Although the matters on the moon had finally come to an end, under Toneri's intense insistence, everyone except Jiraiya and Naruto stayed behind. By "intense insistence," it meant quite literally hugging Nagato's waist and refusing to let go no matter what.
In the end, the Akatsuki—who truly had been busy for quite some time—ended up taking a short break here, Orochimaru included. To be honest, they had come to the moon more than once before, but they had never actually taken the time to appreciate its scenery.
As for Zaraki Kita's existence, Konan didn't feel much aversion toward it. A big reason for this was that the people in Akatsuki—from Obito at the top to Hidan at the bottom—were already strange enough. One more non-human didn't really bother her.
Unlike Naruto's extreme reaction, Konan's attitude was closer to neutral: not rejecting, not disliking, but not liking either. That said, she was genuinely curious. When did this non-human get so close to everyone in Akatsuki? Especially Kakuzu—no, it wasn't just "not rejecting," it was more like outright liking her. Konan really wanted to know how that happened.
While everyone was sitting on floating stone platforms, playing some boring competition that only kids would enjoy, Konan finally found her chance and grabbed Nagato.
"Hey, who exactly is that Zaraki Kita? She's wearing an Amegakure headband, but I've never seen her before."
Nagato, who had been avoiding her for two days straight, was finally caught. He had no interest in these pointless games—but even less interest in answering that question.
"And she's that close to Kakuzu?!"
Konan deliberately stressed Kakuzu's name.
On the field, Toneri, Kakuzu, Zaraki Kita, Obito, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, and Karin each occupied a floating stone platform. Toneri, meanwhile, was riding around wildly with Deidara on a clay bird. Even Orochimaru seemed to be having quite a good time.
"When did Kakuzu become the standard for evaluation?" Nagato muttered vaguely.
Konan frowned and smacked him on the back. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Since when did our village have a non-human ninja I don't know about?"
"She's been staying on the moon the whole time. It's normal you wouldn't know," Nagato replied. "We got busy with this whole thing, and after going back and forth a few times, we just got familiar."
Konan propped her chin on her hand and blinked at him, wearing an expression that clearly said: I'll just quietly watch you make things up.
Nagato's face flushed slightly. He coughed. "Um… that's basically how it is."
"Uzumaki Nagato," Konan said sweetly, "would you like to experience your Sister Konan's fury?"
Beneath Konan's gentle, virtuous, optimistic exterior lay a hair-trigger explosive tag. This was something both Nagato and Yahiko had personally experienced in the past. Those psychological scars still lingered. Even if Nagato had a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare provoke her.
But…
Zaraki Kita had removed all memories related to herself from Konan—along with the feelings Konan once had for her. To Konan now, Zaraki Kita simply did not exist. Unless those memories were returned to her—but they had already dissipated here, gone forever.
So… Nagato could only say this.
"Since when did you become so interested in non-humans?"
"I'm not," Konan replied. "I'm just curious. Why haven't I seen her before?"
"She's Karin's teacher. It's not strange that she's close to everyone."
"Then why haven't I met her? And wasn't Karin picked up by Obito?"
The lies were full of holes. Nagato scratched his head and forced out a somewhat passable explanation.
"Obito found this place and met Toneri and Kita. He entrusted Karin to Kita, so she became Karin's teacher. Since they share a common goal, they interacted often and got familiar with the organization. You were busy with village affairs and never crossed paths—that's normal. For now, she's basically an external member of the organization."
After speaking, Nagato looked at Konan—only to see his childhood companion pursing her lips, shooting him a distinctly disdainful look. He still felt guilty. His face reddened as he scratched his head again to hide his discomfort.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. 'Kita,' huh? You're calling her by such a cute nickname."
…Even without memories of Zaraki Kita, jealousy really did come naturally to Konan.
"Ahem. I can't just keep calling her Zaraki Kita every time," Nagato said.
"Do you like her?"
"No!"
The denial came instantly. Nagato stared at Konan in alarm, as if terrified of being misunderstood. But when he met her half-smiling gaze, realization finally dawned on him.
The Konan in front of him wasn't the Konan who once loved Kita deeply. This question about "liking" wasn't part of that past pursuit.
"Why are you getting so worked up?" Konan waved her hand. "Even if you did like her, I wouldn't look down on you. Our village isn't exactly lacking non-humans."
Nagato pressed his lips together and muttered softly, "I don't like her. I mean—I don't like her that way."
Good.
Konan thought so—yet before the words could leave her mouth, she forcibly stopped herself, biting her tongue in the process. She was startled by her own thoughts, and even more confused by the sense of relief that bloomed in her chest after hearing Nagato's explanation.
She didn't understand why she felt this way—only that when Nagato said those words, she relaxed as if she had been saved.
If Nagato really liked her… what would I do?
The thought wandered aimlessly, bringing with it an inexplicable sense of loss.
"Konan, are you alright?"
Nagato's voice carried concern. Konan snapped back to herself, feeling something cool on her face. She raised a hand—and touched tears that even she found unbelievable.
"I'm fine. Why am I crying? There isn't even any wind."
Her bewildered tone stirred a powerful urge within Nagato—a desire to tell her everything. But when he looked at her, his mouth opened and no truth would come out.
"Well, whatever," Konan said at last. "She's just an external member anyway."
She stood up and stretched her legs, stiff from sitting too long.
"Oh right—she'll be going back to the village with us, right? Things here are over, so she's coming back too, right?"
A trace of anticipation flickered in her eyes. Nagato froze, then nodded awkwardly.
Konan finally let out a sigh of relief. Paper wings unfurled as Dance of the Shikigami spread open. It had been a long time since she'd flown freely like this. She truly loved the feeling of soaring through the sky without restraint. That was why she had developed such a troublesome ninjutsu with little offensive power.
She flapped her wings and rose into the air, breathing in freedom itself.
Even if this world was hell—she was alive in it.
"Konan."
"Mm?"
"Try to be a little nicer to Kita."
Nagato could only say that much.
Konan puffed her cheeks, wearing an expression that clearly said You're lying.
"Still saying you don't like her!"
"Uh… that really isn't it."
"Got it, got it. I'll tell them not to fight you over her."
She spread her wings and shot into the sky.
Leaning against the railing of her stone platform, Zaraki Kita watched the figure soaring upward and laughed softly. Konan really was Konan.
At least… I finally did one thing right.
"Do you regret it?"
He asked, steering his platform beside hers and gazing at the same figure disappearing into the heavens. His voice remained flat.
Zaraki Kita shook her head.
"Th-this… is… enough."
He sighed and pulled a crumpled letter from his pocket.
"Back then… she tore it up on the spot."
Zaraki Kita smiled. Taking the letter—patched together after many years—she looked at it, her eyes narrowing with warmth.
"Th-thank you."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Don't ask me to do this again. And next time you die, actually die—stop pretending."
Zaraki Kita smiled and nodded. Fire-style chakra flowed into the paper, and within moments, the old letter turned to ash.
Watching her actions, he thought for a long time before finally speaking.
"This time, say what you want to say to her yourself."
"There's… al-already… no… need."
He frowned slightly, looking as if he wanted to say more—but in the end, he said nothing.
After steering his platform a short distance away, regret welled up again. The words stuck in his chest refused to rise or fall. So he guided the floating platform back beside Zaraki Kita and spoke with clear resentment.
"Zaraki Kita, this cage is one you walked into yourself. Ending up like this today—it's all your own doing."
"Yeah… it is."
Her reply was calm and faint.
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