The journey through Frost, Hot Water, Sound and Waterfall goes as planned. She checks on her old contacts where she used to cash in her bounties. Long deserted and empty, the only sign of human life were old muddy footprints. She buries the old building in rubble and moves on. She spends a month just like this: going back and forth from the minor countries. Divulging in their culture, attending cultural festivals dressed in civilian clothing tofeela bit of normalcy she had missed out on when she was younger.
Healing,her mind whispers as watches dozens of dancers in the streets, clothed in elaborate clothes and headpieces. They glide through almost effortlessly, a sign telling of hard practice and diligence. She attends as many temples as she sees, taking the trek up high in the mountains as the civilians have done before her. Slowly, carefully, respectfully. She finds long forgotten temples deep in the forests and high on top of mountains, bridges rotting away and the like. Tamako rebuilds them, follows the path and rises to the small temple and pays her respects with two claps and a prayer to the forgotten gods.
Hidden Waterfall, or Takigakure, is beautiful. A tree almost as large as Konoha digs its roots deep into a large pool of water. It was a natural phenomenon.
Though, she wasn't sure she was well received. There was only one way in, and the real entrance was so well hidden that after being turned away by patrol, she leaves the country. She understands.
She's dangerous, capable of ruining a country. They are wary of her, and that's fine.
She heads back west and in Iron and meets with the Samurai. Unlike Shinobi, the Samurai possess differing ideologies that saved them strife from the First, Second and Third War. Their country is peaceful and many of their citizens have not seen a true long war. It's because of this sole fact that the Shinobi Union, the successor to the Allied Shinobi Forces, is based in Iron.
In an almost ironic show of hand, Shikamaru was promoted to be the Chief Organizer after his former Warden role in the Hozuki Castle Prison ended. The poor guy always seemed like someone who wanted to live an easy life, but always found himself in positions of high power.
She attends one particular meeting after Shikamaru finds her holed up at Iron's capital enjoying a quiet dinner to herself. A large personal hotpot ofsukiyakiwas in front of her, wafting in a delicious aroma. It was a splurge definitely, but the Raikage paid very well and now her pouch was swell for the next few months. She was planning on attending a Tuna Cutting Show but Shikamaru ruined her plans.
"Attend a meeting, would you?" Shikamaru asks after sliding into the seat next to her, gesturing towards a waiter before ordering a plate of dumplings. "It would help me out a lot."
She raises an eyebrow at him, chopsticks separating the fish from bone as the sukiyaki bubbled and boiled. "How could I even possibly help you out? I don't know a thing about diplomacy." Tamako reasoned, meticulously removing every single bone to the side until she was satisfied.
He waves her off, smoke lazily rising from the cigarette nestled between his index and thumb. "Your presence alone would do good."
She shrugs and goes, finding herself as abodyguardfor Shikamaru along with Rock Lee. The green-clad man waves at her enthusiastically, "Hello Tamako-san!" His voice reaches to every inch of the room, gaining impossible amounts of attention.
"H-hello Lee..." She whispers back, trying so hard not to glare at Shikamaru's smug face as he settles into his seat at the round table. As she folds her arms behind her back behind Shikamaru's chair, she studies the attendees and sighs quietly.
Lightning had brought Darui and Omoi, Sand with Kankuro and Temari, Rock with the Tsuchikage's son and granddaughter and Mist with Chojuro.
She feels the side of her cheeks warm when Temari's gaze burns her skin.Promise to write home, they said.
Well, she forgot.
The members of the Shinobi Union discuss their worries and problems, devising solutions to the issue of low count of shinobi and the growing numbers of terrorist groups that seem to be on the rise.
The problem was about what she'd predicted. Low manpower to throw around, in efforts to bolster their new friendship and numbers, Mist proposes a partnership with Cloud to undergo a joint training exercise together. As two nations that were the closest to each other, Cloud responds not in denial, but in interest.
It would take another year to finalize the plans and eligible shinobi, but it was the start. A lot of young shinobi, mostly single in their twenties or early thirties and male, were going missing. There was a search going on, but from what the details reported, they've left on their own accord. Became missing-nin. There were a plethora of reasons for why, some may not have agreed with the new peace, others have demons that have not been quelled since the war.
It's difficult to accept the fact that their mother's or father's killers are now their allies. It's still something many haven't adjusted to, even after fighting the war together. But with such an impossible enemy vanquished, there wasn't really a reason to stick together.
What matters is that this new joint exercise brings new opportunities for the ninja of the two nations which could be an incentive.
The topic of the missing-nin ends and another topic is sprung forth. The recovery of each village.
Rock complains of their food shortage due to missing out on time to prioritize the War and found itself in a deficit to feed its people. She feels multiple sets of eyes on her and she chooses to close her eyes and shift her head to the left. Don't look at her... she's just a bodyguard...
Shikamaru proposes that Fire could lend Rock some of this year's harvest in exchange for minerals and ores as Konoha was still rebuilding and Kurotsuchi is appeased for now. It's no secret that the Land of Earth had very little harvestable and fertile land, it was this very reason why the Second and Third War had risen.
