"What?" Nara Shikaku's expression changed dramatically.
Because of the need for secrecy, he had only said they were pursuing a rogue ninja. He hadn't mentioned the Tailed Beast or its Jinchuriki. Who could have guessed that this "Uchiha Itachi" would be so despicable as to dump the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki over in the Land of Rain?
He hurriedly added:
"Wait. That child is one of our village's comrades. This rogue ninja kidnapped him and brought him here. Please return him to us."
Uchiha An spoke from the side in a mocking tone:
"What comrade?"
"He's just an orphan!"
"Everyone in the village treats him like a jinx, hating and scolding him at every turn. I couldn't stand the sight of him, so I brought him along when I left."
"He..." Nara Shikaku opened his mouth, but he couldn't reveal the most important secret, and couldn't find anything to say in rebuttal. All he could do was reply, "He's an orphan of the village. The village will naturally take good care of him. There's no need for an outsider to concern himself with that."
"An orphan?" Konan looked at them both intently, moved by what she'd heard. She bent down, picked up Uzumaki Naruto from the ground, and turned to leave.
"I can keep this child in our village for now. Once you've settled things between yourselves, you can come back and take him."
"Wait! Stop!"
The Konoha ninja knew that Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. How could they let him fall into the hands of another country's ninja? They immediately disregarded any orders.
Several ninja leaped over the boundary line before Nara Shikaku could give an order and blocked Konan's path.
"Put the child down!"
"Is the Land of Rain trying to make an enemy of Konoha?"
Watching the Konoha ninja flagrantly defy her, Konan's expression darkened. Sheets of white paper once again fluttered around her, circling her body.
"It seems you didn't take a single word I said to heart!"
Nara Shikaku furrowed his brow and crossed the boundary line as well. He said gravely:
"We don't want any conflict with the Land of Rain. Please remain calm."
"Everything we said before was true, and we've shown the Land of Rain due respect. I hope your village won't bring trouble upon itself."
Though Konan looked ready to make a move, Nara Shikaku had seen plenty of ninja who seemed to care deeply about their village's dignity. When faced with enough pressure, most of them would meekly back down.
He thought Konan was that kind of all-bluster-and-no-action ninja, so he instinctively adopted a pressuring tone.
It had precisely the opposite effect!
"Respect?" Konan raised an eyebrow. "You call this respect?"
"You fight recklessly on the soil of the Land of Rain, ignore my warnings, and march openly in the direction of our village..."
"If this is what you call respect, then show me what disrespect looks like!"
Before her words had even faded, a vast mass of white paper burst from her body and surged into the sky. It rose like a white waterfall defying gravity, then took the shape of Shuriken in midair.
Tens of thousands of paper Shuriken spun rapidly overhead, their edges glinting with the cold light of Chakra as they whipped up fierce winds and shrieked through the air.
"Paper Shuriken Technique!"
As Konan's cool, furious voice rang out, the paper Shuriken overhead accelerated like an army receiving its orders. They poured down like raindrops, their piercing whistle filling the entire battlefield.
"Foolish!" The Konoha ninja had never imagined that a ninja from a tiny country would dare attack them. Enraged, they immediately entered combat and formed Hand Seals to counterattack.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Only Nara Shikaku managed to keep some restraint. As he dodged, he shouted:
"Think carefully! You're deliberately provoking a war!"
"Don't think that just because Hanzo of the Salamander is protecting you, you can stand against the great nations!"
"As ninja from a small country, you need to be especially careful with your words and actions!"
This was the bitter consequence of an intelligence gap. He felt that his words had been firm yet respectful, leaving plenty of room to back down. Even Hanzo of the Salamander wouldn't have found fault with them.
In fact, if Hanzo of the Salamander had been there, he would likely have backed down already.
But the crucial problem was... Hanzo of the Salamander had died long ago. The people he faced now were a completely different group!
Giant fireballs burst from the mouths of the Konoha ninja. Their scorching flames warped the air as they collided with the swarm of paper Shuriken.
Wherever the fireballs passed, the paper Shuriken ignited and charred, turning to ash like moths flying into flames.
A violent whirlwind swept in right after. The wind fueled the fire, and the fire lent the wind its force, creating a massive fiery vortex.
The paper Shuriken shuddered violently within the Combined Ninjutsu of wind and fire. Many were forcibly diverted and scattered, while even more caught fire and burned.
But wave after wave of paper Shuriken kept coming, one surging up before the last had subsided, like an endless white tide. They poured down without pause, far faster than the ninja could launch Ninjutsu.
Unable to use Ninjutsu again in time, the Konoha ninja had no choice but to draw the short blades at their waists, blocking and dodging as they went.
But they didn't understand that these paper Shuriken were different from real Shuriken.
They were a special effect of the secret art, Dance of the Shikigami. Just like Nara Shikaku's Shadow Binding Technique, every paper Shuriken was like an extension of her body. Even after throwing them, Konan could still control them completely.
The paper Shuriken they knocked aside curved through the air, immediately looped around, and shot back at them from behind.
Several ninja let their guard down and were caught off guard by the paper Shuriken. They were hit on the spot.
Though these Shuriken were made of paper, the secret art, Dance of the Shikigami, made their edges sharper than steel. Spinning at high speed, they were powerful enough to cut even the Black Receiver in Obito's hand.
What would happen if they struck a person?
"Ah..."
Amid a chorus of screams, many ninja were sliced in half at the waist. Not dead yet, they lay on the ground, wailing in agony.
The battlefield instantly became a scene from hell. Blood sprayed through the air, severed limbs flew everywhere, and entrails and guts were strewn all around.
Many of the paper Shuriken were stained a glaring red. As they spun at high speed, they scattered blood everywhere, as if a rain of blood were falling from the sky.
"No!" Nara Shikaku's eyes reddened. He no longer cared about any wariness toward Hanzo of the Salamander.
He made a gesture, and Akimichi Choza immediately charged forward. His body turned into a boulder, rolling out like a tank as he barreled straight toward Konan.
"Human Boulder!"
Konan didn't have Susanoo and couldn't go head-to-head with Akimichi Choza. But she could fly!
Paper unfurled at her shoulder blades, forming a pair of enormous white wings in an instant.
The wings beat once, stirring up a powerful gust of wind. Like an angel, she soared into the sky, easily evading the deadly attack from below. A few scraps of paper drifted down like feathers, but as they neared the ground, their color abruptly changed. They turned into Explosive Tags and detonated with a roar.
Akimichi Choza's charge missed. Instead, he took the full force of the Explosive Tags. If not for his powerful constitution, he might have been killed on the spot.
The Shadow Binding Technique that had crept in behind her naturally missed as well, without even touching the hem of Konan's clothes.
But they reacted quickly, too.
Even as the Explosive Tags struck him, Akimichi Choza immediately leaped upward. His body rapidly grew larger as he endured the damage, and he quickly pursued Konan, spreading his Giant Palms and reaching for her with a rush of wind.
Konan beat the wings behind her, about to climb higher, but suddenly her head went fuzzy and she froze for a moment. Her hand loosened, and the child she was carrying dropped out of thin air.
Instinctively, she turned to catch him, but Akimichi Choza seized her instead.
"Die!"
Akimichi Choza roared and clenched his fist, crushing Konan to pieces.
Before you continue