Humans are "puppets" manipulated by their emotions.
Minato did not receive the answer he wanted. He felt a touch of disappointment, mixed with helplessness.
Carrying that faint regret, he finished preparing, bid farewell to the others, and set out from the village.
This mission was a critical one, failure was not an option.
Ye Zi had no idea Konoha intended to extract intelligence from Konan. He too departed from his base, heading straight for Amegakure. Within limited time, he had to eliminate Konan, the one who knew too much, and also compel the other core Akatsuki members to obey.
Their strength might still be of some use. Konan alone was no longer necessary to the final plan, Nagato was already dead.
Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Konan had returned first, carrying Yahiko's corpse.
At the center of the village, beneath the central tower, a spacious chamber had been built. One particular room was special, its walls and floors hidden beneath countless cables, cleverly concealed so they weren't easily noticeable.
The chamber was vast and empty, brightly lit as though by daylight.
White pillars carved with flowers and trees stood in two neat rows, leaving a jade-like white path between them that led straight to the most splendid of funerals.
Bouquets of folded paper flowers were placed in clusters within a rectangular stone coffin, inside which lay a pale-faced man, Yahiko's body, brought back by Konan.
The coffin was filled with white blossoms. Yahiko's hands rested peacefully upon his chest, one lifeless hand clutching a delicate paper flower.
His body lay in a sea of paper flowers, the coffin surrounded by countless more.
Perhaps it was a tomb, but not one descending into cold darkness. Rather, it was enveloped in sacred light.
The entire room was pure white, a color carrying profound meaning.
Jade-like white floors, world-engraving white pillars, seas of white paper flowers brimming with blessings, and bright lights that illuminated everything.
In this white world, Konan's black attire stood out sharply. She stood before the coffin, hands clasped, head bowed slightly, silently gazing at Yahiko's tranquil face. Her expression was full of complexity.
She hoped that Nagato would successfully return. But as time passed, he never did.
Her heart was a turmoil of flavors, bitter, sweet, sour yet she could not choose which prevailed.
If humans, these puppets bound by emotions, could tear away the strings themselves… then Konan would leave only one string behind: the one named "trust."
She firmly believed Nagato would come back. Perhaps he had been delayed. But ultimately, she was human, unable to sever the strings that controlled her.
Days had passed. Nagato never returned. Ye Zi and White Zetsu had vanished as well, as though constantly reminding her that reality was rarely as hopeful as imagination.
So, even though she still chose to believe in Nagato, she had no choice but to prepare for the worst.
"That man…"
Konan bit her lips tightly. Perhaps she didn't even realize that fear had already seeped into her eyes. The passing of time had been whispering warnings all along.
From Konoha to the Land of Rain… If Nagato had succeeded, he should have returned by now.
Closing her eyes slowly, Konan prayed sincerely. The light bathed her figure, as pure as an angel.
Then she opened her eyes again. Looking down at Yahiko, her expression was full of sorrow.
Drip… drip…
Like a faucet not fully shut, droplets fell into a basin with a steady rhythm.
Soft but resolute footsteps echoed sharply in the silent chamber.
A black figure entered, like a pitch-black blade slicing through this world of light.
The sound pierced the ear; the presence pierced the eye.
Konan's sorrow was drawn out by the intruder's arrival. Beneath it was despair.
Slowly, she turned. Her grief-stricken expression hardened into blankness as her eyes fell on the approaching figure.
It was Ye Zi. He had spent much time and effort to find this place.
Ye Zi tilted his head slightly upward, his calm gaze scanning the jade-like steps until it landed on Konan's blank face. His voice was faint:
"The barrier laid while alive did cause me some trivial inconvenience."
A barrier protected this chamber. Even with Sage Mode, Ye Zi could not locate it immediately.
He had thought it would be easy to find Konan and kill her. But Nagato's barrier had cost him precious time.
Hearing him, Konan's suppressed emotions broke through her blank façade.
Her eyes trembled faintly as she glared at Ye Zi, gritting out: "Nagato…"
"He's dead." Ye Zi interrupted before she could finish.
The answer she least wished to hear struck her like a blow. Her body shook. The dam of emotion burst, and grief and despair flooded her once-empty face.
When she prayed again, she had sensed Ye Zi's arrival, a foreigner who did not belong here. From him, she received the truth she most dreaded.
She had built a fragile wall within her heart, convincing herself Nagato would succeed and return. Even as time gnawed at it, she stubbornly held on.
But self-deception collapses easily. Ye Zi's cold and merciless declaration shattered her hollow wall in an instant.
His eyes were icy as he extended his hand, palm up. Under Konan's gaze, his spread fingers slowly clenched into a fist.
"The one I killed… just a little effort, and his neck snapped."
That flat, indifferent description ignited uncontrollable fury in Konan's heart.
Whoosh!
A pair of white wings spread from her back. The gust they stirred lifted the paper flowers around the coffin, scattering them like falling cherry blossoms, a curtain marking the end.
"I only regret not killing you back then," Konan spat in hatred.
If Nagato had listened to her back then and killed Ye Zi outright instead of trying to use him, perhaps everything would have been different.
But there are no ifs. Their companions had died. Yahiko was dead. Nagato was dead. On this long road, so many sacrifices had been made, and all it had led to was failure.
Neither she nor Nagato had ever realized the truth: they had been nothing but pawns, controlled by unseen hands.
Ye Zi suddenly smiled coldly. "So this is what the loser says as her dying words?"
Konan's eyes darkened. Her voice was low and steady: "What is your true purpose?"
Ye Zi's past was like theirs... Born into endless war, losing his family, tormented by chaos, nearly starving to death in that world.
But he had chosen a different path.
"There's no need for you to know." Ye Zi slowly drew his blade.
Many wanted to know his purpose. But the answer would remain buried deep in his heart.
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Currently on Chapter 606 - The Shadows Move