60 Fleeting Time
Time has passed since the attack from the "Sky peoples", the term used by the majority of the peoples to address the attacker since they haven't been able to ascertain the real identity of the culprit besides few notions because they did not leave any concrete evidence of their identity.
In the three first days, Konoha was busy counting their loss and salvaging things that could be salvaged. The homeless ones were taken to a shelter, The injured ones were taken to the emergency medic bays, and the dead ones were either buried or get cremated.
Somehow, the means of communication to pull back their force that was on a mission were sabotaged and were unable to be used. Thus in the first week, many of Konoha's shinobis that were out on the mission were clueless about the incident.
It was only on the ninth day after Konoha began to pull their force and properly recuperating their own village system as a whole. Chouji and his companion went back to the village and arrived on the third week after the incident while Shikamaru arrived two days earlier than him. Their face was riddled with frustration and regret, they wish they were there at the time.
After, the news spread by the wind and rain along with the grief of the ones left by the deceased. Surprisingly, Konoha was not the only object of the peoples' talk.
[Konoha village was razed to the ground by an unknown force, the death rate of the civilian was high!]
[HOT NEWS! Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha was found dead. The reason for his death was still under investigation.]
[Suna village was attacked by a terrorist organization whom they claimed as the "Akatsuki" Organization at the inauguration of the Fifth Kazekage.]
[HOT NEWS! After the death of the third Hokage, now the leader of Kiri village -The Fourth Mizukage- was found dead!]
[ALERT! The three-tailed beast, Biju of the Kiri village, was nowhere to be found! Kiri village blamed Iwa village for this incident!]
In the first three months, news of tragedies continuously rang on all land. Then after the first three months passed, suddenly there was not any continuation of the terror for nine full months. Just like the calm before the storm, the land became quiet, too quiet to be exact as civilians and shinobis alike were haunted by fear. 'What if we're next?'
Then, as if the world played jokes on them. Their fear proved true after nine months of silence, another series of news spread suddenly like a tidal wave.
---
A man in the prime of his youth was seen inside a serene Pavillion, his eyes were focused as his hand holding a writing brush and stroking the paper scroll before him. His long red-colored hair was loose on his back just like a menacing crimson waterfall that reflecting the dusk sky.
*Pa* *Pa* *Pa*
"Hm?" Hearing the sound of footsteps nearing him, the youth was out of his focus.
"What are you doing Ashina-san?" Hearing his name was called, the red-haired youth turned his head to face the one who called him.
"Oh, it's you Nagato. I wrote a poem here, come here and hear me recite it. Tell me what do you think about it." Ashina smiled as he urged Nagato to sat beside him. "Listen well, okay?"
Ashina then inhaled a deep breath, his eyes gazed afar.
"It's not the moment that it happens,
It's the moment right before,
It's not the rain nor crashing thunder,
It's the calm before the storm,"
His hand raised as if trying to reach the sky, then slowly moved as if he tried to stroke the clouds.
"It's that feeling that you get,
As the sky begins to cry,
It's just you, the wind, and rain,
And you swear that you could fly,"
His gaze softened gazing at the horizon, and just like a man who sees his lover after a long time, Ashina's smile bloomed like never before.
"The stormy clouds demand attention,
And the wind can't be ignored,
It's the love of building tension,
Just before the violent storm,"
He turned his view to Nagato, his smile changed into a teasing grin while his finger pointed at Nagato before he opened his arm widely just like a person who was ready to embrace the vast heaven.
And if you've felt like this before,
Or if it's all that you dream of,
You'll know I'm not talking of rain,
But that I'm talking about love..." [1]
"How is it?" Ashina proudly asked Nagato, waiting for his reaction to the poem he recites.
Nagato nodded to acknowledge Ashina's talent in writing poems. "It's good, but it lacks some feeling... The feeling of pain."
Hearing Nagato's response, Ashina's eyes twitched. "What's with your obsession toward pain? Are you a Sadist or Masochist? Maybe both?" Ashina sighed, he furled the paper scroll and kept it inside his storage seal. "Anyway, get ready for another round of actions. Ah, and don't forget to always keep an eye on the masked man in your organization, okay? I got a kind of uncomfortable feeling from him."
Nagato closed his eyes, his vision stretched to one of his "puppets" inside the Akatsuki base. "Don't worry, he's still inside the base."
Ashina nodded his head, he slowly walked past Nagato and patted him on his shoulder. "Do you know why I add the last sentence to the poem?"
