58

Thunder roared above a dark-caked sky, while clouds rain liquid upon the slushed earth, making puddles in which the feet of men and beasts sank to the ankles.

The storm swept eastward with a wild wind that whipped up the clouds into billows, and threw down rain, hail, snow, or sleet, without regard for its own season.

The old Hokage sighed, as he gazed through the gloom of his chamber window at the turmoil of the heavens all alone, he had already sent his guard Anbus out of the room as he shook his head.

"Truly", The old man said aloud, "Is there not a sad lot of us, who have been doomed to die like this, just because we are born in the wrong era?"

"Indeed Hokage sama. Being weak is the biggest crime one can commit during such pressing times", replied the voice from behind him.

The Ghostly voice had made itself scarce since the conversation began — it was so dark and gloomy in the room that he preferred to lurk about by the open door rather than remain there, in front of the great Hokage.

The old man's voice rang clear through the still air, "You must have some guts to stand in front of me once again, despite the circumstances..."

It took a moment for Ghost to reply, his voice was firm and full of life; "My guts stem from my strength sir; your friend taught me such..."

The Hokage nodded his approval at the answer but continued speaking as if he did not hear, "Certainly. Danzo gave everything to teach you; skills, secrets, and yet...", Hokage sighed, "I heard what Danzo did..."

Thunder grumbled outside, lightening up the room with its flashes, even so, Hokage continued, "I admit, he was wrong, but don't you think your revenge is going way too far...?! You massacred his entire clan; killed countless civilians, destroyed his prestige, send the elders to prison, and take away all his hope of ever returning to this village!"

Ghost didn't interrupt the Hokage's words; his mask was illuminated by the bright flashes of lightning from time to time...

"He lost everything in so little time, and I don't even know what's in the store for him in the future. If he is not dead already. And I am not even mentioning blackmailing me just so he could not get out of this predicament..."

"I tried to be reasonable sir", The Ghostly voice said, "I took no action when they forced Sakumo sensei to do suicide, I remained quiet when he did not let me help Kushina sensei that day, I said nothing when he ordered me to kill Kakashi, and I spoke nothing when he told me to kill sensei's only son to get the tail beast inside him, I have always been docile..."

"..."

"Then why? why did Danzo sama come after my people just to fulfill his ambitions? Is it because he thinks I am easy to bully..?!"

The old Hokage sighed and Ghost continued.

"He hoped that I would destroy Iwagakure in a fit of rage, he knew Iwagakure would not have stood quiet once I murder their Tsuchikage, he knew we would win this war, and he also knew that when the war is over, he would get control over Konoha and Iwa simultaneously"

Hokage listened quietly, not interrupting the shadow...

"...Your body is not gonna last another war anyway, you are getting old. Jiraiya sensei and Tsunade sensei are not interested in Hokage's postion. Danzo would be the perfect choice for the fifth Hokage, why do I get to be the puppet in all of this..!"

"Then you think Danzo is foolish and then get back to me. Why did you have to do what you did?", the old man said, his eyes on the stormy sky.

"I did. I did come to you", the lightning cracked with the voice

"You told me you didn't have the power, I become your double agent, gave you control over the elders, gave you information that no one could have ever given you, I did everything you asked but you did nothing in return. You had a chance, a clear shot, and yet, you just sat and watch, doing nothing"

Hokage frowned...

"I get it, you got someone like me so effortlessly, gaining my services was easy, you wanted to take advantage of it... of me, to do things that no one could have ever accomplished. I have the leadership of the assassination squad just so you can continue to keep me as a puppet, I understand that but as it stands now, this has to end, they crossed the line, and you will do it soon enough as well..."

"..."

"For years, I have not complained, for years, I have done as you said, for years... I have been docile. But now, I am fed up with all of this...!"

"What about you then..?! You are just a monster anyway. A killing machine to be exact. You kill without mercy. You destroy lives without any consideration. Why are you being so emotional about one of your men going down, you are the assassination squad head, and your team goes to extreme missions every time, so what's your point..?!"

Ghost didn't reply immediately and then spoke in a low voice, "Because the one who died was my trusted comrade...", Ghost's voice replied making Hokage frown...

