CHAPTER 11: EYES OF SAMSARA
Ame is beautiful, but in ways much harder to appreciate than Suna or Konoha.
The rain is constant, casting everything in an unfocused haze. The buildings, thin and tall and lethal-looking, climb up high over their heads, ensnared by dull metal pipes that drain away the constant water. Unlike all the other villages he's lived at and been to, this is the only one that embraces the despair that surrounds it so completely and effortlessly.
"Welcome to Amegakure," Konan says, once they pass its fortified gates and expressionless guards. The rain begins in earnest when they make their way over the bridge and through the city, the cold water soaking every fibre of his heavy jacket. Amegakure never lets you forget where you are.
Everywhere they go, people stop to bow to Konan. Lady Angel, they call her reverently. Naruto's eyes are still tender, but he can see that when Konan finally stops, they are standing at the base of a giant structure. Turning his face to the rain, using his hand as a shield, he sees a giant face, tongue curled upwards to the rain and eyes painted with the surreal black rings of the Rinnegan. It towers over the city, dwarfing its other buildings. "This is where you'll be staying with me," she explains.
They leap onto the tongue, which leads to the tower's entrance. Inside, there are a maze of small rooms, wide windows, and large open balconies that extend out to the rain. Konan leads him to his room: a nondescript door along one of the many corridors. No windows, bare metal walls, and a simple bed with sheets that are unexpectedly smooth beneath his fingertips, like the surface of a lake.
There is a mirror next to the door that Konan closes gently. He keeps his eyes shut as he feels his way towards it. Slowly, slowly, when he can feel the cool surface of the mirror, he opens his eyes.
There is no physical pain. The unease he feels goes deeper - as deep as the realms of life and death and rebirth that stare back, through hypnotising rings of black and purple. If he looks long and hard enough, he wonders if he can find Sasuke within its depths.
This vile power is unholy, the Kyuubi growls suddenly.
I need both of your powers, Naruto replies firmly.
It snarls in response.
Exhaustion drenches him abruptly, soaking through his skin, muscles, bone. He can hear the steady drip drip drip of the rainfall from outside. The eyes continue staring back at him as he pushes down the Kyuubi's chakra. His mind starts to race: What have I done? Who am I now? Where do I do from here?
Revolution, he thinks. Revolution, they promise.
He spends the rest of the day sleeping, lulled to sleep by the rain and feeling the strange pulse of the Rinnegan thrumming in his head. He dreams of water, but no Haku or Sasuke. There is so much water everywhere.
The next morning, Konan transports Nagato and Yahiko's bodies in paper coffins to their final resting place: a hall within a building that faces a wide, grey ocean. Naruto ignores the chill that runs down his spine at the vast amount of water that surrounds them, and the clean smell of salt. Inside, marble floors and walls rise up and around them, two imposing marble columns framing the chamber.
There are no waves of chakra emitting from their bodies; their bodies are as still as their tomb, unlike the clear and strong shimmer from Konan. The Rinnegan allows him to see the flow of chakra as clear as day.
Konan places the bodies on a bed of paper roses, in the centre of the shrine. This is where they will rest, for all eternity.
"Should we...say a few words, or something?" Naruto asks, his voices breaking the silence and echoing around them. He almost flinches.
She shakes her head. "Enough words. It's time for some action." She holds his gaze, and Naruto knows she's not talking to him, not really. She's talking to the Rinnegan - to the will of Nagato and Yahiko, who dwell in the depths of his new eyes.
Naruto can only nod.
Before they leave, Konan stops him. "For your friend," she says, extending her hand towards him. On her palm lay a few stems of origami flowers the colour of pristine snow, its edges both sharp and delicate. "When you return to Konoha."
The sharp tears that sting his eyes surprise him, but they are welcomed; at least he knows now he still can cry.
They eat a lot of fish in Ame.
His meals here have been a rotation of salmon stews, grilled mackerel, tuna onigiri, and sashimi of every kind. Most of the time, he picks at his food, missing the simple rice and vegetables he used to take for granted.
As its leader, the fish is delivered right to their tower, and Konan is an accomplished cook. Shame about the ingredients.
"Does seafood not agree with you?" Konan asks a week into his stay at Ame, over dinner.
"No, no, it's great," Naruto replies quickly. "It's not ramen, but it's really fresh and your cooking is really good. I just...don't like the ocean."
"Is it something to do with your friend?" Konan is quiet, but she is quick and razor-sharp. Sakura would like her, Naruto thinks with a pang.
"Yeah. Sasuke...died on a bridge, over an ocean. It was our first mission as a team." The words feel thick and heavy on his tongue, even after all the time that has passed.
"Did you kill the person who took Sasuke away from you?"
Naruto nods, and something in Konan's eyes shine like understanding.
"Nagato killed the person who took Yahiko's life, too."
"What happened?"
"He used the Rinnegan," Konan says simply.
"I used the Kyuubi."
"And now you have both." She sounds almost proud.
Naruto chews, working hard to consciously ignore the slimy texture of fish in his mouth. "How do I train the Rinnegan?"
Konan contemplates the answer. "You don't learn to use the Rinnegan; you merely control its powers. Nagato had a tough time with it at first, but he got better as his goals became clearer."
As if in response, a hum begins deep within his head.
"Where can I practice controlling it?"
"I can bring you to the lower levels of Ame. It's at water-level, so I'm afraid you'll be training on the ocean."
"I'll manage," Naruto says.
"Okay," she replies. "We'll head over after lunch tomorrow."
The next day, Naruto finds his lunch on the table: ramen in miso soup, topped with lots of vegetables. No seafood in sight.
Konan is nowhere to be found; in her place is a note.
Eat up. You will need the energy later.
An hour later, Konan returns. They head out into the drizzle, and straight to the lower levels of Ame. There are interconnected walkways built right on top of the water, and Naruto sees several crates floating in the ocean.
"I was setting things up for you," Konan explains.
"Are they shipping crates…?"
Konan turns to him and smiles. "For fish exports. We do what we can in Ame, as a village unaffiliated with a powerful country."
"Thank you!" he says with a wide grin. "The first thing I want to practice is what I saw Yahiko's body do at Suna...the one that pushes and pulls things away from him."
"The Deva Path powers, Almighty Push and Universal Pull."
"So, no hand signs?"
"The Rinnegan is an ocular power, so everything is entirely by sight and intention."
Naruto hops onto the water, facing the crates that bob in the turbid water. Sight and intention. He raises his hand and directs his focus on the crate, and too easily, it flies straight towards him. Naruto has barely enough time to move away as it soars straight behind him. Konan dissolves into paper as it slams through her and into the wall of the metal building behind her.
It explodes in splinters.
"Shit," he yells in the rain. "Sorry! Are you okay?"
She materialises next to him, not a hair out of place. "Control," she reminds him evenly. "Cleanse yourself of all emotion, and focus your energy into intention."
Naruto's teeth chatter lightly, and he bites down, jaw clenched. The power he's expanding is starting to make him light-headed. The rain and the water and the dampness add an edge of pain to all the emotions churning within, but he can't lose it now. Focus. Control. Intention.
Revolution.