Arrival in Konoha

In the Mizukage's Office, Obito placed his teacup on the table, breaking the silence first.

"The purpose of this visit to Konoha is ostensibly to ensure the smooth signing of the alliance agreement between Mist Village and Konoha, and also to find out Konoha's current situation."

But our primary objective is clear to both of us—to gather as much information as possible about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Obito looked at Kou and added in a deep voice:

"In Konoha, Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, has officially succeeded as the Fifth Hokage."

Based on the information I gathered while searching for new Akatsuki members throughout the Ninja World, it seems that Princess Tsunade of the Land of Fire, has also been recalled to Konoha.

Konoha is in quite a mess right now. We must be extremely careful on our journey Konoha..."

He paused for a moment, then chuckled to himself.

"Ha, I was just being redundant."

"Being careful... in the entire Ninja World, there's probably no one more cautious than you."

Kou curled his lip in disdain, ignoring Obito's half-teasing, half-remarkable remark:

"Since we're gathering intelligence, the fewer people accompanying us, the better; about two should be enough."

On the Reformist Faction side, Mei Terumi will stay behind in Mist Village to guard against you, the "Mizukage," and her entourage will likely be chosen from among people like Zabuza and Jūzō Biwa.

From your Mizukage faction, you can just pick anyone... but preferably not an idiot, I have a phobia of idiots!

As he spoke, Kou glanced meaningfully at Obito opposite him.

Feeling Koto's undisguised gaze, Obito's lips twitched, and he turned his face away in response:

"Don't worry, I've already picked out the people who will accompany you."

As he spoke, Obito shifted his gaze from Kōki and looked meaningfully toward the direction beside him.

Kou raised an eyebrow and followed Obito's gaze to the side.

What came into view was Kisame's grinning face, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

He glanced at Kisame, then at Obito, Obito was obscured by a mask, but showed little surprise.

Sending Mist Village, the current head of the Anbu Kisame, to negotiate an alliance with Konoha would indeed demonstrate Mist Village's sincerity to Konoha.

Moreover, Kisame had recently interacted with Kakashi and the others, and they were somewhat acquainted. As one of their own, Kisame could help cover for them later.

Choosing Kisame to accompany us on this mission is indeed a very suitable arrangement.

"And..."

Looking coldly at Obito wearing the Spiral Mask before him, he added in his mind:

"By bringing Kisame Obito, Obito can use him to observe my every move in Konoha and see if I have any inappropriate thoughts about returning to Konoha."

"This guy has really learned a lot over the years..."

He silently hummed in his heart, but on the surface, he didn't reveal any extra emotion. He simply nodded to Kisame and calmly replied:

"Alright, then I'll leave the rest to you, Kisame."

Kisame placed his large, fan-like hand on his chest, bowed slightly to Koko, and a respectful yet confident smile appeared on his rugged shark face.

Kou nodded in agreement, then stood up.

"That's settled then. We'll officially depart in three days. I'll go back and prepare now."

With that, Kou prepared to turn and leave.

"Wait a minute."

Just as Kou was about to leave, Obito's voice came from behind him.

He stopped in his tracks, turned slightly to the side, and asked in confusion:

"Is there anything else?"

Obito leaned back in his swivel chair, his eyes narrowing slightly beneath his mask.

"Regarding the other person accompanying you, if you haven't decided yet who the Reformist Faction should send, I have a good candidate in mind."

Kou frowned slightly, but did not refuse verbally; he simply gestured for him to continue.

Beneath Obito's mask, a meaningful smile slowly curved his lips.

"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki... Utakata!"

Three days later, in the Land of Fire, on the road to Konoha.

The wide official road is flanked by endless forests, where the afternoon sun filters through the leaves, casting dappled, swaying light on the dirt road.

The air was dry and warm, carrying Mist Village.

In the distance, the iconic outline of Konoha's Hokage Rock was already faintly visible.

"Um... Lord Kong, I... I'm really allowed to participate in such an important visit."

Utakata, a young Jonin who had just turned eighteen and was the Utakata of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, was nervously watching the gentle man leading the group ahead.

Kisame walked beside Utakata, looking down at the young man, who was a whole head shorter than him, with his small shark eyes, and grinned in a deliberately hostile manner:

"Hey kid, you've asked this question almost twenty times on the way here, haven't you?"

I don't know what Lord Kong thinks, but as a ninja from Mist Village, you're far too unqualified.

Even if you are Jinchuriki, an important weapon of the village, as a ninja of Mist Village, you should at least behave in a certain way. Didn't your Teacher teach you this?

"You're not allowed to insult my Teacher!!"

Utakata's delicate face flushed bright red in an instant.

A surge of frenzied Chakra erupted from his body, the Tailed Beast Chakra carrying the corrosive scent of acid, sending dust flying in all directions from beneath his feet.