"Yes, I kill without consideration. Without consideration, without guilt, and without regrets; but even someone messed up like me knows that I must never harm my comrades..! Comrade is not just a word... Sakumo sensei taught me that..."

Hokage sighed, this is all about Sakumo again, even years after his death, his spirit haunts him in one way or another...

"When he died, I became the Ghost of Konoha, but I never stopped believing in what he taught me, not even once. That's why I am always so tough on my guys, always training them so that they don't die like a dog on the street..."

"So once you and your friends went after my guys, I could not let go until the end...", Ghost continued in a calm voice.

The Hokage nodded, his eyes gazing at the stormy skies, thinking of something to say when finally he spoke, "Then why spare me? I was the mastermind behind Sakumo's demise, and I am pretty sure you know that I will do the same with you once this is all over. There is no reason for you to spare me..."

"I am not sparing you Hokage sama" Ghost's voice chortled, "I am doing this for myself. You can do what no one else can. You are the light of this village, our chosen leader, someone who can teach the new generation the true meaning behind the will of fire, and until you do that, I will not let you die on my watch...!"

The voice in the darkness had been muffled with loud and thunderous lightning, but its message rang through the dark night like a bell tolling, making the Hokage sigh with frustration.

And when the loud thunder went silent, the air of the room stood still, save for the storm, and the rain that continued to pelt the window glass as Ghost vanished in thin air...

There was not a sound in the room. Then suddenly, a blast of loud thunder shook the old man's chamber. The storm had returned.

The lightning flashed once again, this time illuminating the shadow of the Ghostly being standing on the Hokage mountain.

And there he was — the Shinobi whom the entire world was scared of, the one they called the most dangerous man alive — Ghost— the greatest assassin of them all and the man who never fails.

Taking out his flute, he stood still and smirked, "Let the hunt begin!!", and he vanished into the darkness.

The weather continued like a madman's head — tossing from side to side as he walked across a stage. It could not be otherwise. For the summer had been spent, it seemed, in pouring forth heat and dryness and dust.

...

~~Kumogakure~~

In the empty air above the village of Kumogakure, a battle between the lightning and a raging whirlwind was taking place. The storm had swept through the sky without heed of the sun or moon as if possessed by some kind of dark intent.

The clouds boiled up to the heavens and lightning crackled around the black mass that rained down from the sky.

Thunder echoed across the skies. The lightning illuminated the village with light, and then darkness.

The three-story building stood in the center of the village — the Raikage's residence. Even from this distance, there was no mistaking that the house had suffered great damage. One side wall and its roof were completely gone as though it had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

The windows were blown out, and the doors were thrown open as though they had been torn off. The ground below the window had sunk into a puddle of water and mud.

It was apparent at once what had caused the damage. Ghost. Even after years, Kumogakure is still recovering from his passing, and even now Ghost's name is whispered among the villagers in fear.

The ground trembled as another loud thunder went off. Raikage sighed, it had been a long day and his mind had grown weary.

"Raikage sama!", A shadow spoke in a whispered voice

"What is it?!"

"Raikage sama, Konoha's elder Danzo Shimura is here on his own!"

"What!", Someone from Konoha dares to come here?! After what Ghost did, Kumo is still recovering, Raikage's anger reached its peak as he smashed through the window and jumped out, rushing towards the entrance of the village all by himself.

"I'll teach that fool to dare come here!", The man who stood at the gates of the village looks like no ordinary visitor. He had black hair and a cross mark on his chin, his face looked young but his eyes gave off a stern, old war veteran look.

But what's weird is that the man's eyes are covered in bandages, his hand is in bandages too, and so is half of his obviously tortured body.

"Konoha scum, You've got guts, I have to give you that!", Watching Danzo who dared to come here all alone, the fourth Raikage began to tremble with rage.

"Raikage sama I-", Danzo couldn't complete his sentence when Raikage zipped through in front of him with a punch

"Damn you! Konoha scum", Like a rag doll Danzo flew back in the air from the force of the attack. His body was twisted and contorted in every way.

He landed on the ground and then rolled over. It seems the blow wasn't quite enough to kill him, and even after falling into a mud puddle, he still rose with great difficulty.

