"You know what? Our leader Yahiko isn't dead! He came back with the Akatsuki and struck back—just yesterday, they hit the checkpoint at the end of the street and killed a dozen Konoha ninja! Strung them all up on the rainwater pipes. Man, that felt good!"
In the depths of the Suki Iron Mine, a miner with a face smeared in grime and sweat spun the tale to a crowd of fellow workers, his voice alive with excitement.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"
"As long as Yahiko is around, we'll drive those Konoha wolves out one day! There's finally hope for us in this hellhole!"
Two miners beamed, their voices brimming with hope.
"Still, why doesn't Leader Yahiko hurry up and take the village back? Us folks in Amegakure have suffered enough. Those damn Konoha ninja aren't even human," another miner sighed.
"What can you do? Konoha's got the numbers—ten thousand of them came down on our heads. How many people does Akatsuki even have? This isn't something you can rush. It's gotta be step by step. But with Yahiko leading us, it's only a matter of time before Konoha gets kicked out."
"Yeah, it's just a matter of time!"
The miners chattered away, not noticing a shadowy figure quietly slipping out from a far corner of the tunnel.
Ever since Konoha took over Amegakure, the Suki Iron Mine had been seized. The miners became slaves overnight, and their days turned to misery.
Wages? Benefits? Days off?
Forget it. If you didn't get whipped, you were already lucky.
Thinking of resisting? Or running?
Look at the bodies hanging upside down outside the mine—that's all the warning you need.
Want to slack off? Try to cut corners?
The ruthless overseers from the Hachihashira Trading Company had set the rules: every miner had to haul out five hundred pounds of ore per shift. Fail, and not only would you lose your day's rations, you'd get thirty lashes on top.
Hachihashira squeezed every drop of sweat from the workers. Compared to them, the old overseer Nokame Kizo almost seemed like a saint.
"You bunch of gossiping trash! Slacking off again? Don't want dinner tonight, huh? Get up! Back to work!"
A Konoha-affiliated overseer, forehead protector gleaming, lashed his whip across the miners' dark, battered backs. Bloody welts appeared instantly. After a few more cracks, the crowd scattered.
At sunset, the miners trudged out of the pit with their last loads, a slow-moving line of ants.
Suddenly, a Konoha ninja in a cat-faced mask dragged a scrawny miner to the front of the group.
"Point them out!"
The thin miner, trembling, raised a shaky finger and pointed.
"Him! Him! And him!"
At his signal, a pack of overseers pounced, dragging out the accused, binding them with ropes, and kicking them to the ground—swift, practiced, merciless.
"That all of them?"
The ANBU asked.
"Yeah," the thin miner nodded.
"Hang them up!"
One by one, the miners were strung onto waiting gallows, dangling like slabs of meat at New Year's.
If you looked closely, you'd see these were the very miners who'd been chatting in the tunnel.
"They dared to gather and slander Konoha. Unforgivable. The rest of you—watch your tongues, or you'll end up just like them!"
He tossed a chunk of bread to the informant, like tossing scraps to a dog. The thin miner snatched it, stuffing it down his throat with desperate greed.
The cat-masked ninja drew a kunai, waving it in front of the hanging men. Clearly, they were about to become target practice.
"Yahiko!"
One of the bound miners shouted with all his might, his voice echoing with defiance.
"Yahiko, kill these bastards!"
"Yahiko!"
The other miners took up the cry.
"Courting death!"
The cat-masked ninja snarled, aiming his kunai at the loudest protester and letting it fly.
The miners below squeezed their eyes shut.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
A deep, magnetic voice rang out from nowhere.
The flying kunai vanished into thin air.
"Look! Up in the sky!"
A miner pointed to the rare sunlight breaking through Amegakure's clouds.
Everyone looked up. Even the cat-masked ninja glanced skyward.
Suspended against the sun, like a shadow blotting out the light, hovered a dark figure.
"It's Leader Yahiko!"
"It's really him!"
Yahiko descended slowly, like a god stepping down from the heavens.
"Do you like stabbing people with kunai?"
Yahiko asked, his tone calm, almost gentle.
The cat-masked ninja stumbled back, fear etched on his face.
"Ever tried being stabbed yourself?"
Yahiko's voice was still eerily flat, but it sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Quick! Kill him! Kill him!"
The cat-masked ninja shrieked.
The Konoha ninja finally snapped to attention and charged at Yahiko.
But Yahiko didn't even flinch. He simply raised his hand.
"Shinra Tensei!"
At that moment, Danzo sat in the Amekage's office, staring blankly at a wakizashi.
The short sword had been sent from Konoha by a messenger from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Along with it came a single message:
If the Northern Army fails, use this blade to end yourself.
Looks like the old monkey was truly furious this time.
"Report!"
Danzo snapped out of his daze.
"Come in!"
Fugaku Uchiha entered.
"Sir, there's been an uprising at the Suki Iron Mine. Thirty-five Konoha ninja are dead. All the miners have scattered!"
Danzo didn't look surprised. He silently opened a drawer and pulled out a roster.
"Go down this list. Hunt them down, one by one. Have the Amegakure civilians point them out. Leave no survivors."
"Uh, if we do that, I'm afraid—"
"No matter. Just round up some more miners. Mining isn't skilled work—anyone can do it."
"Sir, according to witnesses, at the scene—"
"Let me guess. Another report of Yahiko showing up?"
"Yes," Fugaku nodded.
"Stop bringing me these ghost stories," Danzo said impatiently. "Just a handful of petty rebels, using Yahiko's name to stir up trouble. The remnants of Akatsuki—nothing more."
"But with the army about to march, this—"
"I know," Danzo interrupted, leaving Fugaku frustrated.
"Here—this is the Akatsuki remnant's main base. Take two thousand ninja and wipe them out."
Danzo tossed over a marked map. The location was clearly labeled "Secret Camp." It was obvious he'd spent the past two weeks preparing for this.
"These are just minor irritations. Against overwhelming force, they're nothing."
Danzo stood and looked out toward the Land of Wind.
"The real threat is Rasa—waiting on the other side of the desert."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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