Konoha smiled in the sunlight.
Children laughed in the streets, banners fluttered from rooftops, and the scent of grilled dumplings drifted through the markets. From a distance, it looked like a village at peace — a symbol of hope rising from the ashes of war.
But Akari knew better.
Peace was just another mask.
He walked the corridors of the administration hall with a calm face, nodding at shinobi he recognized. But under the surface, he could feel it: the tension, the sideways glances, the silence that fell when he entered a room.
They feared him.
And maybe they were right to.
"Akari," came a voice from the shadows.
He didn't flinch. "Tobirama-sama."
The Second Hokage stepped forward, white hair sharp as a blade, eyes colder than steel. He studied Akari like a puzzle he hadn't yet decided to break or keep.
"You found the second shrine."
Not a question. A statement.
Akari nodded once. "It responded to me."
Tobirama folded his arms. "The seal reacted violently. My sensors picked it up from here."
Akari met his gaze. "Then you already know what's buried beneath them."
"I know pieces," Tobirama said. "Enough to be cautious. Not enough to be reckless."
Akari stepped closer. "These aren't just ancient seals. They're memories. Warnings. There's a woman—"
"I've read the scrolls," Tobirama cut in. "She appears in almost every known version of pre-era mythology. Names change. Details shift. But one thing remains the same: wherever she walks, chaos follows."
Akari's voice dropped. "Then why was I chosen?"
Tobirama didn't answer. Not directly.
Instead, he said, "You're being watched, Akari. Not just by me. The council wants control. Danzo is already whispering about containment."
Akari's jaw tensed. "Containment?"
Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "If you lose control, there won't be a vote."
---
Later that evening, Akari sat on the Hokage Monument, legs dangling over the cliff's edge. Raien joined him, silent as ever, holding two skewers of grilled meat. He passed one over.
"You look like you fought a summon and lost," Raien said casually.
Akari managed a breath of a laugh. "More like fought a conversation with Tobirama."
Raien grinned. "Worse."
They ate in silence for a while.
Below them, the village glowed with warm lantern light. It should have felt peaceful. It didn't.
"She's part of me," Akari said. "Not just in dreams. I can feel her when I use chakra. It's like she's... waiting to be let in."
Raien stayed quiet.
"I saw the past, Raien. I saw a battle. My battle. I was just a child… but the mark was already there."
Raien lowered his food. "Then this isn't about the shrines. It's about you."
Akari looked at him. "You don't have to stay."
Raien rolled his eyes. "Shut up. You're dramatic when you're brooding."
Akari smiled faintly.
But then the smile faded.
Because below them, across the rooftops, shadows moved. Fast. Purposeful.
Black masks. Red eyes.
ANBU.
And they weren't patrolling. They were watching.
---
That night, Akari sealed the scrolls beneath his floorboards and placed two clones outside his home. He didn't sleep. Couldn't.
He sat in meditation, trying to reach the part of him that the shrine had awakened. The part the woman called to in dreams.
And in the silence, he heard it again.
> "You were made for this. You were not born — you were chosen."
His eyes opened slowly — glowing faintly violet.
And in the mirror across the room…
For just a moment…
It wasn't his reflection staring back.
---
To be continued...