Pakura

Nagato wasn't wrong, Konoha did have many beautiful flowers.

Nagato was also absolutely correct that Konan could outshine all the flowers in Konoha.

A clothing store.

Shedding the Akatsuki Organization's loose robes, Konan changed into a fashionable, beautiful outfit and shyly emerged from the fitting room.

The girl was beautiful, graceful, with a high chest and a slender waist. A fitted, pale white dress made her delicate and slender figure even more alluring.

Just three or four years apart, Konan's figure was vastly different from Kurenai Yuhi's.

Truly beautiful women would draw admiring glances even from other women.

The Female Owner's eyes lit up. She unleashed a torrent of flattering words, using every pleasant phrase to praise the beautiful girl before her.

As the owner of a clothing store, she was often forced to say things she didn't mean. She had uttered these pleasantries countless times, to the point of her own annoyance.

Now, she only wished her vocabulary were richer.

The girl remained silent, her Star Eyes blinking as she looked at Jiang Feng.

"Very beautiful."

Jiang Feng gave a thumbs-up. With Kurenai Yuhi and Tsunade not around, he could naturally praise the girl's beauty with complete sincerity.

Konan finally smiled. The owner's flowery compliments couldn't compare to Jiang Feng's simple "Very beautiful" in making her happy.

Why?

Perhaps it was because they were friends.

Jiang Feng brought over another set of clothes he had already picked out and handed them to Konan. "Try this one on too. A beautiful girl can't have too many beautiful outfits."

"Mm."

Konan took the clothes Jiang Feng handed her and turned, disappearing back into the fitting room.

Having grown up amidst war and experienced the harsh realities of life, Konan was undoubtedly very mature for her age. She was like an angel descended to the mortal realm, untainted by the world, pure and flawless.

Many veterans of the Akatsuki Organization had never seen their leader display such an emotional, immature side.

But she was, after all, just a girl. A beautiful girl on the cusp of first love.

There might be women in this world who don't love beauty, but there would never be a woman who didn't want to display her beauty before the one she loved.

Jiang Feng continued to browse the store, patiently selecting clothes from the racks, using his imagination to picture Konan in them.

The Female Owner followed behind Jiang Feng, showering him with praise. Truly, he was the dashing and amorous Jiang Feng; his way of treating girls was entirely different from other men. Some men would act as if you were asking them to commit murder if you asked them to let their female companions try on a few more outfits.

Another person who thought Jiang Feng was skilled.

Jiang Feng shook his head.

He didn't think that patiently helping Konan pick out clothes was a skillful act. Ultimately, it was because his modeling was good and his stats were high.

Also, he could understand why those male compatriots were unwilling to accompany their female companions to try on clothes: ultimately, it was because their female companions' modeling wasn't good enough and their stats weren't high enough.

As they spoke, another customer walked into the clothing store.

The boss apologized to Jiang Feng and quickly went to greet the new customer. He just glanced at the newcomer twice before showering them with a torrent of beautiful compliments.

Not many customers could elicit such sincere praise from the boss; perhaps not one in ten days or half a month. It was even rarer to receive multiple such customers in a single day.

Today was a rare day.

She was a beautiful woman, like Konan, who left the boss speechless.

She had a figure that could set any man's heart ablaze, yet she exuded a chilling aura that made the boss's bones feel cold.

That chill wasn't just coldness, but unadorned and unhidden killing intent.

Jiang Feng had never imagined that just after leaving the Hokage Office and taking Konan out to shop for pretty clothes, he would encounter the Scorching Release User, Pakura.

Few people would associate the Scorching Release User, Pakura, with shopping or clothing stores, even though she was more of a woman than 99.99% of women in the ninja world.

Because she was even more of a ninja, a ninja more ninja than 99.99% of ninjas in the ninja world.

Hatred, killing, missions... the Scorching Release User, Pakura, was such a pure ninja, so pure that one might suspect she was a heartless mission machine, a tool for slaughter, thus overlooking her beauty.

But upon closer analysis, Pakura actually had reasons to shop and visit clothing stores. She had skin as fair and tender as jade, and a beauty that was difficult for ordinary people to achieve. Even more difficult was her excellent taste in clothing.

Ultimately, she was still a woman.

"As expected."

Jiang Feng sighed softly. "As long as there's an opportunity to buy clothes, women will never miss it."

The Scorching Release User, Pakura, said nothing. She merely stared intently at Jiang Feng with eyes so chilling they could kill, as if Jiang Feng were her father's sworn enemy.

The curtain of the fitting room was suddenly pulled open. Konan, who had hastily changed, darted out and stood protectively in front of Jiang Feng, her face stern as she coldly glared at Pakura opposite them.

Pakura's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

For the past ten years, she had been killing. Killing Leaf ninjas, killing Stone ninjas, killing Rain ninjas, killing all enemies of Sunagakure, killing everyone the Kazekage ordered her to kill.

At her age, comparable to Minato Namikaze, she had likely killed more people than the Sannin combined. While the vast majority were nameless individuals, there were also some renowned experts among them.

The souls of countless "swords" had forged her reputation as the Scorching Release User and cultivated her killing intent, as rich as aged wine.

Those of unknown repute, let alone confronting her, would tremble just from a glance. Yet this girl, whom she didn't recognize, was actually able to stand her ground under her killing intent.

When did Konoha produce such an outstanding female ninja?

"Are you only capable of hiding behind a woman?"

"A handsome young man like myself is born to rely on women. If I didn't have immense strength, perhaps relying on women would indeed be my best path.

So I think it's fine to rely on women occasionally."

While speaking, Jiang Feng still pulled Konan's hand, drawing the girl to his side. He ignored Pakura, praised Konan's beauty a few times, and continued to pick out clothes as if no one else were there.

Konan followed Jiang Feng, but her attention remained fixed on Pakura. This woman... no, this female ninja made her feel quite dangerous and uncomfortable.

Pakura, who had originally come to shop for clothes, had no heart to admire the beautiful garments in the store. She simply stood there, coldly watching Jiang Feng, probing the young man's depth with her killing intent.

The Female Owner sat on pins and needles. Although Pakura's killing intent wasn't deliberately aimed at her, just being caught in its periphery made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, chilled to the bone.

Fortunately, Konoha still had a little sun at this moment.

"Miss Pakura, so you're here. I finally found you. Huh, Jiang Feng, you're here too."

The owner breathed a sigh of relief. It was Minato Namikaze who had arrived.