"Mm... it's been a long time, Sister Konan."
After the woman spoke as if she were talking to someone beside her, there was a brief silence. Then, from the other side of the tree trunk, a voice slowly sounded.
Like the clear delight in the woman's voice, this voice also carried a trace of warmth.
At that moment, on the other side of the trunk the beautiful woman leaned against, a young man stood on a branch at the same height as her. Like the woman, he watched the clearing shrouded in morning mist, and a warm smile slowly appeared on his lips.
It was Chiba.
And this beautiful woman, dressed in black robes patterned with red clouds, was also one of the most popular female characters from the original story.
Konan.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. But then again, as Konoha's brightest rising star, it's only natural for you to be assigned as a guard for something like the Kazekage personally coming to seek peace."
Hearing the response from beside her, the smile on Konan's lips widened slightly as she spoke.
"I didn't expect you to be the powerful reinforcement these Iwa shinobi had hired to assassinate the Kazekage."
In response, the warmth at the corners of Chiba's mouth seemed to deepen.
Although he and Konan were on opposing sides in this mission, Iwa had already abandoned the mission. Konan had merely been assisting Iwa as a mercenary for Akatsuki. Now that the mission had been canceled and the employment ended, and with the Land of Rain presumably having fallen into the hands of Nagato and Konan, the relationship between them was now that of Konoha and Hidden Rain in the Land of Rain.
Konoha and Hidden Rain were neutral toward each other, with no hostility