The Hidden Rain Village.
Konan quietly sat in Uehara's room.
Since Uehara Naraku had grown up and was able to handle missions and manage the village independently, Konan hadn't had any worries for a long time, but today she felt a little unsettled.
A hand suddenly rested on Konan's shoulder, and a familiar voice reached her ears, "Teacher, is something wrong?"
"Hmm? Naraku?"
The origami on Konan's body, which had been slightly agitated, retracted, and she furrowed her brow, saying, "When did you come back?"
"Just now."
Uehara Naraku squatted down slightly and glanced at the vase on his room's bedside table, which had a new paper flower arrangement in it. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Teacher, have you made new flowers again? Hmm, morning glories, finally a flower I recognize..."
It was not easy for Uehara to recognize the paper flowers folded by Konan.
Because Konan liked to fold all kinds of strange flowers using white paper, Uehara Naraku usually couldn't name them, but the wildflowers like morning glories were relatively easier to recognize.
Konan looked at the paper flowers in the vase, then at Uehara Naraku. She hesitated for a moment, her expression gradually becoming a bit cold and serious, "Yes, they're morning glories. Their flower language is ephemeral and fleeting love..."
"Interesting."
Uehara Naraku casually fiddled with the paper flowers and turned his head, "Did teacher want to talk to me privately about something?"
"Yes."
Konan gazed into Uehara Naraku's face, and only when she saw her student looking a bit puzzled did she ask, "Do you... think Terumi Mei from The Hidden Mist Village is beautiful?"
Konan felt a bit nervous in her heart. She was slightly apprehensive that Uehara Naraku might directly admit to something between him and Terumi Mei, so she intended to probe a little first.
"Hmm, she's quite beautiful."
Uehara Naraku nodded. This couldn't be denied, as he really had seen Terumi Mei in full, and her bright green eyes were quite captivating.
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but laugh quietly, "Simply looking at Terumi Mei's appearance, she doesn't seem like a thirty-year-old woman at all!"
"..."
Konan's face darkened involuntarily as she recalled her own age; she was already thirty-five years old this year. Did this student think she was old?
After Uehara Naraku finished speaking, he immediately remembered that there was a woman in her thirties by his side, and quickly added, "Teacher, you also look very young! Just like when we first met, you haven't changed at all..."
Konan didn't continue the topic.
Konan hadn't forgotten the main issue, and taking advantage of the fact that Uehara Naraku seemed a bit apologetic for misspeaking, she directly asked, "Did something happen between you and Terumi Mei? Did you have any interaction back then in the Land of Grass?"
"Uh..."
Uehara Naraku pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "Not really, I suppose. After all, we just had some private discussions about Akatsuki. I took that opportunity to make Terumi Mei believe I was a friend of The Hidden Mist Village."
"Is that so?"
Konan's furrowed brow relaxed a little. She took out a letter and handed it to Uehara Naraku, "This is her letter. It seems this woman has developed a liking for you, but I think you two are destined to become enemies. She's ten years older than you..."
"Hmm."
Uehara Naraku took the letter, nodded indifferently, and responded mindlessly, "Don't worry, teacher. I won't fall for any woman."
"That's good."
After Konan breathed a sigh of relief, she felt something was off and hurriedly advised, "Naraku, that's not okay. What we hope for is that your future life can be happy, not living alone..."
"I'm only twenty years old right now!"
Uehara Naraku glanced helplessly at Konan, then continued looking down at Terumi Mei's letter. After refuting for a moment, he directly changed the topic, "No wonder Teacher Konan misunderstood. Terumi Mei probably wants to get some information about Akatsuki from me!
If Terumi Mei eagerly invited me to the meeting, she'd feel it was disrespectful to Hanzo of the Salamander, so she deliberately said this to reduce Hanzo's animosity."
After saying that, Uehara Naraku chuckled again and added, "Even if she really liked me, I couldn't be with her. Yesterday, when I was destroying The Hidden Mist Village, I almost killed her!"
"..."
Konan looked speechlessly at Uehara Naraku.
After a long time, Konan finally asked out of curiosity, "Why haven't they suspected that anything happened to Hanzo yet? After all, so many years have passed, and Hanzo has never appeared in the Ninja World..."
"I'm not too sure either."
Uehara Naraku shook his head and guessed to himself, "Perhaps it's because they believe that a Ninja Demigod isn't someone who can be killed easily! Besides, I always mention Hanzo's name now and then, saying that Hanzo is still alive and that his power hasn't declined..."
