Naruto followed Sasuke as the two of them ascended toward the hospital rooftop.
Gazing at Sasuke's cold, piercing eyes, Naruto felt a slight tremor in his heart. He was excited, restless, even, at the thought of what was to come.
Sasuke looked back, a flicker of confusion crossing his face at Naruto's expression. "What's so funny?"
"I'm not laughing. I'm pumped!"
Naruto's excitement grew more visible as he stared at Sasuke's activated Sharingan. He spoke without a shred of hesitation: "Because I'm finally going to beat you right here!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Since the Chunin Exams, a gnawing unease had taken root in his gut, and that anxiety was finally manifesting as a harsh reality.
"What? A loser like you dares to talk big?!"
"I'm not gonna be a loser who gets in your way forever!" Naruto declared firmly.
As Sasuke took in Naruto's unwavering resolve, a memory of Itachi Uchiha flashed through his mind.
"Right now, you're not even worth killing..." Those were the words Itachi had spat at him after crushing him.
The memory sent a surge of white-hot rage through Sasuke. "You bastard!"
"Stop acting like you're something special, you talentless hack!"
Naruto, however, didn't flinch. "Haha! Look at you. The 'cool and collected' Sasuke, losing his temper like a brat."
"You're not acting like yourself at all!"
"What's the matter? Did the guy who picked the fight realize he's actually scared? Is that it, Sasuke?!"
"Shut up and come at me." Sasuke dropped into a stance.
"Before that, put your headband on. I'll wait."
"I don't need a thing like that." Sasuke's expression twisted into one of arrogant disdain.
"I said put it on!"
"You aren't capable of putting a single scratch on my forehead." Sasuke pointed to himself and laughed with cold confidence.
"That's not it! The headband is proof that we're fighting as equals, as shinobi of Konoha!"
"That's exactly why I say you're delusional! You think you're on the same level as me?!"
"Yeah! I've always thought so! Believe it!"
"I've never felt like I was beneath you in any way."
At this, Sasuke reached the breaking point of his fury. "You're an eyesore!"
"That's only because you've stayed weak! Kanon is already a hundred times stronger than you!"
The mention of Kanon's name was the final straw. Sasuke exploded.
"NARUTO!!!"
"SASUKE!!!"
The two lunged simultaneously, fists flying toward each other's faces.
…
"Achoo!!"
Kanon, currently leaping through the trees on her journey, suddenly let out a sharp sneeze.
"What is it?" Konin's voice echoed from within her mind.
"I don't know. Maybe someone is talking smack about me," Kanon muttered, rubbing her nose.
"Perhaps. Don't dwell on it; we still have several days of travel ahead."
"I know." Kanon tapped her forehead, keeping her senses sharp. "Konin, I think there are some bounty hunters up ahead."
"Do you intend to move? The target is an Iwagakure Jonin worth 15 million Ryo."
"Lead the way." Kanon didn't waste words. She moved her right hand behind her back, gripping the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword.
In the next heartbeat, a dark blur streaked past her. Kanon kicked off a branch with explosive force, her power surging.
The Iwa ninja was clearly already fleeing from other pursuers and never saw Kanon's flank attack coming. By the time he registered her refined face and the fox mask on her forehead, the Kusanagi had already opened a jagged gash across his midsection.
Blood sprayed in a long, crimson arc. The Jonin stumbled, kneeling in the dirt with a guttural cry as blood spilled from his mouth. He had no idea who this nimble, cute young girl was, but this eleven-year-old had just swatted him out of the trees like a common insect.
Kanon looked at his dying form without pity. She drove the Kusanagi through his brow, ending his life before he could even draw a ragged breath.
Her decisiveness was chilling. Had anyone been watching, they would have been haunted by the cold, detached expression on the face of an eleven-year-old girl.
But it was over. As the blade pierced his skull, the curtain fell.
Just as Kanon prepared to pull the body into the Flower Realm, a man's voice roared from the woods.
"Stop right there!"
Kanon turned her head with dull indifference. Kakuzu and Hidan, both clad in the iconic red-clouded black cloaks of the Akatsuki, stepped into the clearing.
"That was our mark," Kakuzu barked.
Hidan, as usual, skipped the formalities. "Hey! Are you Itachi Uchiha's bratty sister or what?!"
Kanon didn't say a word. She placed a hand on the corpse, and a distorting spatial vortex instantly pulled the body into her private dimension.
"Hey!" Hidan shouted.
"You have the wrong person," Kanon said flatly. "I don't have a brother like that."
Before the words had even finished hanging in the air, she vanished into the Flower Realm.
"Kakuzu, she said it's not her," Hidan muttered.
"If she says it's not her, you just believe her? Are you an idiot?" Kakuzu spared Hidan a look of pure exasperation. "She stole my prize right out from under me," he growled.
"Wait, Kakuzu, how are you so sure she's his sister?"
Seeing that Hidan was still confused, Kakuzu offered a brief explanation for his partner's pea-sized brain.
"Word is a massive conflict just hit Konoha, and Kanon Uchiha went missing. That kid has the Sharingan and those specific features. How many Uchiha girls do you think are left in this world?"
Hidan finally put the pieces together. "Oh! Right! I get it! She's the only Uchiha girl left, so she has to be Kanon Uchiha!"
"Yes, brilliant," Kakuzu muttered, looking at Hidan like he was a mental patient.
"So what now? She's gone."
"We'll see what the Leader says. Recruiting Kanon Uchiha... that might be a task for the boss himself." Kakuzu turned to leave.
"Yeah, sounds right." Hidan nodded, then realized Kakuzu was already far ahead. "Hey! Kakuzu! Wait for me!!"
…
After exiting a nearby exchange point, Kanon let out a small, satisfied laugh.
"That should be enough money for now." She stretched her arms over her head. "Konin, I'm going to spend the next few days buying some daily necessities."
"You don't need to report such trivialities to me. Decide for yourself."
Kanon shook her head with a wry smile. Konin was definitely a tsundere. That had been Kanon's assessment since they were children—a girl who looked exactly like her but acted like a prickly pear. She clearly cared, but always pretended she didn't. How cute.
Three days passed in a blur. Kanon spent the time stocking up on supplies, ninja tools, and clothing, sealing them all within the Flower Realm.
Today, she officially set out again. The journey to Ryūchi Cave was long; at full speed, it would take over twenty days. Along the way, she planned to thin out more of the Bingo Book's listed names.
For her, power wasn't something granted overnight; it was accumulated through relentless effort.
Once she was strong enough, her first priority was to kill that animal, Itachi Uchiha. For Kanon, her parents, her clan, and everything the Uchiha stood for had been personally destroyed by that man. He had even sent that mysterious masked man to kill her. It was unforgivable. Regardless of his reasons, nothing changed the fact that he murdered their mother and father.
And then there was that wretched old dog, Danzō.
Thinking of him, Kanon gritted her teeth. Her fist clenched so tightly that her nails pierced her palm, blood dripping between her fingers, a physical manifestation of her white-hot rage.
She swore an oath in her heart: that old bastard Danzō would die by her hand alone.