Prologue

Several years after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War,
Sasuke Uchiha travels through a forest. Despite having once been an
international criminal, he was granted freedom and a new outlook
because of the friendship of Naruto Uzumaki, the love of Sakura
Haruno, and the trust of Kakashi Hatake. He now seeks to redeem his
past actions by, among other things, looking at the world with new eyes.
As Sasuke emerges from the forest, he sees a patch of white flowers
growing at the base of a nearby tree. Because he likely would never have
even noticed the flowers only a few years ago, he stops for a moment to
appreciate them.
While admiring the flowers, Sasuke overhears two young brothers
in the nearby flower field, who are throwing paper shuriken at each other
while they pretend to be ninja. Ōmitsu, the older brother, is much better
at throwing the shuriken than his younger brother, Komitsu, who clearly
reveres Ōmitsu's skill; Sasuke is reminded of his own admiration for his
brother, Itachi. After expending their inventory of shuriken, Komitsu
begins gathering the shuriken from the ground when a gust of wind
starts carrying them away. He chases after them, not noticing that he's
headed for a cliff. Just as Komitsu starts going over the edge he is caught
by Sasuke, who has also gathered all of the paper shuriken.
Komitsu tries to insist that he knew what he was doing but, on
seeing how relieved Ōmitsu is by Sasuke's intervention, thanks Sasuke
for the help. Because of Sasuke's obvious skill, Komitsu asks if he is
Naruto. Sasuke is so surprised by the question that he doesn't respond,
further convincing Komitsu. Komitsu asks "Naruto" to help them train
and Ōmitsu is unable to calm him. Deciding that this might be a kind of
penance, Sasuke agrees to give them some of his time; he first corrects
them about his name. As they practice, Sasuke keeps telling himself not
to stay for too long and informs the brothers of his intention to leave
soon. And yet he continues to linger, drawn to Komitsu's youthful
innocence and Ōmitsu's burdensome over-protectiveness.
After a few hours of training, Komitsu shows clear improvement,
finally managing to actually hit the targets he aims at. Komitsu is proud
of himself, but notices that the sun is setting: the sky is growing dark and
the clouds are turning red. It reminds him of Akatsuki. Sasuke is stunned
to hear the word, and finds some relief when Ōmitsu corrects Komitsu
that "akatsuki" refers to daybreak, not sunset. When Komitsu continues
to remain quiet, Ōmitsu is forced to confess to Sasuke that their family
was killed by Akatsuki.
Chapter 1

Hypericum Erectum (弟切草, Otogirisō)

Itachi Uchiha and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, took shelter for
the night in a cave. Because it was the anniversary of the Uchiha Clan
Downfall, Itachi couldn't sleep and chose to instead gaze at the moon.
As he did so he thought about Sasuke, his younger brother whose
innocence he destroyed and by whose hand Itachi hoped to someday die.
When that day finally came, Itachi hoped Sasuke would not feel guilt.
His thoughts were interrupted by Kisame, who came to check up on him.
Kisame joked that he was merely ensuring that Itachi was not trying to
defect from Akatsuki, the reason for all Akatsuki partnerships. Itachi
was not amused by the suggestion, and Kisame noted he stood no chance
against Itachi anyway; nevertheless, he would be happy to die by Itachi's
hand.
Just as Kisame turned to go back into the cave, both he and Itachi
noticed they were about to be attacked. Mist quickly filled the area and
blocked their vision, indicating that their attackers were Kirigakure
hunter-nin. Before Kisame could ready his Samehada to defend himself,
he was trapped in the Kiri-nin's Water Prison Technique. When the
hunter-nin believed they'd successfully captured him, Kisame used
Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave to break free. Despite
the Kiri-nin's attempts to defend themselves, Kisame quickly killed them
all through a combination of Samehada and his own water jutsu.
Kisame believed the battle was over, prompting Kiiro to confront
him. Kisame was confused by Kiiro's haughtiness and non-shinobi
clothing, giving Kiiro an opportunity to attack him with Water Release:
Water Dragon Bullet Technique. As the water dragon assaulted Kisame,
Kiiro used Water Release: Angry Bitter Rain, causing dark water to fall
on Kisame and cover his eyes. Kiiro's partner, Kodaka, immediately
followed up with Lightning Release: Electric Shock Needles,
bombarding Kisame with needles that left multiple swelling pustules
across his body. From observing the wounds, Kisame guessed he'd been
poisoned, so he used Samehada to shave off the affected flesh.
Kodaka was unnerved to see Kisame mutilate himself, so Kiiro
shouted at him to perform the "second and last" while he created another
opening. With Kisame preoccupied, Itachi finally joined the fray,
catching Kiiro with Tsukuyomi and, in an instant, torturing him with the
sensation of drowning for two full days. Kiiro collapsed from the trauma
and Kodaka went to his aid. Itachi was about to kill them both when he
heard Kiiro refer to Kodaka as his older brother, at which point he
instead let them escape.