While Shikamaru's solution effectively put some tape on the overflowing dam, Tamako could see that this would be a problem later down the line if not addressed appropriately. She can only hope that Rock would stay cool and not stray back towards war and conquering the minor countries around them.
Well, she's sure that Shikamaru and this fun little Shinobi Union could figure it out.
Mist details without any sugar coating, a lot of their shinobi dislike the era of peace. There have been uprisings against the current Mizukage but have been successfully quelled so far. They were in the transitory phase away from their old Chigiri, or Bloody Mist, era and asked the rest of the four to respect their wishes in dealing with the rebels on their own.
Cloud responds by detailing that they'll increase patrols alongside the shoreline between them and Mist and will deal with any runaways themselves. Though, if possible, they'll deport the prisoners back to Mist to deal.
Nothing too surprising there. While it seemed like no one was walking on eggshells, there were fake smiles and slight passive-aggressiveness every so often. "Is that so? It seems that Suna has been prospering for some time."
Temari smiled at the Iwa delegates, her fingers laced together as she talked with her seafoam eyes closed. "Of course. Since Suna has warm weather all year around and we are able to control the humidity thus capable of maximizing our fields all year round. We are just about to have our second harvest."
Tamako blinked up at the news. That was good! This would be Suna's first successful harvest without her. She'd already had one good harvest with them while she maintained the fields. She's honestly never seen so much fruit at the local markets all around the village. It wasn't just the markets in District 1 that were thriving. Maybe the next time she stops by, she could work a little more on that moat that surrounded the village. It would be nice to see fish swimming in the clean water. Maybe one day a common hobby of Suna couldbefishing, not just something the high-class could divulge in.
"It's all thanks to avery special shinobi of Suna."
Tamako chokes on her saliva when multiple pairs of eyes find her.
"Thatspecialshinobi you mentioned..." Kurotsuchi says lightly, a smirk on her face. "Well, she's not so much of a Suna Shinobi anymore isn't she? You won't be too mad if I invite her over, no?"
Kankuro flinched at Temari's burning stare as she bit out her words with gritted teeth and a smile. "No. We. Will. Not."
"Perfect!" Kurotsuchi's hands clasped together before she smiled at Tamako. "I believe you'll have no qualms?"
"Yes?" Tamako blinks a few times, her voice high pitched as she responds back with confusion.
"Good, good. Then it's safe to say that the meeting is adjourned. I'll see you guys next month!" The red-clad woman bolts out of her seat and grabs Tamako before either Temari or Shikamaru could spare her some words. "Let's go, let's go!"
"A-ah..!"
She lets herself be dragged away, confusion all over her face. What the hell did she just agree to? Tamako spots right before they turn the corner of an angry Temari scolding Shikamaru who can only raise both his arms in surrender with a sheepish look on his face.
...was this another Nara ploy?
Kurotsuchi releases her hold and smiles at her. "It's good to finally meet you. Heard a lot, seen a lot." She points back at the delegation room with her thumb. "I visited Suna two months ago to check out the railway system they were starting to implement. You developed fertile land ina desertin just a quarter of a year. We of Iwa are very interested in bothyouand the work you could do." She then waves, shaking her head. "Though, this isn't the best place to discuss such matters. Why won't you travel back to the Earth Country with me? You are heading there, aren't you?"
Why did it seem like everyone was keeping an eye on her all the time? Her damn bleeding heart, she can't help but leave a mark in each place she visits. It was easy to keep an eye on her with her recent philanthropic spree. Small village to the Great Villages, she erected homes for many and all. It was so easy to do so when she could create a country of forests. A home is even easier. It was the least she could do with the power she had at her fingertips.
And it felt cathartic to do so.
It reminded her of her Genin days. Reminds her of Suna.
She thinks of Toyama Saeki, her most trusted advisor and manager during the Suna Projects. That girl had handled so much of the legal aspects but still had the time to find Tamako the proper people to deal with the pipe workings and such. Without her, that dream would have been casted so far away.
That girl... Tamako wonders how far along the railway system has developed so far. How much has Suna grown? Had they finished the pediatrics side of the hospital? The new civilian clinic?
Perhaps after dealing with Iwa she would visit her home country.
She turns to Kurotsuchi with a smile. "Sure, why not?"
. . .
To the everyday normal citizen, legendary figures such as Uchiha Madara or Uzumaki Naruto are unknown to them. Their everyday life was spent tending to their farms, their little shops and little towns.
The Earth Country is massive. It stretches left, past the standard continental map, their rocky terrain mixing with large bamboo forests. If she ever passed the border like she'd done in her youth, she would find people who never had seen shinobi before. Just like the Land of Redaku.
Tamako keeps a steady ear open as Kurotsuchi speaks, divulging in the culture of her home. She recognizes a few of the traditions the red-clad woman speaks of, familiar to them thanks to Deidara.
It's been almost a year since she'd seen him. Eleven months to be precise. In three weeks it would be her birthday again.
She remembers her seventeenth birthday vividly. She celebrated it with Akatsuki as they prepared for war. Konan's soft congratulations, Deidara's explosive fireworks, Kisame's heavy hand on her shoulder, Sasori's obsessive hugs, the sunset with Itachi on the shoreline.
