"Unexpected" Reunion

Meanwhile, Kakashi and his group were on their way to Mist Harbor.

It's called a road, but it's actually just a dirt path worn smooth by the footsteps of passing merchants on the outskirts of the Mist Village.

The trees on both sides were very dense, their canopies intertwining overhead to form an impenetrable green corridor, filtering the afternoon sunlight into dappled patterns.

Since it was already afternoon, the fog had been mostly dispelled by the rising sun, but the air was still very humid, carrying the bitter scent of soil and vegetation that seeped into the lungs with every breath.

Oh, oh, oh! Youth!!!

Kai Earth Flow ahead, shouting excitedly, clearly having been cooped up in the assistant's office for too long.

"Kakashi! Let's have a thrilling and exciting youthful showdown!!"

He suddenly turned around, walking backwards while waving his arms at Kakashi behind him, shouting excitedly:

"Let's see who can get to Mist Harbor the fastest! The loser has to treat the other to barbecue for a week!!"

Kisame walked beside Kakashi and Kabuto, his small eyes staring strangely at the gleaming watermelon head in front of him.

"Is this noisy fellow really a former companion of Lord Madara and Lord Kotobuki?"

Kisame looked at Kai with suspicion, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Has Konoha's Jonin qualification standards become so lenient now? Even a rare beast like this can become Jonin?!

The thought that his two most respected superiors had once spent their days and nights with this unknown creature in a green bodysuit filled Kisame with a deep sense of sympathy.

"Lord Madara, Lord Sora... you two had it tough back then too."

At this moment, Kisame was naturally unaware that the two adults he felt deep sympathy for were also two "divine beings."

Kakashi watched Guy bouncing and jumping in front of him, and the corner of his mouth under his mask twitched slightly involuntarily.

He didn't respond to Kai's challenge, but silently turned his head to Kisame beside him, and said apologetically:

"Sorry, Kai... he got a little too excited."

Kisame turned his gaze away from Guy and onto Kakashi's face.

Seeing the sincere apology in Jonin eyes of this elite Konoha, he politely waved his hand and said very courteously:

"It's alright. In Mist Village, it's rare to see someone as lively as you."

Seeing ninjas with different styles... well, in a way, it's quite a novel experience.

Kakashi, feeling deeply ashamed upon hearing Kisame's tactful but insincere words, covered his head.

"I'm so sorry!!"

Kabuto walked beside Kakashi, looking at the Konoha delegation representative beside him with pity as he silently raised the priority of "returning to Konoha as soon as possible" even higher.

Kisame glanced at Guy, who was still frantically waving at Kakashi ahead, then at the Jonin beside him, whose expression was helpless but whose eyes were clearly relaxed, and said seemingly casually:

"It seems that your cooperation with those two gentlemen is going very smoothly."

Kakashi turned to look at Kisame with some surprise, a hint of undisguised confusion appearing in Kisame's dead fish eyes.

Kisame grinned at him, revealing his sharp teeth.

He looked directly into Kakashi's eyes and added meaningfully:

"After all, both you and your two companions look visibly happy."

"... Is it really that obvious?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

He neither denied it nor used diplomatic language to gloss over it. After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze back to Kisame, his eyes now showing a hint of scrutiny.

"Contrary to his rugged appearance, this strange man from the Mist Village... is quite meticulous."

Kisame looked at Kakashi, intentionally or unintentionally pushing the topic a step further:

"Is it because of... that Uchiha Kuro the Akatsuki?"

As far as I know, that Uchiha Kuro seemed to have a fairly good relationship with you before he defected.

Upon hearing Koko's name, Kakashi paused almost imperceptibly.

He remained silent for a few moments, then lowered the eye that had been protruding from his Forehead Protector, looking at the dirt road beneath his feet, and slowly nodded.

When Kakashi spoke again, the languidness in his voice had faded, replaced by a deep sense of nostalgia:

"Not only me, but also many people in Konoha, including Kai, have a deep bond with Kokoro."

