Konan's Amegakure Log

Although in the eyes of many, Hyuga Kiyonari was a man of profound thought and a good person.

But if he were to answer for himself, he would likely say, "I am just an ordinary person."

Just as he actually had the ability to help Naruto Uzumaki improve his situation, he did not delve deeply into it; he merely shared some money and a mask during their brief encounter that day.

To others, that looked like he was standing up for Naruto.

But in his own view, it was no different than walking out the door and finding a hundred-dollar bill, and since Naruto happened to be there, he simply split it with him—nothing more.

Of course, he could have chosen not to share it with Naruto, but there was no need.

The same applied to how he handled the issues regarding the Uchiha.

Hyuga Kiyonari did not need to charge into the fray himself; he only needed to move his lips or hide behind the scenes to write the script. He had already told Tsunade his life motto: "It just so happens that I have the ability." To him, these things were merely a flick of the wrist—they were simply things he wanted to do.

He never considered himself special, nor would he use a word like "good person" to label himself.

He had his own selfish motives, and perhaps... he even wanted to do some bad things.

It would take the Kumogakure delegation at least three to four days to return to Kumogakure, and with today nearly over, that meant Tsunade had less than three days left to prepare.

She was anxious, so tonight... one could assume many people would not sleep well.

As for Hyuga Kiyonari, he was pondering another matter.

Before today, he had not anticipated such a major move from Konoha. His original plan regarding the Hyuga Main Family was to have Tsunade cooperate with Hinata to suppress the delusions of those old men.

But now, the methods could perhaps be more aggressive. After all, the conflict between the branch family and the main family was not as simple as "dividing the inheritance."

Furthermore, one could plant a seed in the ninja world in advance. Even if some unexpected situation were to arise, it would not be more eye-catching than the "standoff between Konoha and Kumogakure."

The rain fell as it always did.

It was as if the sky had a hole that could not be mended, endlessly pouring cold rain onto the earth. The rain tapped against the roof, creating a monotonous and continuous lullaby.

"Whoosh!!!"

Konan landed at the end of the corridor, folded the paper wings on her back, and stepped inside. This tower was the heart of the Akatsuki, the heart of the Land of Rain, and also... her home now.

At this moment, her face was etched with exhaustion.

Nagato's health was not good, and as the actual administrator of the Akatsuki and Amegakure, she had to handle countless tedious affairs every day. The profiles and recruitment of new members, the collation of intelligence, the allocation of the village's funds and supplies, the coordination of missions for the Akatsuki and the Rain Ninjas...

Konan did not possess such immense power; the only thing she could do was to share the pressure for Nagato as much as possible, allowing him to focus on implementing that grand plan.

To realize Yahiko's dream.

"Click—"

Konan pushed open the door to her room.

The room was not large, and the furnishings were simple. A bed, a desk, a wardrobe—that was all. The walls were made of cold steel, devoid of any decoration. The rain outside the window streamed down the glass, blurring the world beyond.

She closed the door and let out a long sigh.

"Finally, I can rest."

Although this village was not large, the troubles were not few. She also had to deal with the intelligence sent by Zetsu, such as the recent conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure. Of course, what gave her the biggest headache were the two new members.

Kakuzu and Orochimaru.

Kakuzu was manageable. He was obsessed with money; as long as the Akatsuki's financial work was handed to him, he would complete it conscientiously and responsibly. In a sense, this actually saved Konan a lot of worry—at least she no longer had to fret over every single expenditure of the organization.

The good news was out, so what about the bad news?

It was likely that Kakuzu would frequently kill his partners and then send them to the Underground Bounty Station to collect the bounty. Every time she recruited a new member, Kakuzu would kill them. It wasn't easy to find rogue ninjas with sufficient strength, so looking at it this way, her workload hadn't actually decreased; it had just shifted.

As for Orochimaru... every time Konan thought of him, a sense of disgust welled up in her heart.

She didn't hold a grudge over what happened back then, but rather because every time Orochimaru looked at Pain, his eyes were filled with greed. He had only one reason for joining the Akatsuki: to seize the opportunity to take the Rinnegan.

Moreover, his experiments required massive financial investment. Every time Orochimaru came to Konan for money, he would quote an astronomical figure.

What was more troublesome was that Kakuzu detested this deeply.

In Kakuzu's eyes, Orochimaru was nothing but a spendthrift who burned money. Those so-called "human experiments" and "forbidden jutsu research" were, in Kakuzu's view, meaningless wastes. He only wanted to save money and had no intention of spending it on Orochimaru.

Consequently, the two of them would argue or come to blows every few days.

But two immortal monsters fighting would never yield a result. They could stab each other or set fires... but it was all just a waste of time and energy, and in the end, it was she who had to clean up the mess.

Konan walked to the wardrobe and took off the iconic black cloak with red clouds, revealing the purple bodysuit she wore underneath.

This was a garment made of special material with excellent waterproofing. In a place like the Land of Rain, where it rained year-round, such clothing was an absolute necessity. If one wore ordinary clothes, they would be completely soaked through within ten minutes. The cold, sticky feeling of wet fabric clinging to the skin was something no one enjoyed.

The purple fabric wrapped tightly around her body, outlining graceful curves—slender and well-proportioned, displaying the unique charm of a mature woman.

She walked to the desk, intending to organize the intelligence she had received today, but the moment her gaze fell upon the desktop, her entire body froze.

On the desk, there was an unfamiliar black notebook.

The notebook lay quietly in the center of the desk, its cover pure black, without any decoration or text. It looked very ordinary, just like the kind of cheap notebook one could buy at any bookstore.

But the problem was—it shouldn't be here!

Konan's expression changed instantly, and cracks of paper began to emerge on the surface of her skin.

This was her unique technique, the Dance of the Shikigami, which allowed her to transform her body into countless paper-like fragments. In this state, she was immune to physical damage, making it exceptionally useful when facing sneak attacks and assassinations. This technique represented a lesson learned.

Following this, Konan began to check the status of the barriers in the room, but a moment later, a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

All the defensive measures had remained untriggered, yet the notebook had indeed appeared on the table, which meant the intruder's stealth capabilities were far beyond her understanding.

Who could it be?

Konan quickly sifted through potential suspects in her mind.

The first to come to mind was Zetsu.

That black-and-white-faced guy possessed a special ability that allowed him to merge with the ground and walls, moving freely underground like a ghost. If it were him, it was indeed possible to bypass all the defensive measures.

But why would Zetsu do such a thing?

There was another possibility: that man wearing a mask who called himself "Uchiha Madara." He mastered space-time ninjutsu, but likewise, he had no reason to do something like this.

Konan decided to step forward and open the notebook, only to see a line of text written in neat handwriting on the title page.

"Amegakure Log, the date is... thirty years from now?!"