Just as the Hokage Building was activating its war preparations...
There was also a person who was almost forgotten, standing on a rooftop, staring blankly in the direction of the commotion.
Konan stood quietly on her room's balcony, her gaze distant.
As soon as Konoha was attacked and the entire Village activated its air raid sirens, she had already appeared here.
At Sawara Kiri's behest, Konoha's surveillance on her had long been reduced to an extremely low level; besides two symbolic Anbu monitors, there were no other surveillance personnel around her.
If she had been patient enough to slowly wear down the seals on her, she would have been able to escape from this cage days ago.
However, for various reasons, Konan never did so.
The shadow left by Kyōka Suigetsu was too deep, causing her to subconsciously believe that even if she escaped from this surveillance house, she would probably be quickly recaptured by Sawara Kiri through various methods.
Besides that, there was another reason she was unwilling to admit herself.
That was... she had nowhere to go.
After the last incident, no matter how unwilling Konan was to admit it subconsciously, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to gain Nagato and their trust anymore.
And Nagato and his group had already defected from the Moon Organization.
In this vast world, the only place where she could stay peacefully was this small house in Konoha.
This strong sense of loneliness forced her into a never-ending cycle of self-denial.
Until today.
Konoha was attacked again after many years.
At the very beginning of the attack, Konan's heart was actually filled with immense hope.
She hoped that someone would appear, defeat Sawara Kiri, this 'demon king,' and allow her to escape the cage in her heart.
Therefore, from the moment the battle began, she stood here, watching from afar.
Unfortunately, things did not go as she wished.
Sawara Kiri was still Sawara Kiri.
The moment she heard the cheers from afar, Konan knew that the man had won again.
Just like countless times before.
This made her feel somewhat bewildered.
'What should I do now?'
Having lost her long-standing goal and trapped in a cage, with no safe place to settle even after escaping, let alone realizing her grand, savior-like dream of bringing peace to this world.
Anyone would feel disheartened at such a time.
In fact, she already vaguely sensed it in her heart.
If there was truly anyone in this world who could fulfill her dream of 'eternal world peace,' a dream born from her childhood trauma, then there was probably only one candidate.
Sawara Kiri.
But, what about the hatred between her and Sawara Kiri? Was it just to be forgotten?
This contradictory feeling caused Konan to fall into a cycle of self-negation.
What could she accomplish?
By herself?
Just as Konan was thinking this.
Suddenly, a figure rapidly leaped over buildings in the distance, arriving beside her.
The two Anbu members assigned to monitor Konan immediately appeared; one monitored Konan's every move, while the other intercepted the messenger Anbu.
"Who's there?"
The voice from beneath the mask was short and sharp.
The messenger Anbu's voice was almost identical to his: "By order of Hokage Assistant Lord Sawara, summon the prisoner Konan."
Hearing these brief words, Konan abruptly turned her head towards the person, her eyes wide with disbelief:
"Hm?!"
Time rewound to fifteen minutes earlier.
Ever since his return, Sawara Kiri, under the Fourth Hokage's command, had begun a series of intense war activation meetings, continuously discussing various matters with the major clans, Konoha Ninja Army district commanders, Barrier Squad, Logistics Department, and other personnel.
Even his injuries were only simply bandaged before he began working.
Although many matters were not directly his responsibility, as Konoha's current nation-level combat power, he only needed to sit there, and many things could be announced simply and quickly.
The name Sawara Kiri itself was the best weapon to eliminate internal resistance.
Of course, this did not mean that these conflicts themselves disappeared; they were merely suppressed by his presence, accumulating in secret.
If he were to die one day, it would probably explode like fireworks in the small Village of Konoha.
Sawara Kiri himself was well aware of this, so he did not refuse such busyness.
It wasn't until the entire day's meetings ended that he finally had time to relax and sit quietly in his office for a while.
Tsunade was still busy next door, and Megumi also needed to oversee the expansion of the Konoha Guard; it was rare for him to have time to himself during the day, so Sawara Kiri naturally immediately opened his system panel.
"I'm sorry, Kiri."
Slender white arms wrapped around his neck from behind, accompanied by a soft, breeze-like voice.
