After Ajisai's little incident, and since it was already close to evening, the two of them no longer had the mood to keep wandering around Amegakure.
They ended up going back to the same inn they once stayed in and checked in again.
"Aoba, I'm going to take a bath first."
As soon as they entered the room, Konan walked straight toward the bathroom.
Even though the amount of physical activity they had done this afternoon wouldn't make a ninja break even a drop of sweat, in a wet place like Amegakure, walking around outside for half a day would naturally make anyone feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, then I'll prepare dinner."
This was an apartment-style inn, and the room had a kitchen. They had also bought ingredients beforehand.
Aoba suddenly remembered something.
Back then, it was at this very inn that Konan used the excuse of eating a late-night snack.
Only a year had passed, but things felt completely different now.
He sighed inwardly, then turned on the stove and began preparing their dinner.
Konan didn't take long in the shower.
When she came out wrapped in a towel, Aoba was only halfway through cooking. The rice wasn't even done yet.
"Konan-nee, dinner will take a bit."
"It's fine, I'm not very hungry yet."
Konan didn't stay in the kitchen. She took a scroll out of the clothes she had taken off and went to the bedroom.
Aoba turned his head in confusion, only to see the bedroom door already closed.
"?"
———
Konan knelt on the bed and emptied everything inside the scroll. Various outfits and stockings were spread all over the bed.
She folded her arms and began thinking.
Since she had said she wanted to give Aoba a reward, she naturally had to choose carefully.
After hesitating for a while, she picked up a piece of pure white silk, lifted her leg, and compared it against her skin.
Under the faint, clear light, her snow-white delicate foot looked like a freshly peeled egg, tender and moist, smooth and pale, with faint blue veins visible beneath the almost translucent skin.
Her long, slender legs were flawless, the muscles evenly toned and tight, each of her five round toes plump and crystal-clear.
Like a piece of artwork displayed behind glass, sparkling and exquisite.
But this perfect work of art was soon covered by a smooth pair of white stockings.
Konan elegantly put on the pantyhose, smoothing out the tiny wrinkles. The stretchy fabric clung to her skin, making her legs look even fuller and more alluring.
She stretched her feet slightly. Her round toes wrapped in white silk slipped into a pair of soft cotton slippers.
Konan then put on a loose white shirt. She swayed left and right in front of the mirror and smiled in satisfaction at her reflection.
This look would definitely make Aoba sing praises endlessly.
———
Aoba was still frying fish when he heard the bedroom door open again.
Before he could even turn around, Konan, still carrying the scent of shower gel, appeared behind him, hugged him from the back, and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"Konan-nee…"
Before he could finish speaking, Konan lifted her hand, turned his head, and stopped his words with her lips.
Only after half a minute did she let go, breathing lightly.
But the arm around him only tightened further, clearly unwilling to let him go.
Aoba's face was calm, though he looked a little helpless, "Konan-nee, I'm still cooking."
Konan didn't say anything. She simply stepped back, "Turn around."
Aoba hadn't been thinking anything unusual, but when he turned around his mind went blank.
"Konan-nee… this is the reward you meant?"
He couldn't help swallowing, not knowing where his eyes should go.
"You seemed to like this style a lot yesterday."
Konan stepped closer again, wrapped her pale arms around his neck, and breathed softly against him.
"Do you like it?"
"I like it… but dinner…"
Konan reached out and turned off the stove herself.
"Dinner isn't important. We have something more important to do right now."
———
[Late at Night]
[Inside the Inn Room]
After gently removing Konan's arm draped over him, Aoba quietly climbed out of bed.
Just as he was about to slip out the window, a sleepy voice stopped him.
"It's late at night. Where are you going?", Aoba turned around. In the dim light, Konan was yawning.
"To meet someone," Aoba answered honestly.
Konan's sleepy eyes sharpened, "Ajisai?"
"Cough! Cough!"
Aoba coughed and looked speechlessly at her, "How could it be her? I don't even know her."
"Then who?", Konan asked curiously.
Aoba pursed his lips and didn't answer.
Konan understood. Since it wasn't convenient to say, she wouldn't press him.
"Come back early."
"Mm."
Aoba leaned down and kissed the lips of his very understanding girlfriend, "I'll be back soon."
Then he slipped out the window.
———
Aoba flipped across several rooftops and arrived at a rainless platform.
With his ability, it was easy to avoid Nagato's sensory perception.
A figure was already waiting there.
The red-cloud-on-black robe.
A classic look.
"It's been a while, Uchiha Itachi."
Unexpectedly, Uchiha Itachi looked a bit pale and seemed extremely weak.
"You're injured?"
"When I fought the Eight Tails' jinchuriki and the Fourth Raikage a while ago, I overused my eye power."
Uchiha Itachi's gaze was dim, but he didn't care about his own condition. Instead, he asked, "How is Sasuke now?"
Aoba hesitated for a moment, then said, "Once the leader of Akatsuki captures the Eight Tails, there's a high chance he'll also join Konoha. Your undercover mission can come to an end."
"Huh?"
For the first time in a long while, Uchiha Itachi's expression broke from calm into shock.
This news was clearly beyond what he expected.
"Right now Kakuzu and Sasori have already joined Konoha," Aoba added.
"?"
The confusion on Uchiha Itachi's face grew even stronger.
The organization he infiltrated for years… ended up becoming his own people?
He didn't doubt Aoba's words.
Especially with Konan, the former deputy leader, as proof.
Back when he and Kisame followed Konan to Konoha, he already felt something was off.
Then Konan stayed in Konoha, the leader told them not to fight Konoha's shinobi, which shocked him even more.
It was the first time he'd ever seen this kind of making-enemies-into-allies method.
He had no choice but to admit it: Aoba had always been strangely good at attracting attention from women. And age didn't seem to matter. [T/N: HELL NAW!]
Since as far as he knew, the angel of Amegakure was an entire generation older than him.
'Wait!'
'My mother…'
Suddenly Uchiha Itachi's eyes widened, a terrible premonition flashing through his mind.
He remembered that before leaving Konoha, he had entrusted Aoba to look after his mother. [T/N: At this moment, he knew, he fu*ked up!]
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