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Chapter 8 — Struggle for the Rinnegan
High above, Konan silently observed Alex.
The fierce airflow from their high-speed flight slapped the paper, making it clap and crackle, yet it didn't affect his posture.
"You said you were fragile and couldn't fly in strong winds on your own?"
Uh... Alex's words caught; he had no good answer. He couldn't very well say he was clinging because he liked the softness.
Fortunately Konan didn't press the matter. After a short contact she had a basic understanding of "Akatsuki."
On major matters he was straightforward: he knew many of the shinobi world's secrets, could help her, and posed no obvious threat — that earned cautious trust.
But on trivial things he displayed a baffling stubbornness that revealed his true temperament: lazy—if he could lie down, he wouldn't move—and yet full of bright energy, like a child who never grew up.
Even Konan's long-dormant heart felt a spark of vitality from him. He was playful, a bit obnoxious, but sincere.
"Maybe he's just a kid—after all, he was born only recently," Konan decided inwardly and kept watching.
She pinched Alex between two fingers and faced forward, voice frosty: "Before we leave, I must return to Amegakure. You know why."
"Two comrades lie there; I will not allow their bodies to be desecrated or disturbed."
At the mention of Yahiko and Nagato, Konan's face hardened with murderous resolve. The three of them had grown together; the bond had long since become family. She would not leave her friends behind.
Alex did not argue—he understood Konan's past well enough to know she would never change this decision.
"Hope it's not too late..." he murmured, looking back. The mushroom cloud at the explosion's center had already begun to weaken.
"All right—this might be our chance to seize the Rinnegan before Obito does."
He realized this was probably the best opportunity to snatch the Rinnegan. Even if it might not directly benefit him, preventing Obito from taking it was a big win. Since he and Konan were bound, if Obito killed her he would kill Alex too—so Obito couldn't be allowed to succeed.
Amegakure lay shrouded in rain and mist, appearing hazy beneath them.
"We're here." From above, Alex could only make out vague outlines through the fog.
"Hold tight!" Konan warned, then dove like a cannonball.
Alex clung to her shoulder to avoid being blown away by the gale. The paper flapped violently. In less than three seconds they fell from nearly a kilometer high to just tens of meters above the village.
Konan steadied herself without pause and streaked through the empty streets toward the tallest building at the center. The place where Pain in his Deva Path had once stood was unmistakable. The sight stirred sorrow in Alex as he sensed Konan's grief.
She barely glanced at the landmark before plunging into the structure, cutting through a false wall and descending into the secret underground chamber Nagato had built with the Rinnegan's power—a hidden place only Nagato and Konan had known.
Through the dark corridor they reached a chestnut door. Konan took a deep breath and pushed it open. Warm light greeted them. The room spanned hundreds of square meters; stones set into the walls emitted soft illumination. The floor was scattered with pure white paper flowers—each one folded by Konan's hands. As she entered, the flowers stirred and a gentle fragrance filled the air.
On the central bier lay two bodies.
"Yahiko! Nagato!" Konan's cold expression vanished. Tears welled as she flew toward their remains.
"Sorry to disturb your rest, but I must." She waved, and a sheet of paper unfurled to wrap the two corpses.
"Ah—so you were here all along. Took us long enough to find you."
A teasing voice echoed from the floor, and a pale head with a few green tufts of hair popped out. "Found you—found you… searched all over Amegakure, finally found you. Lord Madara should reward us."
In an instant more White Zetsu swarmed up from the ground and walls, even from the flowers and the bier. Two of them dove into the thread of paper Konan had intended to use to wrap her comrades, blocking it with their bodies. Another grabbed Nagato's shriveled right leg and flung it backward. Many White Zetsu had been lying in wait on that floor; one was particularly distinct—its face split in black and white, an eerie yin-yang visage.
"Zetsu! Curse you!" Konan exploded. Her paper weapons launched in a furious storm toward the Zetsu and the other intruding units.
Alex, however, remained calm. Since the situation was already compromised, his only option was to withdraw early. Konan, blinded by grief and rage, would not listen to reason now.
Before he could act, a familiar spatial vortex opened abruptly in front of Konan.
"Damn! Obito came so fast!"
A pale-brown wooden stem shot through the vortex and stabbed at Konan's chest like lightning. A brutal voice followed: "Wood Release: Insertion Technique!"