After traveling for some time, Kakashi arrived at the designated rendezvous point.
He surveyed his surroundings and could only reach one conclusion: this was an ordinary little Grove, the kind found everywhere yet difficult to locate.
It was commonplace because there was truly nothing remarkable about it. Even around Konoha, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of little Groves just like this one.
But it really was hard to find. This had to be one of the most godforsaken places in the Land of Fire. There were no towns nearby—not even a single household.
Without the map to guide him, even Kakashi, who had lived in the Land of Fire for so many years, would never have known this place existed.
Throughout the journey, Kakashi had been unsettled.
The Third Hokage's orders were top secret. Strictly speaking, this information was reserved for the Kage alone.
Even a Jonin like him had no clearance to know it.
Yet the Third had approached him directly.
"Konoha has an undercover agent in the Akatsuki."
"...Not Shisui Uchiha?"
"No. And if Naruto hadn't captured that Akatsuki member this time, he most likely... would never have contacted me."
"Your operation probably had enough of an impact to cause some trouble within the Akatsuki, giving him a chance to send out intelligence."
"I should have gone myself, but now... Kakashi, I need you to go to this location immediately."
Even without being told explicitly, Kakashi had more or less figured out who it was along the way.
Uchiha Itachi.
That was also why he couldn't settle his thoughts.
He had thought of Sasuke, who could almost be considered his Disciple.
He had no idea how Sasuke would face this if he ever found out.
Kakashi truly liked this Uchiha boy, whose personality was nothing like Obito's,