"You mean the love part?"
"Yes, that one." Ashina continuing his walk with the sunset on the horizon as his background. "Do you know, Nagato... The most painful thing in this world is caused by the most beautiful thing, and that is love."
"Love can make you feel happy more than the others, but love is also able to make you feel hurt..." Ashina stopped his step, his vision lowered as he glared at his clenched fist. "...So hurt that it might make you wish you can die to escape the pain. But, there's something you need to do before you'll be able to do so."
"..." Nagato was silent, no words were needed because he too was able to understand what Ashina meant. He needed to realize his late friend's wish to make a world without a war, and to achieve that dream, Nagato chose the path of supremacy and power. He will make the world understand his ideal, through the thing he went through and understand the most...
...The Pain.
---
[BIG NEWS! Iwa's Jinchuriki -Roshi- was almost got killed by Kakuzu, a missing-nin from Takigakure, along with his partner Hidan, a missing-nin from Yugakure, which they both claimed to be part of the "Akatsuki" organization.]
[The Daimyo of the land of water appointed Mangetsu Hoshigaki as the new Mizukage for the Kiri village.]
[The Jinchuriki of the eight-tailed beast, Killer-B of Kumo village, was attacked by members of the Akatsuki organization. Killer-B was gravely injured while his assailants were captured by the Raikage!]
[ALERT! Kumo village was attacked by the Akatsuki, Killer-B's assailants escaped their prison and brought mayhem along their path! The Raikage placed an astronomical bounty on their head!]
[Iwa village was razed to the ground by a member of the Akatsuki organization that goes by the name "Pain".]
---
Another year passed just like that, the peaceful days were back. In Konoha, though most people were still felt fear, as time passed, slowly they came to terms with their current state, and they trying to live their life as normal.
The law and order in the Konoha were restored, the economy was once again flourishing, and happy smiles were adorned peoples' faces. Everything was possible because the noble clans of Konoha lend a great amount of help in all sectors. With the Uchiha was only left with one member, the Akimichi, the Aburame, and the Hyuga clan were the clans with the most contribution to the restoration of the village. Though, the Uchiha was not spared as a part of their land was taken by the village to build another facility for its resident.
Meanwhile, in a part of the village where one of the noble clans of Konoha village resides. A rotund cocoon could be seen resided on a boulder between two bamboo trees, on a branch of a tree nearby, a small bird perched and chirped peacefully.
A bit far to the east, inside a shack made of the same bamboo as its surrounding, two men were seated. And between them, a chessboard was placed with various pieces on it.
"Check!" One of them moved the black bishop piece, he grinned confidently. "This time, you're going to lose!"
With an impassive glance, the other one with the pineapple-like hair moved his white piece to block the black bishop's track. "Oh, really?"
Three moves later, "Checkmate!" The one with the pineapple-like hair declared his win. "You're still not good enough if you want to beat me, Wuhai-san."
Wuhai, still downtrodden because of his umpteenth loss, squatted on the corner while drawing a circle on the floor. "Why do I always lose to you in this kind of game, Shikamaru?"
"I'm just that good." Shikamaru leaned his back on the bamboo wall, he lifted his gaze and gazed at the fleeting cloud outside. 'How times fly...'
"You guys still going at it? It's almost time for lunch, I bring these Bentos for you." A woman in her early teens went inside the shack, on her hand, there were boxes of food filled with various kinds of delicacy. Her eyes darted around, not finding what she intend to find, her gaze fell onto Shikamaru and Wuhai. "By the way, Is Chouji still on it...?"
"Hm..." They both nodded at the same time, each time Ino came to visit she always asked the same question for the past three months and the answers were identical.
"The brat is lucky, I don't know how he achieved it. But, he's able to garner natural energy and refine it inside his body. Making his body literally a nature energy tank, I'd kill for something like that." Wulin's face was full of longing as he said that.
"I don't know which one is creepier, your words or the face you make right now." Ino sighed as she shook her head. "But, to think the things that wrapped him until he looks like a cocoon are natural energies..."
"I wonder how does he achieve that? And he hasn't awake since he's at it three months ago." Shikamaru shrugged his shoulder while wondering.
Ino pouted, her mood was never good since Chouji turned into a cocoon-like thing. "Enough of that. Here, let's eat first..."
---
[1] The calm before the storm, by Katherine Humpert.
https://allpoetry.com/poem/9254737-The-Calm-Before-the-Storm...-by-Kate-Dudley
