Chapter 11:

The Dawn of Something New

*flashforward: 25 years from now*

6-year-old Minami Uchiha sat on the floor of her grandfather's study. She had been looking at his vast collection of books and journals, an overflowing library containing folk wisdom, medical knowledge, creative entertainment, scientific advancements. As she had been pulling a large, pictured storybook from one of his shelves, a ringed binder had been dislodged from the shelf above. It fell and opened, and Sakura found herself looking at a scary-looking man with a killer gaze, bared teeth and a large sword over his shoulder. She had just picked up the book and had scrambled to return it to the shelf when her mother entered.

"Minami! Your grandfather's home, come help me set up the kitchen… What's that you've got there?" Sakura Uchiha, formerly Sakura Uzumaki, walked into the room, drying her hands of on her apron. She wore a simple home dress with a white apron, her bubblegum pink hair tied in a long ponytail. Sakura looked down at her daughter with her big green eyes. "Nothing, mommy. This book just fell down and I was putting it back."

Sakura took the book from her daughter's hands and studied the cover. It was an old bingo book, from some eight or nine years ago, containing intelligence on the most dangerous criminals of that time period. Nearly all the rogue ninja in this book had been caught or compromised. Sakura was proud to say her husband, parents, uncles and aunts had been instrumental in that endeavour… as well as the Fourth, Fifth, and the current Sixth Hokage.

Minami's Grandpa Nagato walked in, hair dishevelled, shrugging his unzipped flak jacket off his shoulders. He crossed past his daughter and granddaughter and collapsed in his favourite armchair, closed his eyes and rubbed them. Sakura slunk over to him and sat on the arm of his chair next to him. "Your granddaughter's been looking at an old bingo book. I can't believe you still have them lying around."

Minami's eyes grew wide with natural curiosity. "What's a bingo book?"

Nagato answered, "It's a book all about bad ninja, evil ninja, who want to hurt other people."

Minami shuddered. "That's horrible."

Sakura smiled. "Well, that's your daddy's job, and your grandpa's, to keep the people in this village safe from all those bad guys."

Minami came up to where Nagato sat. "Do you know any of these people?"

Nagato grimaced, "Sure, if you want more of a scary story."

Minami's ears remained tuned. Nagato looked into his granddaughter's puppy-dog eyes until finally, he cracked. He laughed. "Alright, alright, you little rascal, come up here."

He picked up his granddaughter, book and all, and put her in his lap. He browsed through the names of the rogue ninja, trying to find a story worth telling. Finally he came upon the names of the members of an organisation. An organisation that had once threatened the existence of not just Konoha, but the whole world. An organisation full of S-rank ninja with rivers of blood on their hands. He thought back of their very first action, seizing the attention of all major Shinobi nations.

"Five years ago, the Village known as the Village Hidden In The Rain.. which is where daddy was born… was a very different place than it is now. It was ruled by a ninja called Hanzo, who was so strong, even Grandpa Jiraiya couldn't beat him. It was a miserable and sad place, but it was strongly guarded and very well-protected. Then one day, they came.

They came like ghosts in the night, mysterious assassins of the highest class and rank. They came from the skies, the sea, under the ground, and by sieging the entrances. There were only nine of them, collectively facing an army of over a hundred well-trained Shinobi. They feared not, and they struck. By morning they had razed the land, and all traces of the village were destroyed. Not a single person was left by morning. And Hanzo lay dead in the ruins of what had once been his tower."

Minami's eyes were wide with fear. "They killed everybody?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Nagato looked at her. "No. There was one man among them, who wanted no meaningless bloodshed. The leader of the organisation was not among them, but this man gave the order that no man, woman or child should be so much as touched unless they fought for Hanzo, and even if they did, killing was strictly prohibited. This man was so powerful, even these fearless assassins didn't dare disobey him."

Minami mouthed the word 'Wow'. "What happened to them?"

Nagato, aware his darling little girl was scared now, cuddled her close. "Don't you worry, sweetie, they won't bother you, they're all dead now."

"All of them?"

"Except one."

"Who?"

Nagato smiled.

*present*

Yahiko had grown. Everybody could notice it. Since his promotion to Jounin (the last to be promoted), he had adopted a businesslike demeanour when talking to those under him, however, around his old gang he was still the same old goofball he had always been. Nagato and Minato had been placed under the Third Hokage's direct command thanks to their incredible talents and prowess. Konan was a renowned medical ninja, almost on par with Tsunade herself. Kushina had married Minato and was currently pregnant with their first child.

If Yahiko had to pinpoint the moment he had decided to become something more than a joker and a lightheart, he would point to the moment his twin daughters were born. Pippi and Tsuri were angelic, bluehaired baby girls, just turning two this autumn. Yahiko had been so caught up with his peaceful life at Konoha, he had grown lazy and rusty. But when his girls were born, he had begun to train again. He was promoted to Jounin and worked harder than ever. He had begun an organisation, which he called the Akatsuki, with the purpose of protecting the helpless villages scattered throughout the country, and the world, when they were threatened. His ultimate goal was to one day return to his home country of the Hidden Rain, peacefully, and show his daughters the place where their parents hailed from.

Now he seldom spent a day free, he was always in his office, so Konan only saw him at nights when he was exhausted. But he always made time for his wife and kids, and made it clear to her, they came first in his life, over everything.

Minato, Nagato, Pinako, and Konan had all joined the Akatsuki, as well as over three dozen other ninja they had collected from the ransacked villages and trained, including those from Konoha sympathetic to their goal. His most trusted lieutenants, besides his siblings, were Kosuke the Swift, known for his speed, Jirolo Pameke, for his strength, and Hagame Sakamoto, for his undying loyalty. Yahiko's organisation had been officially authorised by the Third Hokage, and was independently requested for missions by outsiders, for a cost much cheaper than any Shinobi Village's. To prevent bankrupting them, however, the Akatsuki were only allowed a specific criteria of independent missions, namely SOS calls from non-ninja areas outside the Land of Fire. Although Yahiko avoided leaving the village as much as possible, his job as leader was a tough one.

But he always remained in high spirits, good terms with his friends, always making time for his family and siblings. It wasn't until his dear little girls turned six that he changed. And he was never the same again.

25 years later, Nagato sat and watched the dying embers in his fireplace. Minami and Sakura watched him with concern, but he was lost in his thought, red eyes reflected the orange flames. A shadow crossed his face as he recalled the events of that night, and the terrible burden his friend had carried.

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Yeahhhh, so this chapter is nothing special. I'm having serious writer's block right now and I don't know how to write the following events compellingly. The next two chapters are pretty bloody and serious, so I hope I can kick it by then. Hope you guys enjoyed reading, and as always, enjoy and review Look forward to the next one!