After the people across the various timelines of the Shinobi World had somewhat settled their emotions, the scene shifted once again.
A rainbow stretched across the sky, piercing through the dark clouds, radiating brilliant light.
A woman appeared on the screen; short, blue-purple hair tied up in a bun, a pale blue paper flower on the right side of her head, gray eyes, light purple eyeshadow, delicate features, a lip piercing on her lower lip, and amber-colored nail polish.
She wore a black coat embroidered with red clouds outlined in white, light purple tight pants, the Amegakure forehead protector tied to the right side of her waist, and white-soled high-heeled sandals.
She stood above the water's surface, both hands raised, surrounded by countless dancing white paper sheets. Her purple hair and robes fluttered together, and the rainbow behind her made her look radiant beyond measure.
This was, of course, Konan.
She didn't have the eerie, oppressive presence of the Six Paths of Pain, nor Nagato's gravely ill frailty, nor the ferocity of the other Akatsuki members.
She simply stood quietly on the water's surface—like a flower blooming in ruins. Beautiful yet solitary, and gentle yet cold.
[Konan, one of the founders of the Akatsuki, codename: Byakko (White Tiger), also known as the 'Angel' by the residents of the Hidden Rain Village.]
[During the Second Great Ninja War, Amegakure was ravaged by frequent conflict. Konan, born in Amegakure, lost her parents and became a lone wanderer. On her journey, she met Yahiko and Nagato. The three relied on each other, surviving by stealing food.]
The screen flickered, returning to Amegakure several decades ago.
A young Konan wore tattered clothes, her hair disheveled. Beside her were the equally frail Yahiko and Nagato. The three little ones coordinated their tactics, stealing watermelons from the market.
[Later, they met a young Jiraiya. The three became his disciples and lived under his care for the next three years, systematically learning Ninjutsu.]
[As a child, Konan loved origami, and she was a gentle girl who easily grew close to others. But after suffering the devastation of war and the loss of her dear friend, her heart gradually became cold.]
[She often used the Dance of the Shikigami to move around, transforming her body into paper to become immune to physical attacks—something Sasori of the Red Sand, whom she recruited into the Akatsuki, understood better than anyone.]
[Furthermore, she could also use it for offense, cloning, and flight, allowing her Ninjutsu to be applied in combat, reconnaissance, and more.]
The scene shifted to a barren wasteland.
Yellow sand stretched endlessly under the blazing sun, baking the earth. The air shimmered with heat. Nothing could be seen on the distant horizon, only endless dunes and occasional bones protruding from the sand.
Sasori, who had not yet taken refuge inside Hiruko, walked through the desert, his thin frame nearly obscured by the swirling dust.
"There's hardly anything usable as material here. I hope the next village has something worthwhile." At this point, Sasori clearly hadn't yet modified his own body, he seemed far more full of life.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through, forcing Sasori to raise his arm to shield his eyes, squinting ahead.
"I've heard rumors of Shinobi villages scattered across the Land of Wind being slaughtered overnight."
"It seems that was your handiwork, Sasori of the Red Sand."
A voice came from above, and when Sasori slowly looked up, Konan—adorned with massive white wings made of paper—hovered in the air, gazing down at him with cold eyes.
The white wings cast a massive shadow over the ground, enveloping Sasori entirely.
"And what do you want?" Sasori straightened up, his hand already on the scroll behind his back, watching the woman in the sky warily.
"I've come here to invite you to join the Akatsuki." Konan's voice remained calm.
"Akatsuki? Never heard of it." Sasori's tone carried a hint of disdain. Clearly, as strong rouge-nin he wasn't going to join just any random organization.
"We need your power at our side to help us complete our pursuits. So come and lend us your strength."
"Heh… You're being awfully presumptuous, wouldn't you say?"
At the same time, Konan voluntarily dispersed the paper wings and landed lightly on the sand.
But Sasori, standing opposite her, clearly didn't care what the Akatsuki was. He drew the scroll from his back, placed it on the ground, unrolled it quickly, and summoned the Third Kazekage puppet.
