The End

Kabuto's gaze swept back and forth between the two high-ranking members of Mist Village in front of him.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up explaining with some regret the gossip he had painstakingly collected... I mean, intelligence.

At the same moment that Kabuto closed his mouth, Koko and "Yagura" also noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere.

To avoid giving themselves away, the two almost simultaneously dropped their tense stance and tacitly turned their gazes toward Dou, adopting an attitude of earnestly waiting for him to continue.

Dou felt a slight tension in his back from being stared at by this sudden, unified gaze.

But he was, after all, a veteran who had infiltrated various ninja villages for many years. His expression remained unchanged; he simply coughed lightly, pointed to the spread-out documents on the table, and said seriously:

"The document contains detailed information about Uchiha Kuro, including the personal information I just mentioned."

The reason I...

"Whoosh!"

The three neatly bound documents on the table vanished without a trace in an instant.

Dou's mouth was still forming the shape of "so," and his finger was frozen in mid-air, pointing to the now empty tabletop.

Kou casually stuffed the three documents he had just received into his desk drawer, a perfectly gentle smile on his face.

Completely ignoring the hand of Yagura, which had just reached out to the table but missed, and was now frozen in mid-air, trembling slightly.

Yagura slowly turned his head, a hint of regret showing in his empty eyes.

"Don't worry about it, please continue."

Kou Chaodou nodded and responded with a smile.

"... Okay, okay."

Dou struggled to tear his gaze away from the empty table, reorganized his interrupted train of thought, and steered the conversation back on track:

"The reason I specifically mentioned some personal information about Uchiha Kuro, including some of his personal preferences and social relationships during his time in Konoha, is..."

The hope is that Mist Village will understand Konoha's attitude towards Uchiha Kuro.

Kabuto paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping calmly between Kotori and Yagura:

"In fact, in Konoha's official files, Uchiha Kuro was classified as 'missing' rather than 'defected' until he joined the Akatsuki."

His order to missing-nin was officially issued only after it was confirmed that he had become a member of Akatsuki.

Even the highest penalty level on this order against missing-nin is not execution, but rather "bringing them back to Konoha."

Kou listened silently to Kabuto's words, his face, softened and harmless by the Transformation Technique, showing no extra expression.

Kabuto glanced at Kakashi and Guy without making a sound.

Their eyes dimmed almost simultaneously.

Five years ago, when Koko disappeared silently from Konoha, the entire village was in an uproar over the news.

Almost immediately upon receiving the news, he dropped everything and frantically searched the entire Ninja World for Koko's whereabouts.

But it was as if Kou had vanished into thin air in the Ninja World; no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any clues.

When his name reappeared in Konoha's intelligence network, it was already on the roster of Akatsuki, the mercenary organization rife with missing-nin ninja...

Kabuto withdrew his gaze from Kakashi and Guy, turning back to Kokoro and Yagura in front of him, his tone more serious than before:

Even now, the highest penalty imposed on Konoha's order regarding Uchiha Kotomi is still "bringing him back."

In contrast, Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, who also came from Konoha and defected to Akatsuki, had their missing-nin warrants marked with the punishment level as "life or death."

Yagura slowly shifted his empty eyes from Kōki's body, turned to Kabuto, and smiled meaningfully:

"You mean, even now, Konoha still hasn't given up on the idea of bringing Uchiha Kuro back?"

"... You can understand it that way too."

Dou nodded slightly, his tone remaining calm and restrained, and did not elaborate on the issue.

He gently pushed up his round-framed glasses, steer the conversation back to the framework of cooperation:

"If the ninjas of Mist Village find any information related to Uchiha Kuro during their subsequent investigation, we hope you can convey it to Konoha as soon as possible."

Once the intelligence is confirmed to be accurate, Konoha will naturally deliver the corresponding reward in accordance with the intelligence exchange agreement agreed upon by both parties.

Kabuto then looked at the two high-ranking members of the Mist Shadow Sect in front of him and tentatively asked:

"These are Konoha's main demands in this cooperation. I wonder what the members of Mist Village think?"

He remained silent for a moment.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the desk and landing on Kakashi and Guy, whose eyes were filled with undisguised anticipation.

After a moment, Kou withdrew his gaze and looked back at Dou. A very faint smile slowly appeared on Dou's face, which had been modified by the Transformation Technique to appear ordinary and gentle.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, guests from Konoha."

