The approaching visiting team

After listening to the Third Hokage's account, Jiraiya remained silent for a long time.

The sunlight outside the window had changed from the blazing white of midday to the dim yellow of the afternoon without me noticing.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating his weathered face, worn from years of travel, making Jiraiya's expression even more somber.

He raised his hand and vigorously rubbed his messy white hair, then looked at the Teacher in front of him again and said solemnly:

"I understand the general situation."

Jiraiya murmured in a complicated tone:

"Old Man... you've really had a tough time."

The Third Hokage gave a wry smile and didn't say anything polite.

He simply looked at Jiraiya and solemnly entrusted him with the task:

"From now on, I'm entrusting Konoha to you... Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded seriously and replied in a complicated tone:

"Leave it to me, Old Man."

Minato watched this scene from the side, and a relieved smile slowly appeared on Naruto's young face.

"So, let's continue our previous topic."

Jiraiya quickly suppressed his earlier sadness and heaviness, instantly displaying the calmness and decisiveness of a decision-maker.

His gaze swept over the Third Hokage, over Minato, and finally landed on the silver-haired figure by the window.

"... Who should we send to Mist Village to discuss this cooperation?"

Jiraiya could finish speaking, Minato's voice followed:

"Let Kakashi go."

Kakashi suddenly turned his head, his dead fish eye that was sticking out of the Forehead Protector widening slightly as he looked in Minato's direction.

Minato was also looking at him. Naruto's face, which was usually either baring his teeth or puffed up with anger, was now quietly displaying Namikaze Minato's gentle smile.

That smile held apology, heartache, and a resolute determination—after so many years, to finally be able to do something for this disciple.

"You must really want to go... If it's you, you definitely can."

Kakashi felt a sudden jolt as he sensed the trust in his Teacher's gaze.

"Teacher..."

He uttered those two words softly, then took a deep breath, suppressing all his surging emotions back to the deepest part of his heart.

Kakashi turned around to face the Third Hokage and Jiraiya. All the laziness and nonchalance in his eyes vanished, leaving only the calm and solemnity of a ninja.

"Please... send me on this mission."

The Third Hokage looked at him, a hint of relief flashing in their aged eyes.

He nodded, his tone calm and resolute:

"Kakashi is perfectly capable of handling this mission."

"Don't worry about Sasuke and Naruto. I will personally take care of them while you're away."

Kakashi looked at the Third Hokage before him and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Lord Third Hokage!"

At the same time, Jiraiya was scrutinizing Kakashi from head to toe, assessing in his mind whether it was appropriate to send him on this mission.

In terms of fame, Kakashi and Uchiha Kuro were known as the "Black-and-White Twin Blades" during the Third Ninja World War, and Kakashi even earned the title "Red-Eyed White Fang" in the later stages of the war.

He was listed as a high-risk target by intelligence agencies of multiple countries, on par with the legendary White Fang of Konoha.

In the Ninja World, Kakashi's name itself is a symbol of Konoha.

Sending him as an envoy to Mist Village was enough to make the Mist Village Reformist Faction feel how much Konoha valued this cooperation.

As for strength...

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing the sharp aura emanating from Kakashi, which was firmly contained yet still clearly perceptible to him.

That aura was completely different from the Kakashi he remembered, who still carried some youthful spirit.

Heavier, more stable, and quieter.

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi in front of him and slowly nodded.

Kakashi has now firmly established himself at the Kage Level.

"It seems this child hasn't completely neglected his cultivation these past few years."

Jiraiya thought to himself, his gaze inadvertently sweeping Minato Minato's gentle profile, which was looking at Kakashi with a look of satisfaction. He murmured to himself:

"... Is it because you have someone you want to protect?"

Jiraiya looked at Minato and Kakashi in front of him, a barely perceptible smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He looked at Kakashi in front of him, resuming his usual cheerful tone, but the seriousness in his voice remained undiminished:

"Kakashi, you will be in charge of this trip to Mist Village."

You can freely choose three or more team members from the village's roster of Jonin and Special Jōnin to go with you.

He paused, then continued:

"This mission... I'm counting on you, Kakashi."

"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."

Kakashi tried to suppress his excitement and responded solemnly.

Feeling the trusting gazes of the three, Kakashi lowered his eyes slightly.

His thoughts drifted uncontrollably into the distance, towards that island nation shrouded in a perpetual fog.

Kakashi murmured to himself, his heart overflowing with uncontrollable longing and concern:

"Kou, are you in the Land of Water now?"

Are you... alright now?

--

The Land of Water, a Mist Village Forest.

Thick fog swirled through the forest, blurring the outline of the dense woods into a patchwork of shades of gray.

Occasionally, an unidentified night bird would flit overhead through the fog, uttering a short cry before disappearing into the white mist.

Deep within this dense forest, rarely visited even by the Mist Village ' patrols, a burst of unrestrained laughter pierced through the layers of mist, startling a flock of birds perched in the treetops, which fluttered away in all directions.

