Paper Rain Falls on the Uzumaki Estate

Konoha, 4:23 AM.

The Uzumaki Estate, the Secret Underground Chamber.

Konan didn't sleep.

She sat on the edge of the windowsill—strictly speaking, it wasn't a window, but a stone platform below the vent, just big enough for a person to lean against sideways.

The thin blanket slipped from her shoulders to her waist, but she didn't pick it up.

He was holding a paper crane in his hand.

She didn't fold it.

It fell out of my own hair.

As the short blue hair fell loose, a paper crane the size of a palm got stuck in the ends, like the fuse of some kind of signal flare being pulled.

She recognized this folding method.

Taught by Yahiko.

Later, Nagato learned it too.

One of the few moments of joy the three shared in the rain was folding origami cranes from discarded work papers, saying that collecting a thousand would grant their wish.

Konan's thumb rested on the crane's wing, but it did not spread out.

The light from the wall lamp shone on her bare forearm.

The marks of the golden chains had faded, and her skin had returned to its pale color.

The Chakra circuits are recovering.

She can fold paper now.

But she didn't move.

It's not that escape is impossible.

They didn't know where to escape to.

"Smack."

The door was pushed open.

It wasn't kicked away, but pushed with the heel of the hand; the force wasn't great, and the door hinge made a short, sharp sound.

Naruto stood at the door.

I changed my clothes.

Wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, his pants tucked into ninja straps, and his blond, tousled hair still damp—he had just washed it.

Holding a rough earthenware cup in his hand, steam overflowed from the rim, carrying the slightly bitter aroma of roasted tea.

He glanced at Konan's posture.

Leaning against the wall, knees together in front of his chest, he clutched the paper crane in his hand.

The door wasn't locked.

Naruto placed the teacup on the stone platform, about an arm's length away from Konan's knee.

"Leave whenever you want."

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft.

It's like saying the Tenten.

Konan didn't look up.

His amber eyes were fixed on the steaming cup of tea.

Her Adam's apple bobbed—she was thirsty.

But he didn't reach out.

Naruto didn't urge her either.

He turned and leaned against the opposite wall, hands in his pockets, the back of his head against the cold stone wall, looking up at the sealing array patterns on the ceiling.

There was silence for about ten seconds.

Konan's voice came from behind her knees, muffled. "Aren't you afraid I'll go back?"

What are you afraid of?

Naruto turned his head to look at her.

"... Go back and tell Nagato your background, your abilities, and your weaknesses."

Naruto scoffed.

His lips curled slightly, revealing an undisguised arrogance.

"Sister, I only have one weakness—being too handsome makes me a target for unwanted attention. You can say whatever you want about it."

Konan didn't laugh.

She loosened her knees and placed the paper crane on the stone platform.

Next to the teacup.

"I don't know where to go."

The sound was very soft.

Her tone was calmer than it had been last night, but the weight beneath that calm was even heavier.

That's the bewilderment of someone who's used to making decisions suddenly realizing that they haven't truly made a choice for themselves in the past thirty years.

Naruto looked at her.

There was no pity in her azure eyes—she didn't need that.

"Then let's not rush off to anywhere."

He reached out and tapped the teacup.

"Have something hot first."

Konan's hand finally moved.

Long, slender fingers encircled the rough pottery cup, the heat penetrating and warming from the palm all the way to the wrist.

She lowered her head and took a sip.

Bitter.

But it's warm.

The instant she put down the cup--

The paper crane spontaneously combusted.

There was no flame.

There was no Chakra fluctuation.

The paper yellowed, curled, and carbonized from the center outwards, a process that lasted only two seconds.

The ashes did not fall, but hovered in the air, manipulated by some residual spiritual power, forming a line of words.

Six characters.

"If he doesn't return for three days, rain will fall and fire will break."

Konan's cup clattered against the stone platform.

A few drops of tea splashed out.

Her pupils contracted sharply.

It wasn't because of the content—but because of the Chakra fluctuations remaining in the ashes.

That frequency, that rhythm, that metallic coldness.

It's Nagato.

It is the spiritual imprint of Nagato himself that emanates from the body of Deva Path Pain.

"Three days."

Konan's lips moved a few times.

He gave me three days.

Naruto shifted his gaze from the line of ashes to Konan's profile.

Her jawline was taut and straight.

A strand of blue hair clung to her neck behind her ear, trembling slightly with each swallow.

"Translate it."

Naruto's tone remained casual, as if he were asking what to eat today.

Konan closed her eyes briefly.

When she opened her eyes again, the panic in her amber pupils had subsided considerably.

"If I don't return to Amegakure within three days, Nagato will assume I've been controlled or killed by Hidden Leaf."

Her voice regained its composure, carrying the calm of a thirty-year intelligence operative.

"The Six Paths of Pain will be mobilized. Target— Hidden Leaf."

"Six Paths of Pain"

Naruto repeated those four words.

The tip of my tongue rolled behind my teeth.

"Is that the one who can single-handedly wipe out an entire ninja village?"

Konan looked up at him.

You even know this?

Naruto did not answer.

He pushed himself up from the wall, walked to the stone platform, and brushed away the ashes still hanging in mid-air.

The carbon powder landed on his fingertips, which he casually rubbed off.

"Three days."

He was talking to himself.

