The small sheets of paper floated around him, where a woman was looking at him with an expressionless face.
Konan remembered the words Toru said the night before and closed her eyes.
[If you want to cry, do it. If you want to scream, do it. Curse this world that has given you such a miserable life]
She looked at him, looked at that boy lying on top of Pain's statue, completely unconscious and in a rather pathetic state. She walked over and landed softly next to Toru. She crouched down and spoke.
"So here you were..."
"...hm?" he opened his eyes after hearing Konan's voice. His vision was much blurrier than ever, perhaps his eyes deteriorated more during the night. He touched his head painfully and sat up, only to realize Konan was beside him. "...Konan, where am I, what are you doing here?" He is still a bit disoriented. Not only from drinking so much at night, but also from the memory wipe that his daughter from the future used on him. Well, he has no way of knowing that.
"I found you here. What have you been doing all this time?"
"Uh... I don't know..." he touched his head trying to remember, but it was impossible. His memory was foggy, he couldn't even remember what happened to him after he entered the tavern.
This was something Konan realized. The smell Toru had was exactly the same as the smell of sake. She just didn't say anything about it, everyone decides to do with their lives as they please. Still, she felt more curious towards this boy.
Toru could see her moderately well, as she was quite close. He stood up and did some quick stretches. "Were you looking for me for something?"
Konan almost forgot. "If I had no business with you, do you think I would even approach you?"
"You have a point. So what's it about?"
"They were looking for you a few minutes ago, but they couldn't find you, so they asked for my help."
"You're talking about Ajisai, Fuyo and Suiren, right? Then that's a good thing. I'll go look for them myself."
"As you wish" The sheets of paper surrounded her, lifting her a little in the air. Having informed Toru about these three girls, she no longer had any business with him, so she slowly walked away.
But... Why did she have to return her gaze to that boy?
Toru closed his eyes and felt the water droplets on his face. A small smile formed on his face, as he somehow felt better. 'Rest Itachi... rest... rest... Deidara...'
She looked at that boy, something had changed in him. And this somehow seemed interesting to her. He said all those things the night before and, though it was strange, this made Konan feel better too. The guilt in her heart, though not completely, was reduced quite a bit.
'Asahi Toru... you are very strange...'
-Minutes later-
They were waiting at the place where they always used to meet that boy. Ajisai was a bit more nervous than usual though. It had been a while since she last saw Toru, so she didn't know how she should act when she sees him.
Well, she had a mission and she had just accomplished it. Now she just had to inform her sensei and wait for further orders, right?
"Why are you so nervous, Ajisai-chan? We know you like Toru-sama, but don't overreact" Fuyo tried to calm her leader, but that didn't work. In fact, it made Ajisai frown. "Oh, well... I..."
Suiren on the other hand smiled under her mask. It was a bit of a stressful few days, days where they hardly slept just to meet Toru's expectations. They were attacked on several occasions by thieves and ninjas from other villages, but they managed to get out unscathed thanks to the teachings of that boy.
"Everything will be all right. We have done our job as Toru-sama requested."
These words of Suiren if were able to calm the nerves of Ajisai, who let out a sigh to then look ahead with a serious expression.
A second later, small waves of seeing expanded in the place. Right in front of them, Toru landed in a rather clean and elegant way. That was something that surprised Ajisai a little.
"Hello" He raised his hand to the side of his face.
'Toru-sama... your hat...' Ajisai and her team quickly took notice.
Toru no longer needed to wear the hat to hide his identity. Everyone now knew that he was in Akatsuki, so wearing the hat was no longer necessary at all. Still, this boy frowned trying to see these girls clearly.
In fact, these three girls thought Toru was angry because of the expression on his face, but it was a misunderstanding that was quickly fixed.
***
Now they are all sitting at one of the tables in a nearby restaurant. Toru brought the girls here to get something to eat and talk about "that" matter.
In front of him, he held a small cup of sake.
"Okay. Let's talk" This time, he decided to drink in moderation. Last time it got out of control, so a little responsibility in this sort of thing came in quite handy.
Still, the three girls couldn't help but wonder, 'Does Toru-sama drink sake?' It was, in fact, a bit of a shock to them. Since he looked quite grown up for the age he was.
"The mission I gave you, 'Find the Rokubi' seems to have been accomplished in a short period of time. I am proud and grateful for your hard work."
"We don't deserve your kind words, Toru-sama... we were just doing our job" Ajisai gave a small bow even while sitting.
