join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
Night fell.
The dormitory was silent.
Amidst the even breathing of those around her, Konan, who was lying on her bed like the others, suddenly opened her eyes.
She didn't move immediately, but instead maintained the same breathing rhythm as before, quietly observing all the movements around her with her peripheral vision.
Although all her Chakra had been sealed, her Ninja-level observational skills and experience had not been taken away.
After confirming that no one was watching her, she silently pressed down on the wooden bed board, her bare feet landing soundlessly on the cold concrete floor like a cat, and then she quickly and quietly slipped out of the dormitory.
Throughout this entire day of prison life, she had indeed fully immersed herself in the role of a female prisoner, and had diligently completed the day's labor with those around her.
However, this did not mean that she intended to quietly live out her days in prison.
She was indeed curious about Sawara's philosophy and eager to learn something from his series of actions, but this did not contradict her desire to escape from here.
What's more, she had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of Sawara's terror, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread; this man's mind and abilities were far more terrifying than the invincible battle records he displayed openly.
If Nagato and Yahiko were to infiltrate Konoha...
Just imagining the consequences of such a rash action made Konan's heart palpitate.
Compared to that, even if she were caught trying to escape, or even killed on the spot, the outcome would be more acceptable than dragging them down.
However, even as Konan moved swiftly through the shadows, her figure pressed against the edge of a courtyard wall, she did not find a single watchman Ninja in the prison area in the darkness.
This abnormal phenomenon made her sense of vigilance grow even stronger.
'Are Konoha's Ninja only at this level?'
'They can't even guard a prisoner whose Chakra has been sealed?'
Moreover, she was now the only link between Konoha and Nagato and his group. Konan believed that no matter how arrogant Sawara was, she should still have some value.
'Too strange.'
Konan leaped over the courtyard wall, passing through the wild wasteland covered with barbed wire, relying on the dim moonlight and her memory of Konoha's terrain to discern her direction, her footsteps swift.
Wilderness, forest, city...
Even with only her body to rely on, her pace was much faster than that of ordinary people, her figure constantly flashing past desolate backgrounds.
At first, she maintained her hidden posture.
But the further she went, Konan noticed that the environment around her became increasingly strange.
If the lax defense of the prison area was understandable, and the excessively empty wilderness coincidentally avoiding patrols was barely excusable, but when she rushed into Konoha New City, there wasn't even a single person on the streets or rooftops, which was truly absurd.
Finally, when she burst out of Konoha's main gate, only to find herself back at the dormitory entrance, Konan finally stopped.
By this point, how could she not understand her current situation?
"Sawara!!"
That shout was like a key, instantly unlocking all the illusions before her eyes.
All the scenes that had just appeared before her eyes vanished like a dream bubble, turning into a hazy mist.
Only when the mist dispersed did Konan realize that she had run into an unfamiliar office.
Sawara sat quietly across the desk, propping his chin with one hand, looking at her with an interested expression, and smiled:
"Visiting so late, is there something you need, Miss Konan?"
"I still have some official business to finish, so please make it brief."
Almost the instant she heard these words, Konan's various senses finally returned. The coldness from her bare feet on the floor was just like her mood at that moment.
In the middle of the night, this little lamb had actually delivered herself to the big bad wolf.
This sense of irony, where she wasn't caught or discovered, but rather had been played in the palm of this man's hand from the very beginning, instantly filled her with uncontrollable rage, and the helplessness hidden within made her feel extremely humiliated:
"How much longer do you intend to toy with me?!"
Also, when exactly was this level of genjutsu cast on her?
Sawara remained firmly seated at his desk, and upon hearing her words, he looked at her as if perplexed, feigning confusion:
"Isn't it you who voluntarily ran to me?"
"If you could be a bit more settled, both you and I would actually have an easier time."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Konan's expression couldn't help but freeze.
It seemed that was indeed the case.
At this moment, Konan suddenly recalled that she was not on a battlefield, but rather facing a de facto village leader as a prisoner.
However, her personality dictated that she could not do nothing when her comrades had a high probability of risking rescue.
Looking at Sawara, who was still seated at his desk, a flicker of determination flashed in Konan's cold eyes.
"Die!"
