Before Sakon and Ukon could even process what was happening, the edge of a Kusanagi blade was already pressed against his throat.
Kanon's three-tomoe Sharingan glared from behind the mask.
Her movement was far too swift; her swordsmanship was at a level Sakon and Ukon couldn't even hope to reach. He hadn't even had time to react before his life was firmly in her hands.
"Let him go!" Suddenly, from a distant rooftop, a red-haired woman holding a flute appeared.
"Tayuya! Stay back, she's strong!"
"Oh? It's you?" Kanon was surprised once more, recognizing the woman standing before her.
"The Akatsuki... they know who I am?" Tayuya asked, bewildered.
Beside her, Jirobo and Kidomaru emerged. All four members of the Sound Four had survived thanks to Kanon's Susano'o, and thus, they still remained here in the Hidden Sound Village.
"How are all four of you still alive?" Kanon muttered, exasperated. Though they'd only crossed paths once, she remembered their Four Violet Flames Formation vividly.
"Who are you? How do you know us?" Tayuya demanded.
Hearing their confusion, Kanon slid the fox mask up to her forehead, revealing her exquisite face. The Sound Four froze in their tracks.
Despite the change in hairstyle, they would never forget that beautiful, refined face for as long as they lived, nor the three-tomoe Sharingan that served as her ultimate signature.
"You guys really are all still kicking. What about Dosu, Zaku, and Kin Tsuchi?" Kanon asked curiously.
But the four remained in a daze. Seeing their stunned expressions, Kanon's brow furrowed.
"What? Never seen a cute girl before?" Kanon noted their gazes, especially Tayuya's, whose face was noticeably flushed. Feeling something was off, she took a step back.
Are these guys creeps? Kanon thought. Then again, considering they worked for Orochimaru, aside from her brother, the man did seem to attract a lot of weirdos.
As Kanon stepped back, all four of them dropped to one knee.
"What are you doing?!"
"Allow me to explain..." Tayuya began, recounting the day of the Konoha Crush. She told her how they had narrowly survived their battles because of the chaos caused by Kanon's Susano'o.
Because they were heavily injured, Orochimaru hadn't sent them on the mission to retrieve Sasuke, which had ultimately saved their lives.
In short, Kanon had inadvertently saved them. For the past few years, they had been searching for this girl to thank her, but their efforts had yielded nothing. It wasn't until the recent news of the infiltration of the Hidden Leaf that they finally had a lead on her.
"So, my accidental meddling actually saved you guys."
"Yes... Thank you, Kanon Uchiha," Tayuya said with a bow.
"Kanon, we have nowhere left to go in the Hidden Sound. Would you let us... follow you?" Kidomaru murmured.
"Follow me?" Kanon blinked.
"The genius of the Uchiha, a girl who possesses both beauty and talent... Orochimaru abandoned us without mercy. Now, we wish to follow you," Sakon said softly.
"Hahaha... I'm not that great. But as you can see, I've already joined the Akatsuki."
"It doesn't matter. We only wish to follow Kanon Uchiha," Jirobo said, looking up with a look of pure devotion.
"Hahaha! You guys are flattering me so much I'm starting to float." Kanon scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed, but she could tell the four of them were sincere.
"Well... you don't need to 'follow' me, per se. But if you want to come with me, then fine."
"True, it gets lonely traveling alone. It'll be nice to have partners to talk to."
"So, is it really appropriate to keep your 'leader' blocked outside the village?" Kanon joked.
"Oh! Jirobo, hurry up and lead the Boss inside!" Sakon barked.
"On it!!"
With that, Kanon followed Jirobo and the others into Otogakure.
From the outside, the village didn't look very developed, but once inside, it wasn't bad, a case of "the sparrow may be small, but it possesses all five internal organs."
The five of them soon arrived at a private room in an Otogakure restaurant.
"You should know what my goal is, right?"
The four shook their heads.
"Kill Itachi Uchiha and crush Konoha!" Kanon's expression grew distorted, and the rose-patterned Sharingan in her eyes began to spin wildly. Her killing intent was so intense it made the other four shiver.
"From today on, you are my comrades. We will move together and support each other toward this ultimate goal."
"Our five-man squad will be known as Team 'Hana.' We move to make Konoha feel pain, to bring true peace, and to see the flower fields in our hearts!"
"Let's do our best together!" Kanon reached out her hand.
"Right!" the Four voiced in unison, placing their hands over Kanon's.
"In that case, I'll stay in Otogakure to train for a while. I want everyone to get stronger with me!" Kanon smiled at the group.
Tayuya smiled back at her. "Thank you for trusting us..."
Hearing Tayuya's thanks, Kanon looked out the window at the moon.
"We are all outcasts. We have no reason to trust this shinobi world anymore."
"Fundamentally, we aren't different. Perhaps that's why we can understand each other."
"Tayuya, arrange a place for me to stay. I'll settle in here for now." As she spoke, Kanon took out a third of the money she had earned from bounty hunting and handed it to Tayuya.
"This is our team's funding. Until we complete our goal, I assume the mission system here is the same as other villages?"
"Yes," Tayuya nodded.
"Can we get S-rank missions?"
"Probably not. The village's influence is too weak... at most, we can get A-rank missions."
Kanon nodded slowly. After the Chunin Exams, the Hidden Sound's reputation was well-known; this was within her expectations.
"Then we'll start with some bounty missions. Those are faster anyway."
"Oh, and I still need to report this to Nagato-senpai. Even if we are Team Hana, I'm still part of the Akatsuki."
"Who knows, maybe I can get you some black cloaks with red clouds like mine." Kanon gave Sakon a wink.
"Uh... Kanon, even though we share one body, if you apply for an Akatsuki cloak for me, can you ask them to cut an extra hole in the back?"
"I'll go talk to Nagato-senpai tomorrow," Kanon laughed, enjoying the meal with everyone.
Being outcasts and pawns who had been discarded, Kanon and the rest of Team Hana shared a wonderful dinner together.
…
The next day.
Amegakure.
A spatial vortex swirled in front of Pain and Konan.
"Hm? Kanon-chan, why are you back so soon?" Konan asked.
"Senpai, I have something I need to discuss with you."
Kanon explained the situation regarding the Sound Four and her plan to form Team Hana.
"Since you belong to the Akatsuki, then they shall belong to the Akatsuki as well. I am pleased; the organization is currently short-staffed. Why would I disagree?"
"Since it is your team, Konan, take Kanon to get the uniforms."
"Understood." Konan nodded. Just as they were about to leave, Pain called out to them.
"Wait."
"Is there something else, Pain?" Konan asked.
"Kanon... tell them for me. Welcome to the Akatsuki."