 With their attackers gone, Kisame and Itachi studied the scene.
Kisame's theory was that Kiiro's Angry Bitter Rain created poisonous
water that was injected into the body with Kodaka's Electric Shock
Needles. But on testing the dark water, Itachi found no signs of poison,
and guessed instead that there was something more to the Electric Shock
Needles, possibly the "second and last" that was mentioned. Kisame
suggested they pursue Kiiro and Kodaka, but Itachi opted to rest,
explaining that Kiiro wasn't in a condition for travelling far. Elsewhere,
Kiiro woke up and, on being informed that Kodaka fled rather than
finish Kisame off, berated him for cowardice. Kodaka tried to argue that
they stood no chance against Kisame and Itachi and that they'd earned
enough money from their work with Kirigakure to support their family
back home. Kiiro wouldn't listen, too tempted by the potential fame that
victory would bring, and insisted on trying again once he recovered.
The following morning, Kisame again suggested they go after the
brothers in case they tried another attack. Itachi assured him that it
wasn't easy to recover from Tsukuyomi, though mused that brotherly
love might heal the damage to Kiiro's mind faster than is normal. While
Kisame tried to make sense of this, Itachi contemplated if it was wise for
him to avoid the brothers like this, as going after them would signal his
loyalty to Akatsuki and make it easier for him to gather information on
the organisation, in turn helping in his mission to protect Konoha.
As Itachi and Kisame travelled through the woods, they noticed a
poisonous bee flying ahead of them with a piece of paper attached to it.
Itachi removed the paper without disrupting the bee, but found the paper
to be blank. Kisame recognised this from his time with the Cypher
Division and imbued the paper with his chakra, causing a message to
appear: a letter to the author's family, filled with love. From this, they
guessed that at least one of the brothers, similar to members of the
Aburame clan, could control bees, and that their jutsu were intended to
disguise the bees' involvement in their attacks. The "second and last"
they mentioned earlier therefore meant that the bees' poison didn't
become fatal until a second sting. Because Kisame had already been
stung once, Itachi accepted that they couldn't let the brothers go. They
headed in the opposite direction of the bee that had the letter and Itachi
cursed the brothers for not escaping when they had the chance.
It wasn't until nightfall that they tracked down the brothers in an
area swarming with bees. Because Kodaka noticed them first, they
surmised that he was the bee-user. Kiiro immediately used Angry Bitter
Rain, but was still too weak to produce much water and what little he
could was absorbed by Kisame's Water Release: Water Shark Bullet
Technique. Kodaka attacked Kisame with Electric Shock Needles, but
Itachi stopped it with Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field, in
the process capturing the bees hidden inside. With their secret exposed,
Kodaka removed the coat he'd been wearing, revealing the poisonous
bees that covered him. He explained that they were from a clan of bee
users and that it was tradition for the firstborn to inherit the secret to
control bees and that the secondborn was to protect the firstborn. But
harvesting honey was no longer enough to make a living, and Kodaka
had had to switch to poisonous bees so that he and Kiiro could do
freelance-shinobi work.
Their story done, Kodaka sent another swarm at Kisame, and this
time it was able to evade Itachi's Starch Syrup Capturing Field. Unable
to stop the bees, Itachi instructed Kisame to surround himself with the
Water Prison Technique, causing the bees to drown before they could
reach him. At the same time, Itachi attacked Kiiro with a Great Fireball
Technique. Because Kiiro couldn't defend himself, Kodaka leapt in front
of the attack and used himself as a shield. Although the bees covering
his body minimised some of the damage, Kodaka's body was still badly
burned. With his remaining strength, he ordered the bees to attack.
Rather than attack Kisame or Itachi, however, the bees swarmed
over Kiiro. While Kiiro cried and grew numb from the bees' stings,
Kodaka explained that, because they were both going to die anyway, he
could now take some vengeance: he vented his frustrations with Kiiro's
rudeness and jealousy and his anger that Kiiro forced him into shinobi
work; although beekeeping was difficult, it was something safe that the
family could do together. Kodaka plunged a kunai through the swarm at
Kiiro's heart, then used the same kunai to stab his own heart. With his
last breath, Kodaka confessed that, despite everything, he, just like their
other brothers, loved Kiiro. The bees grew agitated from the death of
their master, forcing Itachi and Kisame to flee the area.
Afterwards, Kisame could only note the peculiarities of love and
hate that exist between brothers. But Itachi found far greater significance
in the episode and once again his thoughts turned to Sasuke. He
wondered where Sasuke's path would lead him as he sought vengeance,
if he could find some sort of strength through despair. More than that,
Itachi wondered if he, like Kodaka, would have the courage to confess
his love for his little brother as he died. He supposed he wouldn't know
for sure until that moment arrived.