Even now, we still don't know why Kokushiro chose to leave Konoha.

He raised his eyes, stared straight ahead, and murmured firmly in a low voice:

But I believe that one day we will meet again.

By then... knock

We... we will definitely bring him back.

Kisame listened quietly to Kakashi's words, the expression in his small eyes becoming extremely complex for a moment.

He lowered his head, a very faint smile appearing on his lips:

"Is that so? I can certainly understand how you feel."

Kakashi looked at him with surprise, the question in his eyes unspoken, but Kisame understood.

He raised his eyes, shifting his gaze from Kakashi's face to the direction of Kirigakure, shrouded in mist and shadows, and said in a low, solemn voice:

"Whether it's the Mizukage or his Mizukage Aide, in my eyes they are both outstanding leaders."

"Although the two of them have differences in their ideologies and often clash, for Mist Village, or rather for me personally..."

Each and every one of them is indispensable.

Kisame paused, then murmured meaningfully:

"If it's for them, I'd be willing to give up my life..."

Kakashi looked at the tall ninja beside him, who was known throughout the Ninja World as the "Mist Village Monster," and a sense of awe welled up in his heart.

He could sense the resolve in Kisame's words.

What he just said was undoubtedly serious.

The man before me was truly capable of sacrificing his life for those two leaders of Mist Village.

Kakashi listened quietly to Kisame's words, and then, after Kisame finished speaking, looked earnestly into his eyes and said seriously:

"Whether it's the Mizukage of Mist Village or the Mizukage Aide, they are indeed respectable ninjas."

I believe that one day, the two of them will be able to overcome their ideological differences and lead Mist Village together onto the path of peace.

Kisame listened to Kakashi's sincere words and smiled Kisame.

He opened his mouth, about to reply with a polite remark.

But before he could speak, a comical and panicked cry for help suddenly erupted from the depths of the woods beside the road.

"Whoa!! Help!!"

Hearing the frantic cries for help, Kai was the first to stop.

He turned his head sharply and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Kakashi's gaze also turned serious and sharp at the same moment. The ease he had shown while talking to Kisame was completely gone in an instant, and his right hand instinctively moved to the hilt of the White Fang's Tanto at his waist.

At the same time, Kabuto almost reflexively took half a step back behind Kakashi, one hand already reaching into his ninja tool pouch.

He held the cold iron ring of Kunai between his fingers, and his eyes behind his round-framed glasses were fixed on any possible movement in the forest.

"Oh, they've already arrived?"

Kisame gazed into the direction of the forest, murmuring calmly to himself.

His face remained calm, but he slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of Samehada behind him, his already small eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on the direction from which the voice came.

As he watched the familiar figure drawing ever closer through the woods, a faint smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

Under the wary gaze of the three, a figure wearing an orange Spiral Mask tumbled and crawled out of the depths of the forest...

The Black Cloak with Red Clouds was worn askew on him, and his arms were flailing wildly in the air in an exaggerated manner as he sprang out of the bushes.

Although the movements were exaggerated to an outrageous degree, the panic in his tone didn't seem like an act.

However, his Black Cloak with Red Clouds was completely free of any mud or fallen leaves that would normally be found in the forest.

Kakashi's gaze was fixed on the Black Cloak with Red Clouds, his pupils suddenly contracting!

"That's... Akatsuki!!"

His hand was already gripping the hilt of the White Fang knife, and the blade was about to be drawn.

But before he could make a move, a silvery-white arc of light tore through everyone's vision, shooting out of the forest at a speed almost impossible to track with the naked eye, and piercing straight toward the masked monster who was still tumbling and crawling!

The moment Kakashi's gaze caught that arc of light, he froze as if struck by lightning.

That flash of light... he knew it all too well!!

The silvery-white blade gleamed uniquely in the sunlight; the sharp screech as it sliced through the air; and the precise trajectory it traced along its path of attack...

He would never forget the name of that knife in his entire life.

"That, that is..."

Kakashi stared intently at the arc of light, his voice hoarse as he forced it out:

"Inazuma!!"