It was the first time she'd ever celebrated her birthday. With the smallest of cakes with a stupid little candle. A single candle that illuminated her face as she blew it out.
She turns back to Kurotsuchi , thinking of her Akatsuki.
"Have you been in contact with Deidara?"
Kurotsuchi's face scrunches. "Deidara-nii?" Then huffs, arms crossed as she pouts. "He won't come back home!"
Tamako pulls a poker face, trying not to crack a grin at the mental image of Deidara being a disobeying tomcat. "Why not?"
"Yeah, why!?" The short haired girl ruffles her own hair. "Is it because of that massive debt?"
"Debt?" Tamako asks, blinking. Deidara has debt? Since when? How? Deidara wasn't someone to splurge on anythingbutart. In fact, she'd seen the savings account he had in Iron under a pseudonym. He had a diverse portfolio for a then twenty-year old so Deidara, who often than not upheld the three prohibitions for shinobi, haddebt?
"Yeah... when Deidara-nii stole the forbidden jutsu, he blew up a quarter of the village during his escape. No one died, but there was massive damage to the infrastructure."
That... could explain it. Though, Deidara shouldn't be broke. Before Akatsuki had started the whole kidnapping Bijuu business, they mostly ran missions to fill the Ame coffers. By all means, Deidara should have at least two to three years of good income. She's seen his bank account.
Plus, when Kakazu and Hidan hit the coffins, they'd split up Kakazu's savings. Or, whatever that was lying around. The man had wisely invested a lot of it into multiple ventures, a very wide portfolio that Tamako really didn't want to stick around. One of them was this illegal cage fight between Kekkei Genkai users. What matters is that they liquidized what they could and split it between the interested members: Tamako, Itachi, Kisame and a hefty cut to Ame. If she recalls, she had handed the fat stack of bills to Deidara offhandedly before rushing towards the whole Uchiha fiasco.
"I'll talk to him." Tamako finally offers, albeit a little guilty. Deidara should have the money to pay it off... unless the amount was so scary that he ran off— "Hey, how much is the debt?"
Kurotsuchi glances up, her brows pulling as she recalls with a snap to her fingers. "Ah, about 2.3 billion ryo."
Tamako physically recoils.
That's around 2,300 S-Rank missions. One of the longest active shinobi in their prime, Hatake Kakashi, has completed 1,141 missions lifetime. Of those, only 42 were S-Ranked.
Deidara was fucked.
. . .
Tucked between mountains with rough terrain was the Hidden Village of Rock.
Iwa was a dull village with gray buildings and seldom bright blue rooftops. Dull on the eyes, it felt sort of brutalist. Incredibly mountainous with sharp mountains that surrounded the Village, she could spot the smallest of a waterfall in the far back. Like Kumo, Iwa was nestled high up and rested between mountains for protection the very same.
Though really, did everything really have to be made of rock? Even Cloud had some wood gates, bridges and even painted them too! They had glass that made the village look nice. Iwa... Iwa was just gray rock.
Densely packed, each building touched another. Some had gardens on their flat rooftops.
She could see why Iwagakure ranked so highly in military and population, and saw the ramifications of a low economy. She thought Kiri was bad, but Iwa was even worse off.
Kurotsuchi easily reads Tamako's expression with a shrug. "It's not as visually pleasing as Cloud or bright as Leaf, but our buildings are sturdy enough for earthquakes and can be easily repaired in case of one."
Yeah. She could tell.
Large buildings with a flat base, the tallest thing around was probably the Tsuchikage Tower based on the Iwa symbol etched on it.
Tamako sighs, brushing her hair to the side.
"We aren't proud of it." Kurotsuchi says. "But we want to improve our home. Iwa has spent it's life waging war and hence neglected herself. We want your help to change it. Help us like how you helped Suna."
Onyx eyes survey the land before her once more. Brutalist architecture, plain and gray. Dreary even. It would need a lot of work. A few months perhaps. Something inside of her pangs at that thought but she steels forward. She could improve the living of so many.
But more importantly...
"So that's why you guys thought to raise the entire Village several hundred feet in the air?" She points at the raised platform, almost impressed. A nearby civilian tripped, plummeting several hundred feet before being caught by an on-patrol shinobi.
Kurotsuchi stuck out her tongue playfully and glanced away with a nervous grin. "Ehe."
Tamako smacked her forehead.
Iwagakure took inspiration from Suna a little too directly. Like Suna, the entire village was raised on a platform, but instead of rice paddies and fields that surrounded Suna in a downward slope, Iwa had fastened tall rounded-out walls for protection. Quite literally, it was half an orb.
"Jii-chan thought it was a good idea. With the war, more civilians were moving in. We were running into a housing problem. This way, we could start housing them downwards alongside the walls. For sunlight and ventilation. Not a bad idea, right..?"
Tamako merely flattened her expression before stretching her hand forward. "Give me a handful of your best Doton users, a few contract workers for plumbing and electrical, as well as for roadmaps."
Kurotsuchi turns red. "...we don't have plumbing."
Tamako recoils again.
"You guys don't have any plumbing? No sewer systems? What about clean water?"