Chapter 2

The Valley of Lies (偽りの谷, Itsuwari no Tani)

Kakuzu and his partner, Hidan, were wandering through the Valley of
Lies looking for a man with a 1.5 billion ryō bounty on his head.[Note 1]
Because they hadn't seen anybody in days, that in turn meant they hadn't
been able to kill anybody, a sin in the eyes of Hidan's god, Jashin. Angry
about this and tired of the constant walking, Hidan demanded they give
up, proclaiming that nobody lived in the valley. At that exact moment a
man emerged from the nearby trees, who Kakuzu recognised as the
bounty they were looking for.
Finally having somebody to kill, Hidan chased after the man, using
his Triple-Bladed Scythe to get a sample of the man's blood. The man
began performing hand seals to counterattack, but stopped when he saw
Hidan cutting open his own hand. He watched in confusion as Hidan
prepared his Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood:
Hidan drawing Jashin's symbol on the ground, licking the man's blood
from his scythe, the skeleton-pattern appearing on his skin, and finally
stabbing himself in the heart. Hidan's ritual completed, the man coughed
up blood and died. Hidan immediately began performing a ritual to
Jashin, but was interrupted by the appearance of a young boy with
muddy hands, who watched the fight and was now curious about how
Hidan's ability worked.
Hidan was put off by the boy's many questions, remarking to
Kakuzu that there was something wrong with him. When the boy
expressed interest in joining the Jashin faith, Kakuzu agreed that
something was wrong with him. The boy introduced himself as
Hohozuki and watched attentively as Hidan performed the lengthy ritual
that was interrupted earlier. Once that was completed, Hidan answered
all of the boy's questions, giving introductory lessons about worshipping
Jashin. Kakuzu eventually grew weary of this and wanted to move on.
Hidan assumed this meant leaving the valley, but Kakuzu corrected him:
the dead man's family also had bounties on their head, and they likely
lived in the valley as well.
 Kakuzu asked Hohozuki if he knew anything about where the man
lived. After some brief hesitation, Hohozuki admitted he lived in a
nearby village and that the man was probably from there as well,
although he couldn't recognise the man's face. Kakuzu, suspicious of this
contradictory statement, asked Hohozuki to show them where this
village was located in order to prove he wasn't lying. Hohozuki
complied, leading them back the way they came to a cliffside next to a
river and pointing to the mountain on the opposite side. Kakuzu finally
realised why they'd had such difficulty finding the man in the first place,
which he then had to explain to Hidan: the village was hidden with a
genjutsu; when they dispelled the genjutsu's influence, they could clearly
see the village carved into the mountainside.
Because of how much money they stood to make, Kakuzu first
wanted to scout the village, called Shangri-la by the villagers. Hohozuki
explained that it was a small village, meaning that strangers like Hidan
and Kakuzu would stick out and be regarded with suspicion. Hohozuki
suggested that Kakuzu use the Transformation Technique to assume
Hohozuki's appearance, which Kakuzu complied with; because Hidan
was ill-suited for infiltration, he would remain behind with Hohozuki.
Hohozuki explained how to reach the village and how to locate his
friend, Ameyuki, who would then guide Kakuzu around Shangri-la. He
gave Kakuzu a ball of mud, telling him to show it to Ameyuki. Kakuzu
found this odd but accepted the mud ball before departing.
When he made it to Shangri-la, Kakuzu concluded that leaving
Hidan behind was the right idea, as the villager's strangely happy
expressions would likely have provoked Hidan into attacking them.
When he found Ameyuki he gave him the mud ball as instructed, having
already noticed that it had Hohozuki's chakra in it; when Ameyuki
absorbed this chakra, he immediately understood what Hohozuki wanted
him to do and began escorting Kakuzu. Sensing that Kakuzu was wary
of his assistance, Ameyuki assured him that his sole purpose was doing
as Hohozuki wished.
Meanwhile, Hidan continued to tell Hohozuki about Jashin.
Hohozuki had already decided to join the faith and kill in the name of
Jashin, but worried that he wasn't as strong as the people in the world
who advocated for peace. Hidan assured him this wasn't a problem by
noting that such people don't actually exist, using his own experience in
Yugakure as an example: when he tried to kill his fellow villagers for
being peaceful, they responded by trying to kill him first; if they truly
loved peace, they would have let themselves die. Hohozuki then asked
about Jashin's demand that worshippers kill their neighbour, asking if
that meant Hidan would need to kill Kakuzu. Hidan made explicit that
he hated Kakuzu, and for that reason he would never consider Kakuzu to
be his neighbour. Hohozuki was comforted by this.
Kakuzu eventually returned empty-handed, having been unable to
locate the dead man's family. Although Hidan wanted to leave the valley
immediately, Kakuzu insisted they wait until the morning. Hohozuki
returned to Shangri-la, promising to come see them off before they left.
