Crash!
A sudden gale swept across the dark sea, driving waves against the shore.
Obito Uchiha stood on a Reef, studying Konan with amusement as she hovered on Paper Wings like an "angel."
"What? Not going to run?"
Konan said nothing.
Something was wrong with "Madara" today.
Before, she had always felt he was wary of something. He moved cautiously and kept his voice low. Perhaps it had all been an act.
But perhaps it had also been bravado masking fear.
Today...
He was different.
He had confidently removed his mask, and even his presence had changed. Gone was the dark, mysterious figure who appeared and vanished without warning.
The man before her seemed like someone else entirely.
Konan remained silent. She spread her wings and drifted back, finally landing with a tap on a Reef ten meters from Obito Uchiha.
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Obito Uchiha's eyes.
Then he laughed and held out his hand. "A wise choice... Give me the Rinnegan!"
"..."
Konan said nothing.
She turned her head slightly, gazing at the pale dawn on the horizon as it tore a bright seam through the black sea.
The morning breeze stirred her black robe. Its red cloud patterns rippled over her slender figure.
"Daybreak. Dawn is coming..."
Obito scoffed. "Dawn? Hmph..."
Konan smiled at the horizon.
She was only in her twenties, still in the prime of her life. But everyone she had loved most was gone.
Rustle—
Her robe fluttered in the wind. Konan raised an arm, her sleeve billowing.
Countless sheets of paper swirled around her like butterflies. She fixed Obito Uchiha with a fierce stare.
"The Rinnegan... belongs to Nagato! Not to some Madara Uchiha, and certainly not... to you!"
"So..."
"No one is taking it from me!"
The first rays of dawn