All in all, Obito had finally settled down. These days, he was living at Rin's house.
The guy was practically floating from happiness—living with Rin, eating her cooking, wearing clothes she bought him. Every step he took seemed lighter than air.
"Uchiha Obito, I'm assigning you an S-rank mission!"
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade spoke solemnly to the refreshed and confident Obito standing before her.
"Yes, Hokage-sama! I'll definitely complete the mission!"
Obito shouted firmly.
This was the first S-rank mission he had received since his return.
He hadn't expected the Hokage to trust him so much. He would absolutely see it through!
"Good, that's the spirit. Your mission is to continue your undercover role within the Akatsuki and assist Uchiha Itachi."
"Yes—huh?!"
Obito froze.
"Continue undercover in the Akatsuki?"
"That's right. Based on the intel you and Uchiha Itachi provided, the Akatsuki's ambitions are enormous. Since your identity hasn't been exposed, you can continue using your previous alias. Depart immediately and cooperate with Kiyosuke's team later to eliminate the Akatsuki."
"I understand. Itachi's been undercover for a long time already."
Even when he'd been under control, he had known Itachi was a spy. But he hadn't interfered—letting Itachi stay in the Akatsuki to gather intel. As long as it didn't disrupt their plans, he didn't care what Itachi did. That was how confident he was.
After all, their goal was collecting the Tailed Beasts. Kisame and Itachi had even helped capture the Four-Tails. Rather than hindering their operations, those two had been surprisingly useful.
"That's right," Tsunade said. "This plan was Kiyosuke's idea, and the Third agreed as well. I heard you were the one who recruited Itachi yourself?"
"Yes," Obito nodded. "Itachi is a genius. Whether he's a spy or not, he's a valuable asset to the Akatsuki."
He paused, then added, "The Akatsuki have already collected every Tailed Beast except the Three-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails. Their next target is likely the Three-Tails in Kirigakure."
"I remember the Three-Tails is currently in the wild," Tsunade said after a moment's thought.
"Correct. After being killed by Kiyosuke and revived, the Three-Tails has remained wild. Because of that, it's easier to capture—so the Akatsuki likely left it for later. But now that they're short on manpower, they'll probably go after it soon."
"I see. Then I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
Obito accepted without hesitation. This was his chance—to serve Konoha and atone for his past sins.
Leaving the Hokage's office, he ran into Kiyosuke.
"Yo, heading out on a mission?" Kiyosuke asked casually.
"Yeah." Obito nodded. "I'm going back undercover."
"Got it. Oh, and do me a favor."
Kiyosuke leaned in and whispered a few words into Obito's ear.
Obito's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
"Of course. It's for the future—we have to do it," Kiyosuke replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You're sure this won't cause problems?"
"No problem. As long as nothing unexpected happens, the plan will go smoothly." Kiyosuke's confidence was unshakable. After all, he'd fine-tuned every detail himself.
"Alright… I'll take that bet." Obito looked him straight in the eye. "I trust you, Kiyosuke."
"Good."
The two parted ways. Kiyosuke headed into the Hokage's office.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah," Tsunade said. "How's Jiraiya?"
"Oh, not dead."
"Good." She coughed lightly and continued, "I've got a mission for you."
"What mission?"
"Head to the Land of Water. We've received intel about movements from Orochimaru's subordinates. I'm assigning you to investigate."
"No problem."
Kiyosuke made a hand gesture to confirm his acceptance.
Although Orochimaru was dead, many of his followers were still active across the world.
Most of them were power-hungry lunatics, though a few had been genuinely loyal to him. After Orochimaru's death, they scattered across the ninja world, leaderless but still dangerous.
Tsunade wanted Kiyosuke to look into it—to see if any valuable intel could be recovered.
Without delay, he gathered his team and ordered them to prepare their gear. Once ready, they set off toward the Land of Water.
They left Konoha, crossed the Land of Fire, passed the Naruto Bridge, and traveled through the Land of Waves before boarding a ship to the Land of Water.
Konoha had already sent word ahead, and Chōjūrō himself had come to receive them.
"Good to see you again, Kiyosuke-sama."
The shy young man wearing goggles and carrying twin swords on his back greeted them politely.
"Oh, Chōjūrō, hello. These are my teammates—Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. This is Akamaru. Everyone, this is Chōjūrō—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure."
"N-no, I'm not as strong as Zabuza-senpai or the others," Chōjūrō said, flustered but determined.
"But I'll work hard to live up to the title."
"Keep at it. I've got high hopes for you."
He might be the future Sixth Mizukage, but right now… well, his strength was still a bit underwhelming.
"Nice to meet you," Hinata and the others greeted politely.
Chōjūrō smiled and turned to Kiyosuke.
"Kiyosuke-sama, the Mizukage-sama sends her apologies. She's tied up with official duties and can't come in person. If you need to see her, you can visit the village directly."
"Alright. Once we're done here, I'll take them to visit Kirigakure for a few days," Kiyosuke said.
"Kirigakure, huh? I've never been there," Kiba said eagerly. "I heard it's a beautiful place!"
Chōjūrō nodded with a smile. "That's right. It really is beautiful—I'm sure you'll like it."
Now that Kirigakure and Konoha had established diplomatic relations, visitors were welcome as long as they weren't there to cause trouble or spy. The tourism exchange even helped boost Kirigakure's economy.
"Yeah, we'll definitely go," Kiba said.
Then he leaned closer to Kiyosuke.
"Kiyosuke-sensei, do you think you could introduce us to the Fifth Mizukage?"
"Sure, if she's not too busy."
Mei Terumī was usually swamped with work. Even with Genshi and Ao helping, the Fifth Mizukage's schedule was relentless.
They barely had time for dates.
After this mission, Kiyosuke decided, he'd take Mei to see a movie—let her relax a little.
With that thought in mind, Kiyosuke and his team headed toward their target location.
Chōjūrō didn't accompany them; this was a Konoha operation, and Kirigakure wouldn't interfere. And since the one leading the mission was Kiyosuke himself, they had no reason to stop him—nor could they if they tried.
By now, everyone in Kirigakure knew that the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumī, had captured the heart of Konoha's strongest man.
Someone had spread stories about their shared past during the Third Shinobi World War, and before long, their tale had become a romantic legend—a love that spanned decades, a reunion that had moved countless hearts.
A perfect pair—beautiful and powerful, who had waited more than ten years to finally be together.