When he was gone, Kakuzu noted they would need to kill him as well as
Ameyuki, as they knew too much. Hidan suggested they not wait until
the morning, but Kakuzu insists, having noticed that some of the
villagers, beneath their happy facades, seemed worried about something.
Indeed, during the night, these same villagers came searching the forest
for the dead man. Kakuzu allowed them to find the man's body,
distracting them while he activated his Earth Grudge Fear and killed
them with Lightning Release: False Darkness.
Kakuzu examined their bodies and recognised them as the man's
family. He realised they must all have been using the Transformation
Technique, with their deaths causing them to revert to their real
appearances. Suspecting that all of Shangri-la's villagers are bounties in
disguise, Kakuzu decided to attack the village, to Hidan's relief. As they
started assaulting the village, Kakuzu's theory proved correct, as
everyone's face changed when they died and every face had a bounty on
it. Kakuzu guessed that the village's leader must be especially valuable
and went off to find him, instructing Hidan to deal with Hohozuki and
Ameyuki, who had come to meet them.
Though he hadn't been bothering with Jashin's ritual thus far,
Hidan promised Hohozuki he would now do the ritual properly, starting
with Ameyuki. When he struck Ameyuki, however, he discovered that
he was made from mud. The mud body fell apart, prompting Hohozuki
to remove his own Transformation Technique and reveal himself as the
real Ameyuki. Ameyuki explained that he'd been disguising himself as
his friend Hohozuki ever since he came to Shangri-la, living alongside a
mud lookalike of himself. With the lookalike now gone, Ameyuki could
be himself once more. Hidan was confused by this, but was at least able
to recognise that Ameyuki wanted to fight; Ameyuki explained that he
regarded Hidan as his neighbour and was willing to kill him.
Ameyuki attacked Hidan with Mud Release, his kekkei genkai.
Having never heard of it before, Hidan was placed at a disadvantage,
allowing Ameyuki to force large quantities of mud down his throat;
Hidan saved himself from suffocation by piercing himself in the lung.
Hidan retaliated against Ameyuki and was able to get a sample of blood.
But every time he tried to initiate his ritual by drawing Jashin's symbol
on the ground, Ameyuki turned the ground into mud. When Kakuzu,
having killed the village leader, returned, Hidan requested his help, but
Kakuzu declined, explaining he wanted to see who else he could find in
Shangri-la.
 At Kakuzu's suggestion, Hidan fled back into the forest with
Ameyuki in pursuit. As he continued evading Ameyuki's mud, it
occurred to Hidan that Kakuzu was not telling him to retreat. After
putting some distance between himself and Ameyuki, he located a tree
stump upon which he could draw Jashin's symbol. Because Ameyuki
could only turn dirt into mud, he was unable to destroy the symbol on
the tree stump, allowing Hidan to create a link. Hidan stabbed himself in
the side, preventing Ameyuki from moving further. Ameyuki praised
Hidan's skills and, when Hidan promised to kill him, said it was what he
wanted.
Like many with kekkei genkai, Ameyuki was hated by most of the
people in the village he was born in. The exception was Hohozuki, his
only friend. When slavers attacked their village and kidnapped the
women and children - Hohozuki included - Ameyuki went after them
and killed the slavers with his Mud Release, saving Hohozuki yet
earning a bounty on his head. Rather than thank Ameyuki for stopping
the slavers, the villagers became fearful of his power and tried to kill
him. Hohozuki made plans for them to escape to Shangri-la, but the
villagers found out about this before they could leave and killed
Hohozuki. Ameyuki felt guilty for his role in Hohozuki's death, but
decided to live on at Hohozuki's request.
Although Ameyuki looked forward to being made a sacrifice to
Jashin, he wanted to make a sacrifice of his own first. Quoting Jashin's
commandment that he kill his neighbours, Ameyuki performed Mud
Release: Landslide, causing the mountain to fall upon Shangri-la and kill
everyone still living there. Hidan praised Ameyuki's last act and stabbed
himself in the heart, killing him.
Kakuzu located them a short while later, having managed to escape
Shangri-la with several valuable bounties in tow. He noted that
Ameyuki's would be the most valuable, as in addition to killing the
slavers he'd also killed his entire village, for which reason he'd been
listed in the Bingo Book. He speculated that Ameyuki's interest in
Jashin, who demanded slaughter, was a way of coping with what he'd
done. Moreover, he probably went around with a lookalike of himself
because he wanted to be found and killed. With so many bounties to turn
in, Kakuzu requested Hidan hurry up with his post-killing ritual. Hidan
refused, noting he would in fact take longer than usual because he had a
martyr to celebrate: Ameyuki.