"We rely on the lake north of here. It fills up throughout the rainy season down the waterfall. We have what we call Water Hour, twice a day. One in the morning before the sun rises and another after the sun sets where civilians in the village head to collect water."
Tamako sighs heavily, brushing through her hair that now reached the small back of her. What was she expecting from the Village thatstillused wood and bamboo backpacks? Did they even know what healthcare is? Knowing Iwa's track record with Konoha and Tsunade, probably not.
They at least have a hospital, right?
. . .
It turns out that yes, Iwa did have the concept of a hospital. Free healthcare? Not so much. The state of Iwa was almost medieval. It was a little impressive that Iwa could have beef with Konoha, SunaandKiri and still be standing. It probably had to do with their previous Jinchūriki to be fair. Iwa's Jinchūriki were infamous during the war, strong enough to force the Toad Sage and his team, which included the Yellow Flash himself, to retreat. That's how intimidating and strong Rōshi and Han were.
After receiving several hundred permits, because if it's one thing Iwa liked to do, it was to leave hundreds of paper trails in case they wanted to pursue a lawsuit, she was ready.
The problem with Iwagakure was that they had no sewer systems. They of course wanted to improve their poor infrastructure and already blueprinted a few ideas. One that Tamako liked the most, was to chip away at the already raised platform the Village was sitting on into the Village a half-dome and combat their lack of flat land to create an underground system that mimicked the underground roads of Suna, but on a larger scale. Thanks to the natural ores of Iwa, this was highly doable. The problem would be outsourcing the water, and according to the map she was given, the nearest largest water source was a few kilometers from Iwa.
If they wanted the... architecture phenomena of theirs to work out, they were going to have to quickly learn how pumps and pipes work.
So they got to work.
Tamako camped out near the lake for several weeks as they installed several prototypes of pumps, more often or not they malfunctioned and had to be replaced. From then, they installed a large water tank to store the pumped up water which sent the filtered water through the pipes at a fixed rate that ensured the large tank never filled up fully. The next two weeks were spent connecting the long pipes together underground. Tamako took the liberty to place a few seals to reinforce.
With the help of Kitsuchi, son of the Third Tsuchikage and father of Kurotsuchi, the two shinobi worked together to shift the entirety of Iwagakure several hundred meters higher than before. Kitsuchi was possibly the greatest Doton user Tamako ever had the pleasure to meet. From there, a platoon with two dozen began to round the edges and weld the pumps to the side of the wall as the two watched with their arms crossed.
They conversed as the sun moved slowly across the sky. Tentatively and carefully, trying not to poke holes at each other. Tamako had grown up in Suna where the textbooks wrote Iwa as their worst enemy. The worst things you could imagine, Suna made sure to blame Iwa for every war horror. Propaganda for sure, but many of these stories weren't built from just lies and deceit. She still remembers when she awaited at the gates for her Genin Team. Shivering in the cold, huffs of air visible as the Chunin guard conversed with her. His story rubbed her wrong, that mission that morning had changed everything.
She holds no personal hate for Iwa.
But that does not change the fact that she is from Sand, and he from Rock.
Two elements, not so different from each other. Some claim that sand is the accumulation of weathered rock. In the end, even if the shapes, size and feel are different, they are still built of the same material.
They got along swimmingly at the end of the day.
. . .
They section the circular village into nine districts. Separated by merely a long and large paved road that led to the Iwagakure Tower in the center. The number nine's significance isn't lost on Tamako though.
Nine to represent the nine Tailed Beasts. Nine that meant long lasting. For mortal happiness, longevity and good luck.
Government buildings scattered around the Kage Tower, Tamako ensured that the main hospital was laid not too far from Mission Headquarters and several smaller clinics throughout the village. Parks by residential area, communal training away from the civilian districts, it was shaping very well.
The roadmap was even more interesting. To combat the fight against space, Iwagakure had its roads underground to take advantage of the space on top. Each building was tightly constructed to preserve space, its roads almost reminded her of a metro system of an advanced society and throughout the village were small entrances to the underpass.
Due to the heat accumulation, there were several vents to ensure the underpass wouldn't overheat and were incredibly wide and tall. There were already a few take-out restaurants and small sit-downs in-business, but the real money makers were small spread out department stores alongside the road.
Of course, she didn't plan the Village overnight by herself. The Tsushikage had his weathered hands dipped into every process and scrutiny, butting heads with her at any given possible moment. It was one thing to trust a former Suna Shinobi like her, it was another to settle on common ground. But either way, Onoki has overseen Iwagakure to see three generations live and die for Iwa.
"Iwagakure is almost an entirely different village now.."
Onoki huffs, floating to her side with crossed arms. "I've been Tsuchikage since the second war! Under my rule, Iwa has neither flourished nor withered. Her people are durable as stone, unweathered like obsidian." He raises a brow at her. "Yet perhaps rock should be as malleable as sand. It's our ultimate form after time."
He folds his arms behind his back and floats slightly to the left, his back facing her as he stares down at his Village. Green forests to the far back she had conjured, the two reservoirs full of water that steadily stored more and more with the pumps that hugged the sides of the dome. His people had access to water, plumbing, gas and other necessities. All that's missing was probably health insurance.
