Chapter 68:- Konan

"Excuse me, is something wrong?" Her tone was neutral. She was neither cold nor warm. There was no expression on her face. 

'What Konan is doing here?' Naruto's mind had stopped working. 

Naruto realized that he had been staring at her face for too long. "No, it's....nothing!! You look a lot similar to someone I know." Naruto said while staring at her. 

Konan looked at the young man in front of her. Even in his transformation, Naruto was still a very handsome-looking young man. 

"I see...!!" Konan did not say anything. As the bowl of Ramen was served to her, she began to eat. 

As for Naruto, from time to time, he glanced at Konan. 

Konan finished eating before Naruto. She paid the owner and then took her leave. 

While walking on the street, she noticed the horrible condition of the entire City. Just a few years back, when she had visited this city for some work-related reason, this whole city was bustling. But now everything was polar opposite of what she had seen just a few years back. 

'I still can't believe just how much this place has changed within just a short period of time.' Konan thought while walking. 

"All this pain and suffering has been brought by Gato. As long as I eliminate him, I can bring peace to this land and its people." She murmured in a low tone so that no one else would have heard what she was thinking. Someone did hear what she said. 

"I was also thinking of doing the same. Why don't we work together." Konan was startled when she saw Naruto walking next to her. He matched her pace. 

His hands were in his pocket. 

Konan became cautious. Her gaze became cold. 

"What are you doing here? And who are you?" Konan did not immediately attack Naruto. But from her cold tone and her cautious steps, it was clear that if his answer did not satisfy her, then she was going to attack him. 

"I am a mysterious traveler. My aim is to bring peace everywhere that I go." Naruto playfully said. 

Seeing that this young man was being playful with her, Konan snapped her fingers. 

Suddenly, hundred of explosive tags flew out of his black cloak and floated around Naruto. 

"If you don't answer my question, then I am going to kill you right here." Konan threatened Naruto. 

Naruto immediately raised his hands in his defense. But for some reason, he didn't look afraid of what she did. Instead, there was an amused smile on his face. It was as if he was enjoying every single second of their interaction. 

"You're serious about killing me?" Naruto playfully asked. 

Booom....!!!

Twenty meters away from Naruto, one of the explosive tags exploded. The explosion startled people in the surroundings. Knowing that these two were Shinobi, they began running away from them in fear, thinking that they were Gato's new men. Instead of replying to his question, she let her actions speak. 

'This woman is totally serious. And I here I thought she was the calm type.' Naruto thought in his mind. 

"Beauty, why don't you calm down a little so that we can talk like adults?" Naruto asked. 

Konan instead replied by making all the explosive tags stick to his body. Other than his face, the rest of his body was covered in explosive tags. If she snapped her fingers now, even Naruto won't be able to escape. There was a high chance of him dying. 

'Well, the situation just became a lot more serious.' Naruto felt a little bit nervous.

"Alright, I will talk...!!" 

"Hmph.....!!"

Konan snorted, hearing these words. 

'Now, you are finally willing to talk.' Konan thought in her mind. 

"My name is Naruko...!!!"

Boooom.....!!!!

One more explosive tag exploded 20 meters behind Naruto. This was her way of warning him not to lie.

Gulp....!!!

Naruto nervously gulped, seeing this. 

"This is dangerous." 

Boooom.....!!!!

"Alright.....!! Alright.....!!! I will speak." Naruto had no choice. 

Hearing this, a small smile appeared on her face. 

"I am a Shinobi from Hidden Leaf." Naruto did not feel any danger from Konan. This is why he was so playful around her. He knew that she and he had the same master and the same ideologies. But her approach was very different from his. She is not a bad person. She and her friends chose the wrong path because of the wrong influence. 

"Why are you here?" Konan coldly asked. 

"I am here to admire the beauty of this city." 

Boooom.....!!!!

"I mean, I am here with my squad. Gato's men are trying to kill a bridge builder. We are here to protect him." Konan nodded her head. 

"Beauty, I love peace. I know that you also love peace. So why are you being so violent?" 

"Let's make peace.....!!" 

"Hmph.....!!" Konan snorted as she let off Naruto. She felt no danger from him. This is why she released him. 

'He is a unique one.' Konan thought in her mind. 

Naruto was very different from any other Hidden Leaf Shinobi that she had met in the past. 

