Chapter 18

In this world, there existed 3 types of silence.

The first one was the silence of the forgotten – the quiet of the dead, of the names forgotten, promises lost, graves left unvisited. The stillness of the unbreathing. The second was the silence of the gathering storm. A silence that would leave you contemplating over the distant future. A pressuring, humming quiet before the first droplet of rain falls from the sky.

And the third silence – most powerful of them all – was the one before battle. The stillness before complete chaos erupts. The calm before storm, where even the wind dares not to whisper as to not attract the attention of nervous shinobi. And, now, this exact silence had settled upon Hanzo's camp.

It has been almost week since they had occupied the Akatsuki base, yet there was not a sight of them still. They hadn't run away yet, as Danzo's sentries stationed around the village hadn't seen anything. They were still hiding here, in the Rain village, like some worms buried deep underground.

Hanzo was sure that they were hiding underground, but the tunnels underneath were a labyrinth. There were endless turn, with bandits and other criminals hiding on each corner. It was difficult place to explore, much less to search for their enemy. Yet, they were making progress, and, soon, the Akatsuki would be gone and Hanzo would be the sole powerhouse within this region.

However, something was wrong.

Hanzo the Salamander stood on the balcony of the previous Akatsuki base, overlooking the entire city. Rain kept pouring from the heaven. His complexion was hidden behind the mask, yet his eyes were resolute and strong. Something was wrong, surely, for he had been to many battles, and had felt the same silence that just settled upon the Rain Village.

Battle was approaching and Hanzo the Salamander didn't know from where. It was a peculiar situation, surely. They had more than double of their number, they had positioned themselves better, with Danzo Anbu even forming a circle around the Rain Village. More than that, they had set traps. So why? Why was he feeling so uneasy?

It turned out that his feelings weren't for naught. As Hanzo gazed upon the Rain Village, it suddenly turned ablaze. It was a momentous change. Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, all the canals lit up on fire simultaneously, surrounding the entire city within flames. The civilians shouted in fear, whilst Hanzo frowned, turned around and shouted. "Report!"

The two shinobi behind him immediately rushed towards the door, leaving Hanzo in his rage. Barely a minute later, the two of them came back, kneeling in front of Hanzo. The guard on the left of Hanzo opened his mouth. "The Akatsuki threw barrels of oil into all the canals and lit in on fire. It seems like a distraction."

Hanzo the Salamander stared at the man from above, his voice a hiss. "I want 50 of my best men searching the city for the Akatsuki. Tell Danzo to tighten the security around the city. If they are trying to run away, we will catch them."

The men run as soon as they heard the orders, and Hanzo's shinobi moved like pieces on the board, completely controlled by the king. Hanzo, now even more secure then before, with numerous shinobi hiding in his shadow, continue to stare down at the burning city. It was an interesting contrast, with the rain piling down onto the burning flames, which weren't getting extinguished.

Time passed, until eventually another man rushed into the room, kneeling in front of Hanzo. "They are trying to run away, but there is an issue! There are three groups in total all running in separate directions, it seems that they have used clones!"

Hanzo contemplated for a second, but he was a professional. Tricks were worthless in the face of true power, and that was something that Hanzo had in abundance. "Divide our numbers into three. As soon as you locate which is the real group, I am going to join the pursuit. Leave my guards here. Go."

Again, no hesitation. The men rushed out of the room, shouting the order, as they promptly run after the Akatsuki groups. The first group of the Akatsuki was led by Yahiko, whom Hanzo warriors recognized. They also recognized Konan and Nagato. Yet, the fourth one, called the Unseen Death, was an enigma. No one knew how the man looked, except for his comrades in the Akatsuki.

The Hanzo group chased after the group that was running south, passing rocks and soaking their shoes in the mud. The other two groups looked exactly the same as this one, yet one of them ran to towards the Hidden Stone Village, whilst the other one towards the Hidden Sand Village. They were being chased, and Hanzo's group was faster, so it would be a matter of time before the caught up.

Or, that would have been the truth, if not for another group that stayed in the Rain Village.

"We are being ambushed! Two of our men had already fallen!" The guards stationed outside of Hanzo's room rushed in.

"Ambushed?" Hanzo's frown deepened. "We have been tricked. Take our fastest ones and chase after my men, tell them to come back right this second! The Akatsuki are trying to spread our numbers and kill me!"

Hanzo's breath was ragged. He was more powerful than the Akatsuki, that was for sure, so why were they struggling so much? Their fate was inevitable. Hanzo's anger was over the roof and he signalled the men to follow him, as he rushed down the building towards the entrance on the first floor. As he was descending, Hanzo heard explosion of paper bombs happening beneath, and he prepared himself for battle.

Hanzo expected there to be a bunch of ninjutsu flying at him as soon as he stepped out of the building, but that was not the case. On the other hand, the entire group of Akatsuki stood in front of him, staring at him with defiance in their eyes. Hanzo's group was on the other end, overwhelming their numbers. There were some dead Hanzo shinobi on his end, though.

Hanzo turned towards one of his men, suddenly punching him in the face, shouting at him from above. "They are just mere shadows! Kill them all, you worthless shit!" With that, Hanzo went back into the building, hearing sound of battle ensue. His head hurt and he shouted for a man to come to him. "Take three more people and chase down the three groups, tell them not to come back but continue their pursuit!"

The man followed the order immediately.

Hanzo stood in the dark of the base, veins pulsing on his forehead. Whoever created this mess, if it was Unseen Death or whatever, Hanzo would make sure they would suffer. They were trying to spread their numbers thin, and it was freaking working.

Another man rushed into the room, as Hanzo turned, sick in his stomach by how many times it happened already. "What?"

The manw as sweating, clearly seeing how upset Hanzo seemed. His voice trembled. "Another group spotted on the river nearby, they seem to be unmoving and are simply standing on the water."

Another group? How was that possible? How many of them of them were there anyway? There was no way they could create so many clones. "Take 20 men and go, send a person back to report upon confrontation. Fast." The man left immediately, as Hanzo was left alone again.

And, he suddenly realized that their base wasn't as secure as before. There were less people here than not here. Hanzo, paranoid, went to the corner of the room, as he put his hands against his forehead, thinking. Another man rushed in, and Hanzo almost beheaded him on the spot, both out of annoyance and anger. However, the man was not under his control.

Root shinobi. Danzo's slave.

The Root shinobi gave Hanzo a delicate bow, but didn't kneel. "Lord Hanzo, our sentries have located the real Akatsuki group. We are currently in their pursuit, but Lord Danzo is reluctant to engage with just his numbers. Requesting for reinforcements."

Hanzo's anger calmed a bit as he nodded towards the man. "Which group is the real one?"

"The one that is moving towards the Hidden Sand Village. They are already a considerable distance away from here, and they are advancing fast. If we move now, we should be able to catch up."

"Good." Hanzo smiled, though no one saw that as his expression was hidden behind the mask. Cracking his neck slightly, Hanzo looked up at the ceiling, nodding towards the shadows. Immediately, numerous shinobi came out of hiding, seemingly startling even the Anbu shinobi, who took a little step back.

The shinobi in Hanzo's presence were his best.

"Half of you, stay and gather everyone. The other half, follow me, we are going to chase them down." Without further ado, Hanzo turned around, breaking into a sprint. The Anbu shinobi was running fast in the front and around 50 figures were following him from behind.

The shinobi were fast, extremely so. An athlete participating in the Olympics wouldn't be able to even come close to their speed, much less run at such speeds for long periods of time. Yet, Hanzo and everyone were doing exactly that. In a matter of an hour, they were out of the city, where they joined Danzo and his group in the pursuit of the Akatsuki.

Somewhere along the way, it stopped raining, meaning that they were a considerable distance away from the Rain Village. Hanzo's annoyance was over the roof, as after a few hours of running, they were finally approaching the borders of the Wind Continent. The would surely be guards and border control, meaning that this situation could get even more messy.

Why did the Akatsuki reject his peace treaty in the first place? It was a great deal for them, and Hanzo was sure no one had informed them that he was planning to betray them. Frowning, Hanzo's mind clouded with the nickname of that man: The Unseen Death. As the first rumors of this man spread, the Akatsuki turned from scary into frightening.

All the missions sent to them would be done perfectly, without any casualties. And Hanzo suspected that the existence of this mysterious man was their reason for rejecting his peace treaty. Hanzo's heart was raging as he swore to murder that man first.

One of the Root members raised his hand, running in the front.

"We are near."

Danzo nodded, turning to Hanzo. "I would prefer not to be seen, irrelevantly of their fate."

Hanzo threw him a calculated gaze. "No one will see you. And whoever does will die at my hands."

Danzo nodded, continuing to run forward, but slowly retreating into the back ranks. He slipped a mask onto his face, letting Hanzo take the lead in the front of their pursuit. The first signs of sand began to surface on the ground and Hanzo finally realized where they were.

Long ago, Hanzo didn't even remember when exactly, there was a great battle between the Sand and Stone shinobi happening right in this place. And the reason why this place became pretty well known was due to the aftermath of that battle. It is rare to meet people who recall what exactly happened here, but there were speculation that Tailed Beasts were involved.

Why?

Well…Hanzo continued to run up the incline, stepping over the little hill only to see darkness. The aftermath of that battle was a colossal chasm splitting the landscape in two. From Hanzo's point of view, it appeared less like a crater and more like a cliff, plunging down into an abyss. A gust of win whipped across the chasm, carrying with it the scent of damp earth.

As Hanzo was momentarily scanning the scene, getting some flashback, he noticed a few small dots running in the distance. Hanzo squinted his eyes, seeing that the Akatsuki were practically rushing towards the cliff's end. "Akatsuki spotted! Advance!"

Hanzo the Salamander always had a good hunch. Normally, if he saw a group rushing to a cliff's end, while being chase from behind, he would simply think they were stupid. But Hanzo knew it was not the case with this group. That punk strategist was annoying as hell, yet definitely not dumb.

"Faster!" Hanzo shouted, taking the lead, as he run like a bull, the win brushing his hair back. The others struggled to follow him. In the distance, Hanzo saw the Akatsuki members removing their dark coats. Underneath their attires, there was a strange piece of clothing extending from their feet to their elbows. All of them had it on, as they nodded towards each other.

Hanzo squinted his eyes, seeing a man step towards the cliff first. From his point of view, Hanzo could only see the white hair of the man, but that was until he turned around and gave Hanzo a wink. It was him. It was the Unseen Death. Hanzo's pace exploded, leaving the rest of the people behind.

So near, yet so far. Hanzo saw the man nod towards others once again before…he jumped. Hanzo didn't see what happened afterwards from such a distance, but the rest of the Akatsuki began to jump immediately after. And, soon, not a single soul was on the cliff, expect the panting Hanzo who was finally standing on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the expanse.

The Akatsuki…were flying. The gust of the wind from below made them fly almost in a straight line. Their strange attires kept them afloat. Hanzo kept staring at their backs, as they flew further and further away. The chasm in the ground was huge and abysmal. The shinobi behind Hanzo finally caught up, staring at flying Akatsuki with wide eyes.

Eventually, the white haired main in the front reach the other side, as he twisted his body and his feet landed on the other side of the cliff. It was a difficult collision, clearly, but it worked, as more people began to do the same. Some time later, everyone was on the other side. From where Hanzo stood, it almost felt like if he jumped, he would reach the other side, yet that was simply an illusion.

"We found this, Lord Hanzo."

A man put an attire on the ground near Hanzo. It was the same wing-like costume that the Akatsuki utilized. Only on this one, there was a big lettered message written in the front.

It's a leap of faith. Would you dare to take it, Hanzo the Snake?

The veins The veins on Hanzo's forehead exploded, as he glanced down towards the other side of the cliff against, seeing the white haired man facing him with defiance in his eyes. Yahiko, Konan and Nagato all stood next to him, facing Hanzo. Their entire group tood behind them, forming a triangle.

The white haired smiled and raised a middle finger.

"What should we do now?" One of Hanzo's shinobi asked the question.

Hanzo kept his gaze locked on the retreating back of the Unseen Death, before returning to the real world. "We continue the pursuit. It will take some time to go across this chasm, but we can still catch up."

"But it is the Wind Territory from here on."

"I know." Hanzo answered simply, turning around. No more questions were asked, and Hanzo was glad for that. Otherwise, he would have exploded. He was going to kill that white hair man and he was going to make sure it was going to be painful.