Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3 — Did Konan Get Stabbed?
In an instant, a pure white paper blade condensed into being; Konan planted it upright in her hand.
Though made entirely of paper, it was no less sharp or rigid than a real metal blade.
Clang!
The next moment, the尖端 of the black receiver slammed into the cross-section of the paper blade.
Wrapped deep inside the blade, Alex felt a shock run through him, but the blade was sturdy and did not split under the impact.
Using the rebound, Konan forced herself backward at speed.
"Hmph! Don't think you can run!" Obito snorted, pressing the attack without pause.
Konan did not answer; her gaze stayed deadly and unblinking.
As her feet hit the water she adjusted her stance, then slammed her right foot down, sending ripples racing outward.
She launched like an arrow, hurtling toward Obito who hovered in midair.
Clang—! A heavy metallic collision rang out.
The white paper blade and the black metal rod crashed together with ferocious force; sparks flew.
The shockwave cleared the surrounding rain in an instant.
In midair, black and white faced off—two extremes.
Obito stared at Konan close before him; the Sharingan in his right eye gleamed.
The three comma-shaped tomoe in his pupil spun like a whirl.
But Konan refused to meet his gaze—she would not give him a chance for genjutsu.
"Hmm… a bit troublesome either way."
Obito suddenly pushed hard, flicking Konan aside, then quickly formed hand seals.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A colossal fireball hurtled toward Konan from the sky.
Konan landed on the water and slipped aside, dodging the descending inferno.
Boom—! The massive sphere slammed into the sea.
Like a gale of burning petals, scalding flames burst outward across the surface.
"Suiton: Suijinheki!"
Konan planted herself and slammed both hands onto the water; a towering wall of water rose to block the flames.
Before she could rise, a far more terrifying heat struck from above.
The sky seemed dyed red—an enormous sea of fire poured down.
All the rain vaporized under the extreme heat, hissing into white steam.
"Katon: Gōka Messhitsu." Obito's cold voice pierced the inferno and reached Konan's ears with perfect clarity.
She lifted her head; her vision was filled with the rolling blaze.
In the crimson light, his orange eye looked like a living flame.
Her soaked Akatsuki cloak steamed; purple hair curled rapidly from the heat.
Inside the blade, Alex watched in stunned disbelief.
"Holy crap—this is so much worse than on TV."
This cataclysmic sight deeply shook him, a newcomer to the Naruto world.
At the same time his blood burned with excitement—not envy. Once he survived this, he could someday wield equal or greater power.
"What will you do now, Konan?"
The Gōka Messhitsu was terrifying, but Alex didn't believe an Akatsuki-level kunoichi like Konan couldn't handle it.
Boom! Konan's body suddenly exploded outward—then became thousands upon thousands of paper fragments rushing into the inferno.
White against red.
A vast white sea rose to meet the blaze, nearly matching the fire's volume.
The blade that contained Alex rode within that immense paper tide, swept into the burning mass alongside countless other flakes.
"No wonder Konan's Paper Release is special—resistant to both water and fire. Incredible…"
Despite the surrounding red flames, Alex felt no burning.
None of the paper sheets caught fire.
On the sea, the white fragments billowed up from the conflagration, trailing faint embers, and then—at visible speed—reformed into Konan's figure.
"Hmph. Your paper jutsu has its merits, but—"
Obito charged at Konan, growling, "it won't change the fact you're going to die today."
Konan showed no fear. She gripped her paper blade and surged at him again.
For a while the air above the sea rang with metallic clashes.
Their speeds were extreme—two streaks of motion darting, colliding across the water.
Alex felt his viewpoint flip at dizzying speed. One moment he soared high, the next he dove near the waves.
Sky and sea blurred; it was like a high-velocity roller coaster—terrifying turns and abrupt weightlessness.
Thankfully, being paper meant he only felt thrill, no physical nausea.
Battles between Akatsuki-level fighters were lethal and lightning-fast.
Konan and Obito were not merely trading taijutsu; each struck for the other's fatal points with their signature ninjutsu.
Sheets clashed with flames; strikes canceled, then rained down into the sea.
Alex obediently served as a pendant and a weapon, careful not to distract Konan.
"Your paper jutsu is nothing special."
In midair, Obito flicked away a massive paper shuriken with his black rod, then descended back to the water without following up immediately.
White sheets littered the western surface where he'd struck them aside.
Obito's eyes showed no emotion at all as he fixed his gaze on Konan a dozen meters away—back on the water.
After their fierce duel, he showed no wounds; his breathing remained steady.
He had seen many paper techniques before—some were surprising, but none posed a real threat to him.
Konan, by contrast, bore many cuts across her Akatsuki cloak and breathed with visible difficulty.
The strain was obvious.
Although Akatsuki-level chakra stores were vast, they could not match Obito's recovery thanks to his Wood Release cells.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Just then, the scattered white sheets across the sea surged upward as if stirred by some signal.
They spun like whirling metal blades, whining as they cut through the air, and shot from the west in all directions toward Obito—cutting off any escape.
It was swift and unexpected; he had no time to react.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Before Obito could respond, the paper blades struck precisely—tearing into his body. Flesh and blood splattered; limbs fell away.
Konan inhaled deeply, eyes locked on the flying gore; her expression remained taut.
Even though her trap seemed to have worked, she refused to believe this man—who claimed to be Madara—would so easily be killed.
Alex felt the same disbelief. "Hey, Obito—what about your intangibility? You're not supposed to just die like this!"
Boom! The next instant, the gore that had splattered to the west burst into a puff of white smoke and rapidly dissipated.
"He's not dead after all!" Alex thought, half relieved and half annoyed. Why couldn't Obito just stay dead?
Konan also felt disappointment, but the battle had to continue. She needed immediately to locate his real form.
As she glanced slightly to the rear, seeking his position, a sharp black metal rod suddenly thrust up through the water beneath her feet.
Like a hidden serpent striking, it revealed its poisonous fang—and pierced straight for Konan's throat!
At the other end of the rod was a pale right hand wrapped in a black sleeve.
It was Obito Uchiha—who had somehow been concealed underwater—launching a surprise, lethal stab as Konan turned her head for a split second.
In an instant, the black rod sliced through—its tip pierced Konan's throat and came out the other side!