The next morning, the air inside the Hokage Building's main conference hall was thick enough to be cut by a kunai.
Every seat around the circular stone table was filled by a presence that could shake nations:
Tsunade of the Senju.
Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Kakashi the Copy Ninja.
Might Guy, the Blue Beast of Konoha.
Uchiha Fugaku, the Evil Eye.
Uchiha Itachi, Root Commander.
Only one chair—placed at the end of the table—remained empty. It had been empty for minutes.
No one spoke. No one even breathed too loudly. The shinobi gathered here had experienced countless missions, wars, and crises, yet today a strange tension gripped them all.
Because the one who called this meeting… had not arrived.
Minutes ticked by.
Then, finally—
Click.
The heavy doors swung open.
A boy walked in.
Handsome, calm, looking no older than eleven or twelve. But the moment he entered, both Fugaku and Itachi stiffened.
Akira Uchiha.
Itachi had mentioned to him that Akira was close to Konoha's top officials. Yes.
His prodigy status—well known.
But calling a full council meeting?
This was new.
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. How much influence does this child truly hold?
Itachi, on the other hand, remained serene. He knew the truth. Akira was not just a prodigy. He was the representative of a person beyond the village.
A person named Chronarch.
Akira approached the empty seat and bowed politely to everyone in the room—utterly unbothered by the crushing atmosphere.
Then he sat down.
Drank water.
Calmly. Like this was an ordinary morning gathering.
Everyone stared.
Akira did not rush.
Once he finished drinking, he let out a breath, folded his hands on the table, and began speaking.
---
"Well, everyone here knows me. Except… maybe Might Guy-senpai."
Guy blinked twice.
"This youthful face—yes, I suppose I do not!"
Akira continued.
"I am Akira Uchiha of the Uchiha clan. And the representative of Chronarch."
The moment the name was spoken, Guy and Fugaku exchanged confused glances.
Chronarch?
But neither interrupted.
Akira's voice remained steady.
"As for the reason for this meeting—Chronarch has given me a message.
The Fourth Great Ninja War will begin this year."
A suffocating silence crushed the room.
Faces hardened.
Shoulders tensed.
No one doubted his words—except Fugaku, whose Sharingan flickered silently.
Guy did not doubt anything. Akira could have declared the moon was falling and Guy would only think:
I must increase my training by five times!
Akira continued.
"The war will begin in seven months. The Hidden Cloud will be the first to declare war on Konoha."
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged grim looks.
" A year later, the Hidden Stone will join the assault.
Then the Hidden Sand.
The Hidden Mist is in rebellion, so they will not participate."
Tsunade nodded slowly, exhaling through her nose.
Then she asked, voice deep:
"Is that all Chronarch said?"
Akira shook his head.
"No. Chronarch also said he has a way to prevent the war entirely."
The mood shifted instantly.
Jiraiya's eyes lit up with desperate hope.
A chance at preventing bloodshed—
A chance for peace—
Maybe… maybe Chronarch was the Child of Prophecy he had been searching for.
(He conveniently ignored that he was supposed to be the mentor of said child.)
Jiraiya leaned forward.
"How do we stop it? Tell us."
Akira's expression became serious.
Then he asked:
"Do you know Nagato Uzumaki?"
(Huge info dump
You can skip to next chapter if you do not want to read it. )
Every heartbeat in the room froze.
Only Jiraiya and Tsunade visibly reacted—eyes widening as memories of Amegakure resurfaced.
Jiraiya's voice trembled slightly.
"Are you talking about… my student Nagato?"
Akira nodded calmly.
"Yes. I'm talking about your student—Nagato Uzumaki."
A small shock ran through the room.
"The Uzumaki clan…" Kakashi murmured quietly under his mask.
"A Rinnegan wielder," Tsunade added under her breath.
Jiraiya, however, froze.
Akira continued:
"Nagato Uzumaki. A descendant of the famous Uzumaki clan… and the current inheritor of the Rinnegan."
At the mention of Rinnegan, even Fugaku's eyes narrowed with rare solemnity.
The air grew heavier.
Jiraiya's expression softened—pain and nostalgia mixing in his eyes.
Memories of Amegakure.
Memories of three starving orphans.
Memories of war, loss, hope…
Then the memory of the report—
Hanzo.
The coup.
Their supposed deaths.
Jiraiya lowered his head.
"I heard… Nagato died in Amegakure. Along with Yahiko and Konan. All three of them…"
His voice cracked for a moment.
"…I failed them."
Tsunade glanced toward him with quiet concern.
A faint smile touched Akira's lips—but it wasn't mocking. It was reassuring.
"Nagato didn't die."
Jiraiya's head snapped up.
"What…?"
He leaned forward, trembling with a mix of disbelief and hope.
"Are you serious?"
His voice grew louder.
"Did Nagato really survive?"
He had hoped for this.
He had dreamed of this.
