After leaving the tavern, Itachi walked toward his room, intending to rest.
This time, the plan could neither be considered a success nor a failure.
While it didn't succeed entirely, meeting so many interesting people made it far from a failure.
When Itachi reached the door to his room, he paused in surprise.
He hesitated slightly, then pushed the door open.
Inside the room, Konan was sitting at the table, sipping tea.
...
"Didn't you leave? When did you come back?"
Seeing Konan, Itachi was slightly confused, unable to make sense of the situation.
Konan didn't answer him but simply gazed at him quietly.
She had indeed left earlier, but upon sensing a strong chakra fluctuation behind her—apparently Blood Moon and Jiraiya had started fighting—she circled back quietly.
She was feeling lost and uncertain.
Itachi sat down across from Konan, poured himself a cup of tea, and began to drink.
Noticing that Konan was still lost in thought, he felt slightly exasperated.
However, as he observed Konan's delicate features and the faint melancholy aura surrounding her, he found her particularly captivating and endearing.
It was an unexpectedly pleasant sight.
...
"Thank you for stopping him for me."
After a moment of silence, noticing Blood Moon still looking at her, Konan snapped out of her daze. A hint of shyness appeared on her face.
"Oh, so you came just to say that?"
Watching the blush briefly flash across her face before she returned to her usual calm demeanor, Itachi asked softly.
"What's your relationship with Orochimaru?"
Hearing Itachi's question, Konan's eyes cleared up, and she asked softly in return.
She had noticed that this Blood Moon's techniques bore significant similarities to Orochimaru's, making it easy to deduce that they came from the same lineage.
...
"We're acquaintances. Is that why you're here?"
Itachi's gaze remained indifferent as he answered softly.
"Has he ever mentioned the Akatsuki? He's a defector from our organization."
Itachi's response didn't fully satisfy Konan. She didn't know much about him, leaving her unsure of his true thoughts.
"Oh, I think he might have mentioned it. What about it?"
Itachi responded indifferently to Konan's question.
"Our organization would like to invite you to join the Akatsuki and work with us toward a greater cause. Would you be interested?"
Feeling somewhat frustrated, Konan abandoned the topic of Orochimaru and got straight to the point.
Apart from the ring that Orochimaru had taken, which posed a slight issue, everything else seemed manageable.
After all, Orochimaru hadn't leaked information about the organization to the ninja world.
...
"Oh… join your organization, huh…"
Hearing Konan's invitation, Itachi pondered whether it was time to agree. Dragging it out any longer seemed pointless.
After all, to create chaos, one had to work from within.
At that moment, a crow flew leisurely through the window.
Itachi was slightly startled, while Konan seemed puzzled.
A strange feeling arose in Konan's heart as she looked at the crow...
She felt an odd sense of familiarity but couldn't pinpoint the reason.
The crow landed on Itachi's hand, and he retrieved an envelope tied to its leg.
This crow was the same one Itachi had used to send fabricated Akatsuki intelligence to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Unexpectedly, instead of releasing the crow after receiving the message, Hiruzen had kept it as a carrier pigeon.
...
As he read the contents of the letter, Itachi became thoughtful.
"You should go back for now. I have some things to take care of. Once I'm done, I'll come to Amegakure to find you."
Itachi spoke softly as he noticed Konan still waiting for his response.
Konan paused in slight surprise upon hearing Itachi's words. She felt like she was on the verge of succeeding, so why did things suddenly take a turn for the unexpected?
"Did you run into some difficulty? Do you need my help?"
After a moment of thought, Konan decided she would go the extra mile to ensure this task was completed flawlessly. So, she offered her "after-sales service."
"It's nothing, just a minor issue," Itachi replied.
Seeing Konan offering to help, Itachi had no intention of disclosing more details.
"Alright then, I wish you the best," Konan said, realizing she had been a bit abrupt.
"Mm," Itachi nodded slightly and gave a brief response.
Konan walked toward the door, opened it, and prepared to leave.
"Was that letter from Uchiha Itachi? Is he in some kind of trouble?"
As she opened the door and breathed in the fresh air, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten earlier.
Not many people used crows, and Itachi was one of the few.
He was particularly skilled at taming them.
"It's not," Itachi answered without hesitation.
Konan cast a suspicious glance at Itachi but said nothing more. She stepped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and left.
As Itachi watched her leave, the faint fragrance of her presence lingered in the room.
He stood up shortly after, preparing to leave as well.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had written Itachi a letter. The gist of it was that he needed Itachi to return to Konoha for something important.
Itachi decided to see what the old man was up to and figure out what he was plotting this time.
"Jiraiya-sama..."
In another room, Kakashi removed his mask and sat across from Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked at his apprentice's student, noting that even after removing the mask, Kakashi still wore a face-covering. Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
"I don't have time to meddle in Konoha's affairs. Do you have anything else to say?"
Jiraiya was still replaying Itachi's words in his mind, so he wasn't in the mood to engage much with Kakashi.
"Uh..."
Kakashi was momentarily stunned by Jiraiya's blunt response, unsure what to say.
After a brief silence, as Jiraiya was about to dismiss him, Kakashi seemed to sense Jiraiya's impatience and spoke softly, slightly embarrassed.
"Jiraiya-sama, do you happen to have a special edition of Make-Out Tactics? I couldn't find it anywhere outside..."
"Make-Out Tactics, huh? Kid, you've got good taste. But that's an 18+ book! It's even better than Make-Out Violence!"
Hearing Kakashi's request, Jiraiya instantly flashed a knowing smile, one that all men could understand.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to be such a loyal fan of his work.
"Is there any way I could get that book, sensei?"
Hearing Jiraiya's response, Kakashi decided to go all in and shamelessly pressed further.
He couldn't stop thinking about the storylines in that book—they were simply irresistible.
Now that he had finally met Jiraiya, there was no way he would leave empty-handed.
In the end, Kakashi walked out of Jiraiya's room with a satisfied look.
Inside the room, the floor was littered with books signed by Jiraiya himself, along with invoices and other miscellaneous items.
For such an earnest request from a promising junior, Jiraiya couldn't bear to let Kakashi leave disappointed.
However, he only allowed Kakashi to take one book. After all, as a young man, it was important to maintain discipline in one's beliefs.
Letting Kakashi choose just one book from his collection of limited editions and rare manuscripts was undoubtedly a tormenting challenge.