Looking at the white scroll in her hand,
Konan's gaze flickered slightly, her mind filled with thoughts.
She could naturally understand the meaning of Kyo giving this scroll to the three of them.
The purpose was simply to reassure them, ensuring their safe and smooth return to Amegakure.
But...
He actually said 'any danger can be instantly resolved'...?
Such words,
To three students still inexperienced in the world, might be an incredibly reassuring promise.
However, to Konan, it sounded like a fantasy.
She lowered her gaze slightly.
Her heart was complicated.
Long ago, she had come to understand,
There are no invincible techniques in the ninja world.
Even with the most powerful technique, it was useless in the face of lethal danger.
In other words,
She was no longer a child.
Hearing such seemingly deceitful words didn't bring joy, but rather caused her to harbor reservations.
Thus,
She wanted even more to see,
What was so special about this scroll Kyo had referred to.
Thinking this,
Konan looked up slightly at the three before her and said:
"When Kyo gave this to you..."
"Did he mention any precautions?"
"...Eh?"
Hearing this,
The three students were momentarily stunned.
Then, the boy on the right thought for a moment and said:
"It seems not..."
"Sensei just said that we just need to fully unroll the scroll, no other actions are needed..."
"Hmm...?"
At these words, Konan became even more puzzled.
Just needs to be unrolled?
What's going on...
What kind of scroll has such a strange way of use...
But just as she was puzzled,
The girl in the middle seemed to remember something and quickly spoke up:
"Oh, right! Konan-sama!"
"Kyo-sensei did emphasize one thing!"
"He said unless it's a matter of life and death or absolutely necessary, we must never open it..."
"...?"
Life and death?
Absolutely necessary...?
The appearance of these two words made Konan frown even deeper.
Doesn't this mean,
The technique in this scroll can only be used once...?
Thinking this,
Konan couldn't help but feel conflicted.
If this scroll was really precious, wouldn't opening it be a waste...
Looking at the pure white scroll before her,
After a long silence, Konan looked at the three and said softly:
"This scroll... I will keep it for now."
"You all go back first."
"..."
Hearing this, the three students naturally had no objections, they all bowed respectfully and said:
"Yes, Angel-sama."
In fact,
They had originally planned to return the scroll to Kyo after he came back.
But now,
Since Konan wanted to keep it, they naturally had no reason to stop her.
A moment later,
The three quickly left.
Only Konan remained standing there, holding this pure white scroll in her hand.
Curiosity and doubt.
Coexisted in her heart at this moment.
Her gaze flickered.
Thoughts raced.
Finally,
After a long time,
Konan went alone to an abandoned building.
Then,
She slowly placed the scroll on the ground.
"Phew..."
After gently exhaling,
Konan finally made her decision.
She decided,
To open the scroll and take a look.
Although doing so might lose the opportunity to use this precious scroll,
But...
This way, she could test the truthfulness of Kyo's words to those three children.
Konan lowered her gaze slightly, thinking.
Over the many years,
Having witnessed the darkness of the Shinobi World,
Konan had kept her heart tightly closed. Besides Yahiko and Nagato, whom she had known since childhood, she had almost never trusted anyone.
And in the past few years,
As she spent more time with Kyo,
She knew that she seemed to be starting to trust Kyo a little.
However,
That after all,
Was only the most basic level of trust.
And now,
The scroll before her was the crucial moment that would determine whether she should continue to trust Kyo.
If,
When facing those three children, Kyo could treat them with sincerity rather than deceit, then...
Konan would naturally be willing to continue trusting someone with such a sincere heart.
But,
If this scroll was merely a lie...
Then, it meant he was just another false existence in this world.
Thinking this,
Konan's heart calmed down, and she slowly lowered her eyes.
Then,
Taking a deep breath,
She carefully unrolled the scroll.
She had already mentally prepared herself,
No matter what happened when the scroll was opened, she had thought of a way to deal with it.
However,
Unexpectedly,
After the scroll was spread out, there was... no Ninjutsu incantation on it at all!!
On the pure white background, there was only a single character written on it-
'Strong'
"..."
Huh?
Eh??????
Konan was instantly dumbfounded!
Wh...
What's going on?!?
Where is the incantation...
A scroll, with just one word written on it...?
And a meaningless "Strong"?!
What the hell...
In an instant,
Konan's expression completely froze!
...
And at this moment,
Unknown to her,
Far away in the Land of Earth, outside the Land of Rain.
Having successfully recruited Deidara, Kyo and the other two were on their way back to Amegakure.
But just then,
Kyo suddenly stopped walking, involuntarily frowning slightly.
Then,
He halted.
Seeing this,
Deidara beside him was naturally surprised and asked puzzledly:
"What's wrong, senpai?"
During this time together, calling Kyo "senpai" had become more and more natural for him, so he didn't change it.
And Black Zetsu beside him also looked over.
Kyo's gaze still flickered.
He couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised inside.
What's going on?
Could this feeling be... the formula of Sentan Hakuja...?
Since it suddenly appeared in my senses now,
That means... someone has opened the white scroll I made...?
Is it Orochimaru and Kabuto?
Or... those three Amegakure children?
Realizing this,
Kyo calmed his mind and began to sense carefully.
In fact,
When Kyo made the scrolls, he had prepared eight copies as spares.
And for easy identification later, he had specially marked each one with a different message, eight characters inscribed with spiritual pressure and ink.
Among them,
Orochimaru's scroll was the first, marked with the character "Spirit".
Kabuto's scroll was the second, marked with "Ancestor".
The scroll given to the three Amegakure children was the third, marked with the character "Strong".
When all eight scrolls were assembled in order, they could be joined together to form an eight-character mantra capable of being engraved in one's DNA.
It had no special significance; Kyo just happened to think of it.
As for which eight characters...
No need to elaborate,
Those who know, know. (T/N: I don't know which character it is. It might be Chinese things, so I'll just translate it as it is.)
And the real Sentan Hakuja formula was hidden within the pure white.
Apart from Kyo himself, anyone who hadn't mastered this formula naturally couldn't see anything.
And after a moment of sensing,
Kyo immediately realized-
The scroll opened this time was precisely the third scroll marked with "Strong", the one with the three Amegakure students.
Thinking this, Kyo's heart stirred.
What's going on...?
Could they really have encountered some life-or-death crisis?
What a coincidence...
I didn't expect it to happen right after I finished recruiting Deidara...
Thinking this far,
Kyo looked up, glanced at Zetsu and Deidara beside him, and said calmly:
"Something seems to have happened with the Amegakure students."
"I need to go over and take a look."
"You two go back first. We'll meet directly at the base in Amegakure later."
"...?!"
At these words, Deidara and Zetsu beside him were simultaneously stunned.
Huh???
Leaving just like that?
However,
Before the two of them could ask for clarification,
Kyo suddenly raised his hand, and in his hand, unbeknownst to them, an incredibly long white cloth had appeared.
The next moment,
All the white cloth began to rapidly encircle him, completely enveloping his entire body.
"--!?"
Seeing this unprecedented scene,
Deidara and Zetsu were naturally both stunned.
And Kyo remained expressionless, looking at the two before him through the gaps in the cloth, and said calmly:
"See you in Amegakure."
Whoosh!
The moment the words fell,
In an instant, Kyo's entire person, along with the white cloth, vanished from the spot!
"!!!"
Seeing this, the two were instantly stunned!
Completely dumbfounded!
This...
What the hell is this... Space-Time Ninjutsu???