Itachi, watching quietly, just wanted to pet the cat to calm his nerves. Unfortunately, Daikichi wasn't around, and all he could do was silently swallow. Sakura's strength was impressive—he knew that—but he had no idea it was this immense.
Regardless, the observing Akatsuki members, enchanted by Sakura's enigmatic smile, all silently cast their votes of approval. Nagato's heart shattered. He had no choice but to acknowledge that the organization's overall strength had indeed been lowered by Sakura.
All of this marked the process and outcome of Sakura joining Akatsuki. Given her weakness, Nagato decided not to assign her to any team. She would act as a roving operative, assisting wherever needed—though so far, no team required her help beyond medical tasks.
…
The intelligence that Kita had received about the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron came from Mei Terumi, far overseas. Kita felt genuinely guilty about this, especially since the message explicitly mentioned Konoha's intentions:
To counter Akatsuki.
After their recent chaos in Konoha, this move made perfect sense. Besides, the fact that all the tailed beasts were missing demanded attention. But… it had taken nearly a year after the tailed beasts were taken for the Five Great Nations to respond. Efficiency, or the lack thereof, was frankly astonishing.
Still, considering the chaos of that year, it was understandable. The tailed beasts were gone, but the jinchuriki lived, creating headaches for every village. The Fifth Kazekage had been the first to extract his beast. For a year, no word or movement emerged. Some villages were abandoned like Iwagakure, others endured bloodshed and turmoil.
Choosing to spare the jinchuriki's life back then was a wise decision.
Kita's thoughts spun endlessly before she carried the exhausted bird from the balcony into the living room. For now, at least, she could feed it.
Konan sat in the living room, watching TV while nibbling on fruit, her eyes locked on the all-white falcon—trained, clearly from the Land of Water.
"Get out!"
Kita froze.
"Throw it outside!"
"I'm feeding it. Watch this first."
She tossed the intelligence scroll to Konan, who paid little attention, still glaring at the snow-white bird with murderous intent.
"Ugh! I said throw it outside, did you hear me?!"
Kita surrendered.
"Fine, fine, why argue with a bird?"
Honestly, if Konan hadn't needed to verify that this intelligence was truly from Mei Terumi, she would have tossed it without a second thought.
Sure enough, it was Mei Terumi's handwriting, detailing the upcoming Five Kage Summit. Konan threw the scroll back at Kita, who was bringing the bird food, with a sharp smirk.
"Impressive, Kita. A Kage personally sending you intel!"
Kita felt wronged but decided to skip that topic and get to business.
"The Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron targets Akatsuki. They now know, more or less, that all the tailed beasts are gone. The balance between nations is gone. Akatsuki's appearance forces them to unite. The situation isn't good, and you're playing around here?"
Konan's reply left Kita speechless.
"I'm not playing. If they don't hold the summit, it won't happen."
Fair enough. Kita could only sigh, pat the falcon's head, and return to the living room, rolling up the scroll.
"You're right. Planning ahead is essential."
No matter how early they planned, some events were inevitable. From the moment Akatsuki decided to collect the tailed beasts, this outcome was bound to occur—it was only a matter of time.
Konan smiled and waved Kita closer. The recovered companion could sit beside her once more. As the red ribbon was untied, her long white hair cascaded like a waterfall. A wooden comb ran through the strands, leaving them smooth and glossy.
"Kita, are you scared?"
I really don't even know how to respond. She plays with her hair constantly, and it's getting worse.
"You ask me that… have you gone backwards in age?"
After all, the "Uchiha Madara" reference had been a defeat for Kita, yet fearless Kita wasn't about to be intimidated by a mere summit. Still, Konan continued.
"You should answer 'I don't know,' and then I'll gaze at you with affection, saying, 'Don't worry, I'll protect you to the ends of the earth.' That's how you create a story where, facing a great enemy, our love is unbreakable."
"You really didn't take your medicine today, did you?"
"Tch, you irritate me."
"No, timing matters. The fire is urgent—aren't you worried?"
"Afraid of what? A worthless brat without a tailed beast? Are you scared?"
"Uh… yeah, fair enough."
Kita found her reasoning irrefutable.
"Fine~ leave your hair down. It actually looks nice this way."
"Stop joking." She reached out to fix it, but Konan deftly dodged. Rising, she shook the red ribbon in her hand, pouted, and said, "You made me angry today. So, I won't let you comb it."
Kita raised an eyebrow.
"Then I'll cut it?"
"You cut it, I'll cut you. Want to try?"
Even if he actually cut her hair, Konan wouldn't dare retaliate. At most, she could torment him a few days—but the exact process… who knew?