"Kanon, stop." Kabuto broke out in a cold sweat.
"Why should I stop? Isn't silencing witnesses standard procedure?"
"Right, Kabuto-nii?" Kanon leaned against Kabuto's back, slowly sliding her Kusanagi Sword back into its scabbard.
"Tell me, which faction of Konoha do you belong to?"
Sai's expression froze. Kanon's indifferent gaze, colder even than Sasuke's, made him tremble. It felt as though if he let his guard down for even a second, he would be killed.
The dense killing intent radiating from her was nothing like the Kanon described in Naruto and Sakura's stories.
"I am a newcomer to Team 7, Kakashi's squad... Sai."
"Oh? Team 7? It seems onii-chan and I were replaced quite quickly," Kanon said with a thin smile.
"So, Naruto and the others are heading this way too?" Kanon asked softly.
Sai remained silent.
"It seems you don't understand the situation. I'm the one interrogating you. You only have the right to answer."
Kanon was about to move when Kabuto stepped in to stop her.
"Stop playing around, Kanon-chan."
"Blehh!" Kanon stuck her tongue out at Kabuto, her cute demeanor a complete 180 from the icy terror of a moment ago.
"I was just trying to scare him! I might have squeezed more intel out of him if you let me. Don't you get it?" Kanon protested with a pout.
"With that face of yours, you aren't suited for scaring people!" Kabuto sighed.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Kanon's expression shifted. Thanks to Konin's tutelage, Kanon possessed exceptional sensory talents. In an instant, she had picked up the chakra signatures of Naruto and the others.
"They just won't stay away, will they?" Kanon threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Well, Kabuto-nii, I'm going back to my brother's room to lie down for a bit."
"Go ahead."
As they watched Kanon leave, both Sai and Kabuto fell into deep thought.
Two hours passed.
Inside the hideout, Sasuke walked into the room.
"Onii-chan, training ended early?"
"Don't even mention it, Kanon. I only finished so I could come spend time with my sister."
"Hehe, you're the best, nii-chan." Kanon sat on Sasuke's bed, crossing her legs.
"Onii-chan... do you ever think about how nice it would be if that man hadn't done what he did? If Mom and Dad were still alive?"
"Yeah... if everyone were still alive, it would be wonderful." Sasuke's gaze drifted as he fell into a brief moment of reflection.
"Kanon, do you think the current me is stronger than him yet?"
"Of course! Onii-chan will always be the strongest in my heart!"
"Kanon! Tell me objectively, am I as powerful as that bastard?"
"Um... no."
Hearing Kanon's voice drop and seeing her head slump in disappointment, Sasuke felt he had asked the wrong thing. He quickly sat down beside her.
"It's okay. I'm not angry. Strength is relative, and my goal is simply to get stronger. Since you told me the truth about the gap in our power, I should thank you."
"So, Kanon, don't blame yourself."
"I understand..."
Just as Kanon looked up, Sasuke reached out and poked her forehead with two fingers.
Though it was a gesture passed down from Itachi, it remained a symbol of the profound bond between the Uchiha siblings. Sasuke had never pushed his beloved sister away, and Kanon, in turn, hugged him tightly. This warmth of kinship was something only the two of them could provide for each other.
After a moment, they pulled apart. Sasuke sat back in his chair.
"Onii-chan, there's something else I should tell you."
"What is it?"
"Naruto and the others are here."
"Them again? I know you aren't good at dealing with them." Sasuke's expression turned cold.
"This time, let your brother handle it."
…
Outside Orochimaru's hideout, Sai sat tied up, facing Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato.
"For the sake of those two siblings... why?"
"Why go so far as to fight Orochimaru?"
"Why do you want to bring them back so badly?"
"I don't get it. No one is ordering you to do this."
Naruto looked at Sai with a small smile.
"Kanon is my best, most precious friend. She was with me since we were kids, always believing in me and supporting my dream. I just... I always overlooked how important she was to me."
"I really regret that I didn't look at her properly back then."
"And Sasuke... he's a precious bond that I fought so hard to build."
"Bonds... even so, fighting Orochimaru is just too..." Sai lowered his head.
"It doesn't matter who the opponent is."
"If my arms are ripped off, I'll kick him to death. If my legs are ripped off, I'll bite him to death."
"If my neck is snapped, I'll stare him to death. And if my eyes are gouged out, I'll curse him to death!"
"Even if I'm torn to pieces, I'm bringing Sasuke back from Orochimaru!"
"And I'll crush the Akatsuki and bring Kanon home myself!!!"
Right then, Kabuto emerged, a shockwave forcing the three back.
"I thought I'd completely lost my tail. As expected of Orochimaru-sama's experiment."
"I suppose I should praise you," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses.
"Sai, look at you."
"It seems you've been captured by them."
In the distance, Naruto glared at Kabuto with absolute seriousness.
"Don't get in my way. Because if you do..."
"I won't hold back." Naruto's blue eyes locked onto Kabuto. His left hand was already forming a Rasengan with the help of a Shadow Clone.
As Kabuto engaged the group, Kanon, deep underground, felt the tremors of the battle.
Sasuke, however, had already lied down and fallen asleep.
Kanon sat in a chair, legs crossed, sensing the events outside with keen interest.
"What did you say?! Kanon is here too?!"
"Yeah, she came to visit Sasuke." Kabuto was now tied up in Sai's place; he had lost the skirmish because Sai had defected again.
"Sai, is he telling the truth?"
"Yes. I did see a delicate girl with twin-tails wearing a fox mask."
"But I couldn't be sure if it was her."
Hearing Sai's answer, Sakura's heart sank. "There's no mistake. It's Kanon."
"Where are Sasuke and Kanon? Answer me!" Yamato demanded.
"By now, they should have finished training and be in the inner rooms," Kabuto said nonchalantly.
"Sasuke is indeed training with Orochimaru, so he's likely not lying about that."
"But if they're just in the 'inner rooms'..."
Sakura was about to speak when Kabuto anticipated her.
"I don't know which one."
"There are many rooms scattered throughout this place."
"The 'inner rooms' could be any of a dozen."
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"In that case... we'll just have to search every single one!"
"True. If we follow the clues, we might find them."
"However, if you aren't careful, you'll just be alerting the enemy and inviting trouble."
"Alright, thanks for being blunt. Let's move out."
At Yamato's command, the four of them charged into Orochimaru's hideout. Once they reached the main hall, they broke into formation.
"From here, we split into two groups to find Sasuke."
"Sakura and I, Naruto and Sai."
Naruto nodded solemnly. Images of Kanon flashed through his mind, specifically, the words she had said to them in the Land of Wind.
The depth of the darkness and pain Kanon had suffered was clear. Naruto felt a crushing weight of regret; if he had only paid more attention to her, if he had stayed by her side, perhaps things would be different.
"It's not too late..." Naruto whispered.
"Naruto, are you listening?" Yamato asked, noticing Naruto spacing out.
"Yeah! I understand!" Naruto nodded.
"If anything happens, flare your chakra. We'll find you immediately."
Once all four had nodded, Yamato gave the signal.
"Right! Let's go!"