"That's good. That's enough."

"Enough for what?"

"Enough for me to finish preparing everything I need to."

Naruto turned his head to look at her, her golden hair falling down her forehead and covering half of her eye.

"That's enough for you to think things through."

"What's up?"

Do you want to save him or not?

Konan's breath hitched for a second.

Naruto didn't wait for her answer.

His attention was drawn to another sound—rapid footsteps coming from the wooden floor above the secret room.

It wasn't just one person.

At least three.

The rhythm is regular, and the spacing is uniform.

Standard movement steps in the Anbu.

"They've arrived."

Naruto gave a slight smirk.

It's not a laugh.

It's a confirmation of "I knew it."

The footsteps stopped in the first-floor corridor.

Then came three short knocks on the door.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

The voice outside the door was steady and cold, carrying the detached emotional quality characteristic of those in the Anbu.

"The Fifth Hokage orders: Immediately transfer the Hidden Rain missing-nin to the Torture Division for questioning."

Konan gripped the cup tightly with her fingertips.

Handed over to the Interrogation Department.

She understood the meaning of those four words perfectly well.

She works in this industry herself.

The Torture Division signifies drugs, psychological intrusion, and forced memory extraction.

This means that everything in her mind about Nagato, the Six Paths of Pain, and the defense of Amegakure will be completely exposed.

Then Nagato will die.

In the name of "for the safety of Hidden Leaf".

She stood up.

The movement was swift; the knee knocked over the teacup, shattering the ceramic pieces on the floor.

The emotions welling up in his amber eyes were complex—fear, anger, and a sense of "I knew it" despair.

Really.

No matter where she is, she is just a pawn to be fought over.

"Sit down."

Naruto's voice wasn't loud.

But Konan's knee bent slightly.

It wasn't forced.

It was the certainty in those two words that struck a chord deep within her spine.

Naruto had already reached the top of the stairs.

He stopped on the first step and looked back at her.

Against the light of dawn filtering down from above the stairs.

The golden outline made him look both sharp and languid.

"You are mine."

He said it very casually.

It's like saying, "The sun is out today."

"Whether it's Tsunade or the Anbu, anyone who wants to take you away from me—first ask my fists if they'll allow it."

The footsteps went upwards.

Light and steady.

Konan stood in the secret room.

The broken shards of pottery were still at my feet.

She looked down at her hands.

Just now—she actually instinctively wanted to run away.

It's not about running back to Hidden Rain.

It's about wanting to escape everything that's about to happen.

To escape the very act of making choices.

Thirty years have passed.

Yahiko made the choice for her.

After Yahiko's death, Nagato made the choice for her.

No one can replace her now.

Naruto's voice came from above, but it was hard to hear clearly because of the floor above.

But the tone was clear—it wasn't a discussion.

Konan's fingers tightened.

Then it loosened again.

She crouched down and picked up the broken ceramic cup.

One by one.

Then he stood up and stepped onto the stairs.

Step by step.

Go uphill.

First floor entryway.

Naruto leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets.

Three masked members of the Anbu stood in a row outside the doorway.

A morning breeze blew in from behind them, carrying the coolness of the morning dew.

"I already said," Naruto yawned, "They're with me. If you want to talk, let Tsunade do it herself."

A flat voice came from beneath the mask of the Anbu Captain: "This is a direct order from the Hokage, not an invitation—"

"Then I'll take it as a refusal of the direct order."

Before he could finish speaking, the wooden floor behind him creaked.

Naruto tilted his head.

Konan walked up.

Short blue hair, plain white shirt, barefoot on the wooden floor of the corridor.

She didn't look at the Anbu.

She looked at Naruto.

"I'll go and say it myself."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Konan walked to his side.

Stay half a step away from him.

The voice was very soft, but every word landed on the ground.

"This is not a handover. This is not an interrogation."

She looked up.

The layer of confusion in his amber eyes dissipated.

"I'll go see your Hokage myself. I have something to say."

Naruto stared at her for three seconds.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a mocking laugh.

It's the kind of appreciation a hunter feels when he sees his prey finally stop trembling and show its teeth for the first time...

"OK."

He pushed himself up from the door frame.

"Then I'll go with you."

He strode out the door and, as he passed the Anbu Captain, bumped into him with his shoulder, not at all.

"Go back and tell Tsunade-- "

He didn't turn around.

"I'll bring my own people with me. Anyone who lays a hand on them on the way—"

The sound disappeared in the morning breeze.

The three Anbu exchanged bewildered glances.

Konan followed Naruto out the door.

When I stepped barefoot onto the dew-dampened stone path in front of the door, a chill ran through my feet.

She looked down at her bare feet.

She wasn't wearing shoes yet.

Just as I was about to stop, a pair of dark blue ninja sandals came into view.

Naruto squatted down in front of her.

"Lift your foot."

Konan paused for two seconds.

She lifted her right foot.

Naruto put his shoes on.

Then it's the left foot.

He stood up.

He put his hand back in his pocket.

His expression was much calmer than before, as if he were doing something extremely ordinary.

Let's go.

Turn around.

He strode towards the Hokage Tower.

Konan followed.

The shoes are a bit big.

But it's warm.

(Amegakure. High Tower)

Nagato stared at the timeline on the control panel.

Seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes.

The countdown has begun.