In one of the quieter rooms inside the Hokage's office, Konan lay on a narrow bed, her breathing slow and steady. The curtains were drawn, muting the afternoon light, and the air carried the faint scent of ink, paper, and sealing formulae.
Naruto sat on a chair beside her, posture relaxed, elbows resting loosely on his knees. To anyone watching, it would have looked like he was simply waiting. In reality, his mind was far from the room.
He stood once again before the massive iron bars of his subconscious, the dim water at his feet reflecting the towering shape beyond them. Kurama lay behind the cage, vast and unmoving, crimson eyes half-lidded as he listened.
They had been talking like this for a while now—short conversations at first, guarded and tense, but slowly growing more natural. The hostility that once filled the space had dulled, replaced by something closer to wary understanding.
"Guess I'll talk to you later, Kurama," Naruto said, turning away.
Kurama's tail shifted lazily as he nodded once. Naruto's presence faded, and the world snapped back into place.
Naruto opened his eyes.
A faint groan reached his ears.
He turned just as Konan stirred, her brows knitting together before her eyes fluttered open. She stared at the ceiling for half a second, disoriented—then sat upright sharply, breath hitching as she realized where she was.
Her gaze snapped to the side.
Naruto sat there, watching her calmly.
Her expression hardened instantly. Sheets of paper rustled as she moved to strike—
"I wouldn't do that," Naruto said evenly.
She froze.
It wasn't his tone that stopped her. It was the pressure. Something subtle but overwhelming pressed down on her senses, an instinctive warning that made her hesitate despite herself. She couldn't explain it, only that attacking him felt… wrong.
Her eyes darted around the room.
That's when she noticed it.
The walls. The ceiling. Even the floor seams.
Paper.
Layers upon layers of it, overlapping so seamlessly it blended into the room itself. And woven between them—seals. Familiar ones. Her eyes widened as recognition set in.
Naruto noticed.
"You finally caught on," he said. "Every inch of this room is covered in paper bombs."
Her breath caught.
"I figured the weakness of a paper lady would be fire," Naruto continued casually, leaning back in his chair. "Looks like I was right."
Konan didn't try to move. Her mind raced, searching for an escape, a loophole, anything—but every path ended the same way.
She slowly exhaled.
Naruto tilted his head slightly. "So," he said, "are you going to listen to what I have to say, or not?"
She hesitated, then gave a small nod.
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Good." His expression sobered. "Nagato passed away. We already buried him. The other Path bodies too. And Yahiko."
Her eyes flickered at the name.
"If you want," Naruto added, "we can visit his burial site later. But that's not what matters right now."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharpening.
"What matters is this," he said. "I know Nagato wasn't the real mastermind. There's someone else behind all of this. Am I right?"
Konan didn't answer immediately.
In the adjacent room, hidden behind what appeared to be an ordinary wall, Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya stood watching through a concealed mirror. Seals along the frame allowed them to hear every word clearly.
"You sure Naruto can handle this?" Jiraiya muttered, arms crossed. "I mean, I've known the kid the longest—and he's never exactly been the sharpest tool in the shed."
Tsunade didn't take her eyes off the mirror.
"He used to be like that," she said quietly. "Not anymore. Not this Naruto." She paused. "The moment he came back to the village… I knew something had changed."
Jiraiya frowned, glancing back at the reflection of Naruto sitting calmly across from Konan.
'I don't see the difference,' he thought.
Back in the room, the silence stretched.
Konan heard his question clearly. For a moment, she said nothing. Her hands clenched slightly in the sheets as grief pressed against her chest, sharp and heavy, but she forced herself to breathe through it. The tears burned, threatening to spill, yet she held them back with visible effort.
Slowly, she opened her mouth.
"…It's Madara Uchiha," she said at last, her voice low but steady.
Behind the mirror in the other room, eyes widened.
"Bullshit!" Jiraiya snapped instantly, disbelief flashing across his face. "That's not possible!"
Naruto, however, only smiled faintly, since he knew she wasn't wrong but not right "Oh," he said calmly. "Is he the Uchiha we ran into before? The one who got in our way when we were trying to track down Sasuke?"
Konan nodded slightly. "I don't know for sure. But most likely. Only he and Sasuke are left now, as far as I know."
'This is… easier than I expected,' Naruto thought. 'She's already broken. No reason for her to lie.'
