Before coming here,
Konan's mind had been filled with various speculations about the 'mysterious book' the masked man had mentioned.
Secret Ninjutsu scrolls, intelligence from other countries, geographical records, and so on.
But she never imagined... it would actually be a piece of erotic fiction describing those kinds of scenes!
'That guy's mind was absolutely problematic!'
After being stunned for a good while,
Konan stiffly turned her head to look at Kyo, her expression odd as she spoke:
"You, you... went out specifically to buy this book?"
"Uh, yeah."
Kyo nodded, holding up the book. "What, you want to read it too?"
"..."
Konan's expression froze instantly.
"No, no thanks."
"I won't disturb your reading. I'm leaving now."
As soon as she finished speaking,
Konan, with a strange look on her face, immediately spread her paper wings and, as if fleeing, left through the window. One could vaguely see a faint blush on her cheeks.
Back in the room, however, Kyo sat there holding the erotic book, somewhat dumbfounded.
'Huh?'
'What was that about?'
'Leaving without even finishing what she had to say?'
'Even if the content of "Icha-Icha Paradise" was explicit, it couldn't be that shocking, right?'
Kyo scratched his head.
'Oh well, he might as well continue reading.'
...
A short while later,
Konan returned directly to the meeting building, her expression quite peculiar.
The masked man's gaze shifted, and he asked in a low voice:
"Well?"
"Did you uncover any useful information?"
"..."
Konan was silent for a moment. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet the gaze of the masked man before her and said flatly:
"No."
"Your inference was wrong."
"That book in his possession is just an ordinary novel."
"Isn't your suspicion of him a bit too much?"
As she finished speaking, Konan frowned slightly.
The masked man was momentarily taken aback.
'Huh?'
'Just an ordinary novel?!'
'That's...'
'Impossible.'
'Would he really travel several miles to a bookstore just to buy an ordinary novel?'
The masked man was inwardly perplexed.
'If that were truly the case, wouldn't that mean he had way too much free time?'
Obito suddenly realized he seemed to understand this boy named Kyo and his various peculiar actions less and less.
After a long moment,
He decided to set aside his doubts for now and turned his gaze back to Konan and the others, saying:
"Forget it, let's not dwell on this for now."
"A few days ago, I asked you two to investigate this Kyo's past information in the major nations. Any progress?"
This was the task Obito had secretly assigned them.
Hearing this, Pain did not answer. Konan beside him closed her eyes and shook her head, speaking calmly:
"No suspicious points."
"After screening through various intelligence networks, we found,"
"Currently, in the entire Shinobi World, there is no record of the name 'Kyo' appearing in any country or organization."
"Therefore, the most likely explanation is—"
"He truly is like us; all his information records were likely destroyed during the Shinobi World War."
"A genuinely displaced, solitary person."
Konan's eyes lowered slightly as she finished speaking softly.
In fact,
By the time they were halfway through the investigation, Konan had already come to believe that Kyo, too, was someone who had experienced war.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to possess such top-tier strength at his age.
The strong are forged by suffering.
Just like Nagato.
Just like Konan.
Just like the deceased Yahiko.
Like them, Kyo, having endured the devastation of war, was a person who no longer existed in any country's records.
Moreover,
A few days ago,
When Konan spoke with Nagato, she suddenly made a startling discovery—
In certain aspects, Kyo's features bore a strong resemblance to Yahiko as a child!
Realizing this, Konan had a moment of clarity.
She finally understood why, upon first meeting Kyo, she had felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Perhaps this was also the reason she had always harbored a natural fondness for Kyo.
After all, compared to the dangerous masked man before her,
Konan was more inclined to trust someone who shared a similarly tragic past—
A solitary boy who emerged from the desert.
"No suspicious points...?"
"That means, at the very least, we can be sure this guy isn't a spy from some Shinobi Village."
"...Well, alright then."
"In that case, let's temporarily halt the investigation on him."
The masked man stood up, a glint in his Sharingan eye as he spoke in a low, steady voice:
"Akatsuki's formation is still ongoing."
"We cannot let this one person's joining delay our plans."
"In a while,"
"I'll probably be bringing in a somewhat different member."
"You two also need to step up your efforts. Continue recruiting the people I previously listed for you."
"...Alright."
Pain nodded slightly.
As it stood, Akatsuki's official members only numbered six.
Aside from the two leaders—himself and Konan—that left Kyo, Kakuzu, an unreliable Orochimaru, and an even more unreliable Zetsu.
To achieve that great plan for peace,
This number of personnel was, of course, insufficient.