Her bare feet suddenly pushed off the cold floor, and her tall, slender figure shot forward like a fiercely explosive female leopard, a half-broken iron skewer she had picked up along the way secretly extending from her right sleeve, pointing like a blade at Sawara's neck.
Clearly, this strike was meant to be a suicide attempt.
But, unfortunately.
"Clap!"
Sawara, sitting behind the desk, merely flickered, disappearing from Konan's sight like a phantom.
Immediately after, an immense and utterly irresistible force came from her waist and shoulder, causing her body, still in a forward-leaning posture, to fold back with a thud, as if she had slammed into an invisible wall floating in mid-air. Her back hit the office door heavily, emitting a dull sound.
When Sawara's face reappeared in her vision, it was already incredibly close, even the subtle warmth of his breathing was clear.
Looking from the side, Konan's tightly clenched iron skewer had fallen to the ground. Her fair wrist was gripped by Sawara's single hand, which reached over her shoulder and pressed against the wall above Konan's head. His other hand pressed against her lower abdomen, dispersing the tension in her core, causing her entire body to instantly soften and press tightly against the wall, her back feeling cold and hard.
"Guh..."
The loss of strength in her abdomen and her restrained arm made Konan instinctively let out a soft breath.
However, her expression remained taut, her face, partially hidden by disheveled hair, turned to the side, adopting a defiant look. She bit her lip tightly, her voice hoarse:
"Kill me!"
Sawara's cheek pressed against her neck, his breath as he spoke blowing on Konan's skin, causing her to instinctively tense up:
"You clearly know, don't you? Against me, this kind of resistance is useless."
"Or are you, deep down, actually hoping for even worse treatment?"
Almost the instant she heard these words, Konan's pupils, turned to the side, suddenly constricted, her reaction extremely intense:
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Whether it is or isn't, it doesn't matter anymore."
Under the light, Sawara's smile reflected deep into Konan's eyes, causing her entire body to involuntarily stiffen.
"Let me show you."
"The wicked world of lords."
As his words fell, the warmth and dampness from the man's lips and teeth were deeply imprinted on her fair neck.
In that instant, Konan seemed to anticipate something, and she couldn't help but close her eyes in resignation, letting out a long sigh of despair under an indescribable feeling of intense humiliation.
Sorry.
Nagato, Yahiko...
I might not be able to return.
"Why haven't you finished copying the product information entry forms yet!"
"Have the total grain storage data for Warehouse Sixteen been verified?"
"Your handwriting is truly ugly."
"Hurry up and record Harada Squad's mission report!"
"You actually took over an hour to copy a fourteen-page report and still haven't finished?"
"If you don't finish this morning's work, you'll eat lunch while writing!"
Under a barrage of merciless reprimands and urging, a numb-faced Konan sat at a desk beside Sawara, her hand moving swiftly across the paper, leaving lines of flying script so fast they almost merged together.
A large stack of official documents piled on the other side of the desk was being processed at the same speed. Each completed document was handed to Sawara, who was lounging on a beanbag sofa nearby, and only after being checked and approved was it placed in another 'completed' pile.
At this moment, Sawara was like the most vicious and acerbic capitalist in the world, spewing flowery language as if whipping cattle and horses.
From past 3 AM last night until now, the pen in Konan's hand hadn't stopped for even a second. As for going to the bathroom or resting her wrist, such thoughts were unthinkable. Even with her physical fitness, her wrist was actually a bit numb.
At first, Konan tried some small tricks, intentionally making mistakes or omitting a few strokes when verifying data or copying reports, but Sawara, who was sitting by and checking, saw through it instantly and punished her severely several times.
As a result, she now had to turn up the collar of her already thin top to barely cover the red plum-like marks left on her neck.
What was even more hateful was that this damned guy even declared, 'Right now I'm biting your neck, but next time, who knows where it'll be.'
Bastard!
Scum!
Pervert!
Freak!
Snail from the sewer!
Konan cursed fiercely in her heart, while venting all her anger onto the paper beneath her hand as if to release it.
And she didn't dare to vent too much.
If she accidentally tore the paper, her backside would suffer again.
How could someone come up with such a humiliating method?
Killing is nothing more than a nod of the head!
He, as the esteemed Second Hokage, God of Shinobi, actually used her purity to force this captive to do his official business?
Does this guy not even have a shred of dignity as a strong person?
