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Chapter 21: Konan: I'm a Sage's Descendant??
Oborotsuki's intense gaze made Konan increasingly uneasy.
Her expression turned deeply embarrassed.
"Looks like I guessed right, Konan-senpai."
"Tell me—who's the one who bullied you? I'll go chop him down right now!"
Oborotsuki suddenly stood up, hoisting the Decapitation Greatsword as if ready to storm out.
"Oborotsuki! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"No one bullied me…"
Konan was both angry and amused, looking helplessly at this impulsive young man.
"If no one bullied you, then why are you acting so shifty and stammering?"
"Was it that guy who doesn't want to take responsibility?"
Oborotsuki pressed immediately.
"I have no idea what you're talking about…"
Konan frowned, cheeks burning red as she shook her head repeatedly in denial.
"If you won't say it, I'll just guess!"
"If I get it right, just nod!"
"Was it Leader Deva Path?"
"Or maybe Big Brother Sasori?"
"Old man Kakuzu clearly has no interest in women—he only loves money. Could it be Orochimaru?"
"Doesn't seem like him either. The guy's neither fully man nor woman… I bet he prefers men. Wait—could it be Uchiha Madara?"
"Was it that old guy who—"
"Enough! Oborotsuki!"
"If you keep spouting rubbish, I—I'll leave!"
Konan started gathering the dishes in earnest.
She had already been bewildered and anxious about her sudden physical discomfort—suspecting pregnancy but unable to comprehend how or why.
For days she had lived in fear and confusion, not knowing who to confide in.
Now with Oborotsuki making such a scene, she felt utterly mortified—her face burning with shame.
She had never even been in love.
The one person she once cared for—Yahiko—had died years ago.
How could anything like this happen? It was absurd!
"Konan-senpai!"
Oborotsuki slammed the Decapitation Greatsword into the floor with a thud and spread his arms to block her path.
Her secret would become obvious to everyone in a month at most.
No matter how hard she tried to hide it then, it would be impossible.
Since Konan was already his woman, he had to take full responsibility.
So right now, he needed to settle this matter properly.
"If you don't explain clearly what happened today, I'll go ask every single person. Whoever bullied you—I'll cut them down!"
Oborotsuki said with utmost seriousness.
"I really…"
Konan's face was flushed crimson. She lowered her head slightly. "This isn't what you're thinking, Oborotsuki."
"Truly—no one bullied me. I have no connection with any of them."
"Then why…?"
Oborotsuki froze, staring doubtfully at her abdomen.
This time she no longer tried to tug her clothes down to hide it.
Now that he looked closely, the slight swell was unmistakable.
Konan had always been slender and graceful.
No normal person would mistake that for a simple belly bulge.
"I don't know."
Konan lifted her head slowly, gazing at Oborotsuki with a quiet, helpless look. "It started after we went on that mission to the Land of Fire."
"A few days after we returned… my body… started becoming… abnormal."
"Konan-senpai… you're not suspecting me, are you?"
Oborotsuki's eyes widened in exaggerated shock as he pointed at himself.
"I don't know…"
Konan lowered her head again, shaking it faintly.
She had considered the possibility that Oborotsuki might be responsible—but it made no sense.
With her strength, even if he had used powerful genjutsu to render her helpless, she should have sensed something immediately.
But nothing had happened.
It was truly bizarre—like something out of a ghost story.
"Konan-senpai, I just remembered! I once read about something in an ancient text."
"It said that among the descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths—the founder of ninjutsu—there was one special bloodline branch with an extraordinary physique: the Self-Conception Constitution."
"Self-Conception Constitution?"
"Yes—meaning the women of that family can become pregnant and give birth entirely on their own, without any contact with a man."
"So the family had a strange rule: all male children were sent away at birth to be raised by suitable outsiders."
"Only the women of the main and branch families were allowed to remain… So Konan-senpai, could it be that you are a descendant of that legendary branch of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"I'm… a descendant of the Sage?"
Konan stared at Oborotsuki, dumbfounded by his dead-serious delivery.
She had never heard of such a thing.
Could her late mother have never had the chance to tell her this secret?
"Are you… joking with me, Oborotsuki?"
"How could I be? I'm completely serious, Konan-senpai."
"When I first read that passage in the ancient text, I thought it was absurd—didn't believe it at all."
"But seeing your condition now, it suddenly came back to me."
"Konan-senpai, there's a nine-out-of-ten chance you really are a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths…"
Oborotsuki pinched his chin, continuing his earnest nonsense with perfect conviction.
He spoke with such confidence that Konan's gaze gradually turned dazed. The tension and panic inside her eased considerably—no longer feeling so lost and overwhelmed.
Under normal circumstances, Konan would never have believed such nonsense.
But right now, she suddenly thought of Nagato's Rinnegan.
Those eyes possessed unimaginable power—even the ability to control life and death, to reshape the world.
The Rinnegan was also said to belong only to the Sage of Six Paths—something recorded only in ancient texts passed down for hundreds or thousands of years.
Before Nagato, no one in the real world had ever witnessed them.
Since Nagato had awakened the Rinnegan, it meant he carried the bloodline of the Sage.
That proved the Sage wasn't just legend—he had truly existed.
In that light… it really was possible she belonged to one of his distant branch lines.
Gradually accepting the explanation, Konan didn't know whether to feel happy or troubled.
If she truly was a descendant of the Sage…
She was still part of Akatsuki, sharing a grand dream with Nagato and the others.
That plan had not yet been realized, yet she was suddenly pregnant…
Nagato (as Pain) might have an uncertain reaction, but Uchiha Madara would absolutely never allow her to give birth to this child.
She would lose the time and energy to serve Akatsuki.
They couldn't even know about it.
Otherwise, the child might be put in danger…
But this was her own flesh and blood. Konan could never bear to give up the little life growing inside her.
So… what should she do…
Thinking of this, Konan's face turned pale.
"Konan-senpai, what are you thinking about?"
Oborotsuki asked curiously.
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