Jiraiya gazed deeply at the Uchiha prodigy before him. This was the girl the Third Hokage had praised for her kindness and gentleness, yet now she stood with hollow eyes, begging for death. He felt a sharp pang of grief in his chest.
That bastard Danzo... just what kind of despair did he inflict on this child?
"Do it!" Kanon roared at Jiraiya. "Kill me! Set me free!"
Her eyes trembled violently, and hot tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Gradually, her strength failed her. She closed her eyes and collapsed, losing consciousness before she hit the ground.
Jiraiya caught her in his arms, and only then did he realize the full extent of her injuries. There was a literal hole in her abdomen, her right arm was clearly dislocated, and on top of that were the fresh wounds from their brief, intense clash. Jiraiya's own eyes shook with indignation.
It was only then that the Third Hokage and his personal Anbu detail, the ones directly under the Hokage's command, finally arrived on the scene.
"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?" Hiruzen's first sight was his student holding a blood-soaked, broken Kanon. "Did you do this?!"
"They did," Jiraiya said grimly, gesturing toward the two cold corpses nearby. One had a gaping hole in his chest; the other had been skewered by a kunai.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. Jiraiya walked toward him, still cradling the unconscious girl.
"This child..." Hiruzen's expression was a complex mask of guilt and shock.
"She killed them all," Jiraiya added solemnly.
"What?!" Hiruzen froze, paralyzed by the weight of those words.
"Get her to the hospital. Now."
…
Outside the Konoha Hospital.
Jiraiya relayed everything, the details of the battle, her techniques, and his own dark deductions, to the Third Hokage.
"That bastard Danzo!" Hiruzen grit his teeth. He had personally warned Danzo about this, yet the man had still crossed the line. Because of Danzo's interference, an Uchiha prodigy had nearly perished. He would hold Danzo accountable for this.
"She's an eleven-year-old child! To strike at a girl like this... Danzo has truly lost his mind. The man has gone senile!"
"Until Kakashi returns, I'll be the one to protect her," Jiraiya stated flatly.
"That's for the best," Hiruzen sighed helplessly. This was his failure. He had let Danzo operate in the shadows for too long. Kanon and Sasuke were the last of the Uchiha bloodline, and for Danzo to target one so cruelly was madness.
That night, Kanon lay in a hospital bed. Just as she had been at age six, the eleven-year-old was once again swathed in gauze and bandages. Under the care of the medical ninja, the color slowly returned to her pale cheeks. Outside the room, Jiraiya sat in grim silence, waiting.
…
Root Headquarters.
Hiruzen Sarutobi led his Anbu forces to surround the entirety of Root. Danzo was stripped of his official duties, and the Root was ordered to disband.
As his secrets were dragged into the light, Danzo glared at Hiruzen, his teeth clenched. "Everything I did, I did for the sake of Konoha!"
"Danzo! You've strayed too far! She is a child!"
"Hiruzen, you are too soft! Your kindness will be the death of this village!" Danzo slammed his hand on the desk and stormed out of the office.
Watching him go, Hiruzen murmured tiredly, "I am Konoha bathed in sunlight; you are the Root in the darkness... The world needs both to function. But Danzo... she's just a child. Do you have to inflict that darkness even on the young?"
…
One day later.
Kanon's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Am I... in heaven?"
"Jiraiya-sama, she's awake!" a medical ninja called out to the hallway.
"Coming." Jiraiya entered the ward and met Kanon's empty, hollow gaze.
"Oh... it's you," she whispered. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"Because it would be a waste to let you die," Jiraiya said, sitting by her bed and peeling a tangerine. "Want some?"
Kanon shook her head, but Jiraiya ignored her and shoved a wedge into her mouth anyway.
"Jiraiya-sama, the patient is still very weak!" a nurse reminded him hurriedly.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's just a tangerine."
Kanon had no choice but to swallow. Her face immediately contorted. "It's sour..."
"Yeah, tangerines are sour. And life has a lot of other flavors you haven't tasted yet," Jiraiya said gently. "There are still plenty of things in this world worth holding on to. No need to go looking for a grave."
Kanon turned her head away and remained silent. She no longer expected anything from this village. Comrades, the Will of Fire… it was all nonsense. She could only trust herself. She could still feel the sensation of the blade piercing her abdomen; the memory of that blood-stained steel protruding from her own body fueled a cold, hard resentment.
Seeing her vacant stare, Jiraiya sighed quietly. He placed the fruit on the nightstand and stood up. "I'll be watching over you until Kakashi gets back."
With that, he left the room.
Kanon watched the scenery outside the window until she eventually drifted into a dreamless sleep. Over the next ten days, she barely spoke. She would offer a few words when Jiraiya came to chat, but when Hiruzen Sarutobi visited to offer his condolences, she didn't utter a single syllable. She simply watched him with cold, dead eyes.
Hiruzen left the ward shaking his head. Danzo had shattered the child's spirit, breaking her trust in everyone around her. As he walked away, he grit his teeth, resolving to punish Danzo even further. To do this to a child was unforgivable.
Despite her mental state, Kanon's physical recovery was astonishing. Her natural healing ability was remarkable. In less than ten days, she was cleared for discharge.
Today was the fourteenth day since Team 7 had left for their mission. Kanon stepped out of the hospital, her eyes listless as she looked at Jiraiya.
"I'll walk you home."
"No need."
"Don't be shy."
"Fine."
Her responses were clipped and brief. She had cleared up the misunderstanding with Jiraiya and knew he had only arrived after the fact, but the warmth was gone.
"You know, for a kid to use the Rasengan and the Chidori... you're really something else," Jiraiya said, trying to lighten the mood as they walked.
Kanon gave him a single, sideways glance and continued toward the Uchiha district. Once she was safely inside her home, Jiraiya's smile vanished, replaced by a heavy sigh.
"That child... her mind has matured far too quickly."
With that, he turned and left the district.
Kanon sat alone in her living room. Looking at the lingering bandages on her body, a wave of bitterness washed over her. She looked at the family photo on the cabinet, a picture taken when she was five years old.
Mikoto, Fugaku, Sasuke, Itachi, and herself. The five of them standing in the courtyard.
Kanon took the frame and looked out at the real courtyard. The memories of the family's prosperity were still vivid, but the actual garden was now silent and overgrown. She looked at the photo, then at the reality, and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Kanon, oh Kanon... just look at how long it's been since the grass was trimmed."