Almost as if he had sensed her thoughts, Onoki turns to her, his large bulbous nose twitching. "You've done my people a great service. As promised, I've erased Deidara's debt with your labor."
The things she does for dumb blondes.
"But of course, you wouldn't be happy with your coffers empty, would you?"
Tamako perks up. She was fully expecting this job to finish without any coin, but shewasgetting a little low since her stay in Cloud. She may have partaken in too many luxury inns...
"What do you have in store?"
He grins. "Don't play the fool. I'm very close with the Raikage, who's geographically close to Kiri." He pauses, sniffing to the side as he stroked his long white beard. "Konoha plans to spread their Medical Ninjutsu in a program of theirs in the next year or so with the Fifth's apprentice to lead. Though, my people cannot wait that long." He gestures to the flooded gates. Thousands of refuges lining out from the entrance with everything they owned on their backs. "More and more are joining, my remaining shinobi are preoccupied enough that we cannot spare any of them to learn Medical Ninjutsu."
"You want Karin's seals." Tamako says blandly.
"I'm under the presumption that it was a combined venture between the two, no?" He squints at her. "Don't tell me you didn't give the platinum goose to Kiri, but a golden one ..."
She pauses, almost unsure. She helped, but the true foundation was all Karin. She'd planned to give this entirely to Karin, but telling this to the Tsuchikage could paint a larger target on the Uzumaki's back. Tamako knows that Suigetsu is by her side, as well as Kisame, but still...
Might as well getsomesort of payment. If the deal goes through, Karin would have a steady buyer and income. That's the least she could do for her favorite redhead. "Pay in gold and I'll go ahead and put in the large order. For old time's sake, I'll even deliver the first batch to you myself. Steady monthly shipments based on demand going forward." Onoki slaps her outstretched hand away with a grin.
"Deals like this are done in paper and red seal."
Tamako almost rolls her eyes. Iwa and their obsession with paper.
. . .
She spends a week back in Kirigakure, using her handy and convenient Hiraishin hung from a kunai by the Kiri Network. It's only been four months but Karin still hangs onto her like it's been several decades. Life in the Mist has done good for Karin. Her skin was glowing, her hair... well it was a bit frizzy but the girl had a shaved undercut to combat how fluffed up it would get. It suited her.
"How was it? I mean, Cloud and all." Karin begins, red eyes sparkling as she presses up her body against Tamako.
"Fine." Tamako muses, brushing her red hair from her face and tucking it back behind Karin's ears. "Beautiful, I guess."
"Ooh, I just have so much to show you!" Karin gushes, positively shaking with glee. "Suigetsu!" She barks out suddenly, "Get my things!"
The Hozuki can only sigh, stomping back to a nice traditional house. Karin smiles at her, "Please, come in!" The Uzumaki leads her in, settles her down onto a nice low table with dozens of scrolls, ink jars and paper. The desk is messy, ink droplets coating the surface but she could tell that this table was once a sleek dark cedar table.
Karin drags another cushion to her before plopping down to lean against Tamako. Her fingers quickly rift through the journal before pulling out a few unpinned paper. "Take a look, I think I truly completed those medical seals we talked about!"
There were three different seals layed out in front of her. The first one was simple in nature. Karin had mastered Tamako's unique sealing formula and language and these seals were written in them.
Absorb, expel, and mend. Were the first notes, then scribbles upon scribbles littered with undertones of more medical jargon. Karin was no trained healer, the girl healed through instinct. If what the seal says to be true, then Karin had essentially mimicked her own life force and chakra prowess to heal within the seal. Its power duration was quite low, so it wouldn't be able to heal missing limbs, organs or anything lethal. Cuts, bruises, even first degree wounds were fair game. Anything superficial, this level of seal could fix up.
The second seal was more complicated than the first. There were additional notes ofsuspendandstopfor the flowing of blood, however this seal acted more like a "first-aid" and to be used on the move. Field missions perhaps.
The last, was very complicated. Instead of storing medical ninjutsu like the two others as a single use, it came preinstalled with a small amount as a "guide" of sorts. Capable of assisting Medical Ninjutsu, it could be a good tool to help students learn and show how it's done. It's potency... Tamako could guess it could heal up to 2nd degree burns of particle thickness and mend bones with a beginner, and much more with an expert. It mimicked those Medicinal Seals that were painted on the ground to increase the chances of survival for difficult surgeries, but on a lesser scale. Its main selling point was its learning factor and reusability.
Honestly, Karin could get extremely rich by this alone. Added to the fact that the seals here needed Karin's unique Uzumaki chakra to activate. No one could even possibly begin to mimic her work to such a degree.
"You've actually done it." She said softly, placing down the journal gently and turning to Karin. "With this... the survival rate of missions could increase tenfold."
"Y-you think so?" Karin says, hands shaking.
Tamako nods back, taking Karin's shaking hands into her own, squeezing lightly "Yes. This will change the world." She meets her eye to eye. "I have a potential client for you. Only if you want to accept it."
"O-of course! I mean, as long as they're good people... I don't want this to fall into the wrong hands."
"It's Iwagakure." Tamako supplies, "Their people do not have widespread Medical Ninjutsu. They could use it."
