In a secret chamber within Amegakure's Tower,
Nagato sat with Black Rods embedded in his body, drained as thin as a bamboo stalk by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. A faint smile rested on his lips. Perhaps he was having a pleasant dream.
Tap, tap, tap-
Footsteps sounded. Nagato's smile faded as he raised his eyes slightly and saw the visitor. His momentary tension eased, and he asked with a strained smile.
"Konan, what brings you here?"
Konan walked in wearing an Akatsuki cloak, a paper flower pinned in her short blue-violet hair. She was beautiful, and the expression on her face lent her beauty a melancholy air.
"Over the past two days, I went to the Underground Black Market to pick up bounties. I wanted to take some missions or see if there was anyone worth recruiting, but I found someone had put out a bounty on us."
"What do you mean?"
Nagato's expression instantly turned cold. The Little Organization was what his late friend had cared about most. He had to protect it and would never allow it to disappear.
"It's only a guess, but the description of what they want investigated resembles us."
Seeing his reaction, Konan said nothing more about it. She shared his concern. She nodded and explained what she had observed.
"The mission specifically asks for an investigation into someone wearing a black-and-red cloak. It mentions an organization, and with people coming here these past few days, someone may have set their sights on us."
"I paid off the person relaying the mission. He said it was posted by a Konoha ninja, Kakashi Hatake."
At this point, a hint of pain appeared on Konan's face. The man had demanded an outrageous sum.
If she hadn't needed to preserve the organization's reputation so