Chapter 3

The Day of Emergence (浮かびあがる日, Ukabiageru Hi)

Sasori and his partner, Deidara, had just finished destroying a village
under orders from Akatsuki; Deidara blew up the village's buildings with
his Explosive Clay and Sasori killed the survivors from within his
Hiruko puppet. Sasori wanted to immediately report the mission's
success back to Akatsuki, but Deidara first wanted to find a new clay
that would better convey his "art". Thinking it over, Sasori suggested
that the small Ceramic Village might have a good supply of clay.
Deidara liked the idea and created a clay bird to transport them there,
which Sasori, after thinking it over, boarded.
Although the Ceramic Village was in the Land of Wind, Sasori
wanted to avoid Sunagakure, so they instead approached from the
nearby Land of Rivers. During the initial fly-over Deidara could see all
the ceramics that decorated the buildings and the active chimneys used
in their creation; Deidara imagined the beauty that would be achieved in
their destruction. They set down near the village's outskirts, but found
that there was a solitary workshop there. Deidara investigated and found
a young woman destroying her own ceramics. Believing the woman
shared his view of art through destruction, Deidara greeted her and
showed off some of his own art. The woman, Kanyū, explained that she
destroyed her creations because they were failures. Furthermore, she
didn't think much of Deidara's demonstration, but she acknowledged it
may still have merit. She returned to her work and Deidara, deciding she
was not insulting him, followed Sasori into the village.
The Ceramic Village was very crowded, with shoppers and
salesmen moving between the many ceramics stalls that lined the streets.
At the centre of the village was a large mansion that was adorned with
thousands of ceramic tiles; Sasori explained that the village's leader
lived there. Although Deidara was at first impressed by the sheer
quantity of ceramics within the village, he decided that there wasn't any
actual quality, as everything he'd seen was too luxurious and
overwhelmed with colour. Sasori agreed. He explained that when he
previously visited the village many years ago this wasn't the case, as the
village then had a very tasteful, simple style that the ceramists had
clearly moved away from. Such was art, Sasori and Deidara decided.
While looking for the source of the village's clay, Sasori and
Deidara were careful to avoid drawing attention to themselves. As such,
they only killed in moderation. Deidara was hopeful that the clay would
be enough for him to kill Orochimaru, who he blamed for his
recruitment into Akatsuki; had Orochimaru never defected, Deidara
would never have been forced to join. But on finally finding the mine
where the village collected its clay, Deidara was unimpressed, deeming
it inferior to the clay he was already using. He apologised to Sasori for
wasting their time. But Sasori was not deterred and wanted to return to
town.
Back in the Ceramic Village, Deidara and Sasori found Kanyū
arguing with the villager's leader, Gōshō, whose clothing was just as
tasteless as the village's ceramics. Kanyū was pleading for him to help
revive the Hanasaki art style so that the village could regain its integrity.
Gōshō refused, insisting that it was only after abandoning Hanasaki that
the village achieved prosperity. Kanyū attempted to convince him by
mentioning Mashō, prompting Gōshō to strike her. Some nearby
villagers began approaching in order to check on her, but when Gōshō
threatened to banish anyone who helped, they walked away. He
ridiculed her pursuit of art for art's sake, saying that art that didn't sell
was worthless. Gōshō returned to his mansion and Deidara, angered by
his remarks about art, destroyed his gaudy coat with a small explosive.
Kanyū noticed what Deidara did and approached him to apologise
for making a scene, yet also smiled approvingly. When Sasori asked
what happened to Mashō, indicating that he once knew him, Kanyū took
them to a shrine near her workshop. It was made by Mashō, the creator
of the Hanasaki style, and as such its surface resembled flowers, an
effect that was very difficult to produce. Kanyū herself was a student of
Mashō and showed them the Hanasaki-made pendant he'd given her to
prove it. Sasori and Deidara agreed that Hanasaki was beautiful; Sasori
noted that his grandmother once hired Mashō to make some Hanasaki-
prosthetics for her puppets. He expressed regret that Mashō would
abandon the village, but Kanyū insisted that wasn't the case. She
believed that his ten-year disappearance, as well as the disappearances of
all the other Hanasaki ceramists, must mean they were looking for a
place where Hanasaki could thrive.
 Because it was getting late, Kanyū invited Deidara and Sasori to
stay the night; they agreed, but insisted on separate rooms. After dinner,
Deidara watched Kanyū work at her kiln trying to rediscover the secret
of Hanasaki. He suggested that she fire the ceramics faster, but she
replied that that would only destroy them. Kanyū asked if the food she
made for them was alright since Sasori didn't eat any. Deidara told her
not to worry about it and, explaining that Sasori gave up his body for his
art. Although he didn't understand Sasori's definition of art, he at least
agreed with the commitment, a sentiment Kanyū shared.
