Only then did Kakashi come back to his senses, using a shinobi's instincts to suppress the insecurity rising in his heart.
He said, "Thanks, I got a little excited."
Whale, seeing this, seemed to have guessed something, "Konoha was willing to send you on this mission because they trust your ability, but if you've long been involved in intelligence work, your emotional state shouldn't be this unstable."
"You're not that old, right? And you shouldn't be one of Danzo's direct subordinates, Danzo wouldn't allow an operative like you to exist under him."
Kakashi couldn't help but admire inwardly. No wonder this Root elite was sharp; able to run such a deep-cover mission alone, his mind was very clever.
Perhaps his identity had already been vaguely guessed by Whale, but some things, even if seen through, shouldn't be exposed.
He asked, "What about the rest of the intel? For example, the Mist Village's approximate strength, the number of jonin, internal conflicts, especially internal conflicts. I've heard… they're getting worse."
On hearing the words "internal conflict," Whale looked at Kakashi deeply.
"Seems you know something."
"But this isn't exactly a secret in the Mist Village. After all, this time the Third Mizukage even targeted the great clans; those clans won't sit idly by forever. Conflict between the two sides is only a matter of time."
After pausing, Whale continued, "As for details and other pieces of intelligence, over the years I've collected what I could and stored it all in a scroll."
"Just in case this time, I didn't bring it with me. Wait here; I'll go get it. I hid it in a very secure place."
Kakashi nodded, thought for a moment, and reminded him, "Be careful. Konoha will always remember what you've done for us, and we hope you can keep undercover."
Whale turned to leave, but before he went he asked, "Sending you here doesn't quite fit the leader's usual style. Though it's not the right time to ask, has something happened to Danzo the leader?"
Kakashi was silent, news of Danzo's death hadn't been made public in Konoha yet; few people knew.
He didn't know how to answer Whale. If this veteran spy found out his superior was dead, would he suddenly stop cooperating?
However, Whale already read everything from Kakashi's silence. He murmured, "So the leader really did get into trouble…"
After a pause he continued, "Don't worry. We, Root, are always a part of Konoha, even if we belong to its dark side."
"Everything we do is for Konoha!"
After saying that, he didn't look back and instantly left.
Kakashi watched Whale's departing back, his gaze flickering…
———
Elsewhere in the Hidden Mist Village, deep under the waters, in a secret place.
At this moment, Fuguki Suikazan was in his lair, raging at several subordinates.
"You useless lot, you're all trash. You couldn't even find a single spy. What good are you?"
The Mist-nin could only hang their heads and listen to Fuguki Suikazan's scolding.
The more Fuguki Suikazan thought about it, the angrier he got. He bore a large portion of the blame for this matter.
Their Seven Ninja Swordsmen had sent out three people and ended up losing the target.
The key point was that along the way they encountered Terumi Mei's failure to assist, and Genji brought this up in front of the Mizukage.
Although they belonged to the Mizukage's inner circle and traditionally didn't get along with Genji's faction, abandoning Terumi Mei wouldn't draw Mizukage's blame; he might even approve of it inwardly.
But the premise was that he had to handle the matter cleanly, without any mistakes.
Otherwise, the loss wouldn't just be his face, but the Mizukage's face as well.
Thinking that the Mizukage had lost face over this and that he'd been publicly scolded, his anger flared.
Uncontrollably, Fuguki Suikazan unfastened the Samehada on his back and swung it down hard at one subordinate.
The subordinate didn't dare resist, was struck by Samehada, sent flying, smashed to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth, gravely wounded.
Fuguki Suikazan coldly said, "Trying to find a hidden Iwagakure spy in this huge Land of Water has become very difficult. I didn't tell you to fetch a reliable shinobi, where is the person I ordered?"
One Mist-nin trembled and stepped forward to report, "Sir, we did fetch someone. The Mizukage agreed to send a trusted subordinate to you, guaranteed reliable, but they may still need some time to arrive."
Fuguki Suikazan grew angrier and slammed Samehada into the ground, "I want to see who this person is. What a big attitude, they don't even care about my matters!"
At that moment, from a nearby shadow under the water, someone slowly emerged.
Kisame stepped in front of Fuguki Suikazan and knelt on one knee, "Sir, I have arrived. From now on, I will be your most loyal subordinate."
Fuguki Suikazan was stunned. He had heard of Kisame's name; he hadn't expected the subordinate Mizukage sent him would be this prodigy.
However, once he thought that this genius had already been trained by the Mist Village as a future member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a twinge of jealousy rose in Fuguki Suikazan's heart.
He roared, "I want elite troops, understand? But you, a kid, were sent. What gives you the qualification to be my subordinate?"
Kisame responded earnestly, "Sir, though I am young, I will prove to you that I… possess excellence not inferior to anyone…"
Fuguki Suikazan showed disdain, "Being excellent isn't just saying it. As a shinobi, can you complete every mission I send you on?"
Kisame did not hesitate, "Sir, you are actually my idol. One day, I will become the owner of Samehada, so I will not allow myself to fail."
A trace of disgust flashed through Fuguki Suikazan's eyes. Kisame still had his sights set on Samehada, but that was absolutely, absolutely not going to be handed over.
On the surface he said nothing, but calmly, "If that's the case, prove it to me."
"By chance, there's a batch of Mist-nin outside currently searching for the spy. They've done poorly and know too much, so I want you to…"
Fuguki Suikazan made a throat-slitting gesture.
Kisame shuddered and asked, "Sir, you mean you want me to turn on my comrades? But why?"
Fuguki Suikazan said coldly, "Because there's a spy infiltrated into the Land of Water. He's likely here for various pieces of intelligence. At this time, we must guard our secrets to protect the Land of Water's interests."
"You should know, many times only the dead won't speak. To eliminate any possible information leaks, I can only let them die."
Kisame suddenly shivered all over, "Sir, do we really have to go this far?"
Fuguki Suikazan's tone turned icy, "Didn't you say you would strictly follow all my orders? Why is your first assignment met with resistance?"
Kisame was at a loss. After hesitating repeatedly, he bit his lip and said, "Alright, I will complete this mission. All for the sake of making the Mist Village better."