"Then there's no debate about it." Karin grins, folding her sleeves with a brush in her hand. "I'll make a hundred more—no! I'll make five hundred more!" She grabs the chakra paper and dips her brush into the inkwell.
Before Tamako could even say another word, Karin was off in her own little world, mumbling phrases with a focused stare and her expression singled onto the task at hand.
Well, Tamako thought, resting her chin on her palm as she leaned against the table with a smile,Karin had always been able to enter that necessary headspace for seals. It's no wonder she's better than me. Hell, she's probably the best in the world.
I wonder what Jiraiya would've made of her.
. . .
The deal between Iwa and Kariko, the joint business between Karin and Tamako, goes through swiftly. At the end of the week, she returns to Iwa with a sealed scroll, handed to the Tsuchikage himself and in return, a small chest filled with gold bars. Tamako seals that into a different scroll and her snake swallows it before slithering out the window.
Kurotsuchi gives her a strange look before peering at the stacks of paper with hidden interest. "So these are capable of healing? They don't look much." She squints a little harder. "Weird symbols too, it's a whole lot different from the standard seals like the explosive ones."
"It's formulated in my unique sealing formula that I'd crafted during the war." She smiles at them, her eyes closing at the motion. "While I don't think it's impossible to cypher, it'll pose a bit of difficulty."
Kurotsuchi tches, crossing her arms. "I wasnotthinking about that." She says, lying through her teeth.
Onoki cuts in with a twitch. "We'll send a quota three weeks in advance along with half the payment. Will that be alright?"
"Give or take, yes. We'll be exporting by ship to Cloud, then on the rail tracks towards Rock. So we'll account for the delay."
"Hmmf. That's fine."
It's silent for an awkward few seconds before Tamako finally speaks. "Then, if that's all, I'll be leaving Iwa."
"Don't be a stranger!" Kurotsuchi says, grinning and waving at her. "Iwa will never forget this." She pulls out something from her flakjacket and throws it. Tamako catches it easily and blinks at the Iwa Headband.
"Kurotsuchi!" Onoki scolds.
"What?" She says back, a smirk on her face. "She's done more than what a lot of Iwa Shinobi have done. She's built our home and at this point, we won't say no if she's looking for one too."
Tamako opens her mouth to respond, her voice dying in her throat. She folds the headband carefully and stores it into her breast pocket. "Thanks Kurotsuchi." She turns to face the door and stretches to reach for it. "Hopefully the next time I visit, you, my friend, will take the mantle of Tsuchikage and Onoki-dono can rest easy."
She waves behind her and leaves.
. . .
October rolls around in quiet somber, marking a full year since the War.
Three days was all it took for fifty percent of all Shinobi to perish. Do you know how long it took to burn those bodies? All forty thousand of them. A bonfire that did not extinguish for a week, smoke and smog dusting her lungs as it floated towards the air. Ash flying as they raised towards the Pure Lands.
She pays her respects as she goes.
In Grass, she visits Kanabi Bridge where the Yellow Flash felled one-thousand Rock Shinobi. This once key point that held the livelihood of the Land of Earth, connecting the large nation to its once breadbasket was now rusty and falling apart.
She left a bouquet of flowers grown from Mokuton at both ends and moves on.
The forests of bamboo, rice paddies as far as the eye can see. Orchids that filled fields until they touched oak, Grass really is a breadbasket. Food is plentiful here despite the war. Prices were reasonable unlike in Frost and Hot Water where things had gotten extremely expensive.
Before Nagato had died, the border between Rain and Grass was like night and day. Dark clouds that rained and rained. Right at the border was sunlight, and after the border was rain. Now, the border was less dramatic.
Of course, it was still much more cloudy however they didn't seem like they would pop any second, yet the air was moist and thick. The rainy season had just ended after all, it wouldn't be until mid-October until the heavy air would lift.
While small, Amegakure was industrialized as ever. Towering metal skyscrapers, neon signs and billboards littered about. At the tip of each skyscraper were power lines that Tamako delicately balanced on as she walked the tightrope towards her favorite monument.
She had both good and bad memories of Amegakure.
So beautiful that it reminded her of the past. A city that never slept, neon signs and never ending bright lights at night.
She hops down from the powerline and sits on the tip of tongue of a statue's face that juts out from the tallest building in Rain. It faces the whole village, overcasting in a way that felt like Nagato was still here, watching over his beloved city. The statue's long tongue hung a metal lantern that glowed a soft orange, its eyes painted in sharp orange and purple rings at the orbs. Dozens of metal pipes held the face to the building tightly.
"Oh Nagato." She whispers in the wind, basking in the light rain that fell. "You used to spend hours on this seat. Looking over your village. I wonder what you were thinking of."
The Statue does not respond, only the sound of metal creaking as the winds brushed by.
"Naruto won." She says finally after a long period of silence. "The war ended, and now the nations are recovering. Rain will too." Tamako looks at the clouds, letting the rain pelt down her face. "I'll ensure it." Her hair slick against her face, she continues to converse with her legs swinging over the edge. "I've traveled to every single country for the past seven months. I helped when I could, aided when I could. Connected the Five Elemental Nations in a way where this alliance couldn't end so easily." She pauses, thinking.