While Kanyū returned to her work, Sasori led Deidara back to
Mashō's shrine. He destroyed it and had Deidara examine the debris.
Upon doing so, Deidara immediately noticed the quality of the clay that
it was made from, proof that there really was an excellent source of clay
somewhere in the village. They guessed it must be kept within Gōshō's
mansion and headed there. Upon reaching it, Deidara blew up the front
doors and, when the mansion's guards came to investigate, Sasori used
the Puppet Technique to force them to kill themselves. They then started
searching the mansion.
Deidara and Sasori eventually located a workshop deep within the
mansion. Deidara made a spider using the clay he found there and was
immediately impressed by it, as it was a much closer representation of
his artistic vision than the other clays he'd tried. He tried to show it to
Sasori, but Sasori was preoccupied studying the secrets of the village's
ceramic glazes that were also stored in the workshop; it was for this
reason that Sasori agreed to come to Ceramic Village in the first place,
as these glazes would expand his knowledge of poisons. Since they'd
both found what they wanted, Sasori wanted to leave. Deidara refused,
as there wasn't nearly enough clay in the workshop for his purposes.
Ideally he wanted to find where the clay was gathered from, the location
of which only Gōshō would likely know.
Deidara tracked down Gōshō in the mansion and fought the urge to
immediately kill him. He followed Gōshō in secret, who was apparently
seeking shelter from their attack. Gōshō ran out to the mansion's garden
and, after confirming he wasn't being watched, unearthed a door hidden
in the ground. Confident that this was where the Hanasaki clay was
located, Deidara finally confronted Gōshō. When Gōshō opened his
mouth in surprise, Deidara threw into it the spider he made earlier and
detonated it. Once again he was mesmerised by the clay's quality, as
even from a distance he could feel the explosion's heat. Sasori inspected
the door that Gōshō had been about to open and discovered that
powerful seals were placed on it, seals only Gōshō would have been able
to remove.
Deidara refused to give up after coming so far. He created a C2
dragon and boarded it with Sasori. Just as they were about to take flight,
Kanyū appeared and started yelling at them for what they'd done. Sasori
criticised her for caring more about the village than her art, but she
corrected him: she wasn't upset for their attack on the village, she was
upset that they destroyed Mashō's shrine. Satisfied with this answer,
Deidara suggested that she evacuate, otherwise Hanasaki's future would
be lost. Realising what he intended, Kanyū began running. As they
watched her go, Deidara insisted to Sasori that he merely owed her for
dinner, which Sasori acknowledged was a fair point.
Kanyū retreated all the way back to her workshop. Although she
knew she should try to get further away, her most recent work was still
in the kiln and she wouldn't leave without seeing how it turned out. She
watched as the C2 dragon soared into the sky and fired its payload. The
explosion levelled the village and she was engulfed in the blast.
 Deidara and Sasori inspected the crater where Gōshō's mansion
had been, eventually locating the underground passage that the sealed
door led to. They did indeed find a larger supply of Hanasaki clay there,
but Deidara was still disappointed by how little there was. He continued
searching the underground hoping there would be more, but found only
a mound of skeletons. While inspecting these, Sasori noticed that one
was wearing a pendant very similar to the one Kanyū wore. He
concluded that the bodies were once Mashō and the other Hanasaki
ceramists, killed by Gōshō. Probably the supply of Hanasaki clay had
grown too small to continue supporting the village, so rather than let the
village suffer while that dying art was pursued, Gōshō killed Mashō and
the others so that the village would be free to pursue new forms of art.
Deidara was conflicted: although he wanted the Hanasaki clay, he
was worried that taking it would mean that Hanasaki was truly dead.
Sasori disagreed, believing that an artist's dedication could overcome
any limitation of supplies. Indeed, when Kanyū finally woke up in the
morning, she immediately ran to her kiln, which was mostly undamaged
by the blast. Inside was her most recent work, a perfect example of the
Hanasaki style; Deidara's explosion had fired it fast enough to achieve
the flower-like effect. Now understanding its secret, Kanyū began
contemplating what sorts of clays she should be using, believing heat-
resistance is the most important quality. At that moment, Mashō's
pendant dropped in front of her. She looked up and saw Deidara and
Sasori flying away on the C2 dragon. She shouted thanks to them for
their help.
Chapter 4

The Unwithering Flower (枯れぬ花, Karene Hana)

Konan watched through her window at the perpetual rain falling in
Amegakure, thinking about her childhood: how, when she had no
parents, no home, and no food, she was found and saved by Yahiko. She
was forced to return to the present by Nagato, who spoke to her through
his Deva Path (formerly Yahiko's body). Nagato told her that Madara
Uchiha was on his way.
Madara told Konan and Nagato about a man in the Valley of Lies
that supposedly had information on the tailed beasts. Nagato pointed out
that Hidan and Kakuzu had recently destroyed the village there, but
Madara explained that the informant fled to safety right before the
village's destruction. Because the informant was once a ninja of
Iwagakure, it's possible he knew something about Iwa's jinchūriki.
