CATACLYSM

Rain kept pouring all over the damp ground of Amegakure. To most Villagers, this is just a regular occurrence. But to those who now reside in Hanzo's former palace, this rain, could mean something else.

Konan: "D-dea...?!" she with a discordant tone. "Kie , a-and Kyusuke...a-a-and the others?! They're d-dead?! What the hell do you mean by that!"

Black Zetsu: "Having a dissonant tone shouldn't be a Lady's attribute. You better keep calm and..."

GuruGuru (The Spiral Zetsu): "...acCept the faCt that your fRiends are gOne for gOod! Besides, tHeY're sOoO wEAk... thEy'Re jUst a nUisAncE to thE mOthEr EaRth!"

Konan: "INSOLENT!"

Nagato: "Give it a rest, Konan. Only fools would wail in agony for losing those b*llshits!"

Konan: "but Nagato!" she chastised, "...how could you say that?! They are our friends!"

Nagato: "I don't keep useless friends on my list. They're the ones who opposed me and my postulations for the new Akatsuki. I won't be needing such crude existence." he turned to the Black Zetsu. "On the other hand, I thank you for disposing those fools on my behalf."

Black Zetsu: "The pleasure is our's..." the Spiral Zetsu laughs on the background

Konan: "Are you out of your mind, Nagato?! What would Yahiko say to all of this, huh?! Do you think he would be proud to what you have bec—"

Nagato: "YAHIKO WAS DEAD, KONAN!" his voice was so intense, it rendered Konan startled. "HE'S NOW GONE! HE WON'T BE WITH US ANYMORE! IT'S POINTLESS TO HAVE HIS POST-PRESENCE AS OUR MORAL COMPASS! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! BUT I AM STILL HERE, AND SO ARE YOU!..."

"AND THIS WORLD..." there's a bitter-tone in his voice, "WILL NEVER CEASE TO EXIST ALL BECAUSE OUR YAHIKO IS DEAD. YOU GOT IT?!"

"WHAT LEFT NOW, IS OUR DREAM. DREAM OF A PURIFIED WORLD! AND IT WON'T HAPPEN UNLESS WE FIGHT FOR IT! I WILL CREATE A WORLD WHERE FRIENDS DON'T HAVE TO DIE IN THE HANDS OF ANOTHER SHINOBI! AND NO MORE CHILDREN WILL BE ORPHANED BY THIS CRUEL WAR!"

"AKATSUKI WILL PURIFY THIS WORLD. LEST THEY KNOW PAIN, THE WORLD WON'T UNDERSTAND THE TRUE VALUE OF PEACE."

SOMETIMES, YOU MUST HURT IN ORDER TO KNOW, FALL IN ORDER TO GROW, LOSE IN ORDER TO WIN. BECAUSE LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS ARE LEARNED THRU PAIN. AND, THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND PAIN, CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND TRUE PEACE!" he faced Konan once again, "Are you with me, Konan?!"

Shock. Grief. Disbelief. Are the hurling emotions that played on Konan's head and burdened chest. She had lost Yahiko, one of her dear old friends, and the rest of the Akatsuki's members. Now, she's about to witness Nagato's unbecoming. His old sweet-friendly-nature, slowly disintegrates into a sadistic, megalomaniac.

No words dare to escape from Konan's mouth. She now finds herself at a crossroad. One that leads to justice with an implication of vehement suffering and destruction; while uncertainty awaits the other. Nagato's sly innuendo, suddenly cuts her off from her thought and what would eventually brought her to a point of no return.

Nagato: "If you are not with me, better yet leave without the name of the Akatsuki, else you'll be my enemy.

An appalled Konan only bit her lip in response...

Meanwhile,

The whole Coliseum juddered with the catchphrase "ALL HAIL KING ZAHARD!" which puzzled Natsu a.k.a Obito and his troop. "King Zah...who?" he asked, but it was Kahyo who shut him off. "Shhh! Shut up and bow your head!"

Zahard talking in the background

"Let me ask you something. What am I to you people? I was the first one to climb the Tower. I was the greatest Fisherman in battle. And I pioneered a civilization of mutual understanding among the people of the Tower. But you probably know me best by a different word. The word... 'King'"

"So when I say, silent. You must be silent."

"Bow my what?! NO WAY! I don't bow to anyone! Much more to a stranger!" Obito hesitated

But Kahyo's hand was quick enough to grab his head and lowered it down with force "Just shut up and do it! That's King Zahard, he's the famed King here!"

In a blink of an eye, they are joined at the center by mysterious figure who Kahyo identified as King Zahard. Natsu, who's head slightly bent due to Kahyo's guiding hand, turned and see face to face the man of the hour.

"You don't seem like a normal spectator. Tell me, who are you?" Zahard asked.

Obito could feel Kahyo's hand tremble as it rest at the back of his head. Who is this guy? Why is he so feared and respected by the entire populace? Those are the thoughts that buzzing in the young Uchiha's mind.

As if he can read the stranger's mind Zahard, the ruler of the mysterious tower, say out loud "When there was no one else in this tower, it was I who rallied the first inhabitants to climb and conquer the highest floors. Upto this time that I finally gained full control and dominion all over this place, they call me King Zahard.

"Without me, this place would hardly exist. And without this place, you common people won't have a stage of entertainment you know as the Coliseum." he went on.

"K-King Zahard, pardon me. But he's just a lone traveller who came across our Village and...and he found a way to sneak in. I was about to dispatch him but..."Kahyo reasoned out, but a cold straight-up look from Zahard's bloodshot eyes made her quiver.

Obito felt the tension, and he immediately dismiss the mysterious figure. "Look, I don't care who you are. And what you did for this f*cking absurd place. I'm only hear to fetch this mouse behind me" he points at Zabusa, "This dude needs a fair trial, but since you guys have lousy sense of justice. I came all the way here just to put an end to this crazy nonsense!"

"Nonsense? Is that what you think?"

"Z-Zahard, I mean, K-King Zahard, please! I implore your mercy, this man is..." Kahyo made another attempt of reasoning before the revered King Zahard, but to no avail.

"Shh."

Obito dared to reprimand the famed figure by saying, "hey, that's not how you treat a girl, did your mom ever tell you that?!"

"SHIT. JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" Kahyo scolded him. But before she could say another word, she was thrown in mid-air in just a whip of a water. A possible work of shinsoo.

Enraged, Obito quickly forms a handseal, but Zahard already deduced his actions managed to grab him by the neck, right before Kahyo fell on the ground. "You seem to have a lot of things to say. Let me get this straight. I have no time to spare with you. But if I must,"

A gate suddenly opened at the far end corner in just a glance of Zahard's hetero-chromatic eyes. "I think I have better plans for you. Let's see if you could keep up with your own words..."

When the gate fully opened, another mysterious figure came out. Dragging a long iron shackles with him as he walk toward the centerstage where Obito, Zahard and the others await.

Kahyo, squint her eyes. And struggle to find her balance after a solid, grueling fall. But the mere sight of the mysterious figure, who slowly revealed as an old man ragged man, gives her the chills and utter surprise. "This can't be!" she gasped.

Zabusa, who stand quietly throughout the whole incident, barely managed to cut the thick rope with Kahyo's pocket knife out of shock and disbelief on the sight of the new mysterious figure. "What the fu—!"

The young Uchiha, still on Zahard's grasp, managed to let out a cry of complaint "UGH! Who says Kirigakure has a penchant for dramatic entrance? So who is it this time, huh ?!"

But Kahyo's great astonishment, only elevated Natsu's growing confusion.

"THIRD MIZUKAGE !?"

(O_O) !

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This chapter will be updated soon!

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