Konan asked in surprise, "Sage power from the same source as yours-Mount Myōboku?"
Naruto replied cautiously, "I'm not sure yet. Konan, stay close to me. Don't wander too far!"
Both possessed sage power. Just as Naruto had detected the other presence, it had detected him!
Hiss! A pair of golden eyes with horizontal pupils appeared faintly in the mist, their owner's cheeks bulging with a gurgle.
Naruto's pupils abruptly contracted. "Killing intent!"
Whoosh!!
A streaking shadow tore through the mist toward them!
"So fast!!"
Naruto grabbed Konan and darted aside...!
The shadow struck the spot where Naruto had just been standing. It was an arrow formed from a mixture of purple and green liquids!
Ssssss...!!
The arrow rapidly dissolved, dispersing into mist.
"This is... poison!"
Konan had fought Hanzō's forces many times in her early years and was highly sensitive to poisons!
"This poison is even more potent than Ibuse's! Naruto, get out of here, or we'll both die!"
Gurgle!
A second poison arrow followed right on the heels of the first...!
Naruto's left eye snapped wide open.
Shinra Tensei!
Boom! Repulsive force erupted. The arrow disintegrated, releasing an even larger, denser cloud of poison gas!
Naruto stared into the depths of the mist with his Rinnegan and said in a low voice, "I've memorized your chakra..."
Whoosh!
The pupil at the center of his Rinnegan expanded into a black circle!
Realm of Reincarnation: Release!
Swish!
Outside the tower in Amegakure.
Naruto and Konan opened their eyes at the same time, their gazes meeting in the rain... Their rain-soaked faces looked pale and cold, but the lingering shock of their narrow escape was unmistakable.
Naruto sighed. "That was quite a thrill..."
Konan replied, "Nothing compared to those memories you showed me."
Naruto smiled, stretched, and stood up.
"One hundred and fifty-two in total, with more than thirty capable of going into the sea. That should be enough!"
"Ah... yes. We really should rest."
Konan rose, her face deathly pale, and hurried toward the tower. But she suddenly stumbled and collapsed.
"!" Startled, Naruto rushed forward and caught her. "Are you all right, Konan?" he asked anxiously.
Looking utterly drained, Konan replied, "Yes, I'm fine. I-I just used a little too much chakra..."
But from the way she looked, Naruto could tell it wasn't that simple!
He gently pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, and his expression changed at once. "You're burning up! You have a fever-a really high one!!"
Konan's eyes lost focus. "Maybe I used too much chakra when I sent out those Paper Clones earlier, and spent too long in the rain. Sorry, Naruto. Could you help me back?"
Naruto took Konan back to her room.
Her high fever showed no sign of subsiding, and she was still wearing her soaking-wet clothes. At this rate, her condition would only worsen!
Naruto made a quick decision. "I'll go find some women in the village to help!"
"N-no...!"
But Konan caught Naruto's hand.
"You can't, Naruto. I'm Amegakure's leader. The image I've built in people's minds is of someone above worldly concerns! If that impression is shattered, it will make things very difficult in the future...!"
Naruto asked anxiously, "But we can't just leave you like this, can we?"
"Haah, haah, haah..." Konan weakly released his hand and closed her eyes, panting. "It's all right. I'm a ninja. A minor illness like this won't kill me."
"..." Torn, Naruto looked at Konan's rain-soaked Fire Cloud Robe, her zippered, backless mesh top, and her tight, pale-purple trousers.
Hinata had once fallen seriously ill too. Naruto had cared for her devotedly, even cleaning and wiping down her body.
Between husband and wife, there was nothing wrong with that, of course.
But Konan was his senior under the same teacher, and he held her in deep respect!
He couldn't do this himself. It would make things very awkward in the future.
"Haah." Naruto drew a deep breath. "Konan, wait here a little while. I'll be right back..."
"..." By then, Konan was already delirious.
Konoha was bustling in the early hours of the morning.
Tsunade, who had been unconscious for days following the battle with Pain, had finally awakened!
Shizune emerged from a makeshift tent with her pet Tonton in her arms. Suddenly, she stopped, looked toward the shadows, and demanded coldly, "Who's there?!"
"Miss Shizune. It's been a while..."
A boy wearing a Fire Cloud Robe approached calmly and removed his mask.
"Naruto?!" Shizune was startled, but then she remembered his current status as a rogue ninja and grew wary.
"What are you doing in Konoha?!"
Naruto said evenly, "I'd like to ask you for a favor, Shizune..."
Holding Tonton in her left arm, Shizune quietly gripped a kunai in her right hand. "You're joking, right...?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Hiss! Naruto's right eye changed into a three-tomoe Sharingan.
"A Sharingan-this is bad!!!" The moment Shizune noticed, she squeezed her eyes shut.
The corners of Naruto's mouth lifted. He lunged forward and hoisted Shizune straight onto his shoulder!
Shizune went pale. "W-wait... what are you doing?"
Naruto said, "Sorry. It's an emergency. I have no choice..."
Swish!
Naruto took Shizune away with Flying Thunder God.
Tonton fell from midair.
Swish!
Naruto flashed back with Flying Thunder God, caught Tonton, and vanished again.
The seventh floor of the tower in Amegakure.
Shizune sat by the wall with a stern expression. "Naruto, I need a proper explanation of what's going on!"
Holding Tonton, Naruto said sincerely, "Shizune, I'm sorry I brought you here so roughly. My companion is ill and needs someone to look after her. Since she's a woman and I'm a man, it would be awkward for me to do it. You were the first person I thought of!"
"..." Shizune scrutinized Naruto.
Naruto said, "Please trust me, Shizune. Otherwise, I could simply have used my Sharingan to cast genjutsu on you..."
At last, Shizune's expression softened considerably. She had dealt with Naruto before, and even after everything that had happened, deep down, she still wanted to trust him.
Moreover, as a medical ninja trained by Tsunade, she followed the principle of putting patients first.
Shizune stood and asked seriously, "Where is the patient?"
Naruto replied, "In the room right behind you."
"Afterward, I have a lot of questions for you!"
After giving Naruto a long look, Shizune turned and entered the room.
With Tonton in his arms, Naruto gazed at the cold rain outside the tower. The chilly moonlight touched something deep within him.
"That's right. I'm not the Hokage anymore. People no longer answer whenever I call, or come running to help when I'm in trouble. I even have to sneak back into the village like a thief..."
Naruto sighed. "Being a rogue ninja carries far more weight than I imagined. Sasuke, is it the same for you? We still have a long, long road ahead..."
"Oink, oink~..." Tonton let out an adorable little squeal.
Naruto stroked her pink head and smiled. "Hungry? Don't worry. I'll make sure you're full before you go back..."
In the Akatsuki's new hideout.
Whoosh!
A Kamui vortex opened.
He looked at the cold-faced boy, who had been beaten back into his original state.
Obito asked in a low voice, "Have you calmed down a little now, Sasuke?"
Before you continue