Miss Tiamat, who had grown into a maidenly figure during this time, leaned against his back, gently embracing him, her cross-shaped eyes filled with loving tenderness.
"It must hurt a lot, right?"
As the creation goddess of another world, the mother of all gods, Tiamat, despite still looking like a maiden, seemed to naturally exude maternal radiance. Her attitude towards Sawara Kiri was less like a lover and more like a mother looking at her most beloved child.
Now, seeing him injured by her own power, her heart was naturally filled with another wave of unbearable pain. Her lotus petal-like fingertips tenderly stroked his cheek, and her long, pointed tail swayed up and down.
It was a truly conjugate father-daughter relationship.
"It's alright."
"I've mostly recovered now."
Sawara Kiri gently held the maiden's fingertips, soothing her with a gentle tone.
On this point, he was not lying.
With the stable Chakra supply from Tiamat, Sawara Kiri's injuries healed much faster than he had anticipated.
In this situation, Sawara Kiri naturally couldn't resist the urge to draw a lottery.
"Randomly select SS-rank ability x1"
"Randomly select SS-rank talent x1"
He looked at these two inconspicuous lines of text on the panel, first taking a deep breath, then washing his hands and purifying his clothes. Under Miss Tiamat's puzzled expression, he solemnly bowed three times.
A creation goddess is also a goddess, and her status is very high.
He hoped this cheap stepmother could bless him.
"Draw, damn it!"
With the energetic shout of Sister System, the system panel rapidly began its most important leap in his destiny.
Looking at the high-speed blurring text on the panel, Sawara Kiri felt his heart pounding uncontrollably. His fingers were tightly clenched, faintly even exuding drops of sweat, and his azure eyes focused intently on the panel's gradual transition from fast to slow.
Each line of text on it represented an unparalleled power.
He couldn't help but hold his breath.
Until the line representing "Ability" scrolled past abilities like "Rumble-Rumble Fruit (No Side Effects)," "Noble Phantasm: Enuma Elish," "Lv6: Vector Manipulation," and so on.
Finally, it landed on a seemingly inconspicuous ability.
"Auswählen (SS)"
His heart almost stopped at that instant.
Immediately following was an entire page of all information related to this ability.
"Ability Acquired"
"Auswählen (SS)"
"Information localized, completed"
"Details: Unrestricted granting of power, and collection of all costs, including life."
"Background: The Quincy King from a thousand years ago, relying on this paid power granting, continuously collected everything from others, transforming from a dead infant without five senses into the supreme strongman within the three realms."
"The gifts of fate have long been marked with a price in the dark."
"From Bleach"
"Cannot be upgraded"
Sawara Kiri's breathing resumed, even faintly becoming a little heavy.
This ability, at first glance, didn't seem particularly remarkable.
However, the most crucial point of this ability lay in the 'collection' aspect.
The 'interest' he could reclaim from the abilities he granted was higher than that of a Jew.
Theoretically speaking, this single ability alone could make him almost infinitely stronger.
As long as he was given a little time to operate, what in this world could stop him?!
A mere Ōtsutsuki Shibai?
The corner of Sawara Kiri's mouth curved into a confident arc.
Just as he was thinking this, another "Talent" draw had already been completed.
"Talent Acquired"
"Limiter Release (SS)"
"Information localized, completed"
"Details: Effort yields results."
"Background: One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, ten kilometers of running, and no air conditioning even when it's hot. You have to stick to it every day! That's the secret to my strength — Saitama."
"From One-Punch Man"
"Cannot be upgraded"
The continuous surprises appearing before him had made Sawara Kiri somewhat numb.
If these two things had appeared before him earlier, perhaps his life could have achieved its current accomplishments sooner, and he wouldn't have had to put so much effort into building bonds.
"Whew."
After his excitedly pounding heart settled down, he let out a long breath.
He turned his head and vigorously rubbed Miss Tiamat's cheek behind him, causing her to let out a series of confused 'umm umm umm' sounds.
He was beaming with joy.
"Excellent!"
"What, what?" Tiamat pressed repeatedly.
But Sawara Kiri didn't say, merely maintaining a relaxed demeanor.