"It's okay, it's what you deserve after working so hard."
"In that case..." Fuyo held out her hand and laid a scroll on the table. "Here's everything we could find, plus the location of the target."
Suiren nodded and Toru took the scroll. He opened it and focused his eyes so he could read better.
This strange action was noticed by the girls, who watched intently as Toru frowned in order to read. It was obvious that Toru needed glasses, or so they thought, who have no idea of Toru's condition.
"So his name is Utakata, huh..." His eyes glowed slightly blue and he remembered the information he had managed to gather together with Konan in Kirigakure. "They've done a good job" He stood up from the table and took the sake bottle, then kept it in the seal tied to his wrist under his robe. "They must be tired. By my order, you three will be taking a little vacation. And also..." From the left sleeve of his robe, he pulled out a large wad of bills. He left it on the table and headed for the exit. He looked back one last time. "You've earned it. Thank you."
After that, Toru disappeared leaving the girls confused.
"Since when is Toru-sama so nice, did something good happen to him?" Obviously Fuyo was the first to weigh in. She took a bite of the meat on her plate and looked at Suiren.
In response, Suiren raised her shoulders not knowing what to say. So, they both looked at Ajisai, but....
"Ha~...." Ajisai sighed in relief. Her face was a little flushed, but then she regained her composure and began to eat at an incredible speed, causing everyone around to be dumbfounded watching this girl eat.
Fuyo and Suiren almost laughed in front of her as they thought, "Girl in love with communication problems. Hahaha."
-Pain Tower-
Konan, as usual, watched everything in silence. Suddenly, though, she felt a presence beside him. It was Toru, who appeared out of nowhere without a sound.
She looked at him for a second and then returned her gaze to the village.
Toru silently took out the scroll and showed it to Konan. She took it, opened it and frowned slightly as she read it. She nodded her head and then handed the scroll back to him.
"So, will you come with me?" He stood on the railing right in front of Konan and looked down at her.
"My mission is to keep an eye on you. If you're going to leave the village, someone must be with you."
"You still think I'm going to betray them?" Although Toru had originally planned to kill Nagato and Konan, his thinking changed as time passed. He no longer felt that distrust towards them. Moreover, he now empathized with them a lot. "If I wanted to betray you, I would have already done it that night when I had the chance."
Konan immediately understood what Toru was referring to. The boy's words echoed in her mind again and she felt a small pain in her chest. Although this didn't hurt, it felt strange. She finally sighed and accepted that this boy had grown up and was now an ally of Amegakure and Akatsuki.
"If you have nothing more to say, then we need to leave as soon as possible. Mount Katsuragi and Tsuchigumo Ichizoku, those are our destinations. It was at one of those two places that Ajisai and his team spotted the Jinchūriki of the Rokubi. If we get there quickly, he won't notice us. Although I understand that he is constantly being watched and attacked by the Kirigakure ANBU, so we'll have to get rid of them before we go after him" He turned around and waited for Konan's confirmation.
"Alright..."
"I see. Then we'll use one of my summons to get there faster, do you agree?" He looked at her. In his eyes showed the gleam of the Shigan, which gave a small rotation in his pupils.
Konan had no problem with this. The faster they found the Jinchūriki, the closer world peace would be even closer. So she nodded her head.
"In that case..." He snapped his fingers and a drop of blood fell into the void. He threw himself from the top of the tower, at the same time a large cloud of smoke appeared in the lake that stretched across the village.
When it fell, no sound was heard, however....
The howl of a wolf was heard and the smoke dispersed, revealing Okaminaru, whose fur was white with black, with crimson eyes that glowed next to Toru's.
Konan saw this from above, so she also jumped down and landed gently on Okaminaru's back, right behind Toru.
"Toru-dono, you called me, where should we go? Ajisai-chan already informed me of everything, but I still don't know the location of the target."
"It's a few kilometers from where Itachi died. A mountain protected by a barrier. There's a 40% chance of finding the Jinchūriki there. So that will be our first destination."
"Understood. Then hold on, I'm going to use Senjutsu."
Silently, Konan watched and felt Okaminaru's fur bristle. The gleam in Okaminaru's eyes intensified, at the same time they themselves sharpened and allowed him to see better.
She watched as Toru clung to Okaminaru's fur, but felt that doing so was too much of an exaggeration. How fast could this summoning go?
Boom! The water under Okaminaru's paws exploded.
