Kakashi nodded too, his tone cold. "We didn't encounter a Tailed Beast."
"If we had run into one, there's no way we'd still be alive."
He looked serious, without a trace of panic in his eyes, as if he really had no idea the Three-Tails existed.
Seeing this, Ao looked unwilling to accept it. "Impossible. Those rogue ninja clearly stole the Three-Tails. You must be lying."
Aragaki Yasushi frowned at once and retorted sternly, "Don't talk nonsense. That's just your side of the story."
"Maybe the rogue ninja who stole the Three-Tails never came to attack our comrades."
"It's possible there were two groups of rogue ninja: one came to drive a wedge between us, while the other fled with the Three-Tails. That's not impossible."
Ao was taken aback and fell silent, lost in thought.
After considering it carefully, he felt Aragaki Yasushi had a point.
If those rogue ninja wanted to drive a wedge between Konoha and the Hidden Mist, why would they bring the Three-Tails along?
Maybe they really had split into two groups, one to attack the Konoha ninja and the other to escape with the Three-Tails.
At that thought, Ao's expression eased, though he still seemed doubtful.
Even so, a lot of things still didn't add up.
Seeing this, Terumi Mei hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, her seductive smile still in place. "All right, Ao. Don't be so impulsive. Our friends from Konoha have a point. It seems that's what happened."
"Those rogue ninja probably split into two groups. Some came to drive a wedge between us, while the others fled with the Three-Tails, hoping to find a chance to return and launch a rebellion."
With that, she gave Aragaki Yasushi a slight nod, her expression apologetic. "We're deeply sorry about this. Our Hidden