XXXXVII: The End

Askia

"So, who is this 'Master,' Lord Hokage? Lord Kazekage?" the Fifth Raikage, Darui, asked. It was the start of the emergency Kage Summit in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It wasn't a grand affair. There had been no parade, no grand procession to mark the arrival of the shinobi world's leading figures. They had come quietly to the village, with the bare minimum of guards accompanying them. This was a time for business, not pageantry.

"We don't know exactly," the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzamaki, answered. "But we do know that whoever they are, they control a large spy network spanning multiple countries, and that they manipulated events to goad the Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf into war."

The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, gestured to stacks of paper that were laid out on the table in front of Darui and the Sixth Mizukage, Chojuro. "We've recovered intelligence that shows the extent of The Master's spy network. The documents before you relate to the Lands of Water and Lightning. Lady Tsuchikage, you should have already received your share of the documents from your shinobi who participated in the investigation into the Village Hidden in the Rain."

The Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, nodded in acknowledgement.

"So then we were right to suspect the Rain when we last met," Chojuro said, leafing through the first few pages of the documents before him. "Is that where this Master has his headquarters?"

"Until recently," Naruto answered. He turned around and gestured to someone standing off the side. Askia stepped out, approaching the table around which sat five people he had until recently thought of as enemies, or at least threats.

"This is Askia, shinobi of the Hidden Rain," Naruto explained. "Until just before the Sand Invasion, he was one of The Master's top lieutenants."

"So then you betrayed your Master?" Darui asked.

Askia took a deep breath before answering. "He betrayed and manipulated me and my village before that. He sold us false promises of peace and past glories restored. In actuality he was just using us to further his own agenda."

"I see," Chojuro said. "I am glad that you were able to aid us."

"One more thing," Naruto stated before walking over to a corner of room where a couple of spare chairs were set up. He grabbed one and put it at the table between Chojuro and his own seat. "This is your's, or whoever becomes the next leader of the Hidden Rain."

"You want the Hidden Rain to have a seat at the Summit?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Not just them," Naruto replied. "I had a talk with Sasuke. He told me about how smaller countries feel left behind by the Great Shinobi Nations, and how The Master used that resentment stemming from that to get the people of the Hidden Rain to support him. So I propose that we open up membership to the other villages, let them feel included in our peace."

"Are we sure about this?" Kurotsuchi questioned. "The Five Great Shinobi Nations are 'great' for a reason. We're the strongest, and the peace we enjoy now was built largely on sacrifices that our peoples made."

Darui tapped his fingers against the table as he considered the issue. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be so certain about that. In the wars of the past the Rain, Grass, and Waterfall villages were all able to be significant players. They, at least, are not so small that they can be ignored."

"I agree," Chojuro said. "One could argue that it is past time for this to happen."

"So it sounds like Leaf, Mist, and Cloud are for this," Gaara commented. "That is already a majority, though I would like to make it clear that I support this motion as well. If nothing else, the machinations of The Master have made it clear that the smaller nations have up to this point been a blind spot that enemies could exploit."

"Very well," Kurotsuchi said. "You've convinced me."

Naruto turned to Askia. "What about you? Will you accept this invitation on behalf of the Village Hidden in the Rain?"

The Rain shinobi averted his eyes, finding himself unable to look at the leaders surrounding him. "Do I have the right? I followed that man, let him use me. I'm not sure that I am capable of leading."

"It's not about what happened in the past," Naruto said. "Not unless you let it matter. It's about what you'll do in the future. Besides, Sasuke told me about how you helped our team out. They don't succeed without you."

The Hokage was grinning at him, Askia noticed as he finally willed himself to look up at the world's greatest shinobi. Smiling, despite the fact that Askia was the one that kidnapped his daughter and helped light the spark for the war in the first place. Askia closed his eyes, fighting back the tears that were starting to well up. "I'll do it," he finally managed to say. "The Village Hidden in the Rain will accept your invitation."

"Great," Naruto replied, giving Askia a celebratory slap on the back, forcing the Rain Shinobi to open his eyes to the world around him. "Come on, take your seat. We've got a lot to talk about if we want to start getting a handle on this Master situation."

Kakashi

Kakashi stood in the Hokage's Office, looking out a window. It was the one that Naruto had broken when he flew off to the Sand village to confront them over the disappearance of Himawari. Now that the conflict with the Sand had been resolved they had finally found the time to fix it. But there was still a lot to deal with.

The current Kage were in the meeting room right now, discussing how best to proceed with dismantling The Master's network. There was an unknown number of hideouts spread out across multiple nations, at least some of which were linked together by teleportation technology they did not know the inner workings of. It would take time to find and dismantle them and who knew what else the enemy was concocting behind the scenes.

With the information that was available to them now, it was a certainty that The Master had also been behind the attack on the Hidden Sound, though the purpose behind it was still unknown. That alone would have been unsettling, but the evidence that a Rinnegan user was among the attackers was alarming to say the least.

