Chapter 62 - A Walk In the Garden

Deep in the woods, five figures plodded through the mud toward the small town. A dark gas surrounded each of them as though escaping from their pores. Their eyes, black as tar, focused forward emotionlessly. Small black tendrils occasionally wiggled in their skin like worms peeking their heads out of the ground.

At the head of the group, a man with long spiky brown hair stopped. The others stopped behind him.

"The village is ahead. When the sun sets… Taahkaa's will shall be accomplished."

""Taahkaa's will shall be accomplished,"" the others chanted in response, completely in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere, Jin and Konan casually ambled through the village streets. Most people paid them no heed. Jin himself appreciated the smiles on most of the pedestrian's faces. They simply looked like simple folk living simple lives.

Raising his gaze toward the setting sun, Jin stopped caring about the scenery and suggested, "Since your butterflies have yet to find the objective, should we stay at an inn for the night?"

"...Maybe."

Having received an agreement of sorts, Jin asked around for the location of an inn. A young lady leading a child by the hand answered his question, but snickered playfully upon noticing Konan waiting for him. Neither Jin nor Konan paid any heed to her playful remarks and simply followed the directions to a small inn near the edge of town.

While walking toward the door, they both raised their brows upon seeing two familiar faces leaving the inn with suitcases in tow. Instantly, the four people stopped and looked at each other in silence. One pig also stared at the people with narrowed eyes, though it didn't know why.

"Fancy seeing you here," Jin said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Yes. What a coincidence," Tsunade grumbled in reply, narrowing her eyes at him. Then, she humphed and led Shizune around Jin and Konan. Along the way, Shizune bowed and apologized for Tsunade's behavior.

Before the women could walk away, Jin looked at Shizune and asked, "You are leaving town this late in the day?"

"Um… Yes, though I don't really know why."

"...Did that woman win a bet or something?" Jin rhetorically asked, wrinkling his nose a little.

"Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," Shizune innocently answered.

Jin grimaced in response.

"Come on, Shizune. Don't bother with them," Tsunade turned around and called out. Her foot tapped the ground impatiently and cracked the stone beneath her toes.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune replied, quickly catching up.

Observing Jin's troubled gaze following the two women who were walking away, Konan quietly asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Maybe. We'll see."

The possibility of something bad occurring remained at the forefront of Jin's mind even as he requested a room. The female clerk winked and offered a room with a large bed, which made Konan's brows furrow. On the other hand, Jin nonchalantly asked for separate beds. The clerk raised her brows, caught onto the atmosphere, and gave him a key to a room with two separate sleeping areas after a brief apology.

Unworried about the clerk's thoughts, Jin and Konan walked upstairs and checked the room. As the woman at the counter said, a half-wall separated the room into two sleeping areas and a single combined area in between containing a simple set of a table and chairs.

"Does this work for a temporary resting spot?"

"My paper clones don't need to rest."

"..."

"..."

"Well, alright then," Jin mumbled while wondering why she didn't say so sooner. He wouldn't have minded camping instead of using more of her Ryo to pay for this room.

Deciding not to worry about it, Jin left the room after checking it. Konan silently followed him out. In a way, he appreciated her quiet demeanor after dealing with a bunch of outgoing and talkative characters until now.

Jin and Konan exited the inn through the back door. There, they found a small garden. A quaint walking path snaked between the neatly trimmed bushes, vibrant flowers, and other aesthetic plants. All of the plants bloomed vibrantly as if to spite the constantly gloomy weather of Amegakure.

While Jin calmly took it all in with a barely noticeable nod of appreciation, Konan widened her eyes a little. Following behind Jin as he waltzed through the garden, she reached out to caress the variety of flowers blooming around her. She slowed down to admire the plants for a while.

Noticing her presence lagging behind, Jin turned his head. He watched her for a moment while she somberly touched each of the flowers with utmost care. Due to the picturesque nature of it all, Jin quietly snapped a photo with his phone. He checked the Chat Group app to see if there was an option to send a photo, but he did not find one.

Since he had his phone out anyway, Jin messaged the others in the Chat Group about the current state of the mission. To his surprise, Konan replied to the explanation with a thumbs-up emote. It surprised him at first until he remembered that the Konan in front of him was a clone.

For a few minutes, Jin continued chatting with the others about miscellaneous topics, giving the clone Konan time to enjoy the garden for a little while. Eventually, though, he looked up at the rolling rain clouds from under his umbrella and sighed. Attempts to distract himself out here failed to erase the unease he felt since running into Tsunade in front of the inn.

Almost as though noticing his unease, Konan walked over to him with a slightly inquisitive gaze. The abnormal level of emotion shown in her expression caught him off guard briefly, causing him to wonder if strolling in the garden livened her up a bit.

"...Is something bothering you?" Konan quietly asked, twirling a paper parasol above her head.

"A little. Whenever Tsunade wins a bet, something bad happens."

"Oh. So that is why you asked about that."

"Yeah," Jin replied. He looked up at the sky again. He could see the muddled outline of the sun setting behind the clouds in the distance. "I guess we'll just have to roll with the punches."

As the sun continued setting, Jin and Konan wandered around the garden in silence. More specifically, Jin patiently watched Konan admire the vibrant plant life. Her lips remained curved in a barely noticeable smile, something Jin never recalled seeing in her manga or anime counterpart after Yahiko's death. He couldn't recall whether she even smiled during the scene when she spoke to Naruto, so seeing her like this brought a smile to his face.

Unfortunately, the time for smiles soon ended.

The moment the sun dropped below the horizon, an explosion shook the outskirts of the village. Both Jin and Konan erased their smiles and looked over at a pillar of fire erupting at the edge of town that refused to extinguish even under the heavy rain. The two of them glanced at each other.

"I'm going there. What about you?" Jin asked.

Nodding seriously, Konan answered, "...Of course I will. This is my home."

Clapping his hands together, Jin casted his barrier board.

"Need a ride? Ah, well, guess I didn't need to ask…" Jin said, watching as wings sprouted from Konan's back.

One massive change from his memories of her paper wings occurred, however, making his eyes widen. Colorful wisps glowed in shades of red, pink, and blue. The colorful kagune sprouted out from her back and covered her paper wings. The shimmering colors brightened the garden, creating an image reminiscent of a fairy dancing on a wall separating good and evil.

'...So, a kagune works with clones, too? That's surprising.'

Ignoring Jin's wide eyes, Konan simply nodded at him before flying into the air. He chuckled and followed behind her on his barrier board that all of a sudden seemed very boring in comparison.