The fact that the Ninja World hadn't discovered Hanzo of the Salamander's death all these years was a blame directly attributable to Uehara Naraku.
In fact, some have speculated that Hanzo of the Salamander is too old to move or is already dead, but Uehara Naraku always uses Hanzo of the Salamander to maintain a presence in front of the Ninja World.
If a highly talented and powerful ninja, whenever mentioning Hanzo of the Salamander, always shows respect, there is never any surprise.
And every meeting uses Hanzo's name to occasionally boost Hanzo's presence, who would still doubt that Hanzo is dead?
Who would have thought that the killer who took down Hanzo of the Salamander would always calmly express his admiration for Hanzo?
"Time is actually very tight."
After reading Terumi Mei's letter, Uehara Naraku tapped his arm and said: "A meeting will take place in a week, and the location is set at Konoha. It seems necessary to attend to see if they have any conspiracy..."
An Akatsuki member attending a meeting hosted by major Ninja Villages against Akatsuki to hear how these nations plan to deal with Akatsuki...
Seriously...
That's utterly ridiculous.
Konan's expression was a bit serious: "But it'll be very dangerous for you, maybe we can skip this meeting, after all, only five Tailed Beasts remain..."
"No, it would be dangerous not to go."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, softly saying: "When I was promoting outside, I mentioned that The Hidden Rain Village has always advocated fighting against Akatsuki. If we don't show up, it will definitely arouse their suspicion."
"Naraku, I'm increasingly worried about you."
Konan reached out her hand, habitually helping Uehara Naraku straighten his clothes, her voice gradually softening: "Since you became a full member of Akatsuki, you've been performing extremely dangerous tasks for the organization. I regret agreeing to you back then..."
"Teacher."
Uehara Naraku looked down at Konan, reaching out to touch her hair, softly saying: "Akatsuki carries Teacher Konan, Nagato-sama, and Yahiko-sama's dreams, along with my father's ideals, I can't sit this out."
"It's not the same."
"There's no difference."
Uehara Naraku embraced Konan's neck, lifting her head, while he slowly lowered his, pressing his forehead gently against hers.
With a smile, Uehara Naraku said: "What Teacher Konan wants, I want too. I'm your disciple, I am now inheriting your will, we won't fail, trust me, Teacher."
"..."
Konan widened her eyes, staring in shock at Uehara Naraku so close to her.
A moment later, Konan gently closed her eyes and slowly extended her hand, wrapping it around Uehara's neck, pressing their foreheads tighter together.
This disciple, she raised with her own hands.
This disciple, invested with eight years of her painstaking effort.
This disciple, one of the most important people to her, also the pillar of her emotions.
Konan caught a whiff of Uehara Naraku's scent, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Actually...you can like someone a bit older."
Uehara Naraku caught the scent of Konan's eye makeup, his voice hesitating as he spoke: "Actually... the cosmetics we Akatsuki members use are a bit strong in scent."
The two almost spoke in unison.
But Uehara Naraku's voice was a bit louder, and his words were clearly not nice, obviously criticizing Konan's heavy makeup today.
Konan's face darkened, she slowly released Uehara Naraku's neck and backed up a few steps, saying coldly: "Just because you don't like that eye makeup and nail polish doesn't mean others don't like it. Kakuzu, Uchiha Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, they all like it."
"Yes, yes..."
Uehara Naraku nodded wearily.
Actually, these guys don't like it at all, but seeing previous Akatsuki members wearing nail polish, they are dutiful ninjas and won't cause trouble over such trivial matters!
"Alright, let's not talk about this."
Uehara Naraku cleverly changed the subject, softly saying: "I'll first go find Nagato-sama to discuss, just in time to use Kakuzu-senpai for action before the meeting, Akatsuki internally must also unify the tone so I don't face trouble at this alliance meeting!"
"...Okay."
Konan nodded quickly.
After Uehara Naraku left, Konan finally breathed a sigh of relief, slowly reaching out to the morning glory in the vase.
Only to see that bouquet of paper flowers instantly turned into a sheet of white paper falling into Konan's hand.
After Konan frowned, she suddenly turned that bouquet of morning glory into a string of paper scraps, which danced in her palm, finally becoming a bundle of roadside foxtail grass.
Konan slowly placed the grass into the vase, her expression returning to coolness, her voice somewhat low: "This is what you meticulously cultivated... the most perfect ninja!"