Konan felt it was a humiliation that she had secretly admired such a guy before!
And also.
How did he manage to accumulate so much work?!
Konan felt a surge of impotent rage in her heart.
But ironically, this current toil also made her secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
She had originally thought she would be 'eaten' last night.
Amegakure Ninja's personalities are always moderate.
If you asked her to work from the start, she probably wouldn't want to, but if you said you'd 'eat' her if she didn't work, then she'd immediately be willing to work.
Sawara sprawled on the beanbag sofa, looking at her with a leisurely expression.
However, his line of sight was slightly higher than normal, clearly looking at the top of Konan's head.
"Konan's Inner Conflict (Shallow)"
"Details: This humiliation must all be returned to Sawara!"
As the saying goes, a smart person needs no heavy hammer.
It could also be said to be another form of 'a gentleman can be deceived in a proper way.'
Although Sawara also knew that his current methods were a bit vulgar, they were truly effective!
Didn't this bond and Inner Conflict emerge now?
However, Sawara was not in a hurry to harvest this shallow Inner Conflict.
Having finally found a new mine, he naturally wanted to dig deeper into Konan's heart.
For this grand goal, he naturally had to carefully cultivate the emotional foundation.
As a result, she worked for an entire day.
It wasn't until evening, when the sky had completely darkened again, that Konan finally finished all of Sawara's accumulated week's worth of official business.
But before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, the voice beside her made her instinctively tense up again.
"Aren't you going to take a good look at what you've written?"
"..."
Konan's body stiffened in place for a moment, then her brain reacted to what Sawara had said. Her previously numb expression finally showed some vitality, and she looked at him with a hint of confusion.
What content?
Sawara shook the document in his hand, which happened to be a summary of the growth conditions of various crops in the first to sixth farms for the current quarter, and said in a calm tone:
"Data, comparison, process, summary."
"Everything about Konoha is actually hidden within these thin sheets of paper."
"Whether it's the past, present, or future, the secret to the 'peace' you long for lies in these tiny details."
"Aren't you curious?"
Konan was stunned by his words.
Almost instinctively, she thought this bad guy was trying to find another excuse to bite her.
But then, when she reacted and her gaze fell back onto the data sheets on the desk, she couldn't help but hesitate.
The secret... of peace?
One by one, unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar terms came into view.
Per capita grain in the city, median wage, Ninja proportion, labor participation rate, annual unemployment rate, birth rate, death rate...
When she was copying them before, she felt it was a strange humiliation.
However, when she suddenly realized what these data were actually about, an incredible feeling suddenly arose in Konan's heart.
Was it really okay to give all this data to an outsider... no, an enemy?
Konan looked at the data on the table, then at Sawara, who was smiling beside her, always feeling there was some trick she hadn't seen through.
"Anyway, don't get my desk dirty."
"..."
Konan silently looked at him.
Sawara, meanwhile, walked out of the office on his own, seemingly without the slightest guard against her.
However, Konan hadn't forgotten how she had ended up in this office.
If she dared to run around again this time, she might directly run into Sawara's bed.
If she really got 'eaten' then, she would be beyond tears.
Konan sat silently in her original spot, pondering, and finally quietly leaned over the desk, reading the reports.
This continued for the entire night.
When Sawara arrived at the office the next day, Konan's somewhat pale face already had two dark circles under her eyes.
She was still silent.
However, there seemed to be something more in her eyes, and she no longer had that fierce, suicidal look from before.
"What exactly is your purpose?"
After more than ten hours, Konan finally asked Sawara this question.
It was clear that she was genuinely puzzled.
Why would anyone deliberately educate a captive?
She simply couldn't understand such an action.
Sawara looked at her for a long time, then suddenly showed a rare, genuine smile, and said gently:
"I don't dislike those who yearn to change this damned world."
"Even if it's an enemy?"
"Even if it's an enemy."
"..."
Konan sat in his seat, looking at his sincere smile, and for a moment, she was lost in thought.
She had imagined many different answers that night, but she had never expected to receive such a response.
In that instant, although she didn't want to admit it herself, a strong urge to stay by his side and see what great deeds this man would accomplish surged from somewhere deep within Konan's heart.
Of course, it would be great if this guy didn't try anything with her.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr