Konan's face turned pale. She raised her delicate hand toward Kaede, sending out a flurry of paper from her arm. Countless explosive tags formed midair and shot toward him, detonating before they could even get close.
But,
In the very next instant, her vision blurred. Kaede's figure bypassed the explosion entirely and appeared right in front of her.
He reached out with one hand and clamped it around her neck. A massive surge of chakra burst into her body, instantly scattering what remained of her own chakra into disarray.
With her chakra forcefully disrupted, she could no longer maintain her Paper Jutsu. The remaining sheets of paper covering her body were quickly washed away by the rain, revealing her true human form beneath.
She struggled weakly for a moment, but her consciousness soon slipped into darkness.
=============
Konoha Village.
On the rooftop of the Hokage building.
Yuhi Kurenai stood there, her gaze filled with concern as she looked toward the outskirts of the village.
There should have been a certain fox lounging there watching TV, but now the spot was empty. Kaede had suddenly taken the Nine Tails away, said a few words to her, and vanished.
At her feet lay a Flying Thunder God kunai, left there by Kaede. He had told her to guard it and not to move it from its place.
"Flying Thunder God Technique…"
"Where could he have gone?"
Several possibilities flickered through Kurenai's mind.
Just then, Rin came looking for her.
Kaede's shadow clone was still in the Hokage's office, but since the Nine Tails had disappeared, it meant the real Kaede had left to take care of something.
Rin had been napping earlier and hadn't gotten any updates.
"Where's Kaede?"
"No idea… he used Flying Thunder God."
Kurenai shook her head.
Whoosh!
Kakashi suddenly appeared on the rooftop.
The Nine Tails vanishing had made quite a stir. In Konoha, all you needed was a rooftop view to spot the giant fox lounging outside the village. Even without that, anyone with a bit of sensory skill could tell the Nine Tails' massive chakra had disappeared.
That immense chakra was like a beacon in their senses, hard to miss.
"So you're all here… then big brother's really left the village?"
Kakashi looked at Rin and Kurenai, then his eyes fell on the Flying Thunder God kunai in front of Kurenai. His expression shifted to one of realization.
Kurenai noticed his expression and asked, "You know where Kaede went?"
"Hmm… probably to Roran."
Kakashi shrugged.
Vanishing without saying a word usually meant he'd gone somewhere inconvenient to explain.
"Roran?"
Kurenai gave him a puzzled look.
Kakashi thought for a moment and decided, for the sake of his future, not to say too much. He shook his head and said, "I'm not sure either."
At that moment,
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared in front of the Flying Thunder God kunai.
Everyone turned to look, and their expressions shifted in surprise. The person who had appeared wasn't Kaede, but a girl with faint chakra who had passed out.
Whoosh!
While they were still processing the scene, Kaede arrived right after.
Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly as he looked back and forth between Kaede and the unconscious Konan, his expression suggesting: Seriously? No way.
"Call the sealing team," Kaede said, glancing at Kakashi. "Prepare a high-grade sealing technique that can suppress about ninety percent of her chakra."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment and replied, "If it's for safety reasons… I recommend using a full chakra seal instead."
Kaede gave him a sharp look. "What nonsense are you talking about? Just go!"
Kakashi looked at Rin and Kurenai, then vanished in a flash.
Rin and Kurenai exchanged odd looks but didn't overthink Kakashi's reaction. Rin stepped closer and asked, "Kaede, who is she?"
"Hm. A humanoid mobile money printer."
"…What?"
=============
A few days later.
Konan, now sealed with 90% of her chakra suppressed, began her new life working in Konoha.
As a relatively decent boss, Kaede allowed her to work regular 9-to-5 hours. However, if there was a large shortage of explosive tags or basic sealing talismans, she would have to put in some overtime.
He also intentionally let White Zetsu discover her working conditions and report back to Uchiha Obito and Nagato. That way, Nagato likely wouldn't act again for a while.
Kaede had more important things to do, he was focused entirely on reaching the Six Paths level.
He had no time to play hide-and-seek with Nagato and Obito.
"At this point, the Land of Rain has lost its capacity to resist. The Daimyo will likely surrender soon. Next comes the task of absorbing the Land of Rain…"
Inside the Hokage's office, Kaede addressed several elite Jonin:
"Your mission is to seize the Rain Daimyo's residence and subdue him by force. Once the Land of Rain becomes a vassal state of the Fire Country, we'll have the authority to absorb the remaining Rain ninja."
The elite Jonin all acknowledged the order, each feeling a bit shaken inside.
They hadn't expected that after just a single day away, Kaede had once again destroyed the newly rebuilt Rain Village.
The Land of Rain was a small nation, and the Rain Village a minor shinobi village. After being crushed twice in a row, its will to resist would surely collapse. Other nearby nations would begin circling like vultures.
As the one who had struck them down, the Land of Fire now had the greatest opportunity, outright annexation.
Everyone understood what their mission truly was. Officially, it was to take over the Daimyo's residence, but in reality, it was to establish control over the entire Land of Rain as quickly as possible.
"Go."
Kaede waved them off, and the group vanished in an instant.
Once they had left, Kaede stood up and walked to the side of the office, opening a door to a neighboring room.
"You're a demon…"
Konan, now marked with a sealing formula on her forehead and sealed off most of her chakra, looked at him and said softly, "Where is Master Jiraiya?"
"He hasn't returned to the village in a long time. I doubt he wants to follow my orders like Hokage."
Kaede smiled faintly and continued, "You say I'm a demon, but I don't agree. If I didn't take over the Land of Rain, do you think the Lands of Earth or Wind would show any mercy?"
"A nation whose ninja have lost their will to fight can't protect its borders anymore. In a way, I'm doing this for peace."
Konan fell silent.
Kaede's reasoning left her without any counterargument.
As for his destruction of the Rain Village, that had been retaliation for the attack she and Nagato had launched against Konoha. It was a justifiable response. There was no excuse to be made.
"So hurry up and finish today's workload. You can leave early if you do."
Kaede chuckled and walked out of the Hokage's office.
==========
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