The So-Called Respect of a Great Nation

"What?" Nara Shikaku's expression immediately changed drastically.

Due to secrecy, he had only mentioned pursuing rogue ninja and not the Tailed Beasts or Jinchuriki. Who knew this "Uchiha Itachi" was so detestable as to abandon the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in the Land of Rain.

He hurriedly spoke, adding:

"Wait a moment, that child is a comrade from our village, kidnapped by this rogue ninja. Please return him to us."

Uchiha An said sarcastically from the side:

"What comrade?"

"He's just an orphan!"

"Everyone in the village treats him like a jinx, constantly hating and scolding him. I found it displeasing, so I brought him along when I left."

"He..." Nara Shikaku opened his mouth, but he couldn't reveal the most important secret, leaving him speechless. He could only say, "He is an orphan of the village. The village will naturally take good care of him; outsiders need not inquire."

"An orphan?" Konan looked at them deeply. Something stirred within her. She bent down, reached out, and lifted Uzumaki Naruto from the ground, then turned and walked away.

"This child can stay in our village for now. After you resolve your own issues, you can come back and take him."

"Wait, stop!"

The ninja from Konohagakure knew Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. How could they let him fall into the hands of ninja from another country? They immediately disregarded the ban.

Several ninja, without waiting for Nara Shikaku's order, leaped across the border and blocked Konan.

"Release the child in your hands!"

"Are you, Land of Rain, going to make an enemy of our Konoha?"

Looking at the brazen Konoha ninja before her, Konan's expression turned grim. White papers once again floated from her body, swirling around her.

"It seems you haven't taken my words to heart at all!"

Nara Shikaku frowned and also crossed the border, saying gravely:

"We do not wish to have any conflict with the Land of Rain. Please exercise restraint."

"What we said earlier was true, word for word, and we gave the Land of Rain sufficient respect. We hope your village does not act rashly."

Although Konan appeared ready to fight, Nara Shikaku had encountered many such ninja in the past who seemed to value their village's dignity greatly but ultimately caved under strong pressure.

He treated Konan as one of these "fierce but inwardly weak" ninja, so he subconsciously adopted a pressuring tone in his words.

This had the complete opposite effect!

"Respect?" Konan raised an eyebrow. "You call this respect?"

"You act with impunity on my Land of Rain's soil, disregard my warnings, and brazenly advance towards our village..."

"If this is what you call respect, then show me now what disrespect looks like?"

Before her voice even faded, a massive amount of white paper surged from her body, soaring into the sky. Like a white waterfall, it defied gravity, transforming into shuriken shapes in mid-air.

Tens of thousands of paper shuriken spun at high speed in the air, their edges glinting with the cold light of Chakra, stirring up sharp winds and emitting a whistling sound.

"Paper Shuriken Jutsu!"

As Konan's cold and angry voice fell, the sky full of paper shuriken, like an obedient army, suddenly accelerated, pouring down like raindrops, covering the entire battlefield with a piercing sound as they cut through the air.

"How dare you!" The ninja from Konohagakure had never imagined that a ninja from a tiny country would dare to attack them. They were instantly enraged and entered combat mode, forming hand seals to counterattack.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Only Nara Shikaku maintained some restraint. While dodging, he shouted loudly:

"You need to think clearly, you are intentionally provoking a war!"

"Don't think you can contend with a great nation just because Hanzo of the Salamander protects you!"

"As ninja of a small nation, you should be even more cautious with your words and actions!"

This was the consequence of asymmetrical information. He felt his words were neither humble nor arrogant, leaving ample room for maneuver. Even if Hanzo of the Salamander were here, he couldn't find fault.

In fact, if Hanzo of the Salamander were truly here, he would have likely retreated long ago.

But the crucial problem was... Hanzo of the Salamander was already dead. He was now facing a different group of people!

A massive fireball erupted from the Konoha ninja's mouth, the scorching flames distorting the air as it collided violently with the paper shuriken.

Wherever the fireball passed, the paper shuriken burned and carbonized, turning into ashes like moths flying into a flame.

A violent whirlwind followed, fanning the flames and borrowing the wind's power, forming a giant fiery vortex.

The paper shuriken trembled violently within the combined wind and fire ninjutsu. Many were forcibly redirected, scattering in all directions, while more were ignited and destroyed.

However, subsequent paper shuriken appeared endlessly, one wave after another, like an infinite white tide, constantly washing down. Their speed was much faster than the ninja's ninjutsu.

Unable to cast more ninjutsu in time, the Konoha ninja had to pull out their short swords, blocking and dodging simultaneously.

But they didn't realize these paper shuriken were different from real shuriken.

These paper shuriken were a special effect of the Secret Technique: Divine Dance of the Shikigami. Just like Nara Shikaku's Shadow Manipulation Jutsu, each paper shuriken was like an extension of her limbs. Even after being thrown, they could still be fully controlled by Konan.

The paper shuriken they blocked, after arcing through the air, immediately circled around and shot back from behind them.

Many Ninja were caught off guard by the paper shuriken and were hit on the spot.

Although these paper shuriken were made of paper, under the enhancement of the Secret Jutsu: Dance of the Shikigami, their edges were sharper than steel. When spinning at high speed, they were sharp enough to cut through the black rods in Obito's hands.

What would be the effect when they cut into people now?

"Ah..."

Accompanied by screams, many Ninja were cut in half at the waist. Those who were cut in half did not die immediately, lying on the ground and letting out piercing wails.

The battlefield instantly turned into a hellish scene, with blood flying everywhere, severed limbs scattered about, and intestines and guts all over the place.

Many paper shuriken were stained a dazzling blood red, and under high-speed rotation, they scattered blood everywhere, like a rain of blood falling from the sky.

"No!" Now Nara Shikaku's eyes also turned red, and he no longer cared about his apprehension towards Hanzo of the Salamander.

He made a gesture, and Akimichi Choza immediately charged forward, his body turning into a ball and rushing towards Konan like a tank.

"Human Boulder!"

Konan did not have Susanoo and could not go head-to-head with Akimichi Choza, but she could fly!

Paper sheets unfurled from her shoulder blades, instantly forming a pair of huge, pure white wings.

These wings flapped slightly, creating a strong airflow. Like an angel, she soared into the sky, easily avoiding the fatal impact from the ground. Only a few paper scraps fell like feathers. As they neared the ground, their color suddenly changed, turning into Explosive Tags and detonating with a roar.

Akimichi Choza missed his target and was instead caught squarely by the Explosive Tags. If not for his strong physique, he would have been blown to death on the spot.

As for the "Shadow Binding Technique" that was lurking behind, it naturally missed completely, not even touching the corner of Konan's clothes.

But their reaction was also very fast.

While being bombed, Akimichi Choza immediately leaped up, his body rapidly growing larger. While taking damage, he quickly pursued Konan, opening his giant palm and bringing a whistling wind as he reached for her.

Konan's wings flapped behind her, and she was about to ascend further, but suddenly her mind went blank, and she froze for a moment. Her hand loosened, and the child she was holding fell out of thin air.

She instinctively turned to catch the child, only to be firmly grasped by Akimichi Choza.

"Die!"

Akimichi Choza roared, and with a forceful grip, he crushed Konan into pieces.