The road was narrow and uneven, used more by those who had to travel it than those who wanted to. The Akatsuki moved forward in silence, cloaks low, steps measured. There was no urgency. Only attention.
Yahiko walked at the front this time.
Not because it was decided.
Because no one questioned it.
Konan noticed first. She adjusted her pace to match, saying nothing. Nagato followed close behind, reading the terrain with more care than necessary.
They stopped when they spotted a small, abandoned outpost near the main route. Fresh marks on the ground. Poorly hidden tracks. A symbol carved into a wooden beam.
Konan crouched beside it.
"This isn't a common bandit mark," she said. "It's a warning."
Yahiko studied it a moment longer.
"A warning for who?"
Nagato answered before she could.
"Whoever comes next."
Silence followed.
Yahiko exhaled slowly.
"Then we don't pass through."
Konan raised an eyebrow.
"We go around?"
"No," he said. "We watch."
She nodded.
They spread out without signals.
Konan climbed onto the broken roof. Nagato remained near the treeline, feeling the shape of the land. Yahiko stayed visible, as if careless.
He wasn't.
Minutes passed.
Then footsteps.
Three men appeared from a side path. Light gear. Simple weapons. Shinobi, but without a village.
Mercenaries.
They didn't attack immediately. They stopped when they saw Yahiko.
"You shouldn't be here," one of them said.
Yahiko tilted his head.
"The road doesn't belong to you."
The man laughed briefly.
"Everything belongs to whoever can keep it."
Konan watched from above, judging distance.
Nagato felt the pressure rise.
Yahiko took two steps forward.
"You marked this place."
"We did."
"Then clean it."
The mercenary frowned.
"What?"
"Erase the symbol. Then leave."
A second of uncomfortable silence followed.
The mercenary drew his blade.
A mistake.
Konan moved first.
Paper fell in an uneven pattern, not to cut, but to disrupt. One man stumbled, cursing. Nagato pressed the ground beneath the third, just enough to lock his legs.
Yahiko moved toward the first.
Not fast. Direct.
The strike wasn't clean or elegant, but it worked.
The mercenary hit the ground, gasping.
"Who are you?" he spat.
Yahiko didn't answer.
Konan dropped from the roof and stopped a few steps away.
"You're leaving," she said. "Now."
"And if we don't?"
Nagato increased the pressure slightly.
The man on the ground groaned.
"Alright," the mercenary said quickly. "Alright."
They backed away, one by one, without running.
When they disappeared down the road, the silence returned.
Yahiko released a slow breath.
"That felt different."
Konan erased the symbol with hardened paper.
"It worked."
"It worked because they didn't know who they were dealing with," Nagato said.
"They never do," Yahiko replied.
Konan finished and stood.
"This will spread."
"Let it," Yahiko said. "On our terms."
Nagato watched the empty road.
Nothing had collapsed.
Later, farther along the route, they found a wounded messenger by the roadside. It wasn't an ambush. Just carelessness.
Konan knelt first.
"Who did this?"
"Didn't see them," the man said weakly. "They just said… the balance changed."
Yahiko frowned.
"Balance?"
The man let out a dry laugh.
"Someone stayed where no one stays."
Konan and Yahiko exchanged a brief look.
"Rest," Konan said. "The road is clear for now."
They left him water and supplies.
As they walked away, Yahiko spoke quietly.
"They're talking."
"They're talking about the effect," Konan replied.
Nagato added,
"And that reaches far."
Elsewhere, a report was placed on a simple desk.
No name on the cover.
Only short notes:
small villages
mercenaries withdrawing
markings removed
unidentified presence
A hand turned the last page.
Silence.
Then a single note was written in the margin:
Confirm origin.
Back on the road, Yahiko kept his pace steady.
"We keep moving."
Konan nodded.
Nagato followed.
They didn't know where Kuro was.
But they knew this much—
The world had started to respond.
And it wouldn't turn back.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading and for the continued support.
The story is moving forward from here, and I appreciate everyone who's following along.
More soon.