"Madara, huh?" Naruto continued, his tone thoughtful. "So he's the one who poisoned Nagato's mi—"
"He didn't poison him," Konan interrupted sharply, emotion finally breaking through. "Everything Nagato said was true. The world is rotten. He just… he went about it the wrong way."
Her composure cracked.
"I tried to tell him," she went on, her voice trembling now. "I told him that Madara was only using him. That he didn't care about peace, only about reaching the Gedo Statue. But Nagato said this was his plan all along. That this path was the only way."
She shook her head slowly, frustration and sorrow mixing together.
"I couldn't get through to him. No matter what I said."
A tear slipped free and dropped onto the bedsheet.
Naruto didn't interrupt. He stayed quiet, letting her speak, nodding occasionally, offering a soft word or a steady presence when her voice faltered.
"After the fight with Hanzo," Konan continued, "Nagato was paralyzed. That's when everything truly changed. He began creating the Pain bodies… using the corpses of ninja. Even Yahiko."
Her breath hitched.
"He used Yahiko's body," she whispered. "His own best friend. He kept saying, 'Yahiko would have wanted this.' That with this power, he could finally fulfill Yahiko's dream."
She looked away, unable to meet Naruto's eyes anymore.
When she finally fell silent, the room felt heavier.
Naruto exhaled slowly.
' Man… this world is seriously messed up,' he thought.' If Kishimoto had handled some of this better, the world-building would be on One Piece's level right now.'
He stood up from his chair, stretching his arms above his head, the tension rolling off him in a slow exhale.
"Well," he said gently, "you can stay here as long as you want. I've got a feeling Madara Uchiha is going to start that 'plan' you mentioned pretty soon. Wouldn't want you getting caught up in that mess again, would we?"
He gave her an easy smile.
"I'll grab you something to eat. Stay here."
Naruto turned to the walls and began carefully removing the paper bombs one by one, peeling them away with deliberate precision so none of the seals would activate. Each tag came off cleanly, stacked neatly in his hand until the room was no longer a death trap.
When he was finished, he headed for the door and stepped out, leaving Konan sitting alone on the bed.
She stared at the empty doorway. He trusted her. Enough to remove the bombs. Enough to turn his back.
She didn't understand why—but for the first time in a long while, that trust made her chest feel warm instead of heavy.
Outside the room, Naruto was immediately met by Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune. The tension that had hung over the Hokage's office since the battle finally felt lighter, though it hadn't disappeared completely.
"Well," Tsunade said, folding her arms with a small, approving smile, "you did well, Naruto. Who knew you had interrogation skills?"
Naruto shrugged casually. "Guess I picked a few things up along the way."
Jiraiya leaned forward in his wheelchair, grinning. "Heh, of course he did. Learned them from me. I should really teach you the Toad Trap sometime—great for interrogation. And, y'know… if you can't find a place to jiggy."
There was a brief pause.
Tsunade and Naruto stared straight ahead, pretending he hadn't spoken.
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly. "…Tough crowd."
Tsunade turned serious again. "So," she said, looking at Naruto, "do you believe what she told you?"
Naruto didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted briefly back toward the closed door behind him before returning to Tsunade.
"Yeah," he said finally. "I don't think she has any reason to lie. She lost both of her friends—the only family she had. Honestly, I'd say she doesn't even have the will to live right now."
Shizune blinked. "You… left her alone?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied simply. "She's not going anywhere."
Then he turned toward Shizune, his tone shifting back to casual. "Hey, could you get us something to eat? I'd really appreciate it."
Shizune froze, clearly caught off guard. "O–Oh! Uh—sure!"
Tsunade glanced at her, and that was all it took. Shizune straightened, nodded quickly, and hurried off down the hall.
Naruto didn't wait. He turned and headed back toward the room Konan was in, hands tucked into his pockets as if nothing unusual had just happened.
Jiraiya watched him go, brow furrowing slightly.
"…That kid," he muttered.
He turned to Tsunade with a grin. "So, Hokage-sama, how about a drink? Feels like we earned one."
Tsunade didn't even slow as she walked past him.
"You should go back to the hospital," she said flatly.
Jiraiya sagged slightly in his chair as she disappeared down the corridor.
"…I really can't stand her when she's mad," he muttered to himself. "Literally."
TO BE CONTINUED