Before the words were even finished, the silvery-white arc of light pierced straight into the masked monster's body.

But the expected dull thud of the blade piercing flesh did not occur.

The longsword seemed to pass through an intangible phantom, silently gliding past his chest and embedding itself directly into the ground where the masked monster stood.

"Quack!! The murderer has shown his teeth!!"

The masked monster clutched his head with both hands, letting out a comical yet shrill scream, and rolled to the side of the road in a ball.

He lay on the ground in a contorted position, limbs outstretched, motionless.

Before Kakashi and the others could react to this series of changes, he suddenly sprang up again, looked down and touched his undamaged chest, and shouted loudly in an exaggerated tone:

"Huh? Nothing?! Wow--my body is still as flexible as ever~~"

"Tobi's great victory!!"

However, before his celebration could end, a chilling laugh slowly seeped out from the depths of the woods from which he had just emerged.

"Hehehe, hehehe..."

Upon hearing the laughter, Tobi, who had just been triumphantly shouting his victory, suddenly shuddered, and even his teeth under his mask made a slight clicking sound.

"That, that voice is..."

Kakashi and Guy turned their heads at the same moment, their eyes meeting.

Kakashi saw in those round eyes, usually filled only with passion and youthful energy, the same shock that almost overflowed from his own eyes!

They don't need to speak, nor do they need any extra conversation.

That voice, so familiar it was ingrained in their very being, coupled with that sword they knew all too well, and the Black Cloak with Red Clouds belonging to the Akatsuki on the masked man...

The identity of the visitor is beyond doubt.

Just as they were deeply shocked, a young man wearing Black Cloak with Red Clouds slowly walked out of the forest.

His black hair was casually tied into a small braid at the back of his head, with a few stray strands falling across his forehead, giving his handsome face a touch of innate unruly roguishness.

The young man held a long sword in his right hand, the blade gleaming with a cold, silvery-red light in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.

A wicked smile, almost arrogant, played on his lips as he fixed his gaze on the trembling masked figure in front of him.

"Heh heh heh, try to run away! You think you're so good at running away? Let's see where you can run to!!"

Kou watched Tobi's panicked and bewildered appearance, and the sinister smile on his face grew even wider.

"You damned Tobi, give me back my Anko Cake's life!!!"

"Aaaaaah-- Tobi was wrong!!"

"Senior, please don't kill me!!"

Kakashi stood there, the dirt path beneath his feet slightly damp from the mist, the scent of pine needles and soil still lingering in his nostrils.

But at this moment... he couldn't feel anything anymore.

His gaze passed over the masked man who was rolling on the ground clutching his head, over the sunlit dirt road, and over all the barriers built up by time and distance, landing on the young man who was slowly walking out of the depths of the woods.

That face, that voice, that well-preserved, silver-white longsword still stuck in the ground...

Everything was exactly the same as it was five years ago when he left.

"You, you are..."

Kakashi's voice was so hoarse, as if something had been violently crushed in his throat.

The eye peeking out from behind the Forehead Protector was wide open, its gaze fixed intently on the black-haired youth before it, as if afraid he might disappear again at any moment.

He couldn't help but take half a step forward, and whispered in a hoarse voice:

"Knock!!"

Hearing Kakashi's call, Kou immediately stopped in his tracks.

The Firebirth in his hand, "sharpening its blade for the prison," still hung in mid-air. The ferocity and maniacal laughter on his face froze for a moment before slowly dissipating.

He turned his head and, from a distance of a few steps, looked at his old friend whom he had not seen for many years.

He stared intently at Kakashi before him, a long-lost smile, tinged with surprise, slowly spreading across his lips.

"Oh! Isn't that Kakashi?!"

As he spoke, he put the Firebirth back into his waistband.

He casually brushed aside a few strands of hair damp with the mist from his forehead and said in a deliberately relaxed tone:

"It's been such a long time..."

--

(Over 4000 words, I'm exhausted, brothers...꒦ິ^꒦ິ)