Wounded

The Masked Man launched a fierce attack on Konan. Konan was extremely careful in dealing with him, especially since her enemy was a member of the Uchiha Clan, whose Sharingan alone was already putting Konan under immense pressure.

Even in such close proximity, South City didn't dare look the Masked Man in the eye. After all, Uchiha Itachi had once rendered the elite Jonin Hatake Kakashi bedridden with just a glance. How much less would Masked Man trained by Madara Uchiha be a threat.

The room was too small, and Konan dared not use too many Explosive Tag, knowing that Nagato was right behind her, and one wrong Nagato could kill him. This made Konan's actions very restrictive.

This is also why the Masked Man chose to make his move here. The weaker the enemy, the stronger he becomes.

Seizing the opportunity, the Masked Man pierced Konan's body with a kunai, but before Masked Man could rejoice, Konan's body turned into countless pieces of white paper fluttering in the air.

It was Paper Clone, Konan's signature Ninjutsu. The flying paper gathered together and formed Konan's image, appearing behind the Masked Man. Just as the Masked Man's attention was drawn to the flying white paper, Konan made her move.

"Paper Style, Paper Prison Technique."

The fluttering pieces of paper immediately began to swirl around the Masked Man, eventually enveloping Masked Man.

At this moment, Konan pressed her advantage.

"Paper Style: Angel's Strike"

Konan Paper Style to summon an Angel Bow and began firing paper arrows.

"Peng, Peng, Peng."

Countless paper arrows pierced through the paper prison.

"Was it successful?"

Konan muttered to herself, her gaze never leaving the paper prison.

"Pat pat."

"What an amazing combo! Our angel!"

The Masked Man's mocking voice rang out from Konan. Before making a move, the Masked Man thought Konan was just a pretty face, relying solely on Nagato's prestige. He hadn't expected this woman to be so ruthless once she started fighting!

"Um?"

What's going on?

This question popped into Konan's mind, and even Nagato looked puzzled. Why was there another Masked Man? And who was fighting Konan? If it was Genjutsu, it certainly wouldn't be able to hide it from his eyes.

In fact, the one who fought Konan was indeed the Masked Man, but those were clones cultivated using Hashirama's cells. This is because the Masked Man's body also contained a large number of Hashirama's cells, which is why Konan and Nagato couldn't recognize him.

"It seems you have quite a few secrets."

Konan spoke up, because this was the first time she had seen the Masked Man and his clone. Konan had thought that nothing in the organization could escape her notice.

Everyone has some secrets, more or less.

"However, now that you know this secret, to keep it a secret, I have no choice but to kill you both."

The Masked Man spoke arrogantly, as if in his mind he was already the biggest winner in this battle.

Hearing the Masked Man's words, Konan became even more wary. She didn't believe Masked Man was lying; he must have some hidden agenda that Konan was unaware of.

"Peng."

The Masked Man sped up and arrived in front of Konan.

"So fast!"

At this moment, the speed displayed by the mask was incomparable to what it had been before. Its power was also several times greater. It was simply incomparable. This was certain; the clone only possessed one-third of the original's strength, and it was merely an experimental model, created to test the clone's power. As a result, it was defeated by Konan, indicating it still needed improvement.

Konan could only defend. While her eyes could keep up with the Konan Masked Man's words, her body struggled to keep pace. As the saying goes, prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat. The Masked Man seized the opportunity and thrust his kunai towards Konan's heart. Konan didn't have time to dodge and could only block the Masked Man with her hand.

"Puff."

Konan's palm was pierced directly, which allowed Konan to avoid a fatal blow. However, the piercing still penetrated into Konan body.

Konan kicked the Masked Man in the chest. The Masked Man slapped him back, and Konan used the force of the slap to stagger backward.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock."

Blood dripped from Konan's palm onto the floor with a sound. However, the wound on her palm was not the most serious; the wound on her chest was the most fatal. Konan's face was pale at this moment.

"Konan, are you alright?"

Although Nagato couldn't see Konan's expression, he witnessed the entire process of Konan injury. He couldn't help but worry. Nagato now clearly knew that Konan was no match for the Masked Man, and if he continued, Konan would surely die. Nagato deeply regretted his actions; if it weren't for the fact that all six of his clones had been lost in Konoha, and he hadn't had time to replenish them before the Masked Man rebelled, catching Nagato completely off guard.

"It's okay, I can handle it."

Konan spoke as softly as possible. She didn't dare turn around, afraid that Nagato would see her.

The Masked Man watched with interest as the two showed concern for each other, thinking to himself.

"This is the helplessness of the weak! They can't even control their own lives."

The Masked Man clapped his hands and said.

"What a deeply moving scene! Why don't you two just kill yourselves? That way you can die with some dignity."

"Hateful."

Hearing the Masked Man's words, Nagato felt insulted. He, Nagato, had always considered himself a god, but now he was a tiger fallen into the plains. Unfortunately, he couldn't fight back now and could only let Konan fight in front of him.

"Lord Zabuza, is there nothing we need to do?"

Bai asked, unable to bear watching Konan die here like this. He knew Konan had been very kind to him within the organization. Perhaps it was Bai's kindness that made Konan look at him differently.

Zabuza glanced at Kisame, who was slaughtering Konan and Nagato's men. He hadn't expected that Kisame, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually one of the Masked Man's subordinates. Since Zabuza had been recruited into Akatsuki Organization by the Masked Man, he naturally belonged to the Masked Man.

"Bai, we had no choice at all."

Zabuza, now an undercover agent sent by Konoha, must establish himself within the Akatsuki Organization; otherwise, having lost his value, he simply cannot survive.

Zabuza joined the carnage, though his body was covered in bandages—a Zabuza. It's impossible for him to be captured by Konoha without a single injury! When the Masked Man rescued Zabuza, Zabuza to life. It was because the Masked Man used Hashirama's cells to pull Zabuza back from the brink of death that he gained the man's trust. To not betray that trust, Zabuza had Zabuza a massacre.

Haku glanced at Konan's location one last time, Zabuza and began attacking the people of Amegakure. Because Haku would never oppose a decision Zabuza made.