training. It's no big deal; it'll be fine after a few days of rest."
"I see." Ryōta understood.
Taijutsu-type ninja often got scrapes while training, and he frequently strained his own muscles.
"You've been a guard for half a year now. What do you think of it?"
Ryōta scratched his head and said quietly, "It's really idle!"
"That's how it should be. Among us guards, this is the kind of job you can see out your days in," Aoki Tsuki said with a smile.
He was now one of the perimeter guard captains and a trusted lieutenant of Lord Hanzō. He no longer needed to be as cautious as before.
There weren't many Jonin in the village with more seniority than him.
Since he'd become a Jonin, business at his family's gift shop had improved considerably, and his mother, Eiko, had been incredibly busy lately.
"But I heard the last batch of guards all died..."
"That was a special situation. As long as you follow me and do as I say, you'll be fine."
If they didn't follow his orders, they were sure to die.
Ryōta hurriedly promised, "I'll listen to you, Captain. Whatever you say, I'll do. No one else can change my mind."
The captain was his backer in the village. That relationship had been established when he became a ninja and joined the Aoki Tsuki Squad.
Aoki Tsuki reached out and patted Ryōta on the shoulder. "You've got potential, kid. I could tell you were different the first time I saw you. Work hard under me, and in a few years I'll promote you to Jonin."
"But... Captain, my strength and experience are still nowhere near enough..." Ryōta said in dismay.
"You can improve your strength later, and you can build up experience over time. If I say you're ready, you're ready."
Ryōta dropped straight to his knees. "Captain, I..."
But Aoki Tsuki stopped him. "Don't say it. I understand."
He'd been there himself. How could he not understand what people at the bottom were thinking?
Those words were also meant for the other team members. With his good reputation, the future he promised sounded irresistible, so he wasn't worried they wouldn't buy it.