[Kirigakure]
The meeting place between Kakashi and the spy known as "Whale", or rather, Nishimura Tatsuto—
Kakashi waited patiently.
After a long time, Nishimura finally arrived. At that moment, he looked slightly disheveled, with traces of water on his clothes and a few wounds across his body.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "You've been in a fight. Was your identity exposed?"
Nishimura didn't waste words. He simply tossed a scroll to Kakashi and said, "Everything you need is inside. It contains all the information about Kirigakure that I've gathered over the years. Go through it carefully once you're back. If it's still not enough, then you'll have to find the rest yourself."
"My identity was exposed. Maybe because I lived too long in Kirigakure, I lost the cautious mindset a spy should have. My lover noticed something suspicious about me, followed the clues, and discovered the evidence that I was a spy…"
Kakashi's heart tightened, "So, you fought with a Mist ninja."
Nishimura said, "The person I fought shouldn't be able to expose my identity for the time being. But of course, we can't take any risks. I've already silenced my wife."
Kakashi's eyes widened, "I remember you said before that you loved her very much, that you had a happy family."
Nishimura replied, "Yes. I did love her. And I love my daughter, too. But as an intelligence operative for Konoha, it's a choice I had to make. It was my failure to execute my mission perfectly. I'm sorry."
Kakashi suddenly felt a surge of anger, but there was nowhere for it to go.
A man who can't complete his mission is a failure. But someone who can kill his own wife and destroy his family, isn't he even worse than trash?
And yet… if viewed from Konoha's standpoint, had Whale really done anything wrong?
In the end, Kakashi could only sigh, "Since your identity is exposed, you should return to Konoha. Maybe you can find a new life there."
But Nishimura suddenly looked around at the buildings and said, "I've lived here for fifteen years. Fifteen years, it's longer than the time I spent in Konoha, or in Root."
"I've taken root in this land. Where there are roots… that's home too."
"I can't go back. I still need to clean up my wife's loose ends, to cover things up for you. After that, to keep the secret safe, I'll find a deserted place and destroy my own brain. No secrets will ever leak."
Even though Kakashi knew that for a Root agent, this was standard procedure, he still felt, it was too cruel.
He asked softly, "Do you really have to go that far? Won't you regret it?"
Nishimura said, "From the moment I swore absolute loyalty to Konoha, I stopped regretting anything. Maybe I wavered a little at times, it's human nature. But I'm a mature shinobi. I can suppress such feelings."
"Goodbye, young ninja of Konoha. Let's never meet again."
With that, Nishimura turned around decisively and walked away, leaving Kakashi standing there, dazed.
Kakashi looked at the scroll he had just received from Whale and felt the heavy weight of it in his hands.
He had never liked Danzo's methods, believing there were no good people in Root.
But in that moment, he realized, perhaps some shinobi's loyalty to Root wasn't forced. Perhaps they truly believed in Danzo's ideology, or at least, in the noble ideal it claimed to represent.
Kakashi repeated the words Whale had said earlier, "Everything you've done… was it truly for Konoha?"
"I'll report this to the Third Hokage… and to Master Minato. Your name deserves to be engraved on the memorial stone."
———
Elsewhere—
Tobi led his new recruits, Hoshigaki Kisame and Nishimura Suzuko, back to Akatsuki's temporary base in the Land of Wate, a hot spring inn.
Everyone welcomed the new members warmly, and under Tobi's lead, they all went out to explore, enjoying the sights of the Water Country.
That night, on their way back, everyone suddenly sensed a faint murderous aura spreading through the air.
Almost simultaneously, all eyes turned toward Tobi.
Tobi put on an innocent expression, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Yahiko said confidently, "From my experience, when something bad happens… it's usually related to you."
"Tobi, the coup in the Land of Water seems to have started. Don't tell me you had no idea?"
Tobi suddenly felt awkward. Had he already become the Danzo of their group in everyone's eyes?
Well, to be fair, this was connected to him.
Genji was indeed a man who acted decisively, when he moved, it was thunderous and swift. Without the slightest warning, he had struck directly.
Even Tobi hadn't expected it. The Third Mizukage probably hadn't either.
And now, thinking that he was technically the head of Root, he realized, whether he liked it or not, this was his responsibility to bear.
So he said firmly, "Yes, it was me. But everything I did… was for the ideals of Akatsuki."
Everyone's expressions grew stranger. The words themselves sounded fine, but coming out of his mouth, they somehow felt wrong.
Seeing this, Tobi quickly changed the subject, "Anyway, a coup this big, how could we not go watch? We won't interfere, of course… but if things get interesting, we can lend a hand."
Kakuzu nodded, "Interfere, not interfere, whatever. We're interfering either way. Don't forget, you promised me the Third Mizukage's corpse."
Meanwhile, Kisame, standing among a group of Kage-level and elite-jonin members, felt enormous pressure. Akatsuki looked like an organization that preached peace, but why did everyone in it seem… off?
Still, the group clearly wanted to see the chaos, so under Tobi's lead, they all headed toward Kirigakure…
———
Elsewhere, in the Third Mizukage's residence, a Mist ninja rushed in at high speed.
The Third Mizukage slightly opened his narrow eyes, glancing at the anxious subordinate, "Twelve, what happened to make you so flustered?"
The Mist ninja knelt on one knee and reported, "Lord Mizukage, it's bad, the Kaguya clan and the Yuki clan have launched a rebellion! They've gathered their forces and are attacking Kirigakure!"
The Third Mizukage frowned, but his face remained calm.
"Those self-proclaimed nobles, where did they get the courage for this? Is there anyone else behind them?"
Seventeen replied, "Also… the faction of the Grand Elder, Genji's line."