Because of the secrecy surrounding jinchūriki's identities, it was
important that Akatsuki obtain any information they could in order to
accomplish their goals.
Nagato agreed that the informant should be questioned. With that
settled, Madara wanted Konan to be the one to seek out the informant.
Konan protested, as she had duties in Ame and also needed to stay with
Nagato. She suggested sending Hidan and Kakuzu since they'd just been
there, but Madara replied that they were already out on a new mission.
Madara cut her off before she could suggest anyone else, explaining that
she, as a member of Akatsuki, should actually contribute sometimes.
Nagato assured her it was okay and she finally relented. Madara
instructed Zetsu to show her how to reach the Valley of Lies before
departing.
Konan went back to her room to prepare for the journey. It would
take ten days roundtrip, ten days that she would be away from Nagato.
Although she knew he would be alright during her absence, she was
nevertheless anxious, as Yahiko had always emphasised how important
Nagato was to their dreams of peace; she suspected Yahiko told her this
because he knew she might prioritise him over Nagato. She pulled a
sheet of yellowing paper from its hiding place near her chest and
examined the old pressed flower stored inside. She quickly sniffed the
flower, returned it to its hiding place, and went to meet with Zetsu. Zetsu
set out and, after a brief farewell from Nagato's Deva Path, Konan
followed.
Shortly after travelling beyond the rains of Amegakure, Konan and
Zetsu stopped at the base of a mountain road. As Zetsu was telling her
how to reach the next waypoint, it suddenly shouted out. Konan was put
on guard and followed Zetsu's gaze to the roots of a nearby tree. Zetsu
noted that the white flowers growing there were very similar to the
flower ornament Konan kept in her hair. Although it was now clear they
weren't being attacked like she first thought, she remained tense, as the
flowers' sweet scent caused her to remember Yahiko.
Konan and Yahiko had been visiting a village near the border with
the Land of Fire to obtain supplies. The supplies were all priced with
Konoha-nin in mind, which was more than Konan and Yahiko could
afford. Yahiko, disappointed, was about the leave the village when he
suddenly ran off and told Konan to turn away. She complied, and when
he returned he presented her with a white flower. It was damaged,
enough that the seller had been about to throw it away, but Yahiko
convinced the seller to let him have it for free. It reminded him of
Konan's hair ornament and, furthermore, flowers were a luxury in Ame
due to the heavy rains. Yahiko avoided Konan's eyes as he held it out to
her and she, blushing, accepted it.
 Konan was forced from her memories by Zetsu. Seeing how much
she liked the flowers, it roughly took a bouquet of them and gave them
to her so that she wouldn't waste anymore time. It resumed its
instructions and left to meet her there. Konan put the flowers with the
pressed flower near her chest and continued on. After catching up with
Zetsu and then moving on to the next meeting place, Konan noticed the
flowers' scent again. It reminded her of when, a few days after being
given the flower by Yahiko, she decided to preserve it by pressing it
beneath a stone. The end result wasn't perfect, but she was pleased with
the results.
While admiring the newly pressed flower in their hideout, Konan
was surprised by the appearance of Nagato, just returned from a
successful mission with Yahiko. To celebrate, they began preparing a
meal so that it would be ready when Yahiko returned as well. As they
worked, Nagato mentioned his desire to see Jiraiya again once they'd
accomplished their dream of ending all wars. Konan supported this.
Nagato also mentioned his desire to someday, after the wars were ended,
have more people who were precious to him, something that only Konan
could accomplish. "Flowers bear fruit sometimes," he said.
Konan hadn't understood what Nagato meant at the time. But
remembering that conversation allowed her to finally make sense of his
words, and the anguish of that caused her to pause in her travels. She
noticed another patch of the flowers from before by the roots of a nearby
tree. On inspecting them, she found one of the flowers bore fruit, filled
with seeds. While she rested that night, examining the seeds in her hand,
she reflected that she was no longer a flower that could bear fruit.
After meeting Zetsu again, it gave her the final set of instructions
to reach the Valley of Lies; Zetsu would not be accompanying her the
rest of the way. The flowers from before, though they were now
withering, still had their scent, which continued to evoke her past. She
remembered the day Yahiko died: when Konan was taken hostage by
Hanzō and Yahiko, despite her pleas to escape with Nagato, killed
himself. Konan believed that Nagato also died that day, in a sense:
where once he was kind and sensitive, he became ruthless and
uncompromising; he was willing to work with Madara, who had
distorted Akatsuki into the opposite of what Yahiko would have wanted.
