The village streets were quieter than usual.
Akari walked alone, his steps echoing faintly in the early dawn as mist clung to the rooftops. Despite the peace on the surface, something in the air felt… unsteady. A silence too heavy to be natural.
Whispers had begun—among traders, among shinobi, even among children. Whispers of shifting borders, of clans growing restless, of unseen hands guiding events from the shadows.
He passed by the old training grounds where young genin sparred under the watchful eye of their instructors. Their laughter and shouts should have brought comfort.
Instead, they felt like the last song before the storm.
"Still can't sleep?"
Akari turned. Madara stood behind him, arms crossed, wearing his usual black attire, eyes half-shadowed by his long dark hair.
"I sleep just fine," Akari replied. "But the silence wakes me."
Madara smirked slightly. "You sound like Tobirama."
"Maybe he's not as wrong as we thought."
A pause.
Madara stepped closer, his tone lower, more serious. "You're feeling it too. The unease. The fracture beneath the surface."
Akari nodded. "There's a rot growing in the cracks we pretend not to see."
They walked together, their conversation carried only by the wind.
"Hashirama still believes unity alone will hold it all together," Madara said. "But unity without vigilance is fragile."
"And vigilance without compassion is tyranny," Akari countered. "We need both."
"You're the only one who can say that to my face and live," Madara muttered.
"Then maybe you're the only one who listens."
---
That night, Rui found Akari in the underground archives.
He stood before a long-forgotten scroll, opened across a stone table. Ancient markings detailed an event buried in history—one not found in any official record.
"The masked man," Akari said. "He knew this. It's not just about politics or territory. There's something older at work. Something deeper."
Rui's eyes narrowed. "You think this is a manipulation?"
"I think the world's wounds go further back than we thought. And someone wants to reopen them."
He rolled up the scroll and looked at her. "We need to be ready, Rui. Not just for war."
"For what then?"
Akari's gaze was calm. "For truth."