The sky was a boundless blue, white clouds drifted lazily, and a warm, gentle summer breeze carried the sounds of children laughing and roughhousing from inside the Ninja Academy.
"So, Shisui, did you come to see me because there's another mission?"
Itachi could hardly bear to look at the scene after Sasuke and Naruto kissed, so he immediately turned to Shisui and tried to change the subject.
"Well, actually, there is indeed a mission this time, and you really are the best person to complete it.
"Do you remember that mission you had in the Land of Grass a few days ago? Regarding the intelligence you uncovered in the Land of Grass last time, the village's hidden agents in Kusagakure have also sent corresponding information.
"Apparently, Kusagakure's Radical Faction—the Grass Seed Faction—has decided to defect to Kumogakure. Because of that, they intend to offer the treasure sealed in Hozuki Castle, the Box of Paradise, to Kumogakure, in order to avoid pressure from Kumogakure.
"You only recently went to the Land of Grass on a mission, so you understand the situation and intelligence there well enough. On top of that, your strength has been unanimously recognized throughout the village. For this mission, there's no one more suitable than you."
Kusagakure was divided into two factions, the Grass Seed Faction and the Grass Flower Faction. The Grass Seed Faction was the Radical Faction within Kusagakure, while the Grass Flower Faction, by contrast, represented the conservatives.
In Orochimaru's view, the reason Kusagakure had split into two clearly divided factions that appeared to oppose each other on the surface might have been deliberate. If Konoha was dominant today, then they would let the Grass Flower Faction temporarily take the main voice in Kusagakure and move closer to Konoha.
If, one day, the west wind