[What do you do when a kid doesn't want to join the Akatsuki? No problem! Just beat them up!]
[Such is the unique recruitment method of the Akatsuki.]
The battle ended very quickly.
Sasori manipulated the Third Kazekage puppet to endlessly pierce Konan's body, but every time she was struck, her body dissolved into countless white paper sheets, then reassembled as if nothing had happened.
Konan stood amidst the paper fragments with a calm expression, as if watching a performance that had nothing to do with her. Those blades simply couldn't hurt her.
And with a single move, she enveloped the Third Kazekage puppet entirely, instantly rendering it combat-ineffective.
"I lost, so I have no right to choose. Take me wherever you want."
Seeing this, Sasori lost all his desire to fight. He released the Third Kazekage summoning and surrendered.
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Deidara sighed repeatedly at the sight. "Ah… Sasori-san was at such a disadvantage against Konan. Puppets primarily use physical attacks, which can't even touch her real body. Plus, he can't fly, so he can only take a beating."
"If only I had been the one to face Konan back then. I can fly too, and my explosions would definitely counter her Paper Style."
Hearing that, both Konan and Sasori glanced at him at the same time. Konan's gaze was cold, like she was looking at a not-so-smart child. While, Sasori's puppet eyes shifted slightly, but neither of them spoke.
Under their combined stare, Deidara shrank his neck and shut up awkwardly.
But Sasori soon turned his gaze to Konan. He had now developed the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, surely he could put up a fight against her now, right? At the very least, he wouldn't be as helplessly countered as before.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya, far away in the Land of Waves, was stunned.
He hadn't expected that the little girl from back then to have grown so powerful! Honestly, Nagato's current strength didn't surprise him at all; after all, he had the Rinnegan. So even knowing now that those eyes weren't originally his, they were still the Rinnegan!
The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, even future Sasuke only had one.
But what about Konan?
As her teacher, Jiraiya knew perfectly well that she had no bloodline limit. She was just an ordinary shinobi, and yet she had grown to this extent.
After all, Sasori was no pushover, yet in Konan's hands, he couldn't even put up a fight.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit smug. Say what you will, when it came to teaching disciples, no one in the Shinobi World could match him!
[Additionally, Konan had modified ordinary paper into waterproof paper, but its weakness was still oil. Once the paper was soaked in oil, her techniques couldn't be performed.]
[For example, during her brief skirmish with Jiraiya, he knew the weaknesses of her Paper Style all too well and easily defeated her with oil plus Fire Release.]
[Of course, Konan had a natural disadvantage when fighting Jiraiya. She didn't fully know his abilities, whereas Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were all his students, trained in his techniques. So he knew all their strengths and specialties intimately.]
Hearing that, Jiraiya felt even more smug.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade looked at the woman with fluttering paper wings on the screen, her brow slightly furrowed, fingers tapping lightly on the desk.
"Konan… that guy actually managed to train a shinobi of this caliber."
Her tone carried a hint of competitiveness. After all, she was also one of the Sannin—yet her student Shizune was always carrying around a pet pig, and Sakura was still practicing chakra control. The gap between their disciples was honestly a bit large.
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, smoke curling upward.
He also looked at Konan on the screen, a trace of complexity flashing in his eyes.
"That guy Jiraiya, he wasn't the most talented, but when it comes to teaching disciples, he truly inherited the best from me." He paused, then added, "Or maybe it's just that fools have fool's luck."
Hearing that, Tsunade snorted. "Old man, luck is also a part of strength. And don't just go bragging about yourself."
She paused, then returned to a topic from long ago. "What do you think? Now that Nagato and Konan know so much intel, if we sent Jiraiya to the Land of Rain now, could he persuade them?"
Hiruzen glanced at her and shook his head. "It's still probably impossible. Jiraiya may have taught them, but that was decades ago. Time changes everything, especially people's hearts."
At that, Tsunade sighed and dropped the subject.
She was just saying it anyway. If Jiraiya really died in Amegakure, it would be too late for tears.
*****
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