Kakashi was also certain that a reanimated Jiraiya was at the enemy's disposal. Neji's return to the living was proof that they knew the Reanimation Summoning Jutsu, and the Hidden Rain had recovered Jiraiya's body and returned it to the Leaf village. The opportunity and means to bring the Toad Sage back were there, and his use of the Rasengan fit with accounts of the murdered Sand patrol.

Then there was Kabuto's imprisonment. Even under an extended genjutsu, Kabuto was such a creative and capable researcher that Kakashi shuddered to think about what threats he could have concocted.

If there was anything these past weeks had taught him, this was no time for Kakashi to be resting on his laurels. He could still be of help to his old students, and there were new ones that could benefit from his tutelage and experience. His thoughts turned to little Sarada, growing up in the shadow of this crisis. She wasn't so little anymore. He smiled as he thought on her proclamation that she would become Hokage, how she reminded him of a mixture of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. She had certainly matured, and Kakashi had no doubt that many of her peers were doing the same.

Kakashi was pulled from his thoughts by the feeling of a presence at his back. He turned to see a figure, shimmering faintly in the dim light.

"Nao," he said, recognizing the speaker from the anti-Sand demonstration he and Naruto had broken up prior to the invasion. "I assume this is some form of projection," he commented, noting how the image in front of him did not seem to be solid.

"Hello, Sixth Hokage, you're as perceptive as I expected you to be," Nao replied.

"I assume you're here at the behest of your Master," Kakashi said.

Nao shook his head. "Not quite right. I serve no master but myself."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as his suspicion grew. "Then you are The Master."

"I am," Nao admitted. "Though I must confess that alias was only for the sake of my public persona in the Hidden Rain. I no longer need it, considering that I have lost my influence there."

"What is your purpose here?" Kakashi asked. "Why are you talking with me?"

"Straight to the point," Nao commented. "You are definitely someone who was forged in the crucible of war, and I suppose that is the purpose of my visit. You and I are alike, we both came up under the auspices of the Third Shinobi World War, and we were shaped by it as shinobi and as people. You became a legend, while I was a nameless nobody who happened to survive, but I need to see how much our thoughts align."

"Thoughts on what?" Kakashi asked.

"On the merits of peace and war," Nao answered.

"Are you one of those zealots who thinks that peace makes people weak?" Kakashi questioned. "Because we've seen enough of that nonsense."

Nao shook his head. "Hardly, peace is necessary. It's kind of like sleep, a period of recovery without which we'd run ourselves into the ground."

"And your metaphor implies that war is when we wake up," Kakashi concluded.

"Indeed," Nao replied. "Look at yourself, at your students. You are who you are because of the wars you fought in. You tested yourselves in battle and came out stronger and wiser for it. But how will that happen for the next generation? I can't fault you or the Seventh Hokage for how you ended the last war, as I said, peace is necessary. But in all honesty, you did your jobs too well. This generation needs it's war, and I will be the one who provides it."

"You're crazy," Kakashi retorted. "War does not build or create anything, it only destroys and kills. If future generations grow up never knowing conflict, they will be happier and more prosperous for it."

"From a certain point of view, I suppose that you are right," Nao said. "However, what about when the next great threat arrives? And make no mistake, a new threat will come sooner or later. Madara and Obito Uchiha worked in the shadows for decades to bring down the shinobi world. Do you honestly think that we would have been prepared to deal with them if the first three World Wars hadn't happened. They were the training grounds for everything we would need to defeat them."

"That's pure conjecture," Kakashi replied. "You can't look at the events of the past and assume a clear line runs through them. You have no way of knowing and no proof."

"The only proof I could show you would require allowing the world to burn," Nao retorted. "I'm not so keen on that idea."

"Enough philosophy," Kakashi said. "We're going to stop you, just like we have before. We'll make sure that future generations can live without the specter of war hanging over their heads."

"You have stopped me," Nao admitted. "Preventing that little war and uprooting me from the Hidden Rain undid years of work and cost me significant resources. But luckily I didn't put all my eggs in one basket and I still have powerful tools available to me."

Kakashi nearly had a heart attack over what happened next. Nao closed his eyes, opening them to reveal a pair of Rinnegan.

"Let me make this clear to you, Sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake," the mastermind said from behind those purple eyes with the ripple pattern. "My only goal is that war happens. It doesn't matter who fights it, who starts, or even who wins it. Which is easier, getting a boulder to roll downhill, or stopping it from ever leaving its perch?" With that the image of Nao disappeared.

Kakashi let out a deep breath before slamming his fist on the Hokage's desk. There was still so much to be done and so little information to do anything with. There was one thing that the Sixth Hokage was certain of: this was not the end.

Author

As you might be able to gather from the title of this chapter and the final line, this is the end of Rain of Shadows, but not the end of the story. This is a monumental moment for me, Rain of Shadows was born of the first idea I ever had for a fanfic, back when the Naruto Manga had just finished. Even though there were some big detours over the years, it is finally done. But, as is sometimes the case, the story grew in the telling, and I feel that a sequel will be necessary. I'm currently working on developing it, under the title 'Growing in the Shadow' (working title, I will update here when and if there are any changes). For those of you who have read through the more than 100,000 words to get to this point, I thank you.