"Uzumaki Reikawa, come with me." A cool, clear voice suddenly rang out behind them as Konan approached.
Her tone toward Lingchuan had noticeably softened, however. After this treatment, Nagato really did have a chance of regaining his mobility.
And for the first time in so long, Konan felt as though she could finally see a glimmer of hope for the future...
Watching the two leave, Hidan said thoughtfully, "Kakuzu, looks like this guy really is going to become one of us."
"Had enough rest?"
"Huh?"
"Come find two more hearts with me."
"You killed all those people earlier, and you still haven't replenished your stock?"
"So, are you coming or not?"
Hidan pretended to agonize over it for a moment, then propped a hand against his face and put on a wicked grin. "Fine. I might as well offer another batch of sacrifices to Lord Jashin."
But when he turned around, he discovered that Kakuzu had already walked off into the distance. "..."
Meanwhile, Konan walked ahead with Uzumaki Reikawa following behind her. Neither spoke for a long while...
"So—what did you want to see me about?" Uzumaki Reikawa asked.
"How much do you know about us?"
As she walked, Konan suddenly said, "You just happen to belong to the Uzumaki Clan, just happen to look like Nagato, and just happen to know Medical Ninjutsu. Or did you actually arrange to get yourself 'captured' and brought here?"
"Actually, you really did capture me," Uzumaki Reikawa said helplessly. Well, at most, I went along with it.
"Did we?" Konan sounded a little doubtful. At this point, though, the answer to that question no longer mattered all that much.
"I called you over because Jiraiya has followed us here, although we don't know his exact location yet.
"Since you healed Nagato, we