Konan came across a field of the same white flowers. To be
presented with such a stark reminder of Yahiko caused her to see him at
her side. He articulated her guilt, her belief that Nagato and Yahiko
would have gone on to create the peace they dreamed of if only she'd
been the one to die. When their task was completed, they would have
sought out Jiraiya like they'd planned, and maybe they would have
mentioned her fondly. Yahiko, Konan felt, would have steered Nagato
from the darkness that now consumed him. Yahiko's image encouraged
Konan to give up on Akatsuki and save herself from Nagato's
corruption.
On hearing Yahiko say this, Konan became leery. She attacked
with Paper Shuriken, but the flowers were undamaged. Realising what
this meant, she freed herself from the genjutsu's influence. The field of
flowers disappeared, revealing that she'd been about to walk over a cliff:
the Valley of Lies. With the genjutsu dispelled, the informant attacked
her, and she fled into the nearby forest to find better terrain. But
Yahiko's image kept following her. Realising the genjutsu was working
through the flowers, she discarded them and their seeds. Yahiko's image,
though faded, still persisted, forcing her to discard her Akatsuki cloak as
well, which the scent had seeped into.
Though she couldn't see Yahiko, his voice still reached her. As a
last resort, she took the paper that contained the flower pressing, turned
it into a Paper Shruiken, and threw it, successfully hitting the informant.
With the informant's Scent of Illusionary Flowers Technique now finally
gone, she descended upon him, encasing him in paper. While it was true
she blamed herself for Yahiko's death, the genjutsu had been pushing her
to blame Nagato too; she did not believe Nagato was at fault, which is
how she discovered the genjutsu. Enraged that Yahiko's memory had
been so abused by the informant's genjutsu, Konan killed the informant.
Before the informant died, Konan was able to confirm that he used
to know the Four-Tails' jinchūriki. But he didn't know the jinchūriki
well, nor did he know where the jinchūriki could be found, meaning the
entire journey was a waste of time. She returned to Amegakure, treading
upon the pressed flower as she went. Zetsu and Obito Uchiha watched
her leave, disappointed by how things had turned out; Obito thought
Nagato's hatred might have grown stronger if Konan died. Yahiko had
once warned Konan against his (as "Madara") help, and therefore she'd
always been rebellious towards him. But Obito accepted that she would
remain loyal as long as Nagato was around. Obito sent Zetsu away and,
after thinking of Rin, departed as well.
Epilogue
When Sasuke hears that Ōmitsu and Komitsu's family was killed
by Akatsuki, he feels guilty because of his own brief time with the
organisation. He thinks about the people he killed during his
membership and wonders if their family was among them. As he worries
over this, their older brother, Kiiro, calls out to them, repeating his
instructions that they not play among the flowers. Ōmitsu and Komitsu
run to his side and apologise, just as Kiiro notices Sasuke. He at first
thinks he recognises Sasuke, but then realises the man he's thinking of
would be dead by now; Sasuke guesses he means Itachi.
 Ōmitsu introduces Sasuke and explains that he saved Komitsu
from falling over the cliff. Kiiro thanks Sasuke and sends Ōmitsu and
Komitsu home to retrieve something. When they're gone, Sasuke asks
how Kiiro knows Itachi, and Kiiro briefly details when he and Kodaka
met Itachi and Kisame. But Kiiro corrects Ōmitsu and Komitsu's claim
that Akatsuki killed Kodaka; he's explained to them many times that isn't
what happened, but they're too young to understand. Kodaka died
because of Kiiro's selfishness and thirst for fame. If Kiiro had listened to
Kodaka and escaped when they had the chance, Kodaka would still be
alive.
Kiiro believes that Itachi should actually be thanked for sparing his
life, as Itachi's Sharingan would doubtlessly have made him aware of
Kodaka's ruse. He always wondered why Itachi let him live, but now
that he's met Sasuke he understands: Itachi, like Kodaka, had a younger
brother. Kodaka transferred his bees to Kiiro before he died, which Kiiro
has since been using to support Ōmitsu and Komitsu. Originally they
travelled around selling honey, but the flowers that grow by this cliff are
abundant enough to support them, finally allowing them to settle down.
Sasuke hears an explosion further down the cliff, which Kiiro
explains to be from the kilns for ceramics; the muddy earth in the area is
perfect for ceramics. Sasuke notices Kiiro's wedding ring: a white
ceramic with a flower pattern. Ōmitsu and Komitsu return with an
infant, who they hand to Kiiro. Although this was not what he sent them
for, Kiiro is nevertheless happy to see his son. They also hand him a
bottle of medicinal honey, which he hands to Sasuke as thanks for
helping Komitsu. Sasuke departs and Ōmitsu and Komitsu wave
goodbye. Kiiro also shouts to him, asking if his brother was kind like
Kodaka was. Sasuke replies, "Yeah!"
The novel ends with: "Akatsuki also had family. / Akatsuki also had
loved ones. / They too were shinobi,