Somewhere deep down, he always believed Nagato could not have died so easily.
A boy with those eyes.
A boy who believed in peace.
A boy who could change the world.
Now, hearing Akira say it—Jiraiya's heart raced.
Akira met his gaze, steady and unflinching.
After a silent moment…
Jiraiya could no longer hide his excitement.
His fingers shook slightly.
His breathing quickened.
He was no longer the calm Legendary Sannin.
He was a teacher hearing that his lost student might still be alive.
Akira let the silence settle for a moment, then continued.
---
"Well… let's start the story of Nagato.
Since many of you don't know the details."
Everyone leaned forward.
"Nagato Uzumaki was born in Amegakure," Akira began, "after his parents fled after the fall of Uzushiogakure. They escaped the destruction of their homeland and lived quietly as civilians in the Rain Country."
The room remained silent.
"When the Second Great Ninja War broke out… everything changed."
Konoha , Sunagakure and Amegakure
A three-way battlefield.
"One night, Konoha shinobi broke into Nagato's home." Akira's voice grew softer.
"They mistook his family for enemy Ninja s… and killed both of his parents."
Jiraiya's hands tightened into fists.
Kakashi's lone eye dimmed.
Even Guy's cheerful aura darkened.
Akira continued:
"Seeing his parents die, Nagato awakened the Rinnegan… and killed the intruders."
Jiraiya closed his eyes in shame.
He had never known this.
The guilt was heavy.
"After that," Akira said, "Nagato wandered alone… starving, begging, stealing. Until he met Yahiko and Konan."
A faint warmth returned.
"They became family. And then… they met Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya looked down, hiding whatever emotion surfaced.
"For three years, they trained under him. After Jiraiya left Ame, the three believed they could bring peace to their land. So they formed the original Akatsuki.
The real one.
The one built on hope.
They gathered civilians, rogue shinobi, refugees… and protected them. Fed them. Created safety in a country known only for rain and death."
Even Tsunade's stern face softened.
Might Guy was already wiping silent tears.
"In just a few years, Akatsuki became the second most influential force in Ame—right after Hidden rain village."
"But that was the problem," Akira said coldly.
"They grew too fast. Too idealistic. Too peaceful."
"Hanzo began to fear them."
Akira's tone sharpened:
"He became like any leader who gains power he doesn't deserve—
paranoid, insecure, willing to kill anyone who threatens his position."
Fugaku tensed immediately.
He subtly kicked Akira's foot under the table, eyes begging him to shut up.
Akira ignored him completely.
The others didn't react.
Even Jiraiya and Tsunade showed no sign of being offended by the comparison.
---
"Akatsuki offered peace negotiations," Akira said.
"But Hanzo didn't want peace."
Everyone already sensed where this was going.
"And then Danzo… interfered."
Tsunade's face turned stormy.
Jiraiya's chakra leaked violently.
Akira continued mercilessly:
"Danzo discovered the truth — Nagato possessed the Rinnegan."
Jiraiya flinched.
"With Hanzo's fear and Danzo's ambition aligning… they formed a single plan."
Akira took a slow breath.
"Hanzo pretended to accept the peace treaty. He requested Konan to come with the Akatsuki delegation. She trusted him."
Tsunade shook her head bitterly.
"Hanzo slaughtered the delegation and kidnapped Konan."
Jiraiya's killing intent spiked for a brief second.
"Yahiko and Nagato rushed alone to save her. When they arrived… they were surrounded by Hanzo's elite and Root operatives."
Akira's voice became quiet.
"In front of Yahiko and Nagato, Konan was held at kunai-point."
"Hanzo gave them a condition."
'If Nagato kills Yahiko, he'll let Konan go.
Sasuke would've called it a lie.
Naruto would've shouted it was unfair.
But professionals in the room understood too well:
This is how warlords break idealists.
Akira continued:
"Yahiko handed a kunai to Nagato. Nagato refused. Yahiko smiled… and impaled himself with Nagato's kunai and committed suicide."
Guy gasped.
Kakashi lowered his head.
Itachi closed his eyes briefly.
"Yahiko died in Nagato's arms."
Akira let the weight linger.
"And Hanzo… broke his promise."
The room felt cold.
"He ordered Nagato to kill himself or he'd kill Konan."
All calm vanished from Jiraiya's face.
" Nagato, shattered by grief, chose one final act.
With his life as the price… he summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
The table trembled slightly from the chakra pressure leaking from Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Using the Rinnegan, he slaughtered Hanzo's forces and Root operatives. He saved Konan."
"But…"
Akira exhaled.
"The jutsu destroyed his legs. Dozens of black chakra receivers embedded in his spine.
The vitality of his Uzumaki lineage crippled."
"And while Nagato fought… Danzo massacred the remaining Akatsuki members at their base."
Akira stopped speaking for the first time in a long while and took a glass of water.
He drank slowly, letting the room digest everything.
Even breathing felt heavy.
---