"It really is you."
Jiraiya nodded. That refined face, coupled with those crimson Sharingan, there was no mistake. The person before them was Kanon Uchiha.
"Kanon! Thank goodness you're okay!"
Naruto Uzumaki flashed a relieved smile and moved to embrace her, only to phase right through her body.
"This is..."
Kanon didn't respond to Naruto's words. She simply prepared to leave the area in silence.
"You stay right there!" Tsunade, already pushed to her limit, leaped into the air and swung a fist toward Kanon's back.
CRACK!
In the next instant, everyone stood frozen in horror. Even Naruto and Jiraiya turned pale.
The Kusanagi Sword had pierced clean through Tsunade's abdomen, but Tsunade's fist had passed harmlessly through Kanon's hollow, expressionless face.
Wracked by intense pain, Tsunade trembled. Naruto was shell-shocked; looking at Kanon's vacant eyes and her total lack of emotion, he couldn't believe it. This wasn't the same person he knew.
"Didn't you learn your lesson this morning? Fine. Since you're so intent on dying, I'll kill you."
As Kanon spoke, her other palm began to crackle with lightning. A terrifying thunderous roar filled the air. By using the Chidori, Kanon was effectively confirming her identity beyond any doubt.
Just as the fatal strike was about to puncture Tsunade, Jiraiya's white hair shot out, whipping around Tsunade and pulling her back.
"Jiraiya! Why..."
"I know you won't die easily, but you still have to go back and become Hokage!" Jiraiya said grimly.
"She's your student too, isn't she...?" Tsunade frowned at him.
"She is..." Jiraiya's voice held a trace of mourning.
"Kanon, what happened to you?!" Naruto shouted toward the expressionless girl in the distance.
"Nothing happened. And besides, you have the wrong person."
"You're clearly Kanon!" Naruto said firmly. He walked up to her, his azure eyes staring directly into her three-tomoe Sharingan, blocking her path.
"Kanon! On the day of the Chunin Exams, what happened?! Why did you turn into this!!"
"Step aside," Kanon said flatly.
"I won't!"
Naruto pulled the kunai engraved with the character for "Kanon" from his pouch and held it up.
"Kanon, you gave this to me—" Before Naruto could finish, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune watched the scene unfold with gasping breaths.
In a sudden move, Kanon seized Naruto's hand and plunged the blade into her own abdomen.
"Ka...non..." Naruto's pupils contracted to pinpricks. His eyes were filled with shock and pure disbelief.
Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. Only this kind of pain could make her feel something through the numbness. The kunai she had once gifted Naruto had now truly pierced her own body.
Her frame shivered, and her hollow black pupils bled into a vivid crimson as tears finally broke free. She leaned her forehead gently against Naruto's chest and bowed her head.
The tears fell steadily. Blood stained her lips, and the agony caused her entire body to spasm.
Naruto struggled to pull the kunai out as the blood began to soak her coat, but Kanon's strength was too great. Naruto could only watch as his hands were pressed into her, the blood welling out like a fountain.
"Don't do this..." Naruto whispered, tears in his eyes.
Looking at the breaking Naruto, Kanon's lips parted slightly.
"You're too naive, Naruto."
The moment the words left her mouth, she phased through him and walked away. No matter how much Naruto screamed her name, Kanon never stopped.
As she vanished over the horizon, Naruto slumped to the ground, staring vacantly at the blood-stained kunai in his palm.
Jiraiya and Tsunade remained silent. Everything Kanon had displayed meant that she was no longer a force that could be ignored.
Tsunade looked at the boy on the ground, understanding his pain all too well. Seeing his despondency, she asked, "Weren't you the one who wanted to be Hokage?"
"If I can't even save my best friend, how can I ever become Hokage...?" Naruto's voice was choked with sobs.
"You brat, pull yourself together!" Tsunade barked, delivering a sharp punch to the top of his head.
…
The night was pitch black, the moon smothered by heavy clouds. Back at the inn, Kanon sat alone in a dark corner, hugging her knees in solitary silence.
The wound in her abdomen was slowly knitting back together, but the lingering ache left her face pale.
"So, why didn't you kill him?" Konin's voice echoed from within.
"He was my best friend." Kanon's reply was devoid of inflection.
"Fine. Remember to come learn a new jutsu tonight. It's a Scorch Release technique."
"Mm..."
Time slipped away like a white stallion passing a crack in a wall; seven days vanished into the dark, lonely room. During this time, Kanon threw herself into training—mastering ninjutsu, taijutsu, and the visual powers of her Sharingan.
She needed power. Power enough to survive. She had already closed her eyes to the world, merging herself with the darkness. Each injury she sustained served as a reminder: to live in this world, one must be strong.
Finally, on the seventh day, Kanon concluded her training. She donned a fresh red Uchiha trench coat, tied her hair into twin tails, and put on the fox mask.
She wanted to see what Tsunade would choose. Her brother and lover, or Konoha? She wanted to see how a "Legendary Sannin" would decide.
"I hope you don't disappoint me." A faint smirk touched Kanon's lips. She rested her hand on the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword she had stolen from Orochimaru and stepped out.
…
In the familiar alleyway, Tsunade had been waiting for some time. Soon, Orochimaru's silhouette appeared.
He looked at Tsunade's back and got straight to the point. "What is your answer?"
Tsunade remained silent for a long time. Finally, having steeled her resolve, she turned to face him directly.
"I will heal your hands."
"On the condition that you do not lay a hand on the village!"
Orochimaru frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Very well..."
Tsunade's expression was one of pure agony. Memories of Nawaki and Dan Katō flashed through her mind. A breeze picked up, swirling green leaves through the air. Tears began to fall from Tsunade's eyes.
"Come."
Orochimaru stepped toward her, and Tsunade moved toward him. Kabuto watched from a distance as Orochimaru raised his trembling hands.
Just as Orochimaru was about to place his hands in hers, where blue chakra was already swirling—
Both of them lunged backward in warning! A kunai whistled through the air, slicing through the space exactly where their hands would have met.
Tsunade and Orochimaru looked toward the side, where Kabuto stood looking bewildered.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"To betray me at a moment like this, Tsunade!" Orochimaru's eyes were bloodshot, and a terrifying killing intent flooded the area as he glared at her.
"Why give such an answer, Tsunade-hime?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "You actually tried to kill him!"
"I am also a medical ninja," Kabuto continued. "I felt the killing intent surging within your chakra."
Orochimaru scowled. "Tsunade, I truly intended to revive those two for you. And I even agreed not to destroy the Leaf."
After a long silence, Tsunade finally spoke.
"Orochimaru. I know you're lying about not attacking the village."
"Even knowing that, I still..."
"If only for a moment... just once, I wanted to see them again."
"Just once, I wanted to touch them. Just once, I wanted to see those smiles..."
"But... the moment I felt the reality of seeing Nawaki and Dan again, I realized something."
"I'm an irredeemable bastard!" Tsunade's tears gushed out. Another hope had shattered in her heart. "Just thinking of their faces made me so reckless..."
"I loved them... and because I loved them, I wanted to see them, to hold them..." Her body shook with sobs. "But... I can't do it..."
"Because that brat... he reminded me of their dreams."
"The dreams I've been trying so hard to forget..."
"I guess that's the one wish that will never disappear..."
Orochimaru had lost his patience. "Negotiations have broken down, then. It can't be helped."
"Since it's come to this, I'll have to rely on my fists to persuade you."