Now, even knowing that future enemies might be ridiculously strong, the flutter in his heart had finally settled.
However, human desires do not cease after one or two satisfactions.
On the contrary, they only seek higher levels of satisfaction once the threshold is crossed.
He thought about it; there seemed to be only a few candidates left who could quickly increase their bond now.
Besides that, he also wanted to try the power of "Auswählen."
Having both and wanting both is a fine capitalist virtue.
Finally, he made up his mind and ordered the Anbu outside the window:
"Kakuma, go call Konan over."
"Yes."
At night, the corridors of the Hokage Building were still as long and dim as usual.
Under the watchful eyes of two Anbu, Konan walked leisurely down the center of the quiet hallway, her gaze heavy.
What would it be this time?
Had he not played with her enough yet?
Konan thought to herself.
Only at times like this did she somewhat wish she could be tried and imprisoned by the Konoha court sooner, to get a definitive ruling on her actions.
However, Konan also knew very well that Sawara Kiri was the kind of evil scoundrel who would never let someone go until he had squeezed out all their remaining value.
The more she thought this, the more agonizing she felt.
As the silence lengthened, this heavy atmosphere grew stronger.
Until a certain moment, when Konan finally couldn't bear it any longer and was about to say something, she heard Sawara Kiri suddenly speak.
"War is about to begin."
Upon hearing this, Konan couldn't help but freeze, lifting her head in astonishment to look at him.
Sawara Kiri did not pause because of the maiden's gaze, continuing softly: "This time, we do not intend to stop; we have decided to eliminate all other three countries that remain in this world and disrupt world peace, once and for all."
"We will not accept a ceasefire, nor will we accept surrender, but rather a complete, physical annihilation of all existences outside the Land of Fire."
"You—!"
Hearing Sawara Kiri's resolute declaration, Konan's vermilion lips couldn't help but part, staring at him with a gaze as if looking at a Lunatic.
Yet, this Lunatic truly possessed the power to make such a possibility a reality!
More importantly, if this decision was the answer of all Konoha's high-ranking officials, then it was absolutely impossible for Sawara Kiri alone to stop it.
What exactly is this guy...
Before her thoughts could fully turn, she heard Sawara Kiri suddenly meet her gaze:
"Konan."
"You should understand how many lives, how many families' demise, this decision behind it represents, right?"
"The chaos in war is something no one can completely prevent."
"I know you are an idealistic person, yearning to see a peaceful world without war."
"I need someone like you."
Hearing Sawara Kiri's words, Konan's mind couldn't help but flash back to the scenes she had witnessed in Konoha after her capture.
Whether in the prison, in the Village, in the school, in the Hokage Building...
Everyone here was indeed moving according to Sawara Kiri's plan, heading in the direction he spoke of.
He truly wanted to accomplish such a great and incredible undertaking.
It's just that...
'Me?'
Konan didn't understand.
Sawara Kiri's serious tone softened slightly, and he said softly: "In this war, I need someone who is completely detached from Konoha, someone who can treat all Konoha Ninja with complete fairness and impartiality, to establish a war oversight department to monitor and prevent potential chaos during the war."
"I've thought long and hard, and it's difficult to find even a few people with such ideals and executive ability throughout the entire Village."
"And you are just such a suitable candidate."
As he spoke, he rose from behind his desk and came before Konan, extending his hand towards her, their eyes meeting:
"Konan."
"Become my strength, and let us accomplish this great endeavor together."
"In return."
"I will also grant you unparalleled power."
Listening to Sawara Kiri's words, Konan couldn't help but be stunned.
As a prisoner, whether from the perspective of strength, identity, or status, someone like her was simply not worth an uncrowned king of the Ninja World like Sawara Kiri extending an olive branch to her.
But precisely, he was so willful as to do it.
This kind of trust, without reason, did not stem from kinship or relationship, nor did it come from equality of status and strength, but from the recognition of common ideals and beliefs.
Why, why?
Konan couldn't understand.
At that moment, she subconsciously looked up, gazing into Sawara Kiri's sincere eyes.
Although she was unwilling to admit it, she knew very well.
Her heart was moved.