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Chapter 100: Entering the Village Hidden in the Clouds
At the main gate of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, two tall, dark-skinned Cloud chūnin stood guard on either side.
They watched the entrance closely, strictly inspecting everyone coming in and out.
All the people entering the village were lined up obediently in a neat queue.
At the very back of the line stood a woman with shoulder-length blond hair and an impressive figure.
It was "Samui."
Or rather—Konan transformed into Samui.
With such a convenient identity on hand, there was no reason not to use it.
As one of the top two or three great shinobi villages, the Village Hidden in the Clouds had a barrier wrapping around its outer perimeter.
If Konan tried to sneak in without using the front gate, it would alert the village and blow her cover.
She wanted to avoid being discovered for as long as possible. The later they realized something was wrong, the better.
Before long, it was her turn.
The chūnin guarding the gate naturally recognized Samui, and immediately straightened up respectfully.
"Lady Samui! The rules are the rules. Please forgive us."
"No need to explain. Do your inspection."
Luckily, Samui's default expression was always cool and aloof. Konan didn't even have to act much—just match her voice.
Mimicking someone's tone was basic ninja work. Easy enough.
One of the chūnin stepped forward holding a small device.
He brought it close to Konan's body—without actually touching her—as if the tool were sensing something.
Some kind of chakra detection device, huh…
Alex, tucked away in her chest, could feel a wave of sensory feedback coming off the instrument.
But if this thing judged purely on chakra, it wasn't going to find anything wrong.
He had already wrapped a layer of paper over Konan's skin.
Mixed into the paper was Samui's chakra signature—more than enough to fool the detector.
And sure enough, that's exactly what happened.
The scan ended without incident. The device didn't sound any alarm.
"All clear, Lady Samui. You may enter," the chūnin said, putting the tool away and stepping aside.
Samui's squad had gone out on a classified mission—only the Raikage and a handful of upper management knew about it.
A low-level gate guard like this had no idea why Samui was back so early.
Konan nodded slightly, face calm, and walked through the gate into the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
She headed straight for the southeastern corner of the village, where the secret research center was located.
The atmosphere inside the Village Hidden in the Clouds was surprisingly good.
It deserved its reputation as the most unified of the great villages.
Whether civilian or shinobi, everyone seemed to get along, with very few disputes.
No one shunned or resented the bloodline clans either. On the contrary, they were treated as heroes who protected the village.
Up ahead, about a hundred meters away, a large crowd had gathered.
Loud, slightly off-beat rap echoed from the center of the throng:
"Land of Lightning, I'm the superstar king!
With hip-hop style, I make the people sing!
Speed up the rhythm, A-san's guitar!
Explode now—yeah!"
That familiar rhythm, so awkward and yet so enthusiastic—it could only be Killer B.
He was holding a concert.
For both Alex and Konan, having Killer B inside the village was completely within expectations.
As long as the AB Brothers were both around, if one of them left, the other would always stay behind to guard the village.
Konan gave the noisy crowd a brief glance, then chose to circle around it.
She had no interest in getting anywhere near Killer B and the Eight-Tails right now.
———
"B."
As Killer B sang and danced with wild enthusiasm onstage, a deep, rumbling voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
He slipped instantly into his inner world and looked up at the massive form of the Eight-Tails.
"Yo yo, Gyūki, whatcha gotta say? I'm droppin' hot bars for the crowd today, don't cut the vibe in the middle of my play~"
He even rapped his greeting, pairing it with a few dance moves. The whole thing looked ridiculous.
Gyūki had long since built up an immunity to it and went straight to the point.
"B, I just felt someone watching us," it said.
"Watching us?" B stopped mid-step, his face turning serious. "In the village? Everyone's staring at my show out in the open, aren't they?"
"You sure you didn't sense wrong, Gyūki?"
Gyūki shook its massive head. "Someone was watching—with eyes different from the villagers'. It wasn't normal."
"That so… Any more details? It's not gonna be easy to track someone down off just that."
As a partner bound by shared fate, Killer B trusted Gyūki completely.
He would never treat its warning as a joke.
B thought for a moment.
"I'll let Darui know. Big bro's probably in Cloud Thunder Gorge right now. Darui's in charge of the village for the moment. He can handle the investigation. I'm the Killer Bee, not some bloodhound—I'm no good at tracking people down, y'know?"
"That's fine," Gyūki rumbled. "In times like these, we can't be careless. Akatsuki's had their eyes on us for a while."
"We can't let what happened to Yūgito and Fū happen again."
With that, it gradually sank back into silence.
Killer B left the inner world, his expression heavy.
The death of another fellow jinchūriki still weighed on him—equal parts grief and fury.
He no longer felt like performing.
After apologizing to his audience, his figure flickered and vanished from the stage.
He was going to find Darui.
———
Meanwhile, Konan moved quickly through the streets, heading for the southeastern depths of the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
The number of people around her grew thinner and thinner.
By the time she stepped off the main road and toward the back mountain, the crowd had disappeared almost entirely.
"Big sis!!"
A delighted shout came from behind her.
Konan stopped and turned around.
Her gaze was immediately drawn to a head of shoulder-length blond hair—the exact same cut as Samui's.
A burly young man with a rugged face and thick build bounded over to her, eyes shining.
"Big sis, it really is you!"
He grinned widely.
"Seriously, you came back to the village and didn't visit your adorable little bro first? Don't tell me I've lost my big sis's love…"
Adorable little bro…?
Alex was speechless.
Buddy, have you looked in a mirror? You're built like a tank. "Cute" is the last word anyone would use. And at your size, still clinging to your sister and whining like that? You're not embarrassed?
The newcomer was, of course, Samui's younger brother—Atsui.
The moment he reached Konan, he started chattering nonstop.
"Big sis, when I saw your back just now, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Didn't you say this mission was going to take a while? Don't tell me you wrapped it up already?"
Atsui clapped his fists together as if everything suddenly made sense.
"Not bad, not bad. That's my big sis, the village's elite jōnin. No matter what mission it is, you complete it in no time. You're the best, big sis!"
His admiration for his sister was written all over his face.
Unfortunately for him, the blond beauty in front of him… was not his sister.
And Konan had no intention of indulging his endless babbling.
Before he could wind up again, a pair of crimson eyes flashed.
The Sharingan snapped open, and its genjutsu surged forth.
Atsui's words cut off mid-sentence. His gaze went blank, his expression turning slack as he froze in place.
Konan turned away and continued toward the back mountain, soon slipping into the trees and out of sight.
She had promised Samui not to harm her brother.
One simple illusion was enough to shake him off and wipe his memory of the encounter.
Ten seconds later, Atsui's eyes cleared.
"Huh? How'd I end up here…? Weird…"
He looked around in confusion, scratched the back of his head with a dopey expression, and wandered off.
———
Konan passed through the forest and emerged into an open space.
Buildings surrounded the clearing on all sides.
They were all official facilities of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, though none of them had any signs.
Among them was the "ordinary house" Samui had mentioned.
Inside it was the entrance to the Anbu base.
And at the very bottom lay the secret research center.
Samui had given Konan the entry codes and hand signs exactly as they were. As long as nothing unexpected happened, she should be able to get in without a hitch.
But… the unexpected was never so easy to avoid.
Konan suddenly stopped.
The world around her had gone unnaturally quiet.
The air felt heavy and thick, as if it were sticking to her skin.