"Nagato, is this what you saw for the future? What you've hoped for?" Her fingers idly brush her wet bangs from her face. "I hope so. No nation will be left behind. Not again, never again."
She feels the gentle sway of chakra before she hears the shuffling of paper as Konan materializes in front of her. Her large paper wingspan keeps her high in the air. "You came back."
Tamako nods back. "I did."
The two stare at each other, rain now pelting down hard. "Come." Konan says, thin squares of paper flying off her body as her voice echoes.
She stares at the empty space, then to the sky one last time. "This is it, Nagato. My goodbye. From me to you. A man I had feared, to a man who did right at his very last breath."
She flexes her chakra and flickers away.
. . .
The Akatsuki base is no more. It had transformed into the Amekage Tower. The large meeting room became Konan's office, decorated in sharp and bright murals against the plain gray metal. The old bedrooms of each Akatsuki Member are now storage rooms. The damn living room with the dirtiest couch and the smallest TV with the squeakiest coffee table was replaced with leather seats against the walls. A tall lamp and refreshers to the side. There was a new hallway that led to Konon's office and the old training rooms were still training rooms.
Tamako had spotted several dozen seals glued to the walls, hidden thanks to Konan's paper jutsu. It blended in easily, but she could feel the faint chakra waves they emitted and the slight peelings of the old ones.
"You've renovated everything."
Konan nods, as if pleased. "I've always wanted to change this tower, just never given a reason to." She turns to the bright murals, her palm touching them.
They were beautiful.
Ten murals lined the walls. Bright red paint for the Jashin Symbol with four colorful masks at each gap, weaved together as if they were a set. A dark blue shark curled around a sharp exotic fuma shuriken. A hand with its palm faced outwards with a mouth, strings attached to the tips of the fingers that connected to a marionette. A dark orange swirled mask with a single eye-opening, plants and vines growing from the single hole and devouring its figure. Then a lonesome pale white snake with sharp fangs. At the very end was a deep purple quartz, flowers, vines and small trees growing around and through it.
They were large, taking the entire room. At the ceiling were three murals combined into one large one, intertwined. A paper crane on the left, an orange cloud in the middle, and finally an orb of purple rings.
"I'm not ashamed of the Akatsuki." Konan says, reflecting with crossed arms. "It's my history, and history cannot be overlooked nor rewritten. I can only face it."
"Nevertheless, it's beautiful."
Konan smiles. "Thank you." The woman sheds her black coat and hangs it on her chair. "Now, tell me. How was the world?"
. . .
It felt right to mourn in Ame where it always rains.
On October 8, the city fell into a low hush. Hundreds of paper lanterns are released into the sky, the rain light enough where they could still fly. They fill the sky in a soft orange glow against the dreary gray and Tamako watches.
Sasori is by her side, gazing up and memorizing it.
He lives in the moment now, no longer looking for the eternal.
His fingers twitch as he guides the thousands of rice paper lanterns higher and higher, as far as his chakra strings could reach when the rain gets heavier. After a few more minutes, they all go dark, plunging into the sea to be eaten by the fish.
The cycle continues.
On October 9, the city dresses in white. The neon lights are cut off and the city gathers at the very top of the Amekage Tower. There, Konan rests in the air, her long wings spread out as she gives out her speech.
Civilians and Shinobi alike bow lightly at her words, murmuring prayers in the air as the clouds make way for the sun to shine down on her.
Konan had always been an angel to her.
At the final few words, Konan gently descends to the ground, her feet touching and white paper rushes from the ground. They gather into a ball, swirling and swishing as Tamako walks forward and takes her place. The ball rises into the air, higher and higher and Konan gives the signal.
She signs carefully, gently and slowly in both for show and respect. The crowd sees her weave the signs and she cups her mouth and breathes fire. Instantly, the ball of paper coated with oil combusts into flames at contact, ash rising and swerving towards the sky as Konan hurls it higher. "Let our prayers reach to the fallen, reach them high in the Pure Lands. Let them rest as we honor them. For the peace we have all fought for, for the peace we have struggled for."
The crowd speaks in unison. "For peace." They all cry in unison, mourning their loved ones. They were not mourning the Fourth War, but the First, Second and Third. Generation trauma, it will heal after time but in the end no matter the reason or cause, war is unforgiving.
On October 10, the city is decorated with hanging banners and lanterns. Neon nights blazing out in sparkling colors and the clouds have finally revealed the night sky. There are booths of street food, small games that children and adults play to win small prizes. Snacks and food, all provided by the city.
She molds a crystal fox and a wooden tanuki to play with the children, escaping their clutches and finds herself sitting between Deidara and Sasori. They exchange soft words, no longer screaming of their respective art's superiority.
Deidara found himself working at the mines, using his controlled explosions to mine material to build the skyscrapers even higher. Sasori had begun teaching at the new hospital of ointments and poisons. Though from what Sasori has been muttering, it'll probably end soon.
Even after all these years, Sasori's patience was still very thin.
Yet it was still nice to know that these two were keeping themselves busy in non-criminal activity.