"What are you doing in the City?" Konan obviously knew about the bridge builder that Naruto was talking about. She was also aware that the bridge builder had gone to Hidden Leaf to get protection. This is why she believed in his words. 

"Just like you, I am also here to end Gato. As long as Gato is killed, peace could be brought to this small nation." Naruto seriously replied. 

"Since we both have the same objectives, why don't we work together?" Naruto wanted to spend more time with her and get to know her a little bit more. 

Konan did not refuse. Meaning she was willing to work with him. 

"Beauty, since we will be working together, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Naruto asked with a cheeky smile. 

Konan looked at Naruto and coldly replied. "Stop calling me Beauty. Otherwise, I will kill you." Each time he called her 'Beauty,' she felt something very strange in her heart. This feeling was something very foreign and unknown to her. 

She was scared of this feeling in her heart. 

She felt embarrassed and felt a lot of other unknown emotions in her heart. 

"You can call me Koneko. I am Rogue Shinobi from Hidden Rain village. I am here to kill Gato and take his wealth for myself." One of the reasons why Konan was here is because their organization currently lacked funds. Taking all of Gato's wealth would be enough to solve their financial problem. 

(Koneko - as a reference to Koneko from High School DXD. Though both of their personalities are worlds apart.)

"What is your name?" Konan asked curiously. 

"Beauty, are you finally taking interest in me?" Naruto had a grin on his face. 

"I am not....!!" She replied in a loud, flustered tone. 

"Also, if you call me that again, then I am going to kill you." Konan threatened Naruto with a red face before walking away. 

Naruto smiled before following Konan. "Wait, I am coming." 

Konan felt slightly bit amused watching Naruto. Naruto's red hair reminded her of Nagato, but his behavior reminded her of Yahiko. 

'What an interesting young man.' Konan thought to herself. 

Konan recalled how he called her 'Beauty' in a flirtatious tone. Remembering this, her heartbeat increased. Her cheeks faintly blushed. 

"By the way, 'Beauty,' do you know where Gato lives?" Naruto noticed that she seemed to know a lot about Gato. 

'Why is she here?' In his previous world, Konan had never come here. If Naruto had to guess, during this period of time, she and her friend Nagato must have been busy killing Hanzo and his men and taking control of the entire Hidden Rain village. 

'I could be wrong here since I never learned exactly when Nagato killed Hanzo in my previous world. But it should be around this time. Or Maybe Hanzo has already been killed in this world. And Konan is here for a different reason.' Naruto thought to himself. 

"You....!!!" The cold beauty blushed again while glaring at Naruto, who called her by her nickname. 

"Like I said before, don't call me that." Watching her flustered face, Naruto was mesmerized. He really liked this cute kind of Konan. 

Konan was about to summon a few explosive tags to scare Naruto when she noticed a few Shinobi were following them. So she became serious. Once again, her emotions were hidden beneath a layer of frost. 

"Isn't that obvious? He lives in the center of the City." Konan replied in a low tone. 

Judging from Naruto's relaxed reaction, Konan could not determine whether he had sensed the shinobi were following them or not. This kind of made Konan frustrated. 

"Did you notice them?" Konan asked. 

"Should I get rid of them?" Since Naruto was here to make peace, he did not mind taking some lives. 

"Can you? Are you even that strong?" Konan asked Naruto in a mocking tone. Seeing the small smile on her face, it was obvious that she was teasing him. 

'Now it's' payback time.' Konan thought to herself. 

Naruto was left speechless hearing her words. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, she continued. 

"If you can't defeat them, it's okay. You can hide behind me." 

"You're nothing but a soft flower. Go home and become an adult first." Konan waved at Naruto, signaling him to leave. 

Naruto wasn't going to take these words. 

He suddenly grabbed Konan's wrist. Before she could do anything, she found herself pinned against a wall in an alley. 

'Huh....!!' Konan was completely dumbfounded. Her heart began racing super fast. She has never been in such a situation before. Strangely, she felt a trace of excitement in her heart. She wasn't even sure why she felt like that. 

Naruto looked into her eyes while holding her chin with his thumb and index fingers. There was playful smile on his face. 

Konan suddenly felt that the entire situation had been reversed. She started to feel like she had become the prey. 

The prey had become the hunter!!

Roles had reversed. 

She felt like a small, weak rabbit that a strong, fierce Lion pinned. 

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In the anime, Naruto has very limited interaction with Konan. They only met once, and that was it. From this, it makes sense if Naruto has a wrong impression of her character. 

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