Kisame felt the irrepressible urge Samehada behind him and a pleased smile curled at the corners of his lips.

He slowly gripped the bandaged hilt of the Samehada behind him, his small eyes swirling with undisguised provocation and anticipation.

"Oh? You want to fight me here, kid..."

"Enough!!"

Just as Kisame was about to "make his move," a furious shout suddenly erupted from the mortise in front of him.

He turned around, his face now filled with genuine anger.

He looked at the two men standing before him, their expressions tense, and continued in a grave tone:

"In this mission, we represent the face of the entire Mist Village."

Fighting amongst themselves at the gates of Konoha, what kind of behavior is this! Everyone calm down!

Kisame and Utakata simultaneously restrained their auras at Kou's shout. Kisame loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword, and Utakata suppressed his frenzied Chakra back into his body.

The two bowed their heads in unison.

"I'm very sorry, Master Kong."

Kou nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Utakata out of the corner of his eye, who was still biting his lower lip, his face filled with resentment.

Kou quickly adjusted his expression back to serious mode, turned his gaze to Kisame, and said in a firm and deep voice:

"Kisame, apologize to Utakata."

Hearing Koko's words, Utakata, who had been looking down, Utakata raised his head and looked at Koko's serious and earnest profile in surprise. He then glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki beside him and for a moment could hardly believe his ears.

"... ha?"

Kisame feigned extreme surprise and said in a resistant tone:

"I didn't do anything wrong, why should I apologize to this brat?"

"First, I need to correct a very important mistake you made."

Koko shifted his gaze from Kisame to Utakata's still bewildered face.

He looked into Utakata's eyes and said, in an extremely solemn tone, enunciating each word clearly:

"Jinchuriki have never been weapons or tools."

They are heroes, our companions, and also victims who, in order to protect us, were forced to spend their lives with monsters...

No matter how much you dislike Utakata, you should never attack him because of his status as Jinchuriki!

Utakata stared blankly at Kou, his eyes involuntarily welling up with tears.

Kouchi and Kisame exchanged a quick, knowing glance. Then, Kouchi turned his gaze back to Kisame, his tone becoming even more serious than before.

"Another point is that you shouldn't criticize his Teacher in front of him."

As we all know, respecting teachers and valuing their teachings has always been a fine tradition in the Ninja World.

As far as I know, Utakata was raised by his master from a young age.

Insulting one's comrade's family is absolutely forbidden in Mist Village.

We, Mist Village, have changed... - You shouldn't be prejudiced against Utakata and his master just because they've been wandering outside Mist Village!

Looking directly at Kisame, he raised his voice slightly, as if proclaiming an ironclad rule that no one could refute:

"Utakata and his master are also members of Mist Village."

Utakata stared wide-eyed at the Lord Kong in front of him, who seemed to radiate holy light from head to toe, and froze on the spot for a moment.

"Lord Kong said... that my master and I are both members of Mist Village?!"

As Kisame watched Kotobukuri deliver his phenomenal performance, his own inner veteran actor was ignited in that same instant.

He lowered his head heavily, a deeply sincere look of shame appearing in his eyes:

"You're right, Lord Kong, I was too arrogant."

I apologize to Utakata right now.

With that, Kisame turned around, and Utakata bowed deeply.

"Utakata, I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you by using your status as your Teacher and Jinchuriki. I was very offensive."

Utakata looked at Kisame Hoshigaki, the renowned Mist Anbu of the Ninja World, who was bowing deeply to him, and waved his hands repeatedly, saying:

"No, no, no, it's nothing! Well, I'm partly to blame too, I shouldn't have acted so impulsively..."

As he spoke, his voice involuntarily lowered.

For this young man who left the village at a young age, whose memories of Mist Village were still those of his childhood—the fearful gazes of the villagers and the cruel stories of the Blood Mist Era told by his master—

The impact of what Kou just said was almost revolutionary!

"The Mizukage Aide —Lord Sora?"

Utakata gazed at the gentle figure ahead, who had turned away and continued to lead the way for them, and murmured silently to himself.

"Just like Master said, this Lord Kong is a good person!!!"

While Utakata was still immersed in the emotion of being accepted, Koko, who was walking in front, and Kisame, who was following behind, exchanged a satisfied look that only they themselves understood at the same moment.

Plan succeeded! The affection level of Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, has been successfully increased!

Keeping him in the village long-term is no longer a problem.

As Earth Flow at the front, he thought to himself:

"Hey! I didn't expect Obito to be so clever. He quietly gathered all the information about the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and even dug him and his master out of that small outpost on the outskirts of Mist Village."

This method is truly insidious..."

"Sigh, if only he had half the brains he has now when he was pursuing Lin."

Thinking of this, Kou's eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.

At the end of that official road, on that rocky outcrop sharply defined by the afternoon sun, the outline of Konoha Gate had already come into view...

They're almost there.