Konan's eyes widened as she felt her body stay where it was because of inertia, but she quickly hugged Toru from behind to keep from falling. She stuck her forehead to Toru's back, because the speed at which Okaminaru was going was too much. Even she couldn't reach such a speed using her paper wings.
Toru was also aware of that. Okaminaru's endurance is very high, that's why, when it comes to a race, he is the best except for Okamitsuki, who can go even faster.
At all this, Toru felt Konan's arms around his waist. He also felt something strange on his back. It was soft and warm. This felt very strange, but he didn't have a reaction to it. He just looked over his shoulder at Konan, who was looking down with an expressionless face.
"Is doing this comfortable for you? I guess you can't hold on as well as I can who's in front."
Konan sighed. In her fingers, which were on Toru's chest, she felt something hard. That was obviously Toru's muscles. This made her sigh again. It was uncomfortable, but that's what it was if she didn't want to fall. "If I let go, I'll fall" She shook her head while trying not to feel uncomfortable.
"I know. It doesn't bother me either" He returned his gaze to the front and, with the Kodō Shigan active, he could see in a better way.
It was true that Konan was uncomfortable, but what made him more uncomfortable, was that sake smell that Toru has. Well, how do you say nicely to someone who stinks? That makes it even more uncomfortable.
-Mt. Katsuragi-
A bubble floated above the large tower-like mountain in the middle of the forest. Inside the bubble was a thin, long-haired man with long hair covering the left side of his face. He was wearing a sky blue yukata and traditional wooden sandals.
In his hand, he held a strange flute-like instrument, although he used it to generate bubbles, which would become his kekkei genkai.
"Could it be true what you say, Tsurugi? That my master actually..." He recalled the past with pain. He relived a betrayal that hurt his pride. He closed his eyes and thought.
His name was Utakata and, inside his body, dwells a dangerous beast. He is the Jinchūriki of the Rokubi. Wanted by his village as a criminal, who now only tries to live a quiet life.
-Two kilometers from there-
"Thank you, Okaminaru. I'll buy you something to eat later" Toru stroked Okaminaru's head, who shrank his body so as not to be seen from afar.
"You can always count on me. We men keep our promises."
"I understand. Now come back. I'll call you when we capture the Rokubi."
"Yes!"
Puff! Okaminaru disappeared enveloped in a small cloud of smoke. At the same time, Konan, who was a little away from Toru, sighed thinking that this awkward moment was finally over.
However, she did not expect the change of attitude of Toru, who until a few moments ago acted quite friendly with everyone, now had a look as cold as an iceberg. His eyes glowed crimson and he quickly found the Rokubi's chakra, but he also found something interesting.
'Naruto and Yamato-sensei are here...' He frowned as he searched even further. 'Sakura and that pale ninja too' He was also able to find a handful of people watching the mountain in silence.
Those were the shinobi of the Kirigakure ANBU. If Konan and Toru attacked first, they would come out to defend Utakata, complicating things. The sensible thing to do was to neutralize them first.
"Kirigakure's enemies are close. They seem to be on the move. They will pass close to us in 15 seconds. They must be stopped before they reach the Rokubi. Also why the Jinchūriki is approaching them, it seems to be apropos."
"I see. Then I'll keep an eye on the Jinchūriki and you'll eliminate the obstacles."
"You understood quickly" From the sleeve of his robe, he pulled out the dagger in perfect condition and looked back.
Konan, on her side, ran between the trees in the direction of the Jinchūriki. She quickly disappeared among the leaves of the trees.
***
Tsurugi and his squad had in mind to go to Utakata, because Utakata himself seemed to want to get their attention. So, jumping between the branches of the trees, they tried to shorten the distance between them, however....
They felt bloodlust in the air. They stopped because they were obviously under attack. They waited in silence observing the surroundings and then, between the bushes, two eyes as blue as the sky shone.
"I guess from the robe they must already know who I am" Toru appeared before them holding the dagger.
Tsurugi quickly found the description in his Bingo book.
"Asahi Toru, the Shinigami of Konoha..." This was too bad for them, but before they could realize it, their soldiers fell cut to pieces.
Behind Tsurugi, Toru held his dagger full of blood. There was blood on his face and on his clothes.
He didn't know what to do, this was too much for him despite being of Kirigakure's elite. Without realizing it, he had already accepted his fate by falling to his knees.
"Like your teammates, you will die without pain" Blood splattered and Tsurugi's ANBU mask fell to the ground. Toru took it in his hands and sighed.
To be continued...