Ch443. Appreciation for his flower

When Temari left and Konan stopped snickering at Rei's embarrassment for being kissed on his cheek like a little boy, Rei cleared his throat and turned to Konan as if the previous situation did not happen.

"Ahem, so, where were we?" Rei rhetorically asked before he added, "Ah, yes. Using chaos to gain benefits, right?" A pleasant smile formed on his lips.

Konan instantly knew where this was going. 'As I thought, he DOES have a plan to use the situation to his benefit. And here I almost started to believe all this bullshit about not interfering.' Konan inwardly chuckled while outwardly an amused smile appeared on her lips.

Even if the enemy ninjas could see them right now, they would definitely avoid them at all costs. Two ninjas grinning like loons at each other in the middle of a bloody battlefield... well, that didn't speak well about their mental state.

After a few moments, when Rei was satisfied with observing the cute grinning face of his bluenette, "While there is nothing to be stolen and nobody to be killed in Konoha, there is one little matter that still needs to be dealt with for the Greater Good of all that is mine." Rei sagely uttered.

"Heeh~, how nice of you to think about our safety." Konan purred as she approached Rei and seductively melted into his side, not in a dissimilar fashion from what Temari did previously.

Rei instantly embraced her, pulling her even closer to him as their eyes fondly met, "Of course, I care." Rei put his forehead against Konan's, "You are my precious." He whispered, making Konan almost swoon with giddiness.

"Mhm." Konan happily giggled, "So? Who are we getting rid of for this fabled Greater Good of yours?"

She knew she could have redirected the topic or even try to further Rei's advances, and no doubt, they would have ended up doing a very heated bedroom training. She really wanted that too. She was burning with the need for Rei... but that could wait.

Rei was showing a great deal of trust in her by showing this kind of vulnerability at this time. Out of all of his girls, only Konan and Pakura were given this kind of trust. Both because they were not either childish dumb-dumbs or selfish bitches. Or so Konan liked to believe.

The failure in her parenting was not lost on her but... she would have never confessed this but she fulfilled what she wanted to teach both Mei and Ringo.

In the end, they did end up with Rei and infinitely more powerful and happier than what they could have been otherwise, no? Her 'kids' were happy with 'daddy'.

In her opinion, her form of upbringing was a smashing success.

If Rei knew her thinking process right now... Konan briefly shuddered. She knew well the inability to sit down for weeks from the spanking that would ensue would have been her smallest problem.

Then again, all she did was in order to make Rei happy. She would not regret that. Ever.

That's why this kind of special treatment was very nice to her. She knew there was no way Rei would give Tsunade, Ringo, or Mei, and sage forbid Kaguya, any sort of control over his actions. Especially when he was about to enact some kind of plan. They would instantly drag him to do something else in an attempt to monopolize his time.

Hence, Konan did the opposite and did not try to seduce him further. She enjoyed the warmth of his embrace, but she didn't push for more.

'More will come later.' She thought with satisfaction. Rei had never betrayed her expectations and her loyalty was rewarded with more trust and love. And Konan cherished that the most in the world.

She was his 'first'. She prided herself in knowing him most and being the most useful to him.

Of course, Rei was not testing her or anything. He would be hard-pressed to do that while he was enjoying her embrace. Especially when her, albeit modest, but extremely comfortable chest was pressing into his.

He did not immediately answer her question because of that, instead of waiting to see if she would press forward with her seduction. He didn't really care if she did, to be honest. The problem he was about to deal with could be finished off at any time now.

It was a bit funny for him. The woman who was supposed to be the biggest support pillar of Nagato was now clinging onto him with adoration in her eyes. Rei knew he should probably feel guilty about depriving Nagato...

But all he felt was smug satisfaction. And 'serves him right' feeling.

The redheaded bastard would just waste such a perfect and devoted flower like Konan in his inane quest for peace through such misguided means that it made Rei almost groan whenever he thought about it.

With all the advantages Nagato had, with all the godlike powers he was freely given... and the boy still couldn't use his own head to find his own path or even to get his head out of his ass.

So yes, Rei couldn't muster any pity for the boy who was used from an early age in Madara's schemes. The only one in Akatsuki who could stop Nagato if he went out of 'control' was Obito and while he would have been a dangerous opponent, Nagato possessed Rinnegan. He could have managed to defeat Obito if he was really driven to do so.

Zetsu was no threat whatsoever. Not to someone prepared for an attack from him.

The only thing in Akatsuki, Rei was a bit curious about, was the woman that took Konan's place beside Nagato but he never checked about her identity... and that told a lot about the level of his curiosity.

He was curious if Konan's replacement reached at least S-rank prowess because... It would have been pitiful otherwise.

In Rei's hands, Konan bloomed.

In his hands, she accomplished her full potential.

In his hands, she became something much more than just a stoic maid for a redheaded brainwashed waste.

In his hands, she managed to build the biggest information network the Elemental Nation had ever seen and nobody was aware of it.

In his hands, she led a company to become the richest in the Elemental Nations.

In his hands, she refined her bloodline to such a degree that fighting her was a massively irritating chore even for someone of Rei's prowess, much less defeating her.

And even if she had no idea what her life would have looked like without Rei... or maybe it was precisely because she could guess how she would end up without meeting him, after all, he did find her among homeless and prostitutes... not once did she stop showing her gratitude or try to improve herself.

Rei really found it endearing.

Konan was precious. His ever-loyal beautiful flower.

It wasn't a coincidence that she was accompanying him to the Chunin Exams. For it was time to visit their past home. Not as Yozora. Not as a Village Hidden on the Other Side. But as Konan and Rei. As... Downpour.

"Akatsuki. I am going to deal with their 'God'." Rei finally stated as he looked towards the clear sky while possessively snuggling with the surprised Konan, "It's time for Downpour to visit the nation where we came from."