Hidden Waterfall Village.
Obito—still reeling from the bizarre writing debate between Sakumo and Konan—finally stepped out from his hiding spot.
At the base of the ruined tower, Konan's sharp gaze locked onto him, her slender brows drawing together in an instant. She pressed her lips into a thin line and rose from the stone, her posture tense and resolute.
"I've been waiting for you, Uchiha Madara," she declared.
Obito tilted his head, his voice dripping with mockery. "Oh? Should I feel honored?"
Konan didn't waste words. In her glass-clear eyes, a dangerous glint flickered to life.
Obito, orange spiral mask gleaming, squared his shoulders and barked, "Konan, where's Nagato's body?"
"No comment."
Konan's hand snapped up. A torrent of white paper exploded outward, swirling and folding into razor-sharp shuriken midair. The spinning blades shot toward Obito like a hailstorm.
Obito didn't even flinch. The paper shuriken sliced through him, passing harmlessly through his intangible form.
Konan barely reacted—she'd expected it. Her expression hardened further.
Just as she prepared to strike again, Hidan—ever the wildcard—leapt between them.
"Hey, hey, hey, break it up, you two! Konan, c'mon, just give him what he wants. Boss can't use those eyes anymore anyway."
Konan nearly blew a fuse. Was this guy for real? "Can't use them anymore"? What about respecting the dead? Integrity of the body? Was that too much to ask?
"Hidan, move, or I'll take you out too!" she snapped.
Rinjin, watching from the sidelines, shrank back and zipped away at top speed.
The fight resumed.
Konan knew exactly what she was up against. This "Madara" could phase his body, making all attacks useless. But she'd come prepared—with more explosive tags than Deidara could ever dream of.
Against an opponent like this, the only chance was to strike first and strike hard.
Konan's paper wings unfurled with a thunderous snap, beating the air as she launched herself at Obito.
On a nearby ledge, Sakumo nudged Rinjin, whispering, "Should we help her out?"
Rinjin shook his head. "Not yet. She's confident—let's see what she's got. If things go south, we'll step in."
Sakumo nodded, eyes glued to the battlefield.
Konan surged forward, paper swirling around her in a storm. Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan spun to life, ready to suck her into his Kamui dimension.
But as he absorbed the incoming paper, he realized—too late—that it was loaded with explosive tags. Not pre-made, but conjured on the spot by Konan's chakra nature transformation. Like Deidara, Konan's earth chakra could create explosive tags at will.
A deafening explosion erupted.
In the aftermath, two battered figures shot away in opposite directions.
Konan, her body battered and gasping for breath, managed to keep her upper half intact.
Obito's mask was chipped, his right arm gone—though, given it was made from Hashirama cells, he hardly seemed bothered.
"I absorbed the whole blast and redirected it. I was faster. Only a scratch, really. You should thank me for saving you," Obito sneered, cold laughter echoing off the ruins. "Looks like your little trick is finished."
Konan glared, conjuring a new left hand, her slender palm leveled at Obito.
"Finished? No! You are darkness. In a world without light, flowers can only wither!"
Her shout rang out as she unleashed her chakra.
Instantly, the Hidden Waterfall Village began to unravel—ruins, trees, even the ground itself peeled away in sheets of paper, fluttering in the wind. Everything reverted to its true form.
Rinjin hooked an arm around Sakumo's neck, flashed through a quick hand seal, and the two vanished from the scene.
He'd thought without the ocean, Konan wouldn't use her Divine Paper Person technique. But the entire village was a trap—disguised explosive tags everywhere. Classic Konan.
If Hidan had lived to see this, his five little hearts would have been bleeding.
Obito, stunned by the spectacle, grabbed his mask, preparing to use his space-time jutsu to escape. But unlike the Flying Thunder God, Kamui couldn't activate instantly—and, crucially, he couldn't phase while warping away.
High above, Konan pointed her palm at Obito, voice ringing out, "You're not getting away!"
Paper and burning explosive tags filled the air. If Obito revealed his real body for even a second, he'd be blasted to pieces.
Forced to abort his escape, Obito phased out again.
On the ground, explosions roared, flames shooting skyward.
Konan stared down, her voice dripping with taunt. "Looks like your space-time jutsu failed. Your intangibility lasts five minutes at best. To kill you, I prepared six hundred billion explosive tags—enough to blow for ten minutes straight!"
She waved her hand, and the chain of explosions began anew.
On a distant hill, Sakumo watched the continuous detonations, shaking his head. "Women these days are terrifying. Back in my time, girls were all gentle and sweet. Am I right, Rinjin?"
Rinjin's mouth twisted into a stiff, awkward smile. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
...
Ten minutes passed. The explosions finally faded.
Konan, exhausted and gasping, drifted down to the ruined village, her eyes heavy with fatigue.
Suddenly, a pitch-black iron rod stabbed toward her from behind.
A pair of large hands caught the rod mid-thrust.
Konan spun around, heart pounding.
There stood a battered Obito, mid-charge, the tip of his iron rod less than a meter from her. But the rod was locked in the grip of none other than masked Kakuzu.
Konan instantly hurled a paper shuriken at Obito, her reflexes razor-sharp.
"Wait, you two!" Kakuzu called out, voice calm. "How about letting me say a few words first?"
Beside him, Hidan looked on, expression unreadable.
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