The flow of time's sands never ceases; a constant, uninterrupted fall of grains always bringing new events, whether expected or not. Six years had passed until long-awaited matters were brought to fulfillment.
The war was drawing ever closer to its climax, and the clashes washed the land with blood innocent or corrupt, indiscriminately. It also provoked questioning in those whose minds could observe the world without the constraints of nation or power:
Was there a true cause for all of it?
Amaya wondered about it many times, whether at that point, years earlier, or even later until the end of the Third Great Ninja War. Still, her blade fulfilled its role as a Konoha kunoichi, without hesitation when the situation demanded it for any mission that deserved justice.
However, when she was requested to join an investigation team and, because of that, return to her place of creation, the Uzumaki hesitated. Not from any lack of understanding that the place went against her moral principles, but entirely because of her fear.
Nevertheless, Amaya was someone who, for many years, had set aside her own desires for others and would still do so. But even if she remained someone who would yield, she had also grown into a person who could handle a situation to turn it in her favor.
Kakashi and Shisui were surprised to be chosen for a sudden investigation team, especially after finding out the redhead was responsible for the request and would be the jounin leading them.
The Uzumaki hadn't consciously considered her choice of the long-time brother and friend due to the sense of security they inspired in her when facing her past and still haunting nightmare, nor how she had, for the first time, let her fear show in front of someone.
Amaya would remember that moment as a support, while Kakashi would never be able to erase from his memory the redhead's fragility as he had never imagined it before. Yet both would also recall with appreciation the promise made, where the platinum-haired offered to be there for the Uzumaki and that vow would not end with that mission.
A strange figure, assigned to their team under suspicious circumstances, couldn't be avoided, but likewise it wasn't an initial hindrance to what the team aimed for.
Her return to the laboratory, to her cradle of creation, was an ambiguous journey for the Uzumaki:
Starting from her blessed memories of being rescued by Minato and Sakumo, delving into personal suffering in the testing room, and finally returning to the most painful place where her trauma from reaping others' lives had occurred.
Amaya was pushed to her limit, not just psychologically but also physically, when the fake Anbu accompanying them revealed himself as one of her creators.
The fight between them revealed much more than the redhead's repressed anger, such as the man's certain presence in Konoha despite her knowledge of the girl's combat development, as well as the deterioration of her body.
The outcome could be turned in favor of those supporting the Uzumaki, however, her condition was far from good. And in her unconscious state, two circumstances would arise to drastically change the young woman's life:
The reunion with the first life she had taken, with him apologizing for the burden placed on the redhead and granting forgiveness; as well as the encounter with a unique entity, a God of Death who would watch over her.
Being hunted was inevitable given that her creators had decided to target her directly, but the Uzumaki was not alone, and those supporting her once again saved her.
Just like the budding and blooming toward liberation from her past fears, Amaya experienced a celebration she hadn't known until then because of the war the Hanami Festival.
Not only did the festivity offer a new vision of reality for the redhead, but also the Hatake's reprimand accompanying her, urging her to express herself and no longer surrender all her desires for the sake of others, to think more of herself.
And likewise, the Uzumaki had taught him not to bear all the hatred and unchecked anger of others for choices and actions that weren't his; she had retaliated for him and also out of her own desire to protect someone important to the girl.
Especially on that day, an object was given as a gift from the perception of another regarding the girl's interest in it, and it would become a symbol that would unite them in the present moment and the future awaiting them.
An interesting discovery also emerged at home with the unexpected finding of a pair of rings both for the reason behind their presence and the situation in which Uzumaki and Hatake were placed by the redhead's brother.
A common understanding among those who knew the young woman with predominantly red hair was that they should always expect some unusual choice from her in any situation, even the most normal ones.
This held true for Minato when he discovered his daughter was seeking the meaning of 'love' by reading romance novels.
And having been presented with her father's understanding of that feeling through his and Kushina's life story, Amaya became determined to help them.
The planning and organization took some time, but with the help of those she had met and bonded with over the years, Minato and Kushina's marriage proposal was soon formalized.
On the other hand, while a pleasant situation arose in the Uzumaki's life, another problematic one came to light.
Amaya joined her brother and Itachi in an Anbu training session, her relationship with the younger Uchiha possibly growing closer and slowly developing positively, however, the three were pitted against a familiar enemy.
An occurrence that required the younger ones to take a stand in combat ended with the Uzumaki's suspicion about the identity of the group they fought.
And when discussed with Shisui, the siblings reached the consensus that the Foundation members had methods identical to those who attacked them after leaving the laboratory linked to Konoha, as the redhead considered, and consequently related to her creators.
Amaya determined she would seek out whoever was related to her creation and shadow work in Konoha on her own, thus deciding to join the Anbu as information and freedom of action would be available to her, it would provide protection against the hidden enemy.
But to the girl's surprise, the confirmation and face-to-face encounter with one of her creators came suddenly and by the man's own choice: Danzou Shimura, Hokage Councilor and leader of the Anbu Ne organization.
A threat and warning from the man wasn't long in coming, but he wasn't the one to start moving the pieces on the board between himself and the Uzumaki; a simple move by the redhead, with a single piece on her side, but one that made her declaration of war on Shimura clear:
The hunter would become the hunted.