At the entrance of a two-story building in Takigakure.
A young man in a black robe blocked Rinjin and Tsunade's path.
"You two, this is private property."
Hearing this, Rinjin walked up with a beaming smile. "I know, I know! You're the legendary embodiment of justice and light—Akatsuki, right? My name's Jack, and this is my partner Quinn. We've admired you for ages and came here specifically to apply for membership in Akatsuki."
Beside him, Tsunade fiddled with her pale yellow twin ponytails with obvious reluctance, nodding half-heartedly.
This bastard Rinjin must have some serious brain damage—not only did he slick his hair back into a green pompadour, but he'd also tied her hair into twin ponytails!
At the door, the young Akatsuki member looked at the oddly-styled pair, muttering internally.
Jack, Quinn... what bizarre names.
"I'm Kyūsuke. You can also call me Fleet-Footed Kyūsuke. Why do you want to join Akatsuki?"
As a founding member of Akatsuki, this young man agreed with Yahiko's philosophy—that conviction and ideals mattered more than strength. He deeply loved the organization and didn't want the Akatsuki they'd built with their own hands to be infiltrated by powerful people with hidden agendas.
Rinjin flashed a confident grin, revealing a mouthful of pearly white teeth.
"Of course it's because we believe in your ideals!"
"What ideals?" Kyūsuke pressed seriously.
"Fighting for peace in the ninja world!"
Rinjin clenched his fist, his eyes blazing with passion as he added:
"Every time there's war, it's always the small nations that get bullied! And among those small nations, the common people at the bottom suffer the most. I want to save these people—that's why I hope to join your organization!"
With a face full of fervor, Rinjin grabbed Kyūsuke's hands, his eyes brimming with sincerity.
As someone who'd climbed up from the very bottom, Rinjin didn't reject any method that could solve problems easily. Though he'd been able to wrestle with the cheat-level middle-aged Uchiha Madara long ago, he didn't care about that so-called "strongman" attitude.
He liked excitement. The livelier the ninja world, the more interesting this world became.
So when facing many situations, he was willing to keep his fists as the last option.
At the door, Kyūsuke's face stiffened as he struggled to pull back his hands from Rinjin's tight grip.
"Uh... that... Jack... could you... let go first? We can talk properly. Ah... right... let me take you to meet my leader first!"
Hearing this, Rinjin excitedly released his hands, nearly causing Kyūsuke, who was desperately trying to yank his hands back, to stumble backward.
Rubbing his reddened hands, Kyūsuke looked at Rinjin with lingering fear.
"Let's... let's go!"
With that, the young man led Rinjin and Tsunade into the somewhat dilapidated two-story building.
Soon after, they met the legendary leader of Akatsuki—the young Yahiko.
After some pleasantries, Rinjin and Tsunade were assigned to a newcomer dormitory.
The current Akatsuki wasn't the elite group it would become later, where only exceptional people could join. Now Akatsuki had many members—though mostly chunin and genin—and the recruitment requirements weren't harsh. Plus, with Rinjin's silver tongue, fooling a few kids fresh out of school was child's play.
That afternoon, Tsunade and Rinjin returned to their assigned newcomer dorm.
Looking at the cramped, shabby little room, Tsunade hugged Rinjin's shoulders with heartache, speaking softly:
"Rinjin, is this what undercover agents have to go through?"
Smiling at people a hundred times weaker than yourself, pretending, being cautious, constantly worried about being exposed—and these terrible living conditions.
It was hard to imagine how many times Rinjin had endured this, how much psychological pressure he'd borne.
Rinjin smiled and shook his head, comforting her: "This time we're just scouting, so there wasn't much preparation. When I went to Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, I was worshipped as a hero by the entire village! Plus, nurse sisters took good care of me with food and drinks every day."
Looking at Rinjin's smiling face, Tsunade didn't believe it.
It couldn't be as simple as he made it sound!
This guy definitely didn't want her to worry, so he made it sound so casual! He must have suffered tremendously when infiltrating Kumogakure!
Being bullied, mocked, followed, suspected... maybe even digging through trash at night!
Thinking about this, Tsunade felt her heart ache terribly. She hugged Rinjin's head tightly, nearly suffocating her husband.
Seeing Tsunade's sudden maternal outburst, Rinjin felt extremely puzzled.
Did Tsunade take the wrong medicine? I was telling the truth, wasn't I?
Whatever, she's rarely this gentle—better not explain!
While Rinjin and Tsunade were going undercover...
Evening, Konoha Village.
Kakashi said goodbye to Mei Terumi and the others at the ninja academy entrance and walked home alone.
Today's streets were the same as always—women busy cooking, men sitting in the shade chatting, passersby in twos and threes, school children running around everywhere.
However, Kakashi still sensed something different.
With his exceptional hearing, he caught familiar words from the whispered conversations.
White Fang... Hatake...
"Did you hear? That White Fang failed his mission this time."
"Really? Tell me about it!"
"I heard it was an S-rank mission, and the village is facing quite a bit of criticism."
"What caused the failure?"
"I heard White Fang chose to abandon the mission to save a teammate."
"So did he save his teammate?"
"Seems like he did."
"Then you can't blame him! You can't just watch a comrade die! If I were on a mission, I'd want to work with someone like that."
"Exactly! But the mission client got really angry at the mission office—said they'll never hire Konoha for missions again, too disappointing! Even said Kumogakure is better!"
"Huh? Will this affect our missions?"
"Hard to say. I heard from my second uncle's aunt's sister's neighbor's grandmother that the client is a regular customer who posts over a hundred missions every year. Probably won't post missions in our village anymore!"
"That's a huge loss..."
"Indeed, huge loss..."
...
The whispered conversations lingered in his ears. Though these gossiping people had mixed opinions—most still thought Sakumo did the right thing—young Kakashi still instinctively sensed unease.
Quickening his pace, Kakashi hurried toward home.
Soon, he returned to his spacious but lonely house.
Standing at the front door, the little guy took a deep breath, patted his masked face, and forced his breathing to calm down.
"I'm home!" His childish voice rang out.
Then little Kakashi closed the door and walked inside.
In the brightly lit house, a mature male voice came from the kitchen direction.
"Welcome home, Kakashi."
Sakumo, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, poked his head out from the kitchen, his smile calm and gentle.
"Put your things down and wash your hands quickly. We'll eat soon."
Seeing this scene, Kakashi's anxious heart finally relaxed, and he nodded firmly at his father.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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