"To hell with you!!", The Raikage's eyes flashed red and he threw another powerful punch at Danzo

"Raikage sama listen to me!", A bandaged arm with a rod for support swung down from overhead and blocked Raikage's fist.

Danzo ran for three days without daring to stop because of his injuries. The heavy storm acted like salt on the wound. But Danzo did not stop. All for a sole reason.

And as soon as he reached Kumogakure he thought he could exchange Konoha's information for protection from that demon.

But what he wished for did not happen, the Raikage is too angry now to listen to reason, Danzo's body was twisted and deformed in all ways from the violent encounter with the Raikage.

...

"You can't even handle the things in your village. Why don't you die! Are you not embarrassed to live?!", Cloud elder asked the bloody Danzo in Raikage's residence.

"Raikage sama, please listen to me, I have what you want, provide me the protection and I will give you your greatest enemy Ghost's weakness"

Hearing Ghost's name made the Raikage's body shudder, it had been more than 5 years since his passing. The villagers of Kumogakure never cease to forget that terrifying force who stood at the helm of the village, that demon whose existence alone makes everyone tremble in fear.

"You know Ghost's weakness?!", The elder asked in shock, that demon has no weakness, otherwise how come even after killing many for so many years, no one has ever managed to touch even a whiff of his hair, let alone hurt him?!

"Taijutsu might do the trick...", Danzo said looking up. The Raikage's eyes narrowed

"Are you mocking us?", Raikage roared and was ready to punch Danzo once again.

"Kirigakure", Danzo yelled as he was held by the collar and was about to get punched in the face once again.

"What?!"

"Kiri, I don't know what happened in there, but he was never the same, So I investigated on my own and-

Danzo abruptly stopped when he heard a flute sound chiming in the storm, mixing the sound of the rain and the flute together. It was unmistakably that sound, it has to be —

"Ghost!", Danzo gulped, Even the cloud elders tremble in fear, hearing that voice from their past.

"You dare to show your face here...", The Raikage's face twisted into an expression of anger.

"He is the reason why I cannot sleep at night", A cloud shinobi frowned in anger.

"Damn you to hell. I shall not forgive this ghost that caused this village so much pain. Call forth everyone available to fight", Raikage turned around and left, dragging Danzo with him.

A dark, foul, and suffocating smog breeze flowed over the village. Like a mirage, a ghostly shadow stood out in the mist playing the flute in his hand without a care in the world.

Somehow, Raikage looked like a wild animal, his hair askew and his body covered in mud and blood. The cloud elders too look like mad dogs, their faces were covered in blood.

Danzo, who was dragged by Cloud shinobi had his body torn apart and sewn back in.

"What is going on?!", One of the elders said with a look of pain in his eyes, he was trembling all over as if he would burst. What is happening..?! It was as if his soul itself was getting sucked out of the body...

Ghost didn't say anything, he did not stop playing; the village had already sunk into the depths of hell, and the only thing Ghost cared for was the tune of the flute in his hand.

"My village...", Raikage uttered before falling unconscious on the rocky surface below...

"The Raikage! No! What the hell is going on!", Danzo gasped, Raikage has already fallen.

Crawling back and away from that figure in front of him, Danzo trembled and stood up, running with all his might, fearing that eerie tune.

Lightning crackled, and thunder roared. Ghost stood out in the mist and rain and played his flute to his heart's content.

...

The next day, Raikage woke up in his residence and looked at Yugito Nii and killer B standing near him, as the doctor was checking up on him.

"What happened?! Where is Ghost? What happened to the village"

"Raikage sama, the villagers are alright, It was all but a Genjutsu cast on the whole village", Yugito Nii said with a sigh, "After a few days everyone will be back to their feet"

Raikage took a huge sigh of relief, "Send someone to Kirigakure and find out what-

"Don't do that yo! say! Ho!"

"B", Raikage roared.

"I am afraid B sama is right Raikage sama", Yugito Nii said, "It looks like there is something going on we are not aware of, but if that elder said was true and Ghost's weakness really is in Kirigakure, I am afraid Kumo will attract his wraith-

"Enough", Raikage yelled but he still complied with their talk. Indeed, if they actually went through it and find this weakness, Kumo will attract a far bigger problem than what they provoked...