"It's nice and all." Deidara begins, flipping his hair behind his shoulder. "But I've found something far more interesting."
"Hmm?"
He grins loudly, the mouths on his palm sticking out playfully. "Just wait a little bit more. It's almost time."
"Time for what?"
"The brat's been experimenting with his explosives." Sasori says, an unfazed look on his face. "It's not... bad."
"Hah! Admit it Sasori no danna, it's a work of art!"
"Hmmf!" Sasori crosses his arms and flicks his head to the side.
Even after all this time... seeing an expressional Sasori is still weird.
"Oh, oh, it's time!" Deidara grabs her shoulder and points at the sky.
Tamako squints when she hears a loudpop. Just barely, she could spot one of Deidara's clay sculptures far up in the sky above them. And then,boom.
Dozens of colors spread through the sky, popping and popping as they filled out shapes and messages. Tamako laughs, standing up with her arms spread out. "Fireworks!? Oh Deidara, this is—!"
The fireworks spoke a message. A story.
A story of Akatsuki.
"This isamazing."
A salamander who swallows three flies, laying eggs of red clouds. They hatch and seek solitude together, gathering those around them.
A blue shark is betrayed.
A scorpion captured and tamed.
An old traditional mask that fades away.
The symbol of Jashin who does the same.
The white snake who sheds.
A fuma shuriken that bleeds.
A green plant that turns black.
Yellow bird that crashed.
And a jewel that cracks.
The firework show lasted for fifteen minutes, but it felt so much shorter than that.
An orange swirl in the sky, a red dagger stabbing through it before a bulbous tree grew with scatteredpops.At one point, several red clouds appeared in the sky before slowly warping into white.
The lastboomrevealed a large red cloud breaking apart, then a cluster of smaller fireworks that popped afterwards. The symbols Five Great Nations, then followed by the minor nations.
"As the greatest artist, I took upon this project with sincerity and—"
Tamako sprung forward and hugged Deidara as tightly as she could. He blinked, then his arms wrapped around her body and rested his head on her shoulder. "Oh you dumb blonde." She says, gripping him a little tighter. "Don't ruin the moment, why don't you."
Stupid stupid stupid Deidara. Who said he crashed?This wasAkatsuki'shistory. Something that they were a part of. Nearly died for.
Deidara lets out a wet laugh.
Sasori rolls his eyes, the crease of his lip turned up.
She loved and hated the Akatsuki, happiness and bitterness balled up in messy strings but in the end, this washerAkatsuki.
. . .
As much as she wanted to stay in Rain for another month or six to help out, Konan had everything handled. As for Deidara, he was a little fed up with the rain.
"I'll travel the world! Show them my fireworks and claim the title as the best pyrotechnic!"
Sasori and Tamako roll their eyes at Deidara's statement. At least he wasn't a terrorist bomber for hire anymore.
Sasori on the other hand, was content with Ame. He had his own office and private laboratory, his private garden and only needed to work whenever he felt like it. She's always pegged Sasori as a bit antisocial so this suited him just fine. Though, he might just up and leave one day for greener grass.
Suna was always an option. She could pull some strings.
And that left Konan.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay a little longer? I mean... I can—"
"Go home, Tamako." Konan says, an unimpressed look on her face. "Haven't you been avoiding home a little too long?"
She flushes red at the other woman's face. "N-no, I haven't!"
"Face whatever fears you have, less you drown in them. You know that you'll always have a home in Ame if the need arises."
Tamako deflates. "That's..."
Konan gives her a stern look. "Go home." The edges of her lips twitch into a hint of a grin. "Just remember to invite me to the wedding."
She sputters out, an ugly red hue on her face with wide eyes. "T-tha—that's..!"
"Wedding!?" Deidara grabs her shoulders and shakes her back and forth. "Who's the bastard? Do I know them? I better know them. I can't just have somerandomsweep you away! Are they strong? They have to be stronger than me. More handsome than me, and—"
Tamako flails under his hold. "There's no wedding!"
"Good." Sasori says unimpressed with his brows pulled.
Konan shakes her head to the side and sighs.
It takes Tamako another thirty minutes to finally leave Rain and another three hours to get Deidara off her back. The stupid blonde followed her all the way to the Wind border! She had promised him to exchange letters with him every month which finally subsided the bomber.
Now that she's reached the fork of the road, she has two options.
One, return to Suna.
Or two, Konoha.
Right? Or left?
Her feet pick a direction, softly hitting the soft dirt before it picks up speed. They glide through the mud effortlessly with chakra coating the soles, then it turns to a run, then a full on sprint. She flies through the forests with the rush of blood and adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her hair messily brushes her cheek, and justfinallyshe reaches close enough distance to start warping.
Onewarp, she kneels to the ground.Twoshe lands on her two feet.Threeand she's in front of a river. Her name etched onto the tree. There's a figure standing by the cliff overlooking the vast river, silently and quietly.
They twitch at her chakra, long dark bangs swishing to the side as they turn their head.
She grins at them, taking a step forward before blowing her stray bang from her eyes and patting away a leaf stuck to her clothes. "I'm back." Tamako says lightly
Itachi mirrors her face, the softest of expressions and the warmest eyes. "Welcome back."