Mist Village Gate

Kakashi stood at the very front, with Guy and Kabuto standing on either side of him behind him.

The fog had been mostly dissipated by the rising CD player. Yagura and Koko stood side by side inside the gate, with the two tall buildings facing each other across the square behind them.

Yagura extended her hand to Kakashi first, her smile appearing more natural than when she was in the office earlier.

"You've come all this way to Mist Village, shouldn't you stay a few more days? Let me show you some hospitality."

Kakashi politely shook his head, declining the offer:

"Lord Hokage is still waiting for us to return and report on the details of this cooperation. We really can't delay any longer... Please forgive us."

Yagura smiled, released his hand, and indicated that he understood.

Kakashi bowed politely, then turned his gaze to Koko, his tone becoming more serious:

"Regarding the alliance you mentioned, we will convey the full message to the Lord Hokage as soon as we return to Konoha."

Please rest assured about this.

Kou nodded, a perfectly timed look of anticipation appearing on his face:

"I look forward to seeing the splendor of Konoha soon. When that time comes, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Mr. Kakashi to be my guide."

Kakashi's lips curved slightly beneath his mask:

"Must."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Kakashi glanced at the two people who had been waiting behind him, then turned back to Kotori and Yagura and said seriously:

"Then, we'll head back."

"Wait a moment."

Yagura interrupted Kakashi, turning his head slightly and calling out towards the shadows beside the door:

"Kisame, see the guest out."

As he finished speaking, a tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He was a man so burly he could almost block out half a door, carrying a large sword wrapped in layers of bandages on his back. Every step he took carried a heavy, oppressive aura.

One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village, the Kisame Hoshigaki!

A faint smile graced his face, revealing sharp teeth that gleamed white in the sunlight.

He first bowed slightly in the direction of Yagura and Kokoro, his voice low and respectful:

"Is there anything I can do for you, Lord Mizukage?"

Yagura looked at Kisame, a stiff smile tugging at the corners of his mouth:

Let's see our guests off; make sure they arrive at Mist Harbor safely.

"Yes."

Kisame straightened up, turned to Kakashi and the other two, and his smile was even wider than before.

Kakashi looked at the man in front of him, who was a full head taller than him, and instantly understood—this was Mist Village's "protection" and also "surveillance" of them.

But he did not harbor any resentment because of this.

From the perspective of the village's shadow, he could completely understand these preparations.

Kakashi nodded politely to Kisame.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Kisame."

Kakashi, Guy, and Kabuto waved simultaneously in the direction of Kotori and Yagura.

Kakashi looked at the two people in front of him, and a feeling of reluctance that he couldn't explain welled up in his heart:

"Farewell, everyone from Mist Village."

Kou stood still, gave them a deep look, and then slowly spoke:

"Ah, we... will meet again soon."

The three from Konoha turned around, followed Kisame's footsteps, stepped out of the gates of Mist Village, and headed forward.

Kou and Yagura stood at the main entrance, watching the three figures gradually disappear into the distance...

They didn't look away until Kai's conspicuous green bodysuit completely disappeared into the fog, and they didn't say another word.

Yagura turned around and walked towards the Mizukage Building, while Koko also turned around and walked towards the Assistant Building.

The two people brushed past each other in the middle of the square, their clothes being swept up and then falling back down by the same gust of wind.

Around the gate, the Kirigakure who had been watching the knocking with worried eyes from afar finally breathed a sigh of relief and silently dispersed...

Auxiliary building, corridor.

He walked slowly down the long corridor, smiling and nodding in response to the Kirigakure Ninja who stopped from time to time to greet him.

His steps were steady and composed, just as they always were.

He stopped in front of the office door, glanced discreetly across both sides of the corridor to make sure no one was around, and then pushed the door open.

In the room, a tall figure was now sitting in the chair that originally belonged to Yagura.

The man had his back to the door, the hem of his Black Cloak with Red Clouds hanging down on either side of the chair legs, a mask resting on his knees, and a head of slightly messy black hair peeking out from above the back of the chair.

He heard the door open, but didn't turn around. Instead, he raised his face—half scarred, half youthful—without a mask, and quietly met Kou's gaze with his right eye, which had been peering from the darkness...

(This is a supplement to the chapters from the day before yesterday. There will be two more chapters today. Next up is the reunion of Akatsuki's Uchiha Kuro and "Tobi", and Kakashi and Guy!)