Ryosuke was quite happy to see Konan.
She was a character he liked immensely, the blue-haired girl.
She had the vibe of an intellectual older sister.
It was a pity that Konan's life had been far too tragic.
During her childhood, the Land of Rain was torn apart by war, and Konan's parents were killed.
Later, she was fortunate enough to meet Yahiko and Nagato. The three of them formed a trio and survived their harsh childhood together.
Eventually, they encountered Jiraiya and learned ninjutsu from him.
Afterward, the three of them founded the Akatsuki.
Yahiko died after being schemed against by Danzo and Hanzo.
As a result, the two survivors resorted to extreme methods in their desire to bring peace to the shinobi world.
Regrettably, Nagato also died later on, and ultimately, Konan herself died at the hands of Obito.
The heartwarming three-man squad was completely wiped out.
What a miserable ending in this wretched world.
In the original storyline, when Jiraiya infiltrated their base, Konan still retained a shred of kindness in her heart and couldn't fully bear to hurt her former teacher. Perhaps he could persuade her to turn back from the wrong path and stop pursuing that false dream, as it had no chance of success.
She was merely being used as a tool by Obito to collect the Tailed Beasts.
He turned and instructed the others.
"Five-Tails, Four-Tails, find a good spot in this forest to hide."
"There are still many in the shinobi world who want to seize the power of the Tailed Beasts."
Hearing this, the Four-Tails' fiery temper flared up.
"If anyone dares to try and capture me, I will destroy them."
The Five-Tails, however, replied cautiously.
"We will find a place to hide."
Ryosuke looked at Haku and Fū, as well as Kurotsuchi, who had woken up earlier and was sitting in the corner.
Naturally, Kurotsuchi had also been subdued by him.
Before she had completely lost consciousness, she had seen her own grandfather submit to this terrifying man.
She didn't dare to recklessly rebel against him and bring disaster upon her village.
Especially after seeing two Tailed Beasts submit to him along the way.
Considering he was someone capable of making Tailed Beasts bow to him, she suddenly felt that her grandfather's submission wasn't such a shameful thing after all.
Ryosuke looked at Zabuza.
"I have some business to take care of. It will probably take a few days. Take Haku, Fū, and Kurotsuchi to where the Tailed Beasts are hiding and leave marks along the way. I'll find you."
After saying that, he activated his Rinnegan, shot straight into the sky, and flew toward Konan.
His speed was incredibly fast.
Meanwhile, Konan, who had been observing the ground from the sky, suddenly changed her expression.
'What powerful vigilance. To think he noticed me from so far away and is even chasing after me. I have to get out of here.'
She couldn't possibly be his match. He was someone who had eliminated three Akatsuki members, and she was all alone.
She quickly turned her paper crane around and flew rapidly in the opposite direction to escape.
Ryosuke watched Konan try to flee. With the current capabilities of his Rinnegan...
His flight speed was extremely fast. There was no way Konan was escaping his grasp today.
Before long, Konan saw the figure behind her getting closer and closer, and a sense of crisis washed over her.
Her expression turned grim. 'What terrifying speed.'
'If he keeps chasing me like this, he'll catch up in no time.'
'I can only dive into the forest below to hide and look for another chance to escape.'
She immediately steered her paper crane downward.
Soon, she disappeared into the forest.
Ryosuke watched Konan dive into the woods.
He wasn't worried in the slightest.
Under the powerful sensory abilities of the Rinnegan, Konan couldn't escape.
He immediately followed her, descending into the forest.
His gaze swept across his surroundings.
Konan's figure had long since vanished among the trees.
She had entered the forest, and he had followed right on her heels.
With only a few seconds between them, she couldn't have fled far.
She was likely hiding.
He carefully sensed for her presence.
It turned out she was hiding under a large tree a few dozen meters away. He could see her chakra—if this wasn't Konan, who was it?
He then concealed his own presence, preventing his chakra from leaking out.
Hiding behind the massive tree, Konan remained on high alert. Although she had concealed her presence...
...she still couldn't be certain that she wouldn't be found.
He had just followed her down here, after all.
At this moment, she was extremely anxious, unsure if she could successfully escape this time.
She didn't know if hiding would fool him, so she could only wait for him to leave before retreating.
But right at that moment, she suddenly sensed a figure appear in front of her.
It was none other than the white-masked man in black.
Her face instantly darkened.
He had found her after all. A bad feeling welled up in her heart.
"Who exactly are you?"
Ryosuke hadn't expected Konan to be curious about this.
"Since you want to know so badly, there's no harm in showing you."
He directly removed his white mask, revealing a handsome face. He wasn't going to wear the mask for his upcoming actions anyway.
Seeing this young face, Konan was instantly filled with shock.
'How is this Uchiha Madara's face?'
'Those eyes... they're actually the Rinnegan. This guy possesses the same eyes as Nagato.'
'And that appearance... isn't he Uchiha Ryosuke from the Uchiha clan?'
'The strongest ninja in the Leaf Village, the man who led the Uchiha clan back to glory.'
'He disappeared for the past few years, but to think he's actually become even stronger now.'
'He even awakened the Rinnegan.'
'What a terrifying guy.'
Her face was full of astonishment.
Ryosuke, however, wore a smile. To prevent Konan from running away again, he directly cast a Rinnegan genjutsu. An invisible wave instantly washed over her.
Konan's expression changed drastically as she suddenly realized her body couldn't move.
'How is this possible? How can his genjutsu be this absurdly strong?'
'I fell under his genjutsu before I could even react.'
'His methods are even more terrifying than the rumors say.'
'Even Nagato isn't strong enough to use the Rinnegan to completely immobilize me.'
Ryosuke slowly walked toward Konan.
Konan's heart pounded with anxiety. 'What exactly does this guy want to do?'
'He revealed his identity without any hesitation. Is he not afraid of being exposed, hated by everyone in the shinobi world, and turning the Leaf Village into public enemy number one?'
'Is he planning to kill me?'
'If that's the case, then revealing his identity wouldn't matter.'
Thinking of this, she felt a slight sense of relief. She was about to follow in Yahiko's footsteps.
'Honestly, it would have been better if I had died back then.'
'If Yahiko hadn't tried to save me, he wouldn't have died.'
She had no fear of death; she was only worried about Nagato.
'He will probably become even more extreme.'
'If Nagato is left all alone, what will become of him?'