"Hahahaha!! Hahahaha... Cough cough, cough cough cough!!"

He was bent over, one hand gripping the tree trunk, the other hand frantically stroking his chest, a tear still glistening in the corner of his eye from his maniacal laughter.

He took two deep breaths and patted his chest hard, which was sore from laughing too hard.

He straightened up and turned excitedly to the slender figure beside him who had been staring at him with a blank look.

"This is truly... a real gem!!"

He looked at Orochimaru in front of him and had never found that creepy snake face so pleasing to the eye.

Orochimaru stood quietly in the mist, his face, which usually wore a gloomy smile, was expressionless at this moment.

Those golden snake eyes stared straight at Kou, the vertical lines in the pupils motionless, like a snake whose fangs had been removed.

He looked at Orochimaru with increasing satisfaction.

In his original plan, Orochimaru, after being controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan, shouldn't be of much use to him.

After all, Orochimaru's most valuable asset lies in his abnormally high level of scientific research ability.

This aspect, however, is essentially rendered completely useless due to the control of the Mangekyo.

Therefore, Koko's initial expectations for Orochimaru were not actually high.

His plan was actually quite simple:

Squeeze all the forbidden techniques and key knowledge out of Orochimaru's mind, and once the information value on him is completely drained, kill him outright to avoid keeping this potential menace alive.

But it turned out he was wrong, terribly wrong!!

Orochimaru's knowledge base is truly vast.

A deep understanding of the human body, Chakra, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, secret techniques, and even Sealing Jutsu.

And confidential intelligence from various ninja villages, as well as secrets and hypotheses about ancient times and Kekkei Genkai that he had painstakingly gathered from every corner of the Ninja World over decades...

All of these things lay quietly in Orochimaru's memory bank, like a giant library.

It's practically impossible for someone with my abilities to absorb all this knowledge in a short period of time.

Gazing into those empty, golden snake eyes before him, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Is this the difference between genius and ordinary person...? Now I finally understand why you looked down on me back then. If I were you, I wouldn't have looked down on you either."

There was no self-deprecation in his tone, only pure admiration.

He himself was a test-taker from a small town, the kind of person who filled the gaps in his talent by devouring books from the thousands of years of Uchiha tradition, one by one.

Orochimaru is an absolute genius; the gap between them cannot be bridged by hard work alone.

Looking at Orochimaru, a genuine sense of envy even surfaced in his eyes.

If I had his brains, with all the information I knew, I probably would have already created the Ten-Tails ' placenta in some cave, instead of having to live such a difficult life.

"However... all of this is almost over."

Kou withdrew the envy from his eyes and put on his usual carefree yet confident smile.

With Orochimaru as a mobile Ninja World knowledge base, information that used to take him months or even years to find can now be mentioned to this snake-shaped "bean bun" in front of him with just a few words.

With the Snake Bag app, it won't take just a few years for you to rise completely and truly possess the power to overturn the table!!

War on Uchiha Runtu!

War against the Five Great Nations!

War against the Akatsuki!

To Uchiha Madara, to Otsutsuki Kaguya... never mind, let's not bring those two out.

In short, this is time for fantasy!!

"But for now, we need to focus on the present..."

Kou awkwardly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, turned around, and cast his gaze in the direction beyond the misty forest.

Thick fog swirled among the branches, obscuring all visible outlines in the distance.

But Kou knew which direction that was.

That place... is Konoha.

He looked towards Konoha, his previously relaxed gaze now showing a hint of seriousness.

In the Mist Village office, Kimimaro meticulously recounted his encounter with Jiraiya in the Land of Waves, as well as Jiraiya's idea of "cooperating" with them.

"Shall we cooperate with Konoha to investigate the Akatsuki's whereabouts?"

He murmured softly, his expression turning strange:

"What's this? Am I investigating myself?"

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

To be honest, Konoha's proposal to cooperate with the Mist Village Reformist Faction in investigating the Akatsuki was indeed quite good news for him personally.

The Mist Village Reformist Faction has not yet made a public appearance in the Ninja World. Their cooperation with Konoha means that Shiina Sora will Jonin world for the first time in a semi-official manner.

This also means that he now has another legitimate opportunity to leave Mist Village and go to Konoha as "Mizukage Aide".

Once they arrived in Konoha, it would be only natural for them to come into contact with Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the reincarnations of Asura and Indra in this era...

However, in his original plan, he hadn't scheduled his return to Konoha so soon.

After all, it hasn't been long since the Uchiha Clan Massacre was wiped out...

Thinking of this, a hint of gloom flashed in Kou's eyes.

"Konoha?"

"... According to the information that Kimimaro brought back, Konoha will probably send a small team to make initial contact with us."

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his Black Cloak with Red Clouds, looked up at the sky shrouded in thick fog, and murmured in a complex tone:

"I wonder if I'll run into an old friend..."

His voice drifted through the mist, but no one answered.

(Two more chapters today. Sorry, I have classes all day, so I can only update tonight. ꒦ິ^꒦ິ)