Kazekaze wasn't just trying to comfort Kosuke. This team really was strong! Uchiha Kagami wasn't just the Second Hokage Tobirama's student—he was also a genius who had awakened the Sharingan. Ordinary Jōnin couldn't even compete with him. As for himself? That went without saying. The Eight Gates, combined with various Water Style jutsu—Even a shinobi like the Third Kazekage had been defeated by him. And after his fifth punch-in reward, he had obtained both the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasengan, elevating his power to a whole new level. It was no exaggeration to say that Kazekaze wasn't afraid even of Elite Jōnin now.
Besides, this mission wasn't about fighting. It was just an intel exchange with a spy—at night, no less. The chances of anything going wrong were very low.
"Kosuke, you're staying behind."
Kazekaze thought for a moment and decided to leave Kosuke at the outpost. Even if he didn't expect trouble, it was always wise to leave a fallback plan.
"If we're not back past the appointed time, go find Masakawa and tell him everything." Kazekaze gave Kosuke clear instructions.
The reason he chose Kosuke was simple—he had been handling all the communications during this mission. When it came to routes and protocol, he was probably the most familiar out of everyone.
After giving the orders, Uchiha Kagami began preparing dinner. Then, they waited for nightfall. Time slowly passed. As the appointed time neared, Kazekaze set out with Uchiha Kagami and Sakumo Hatake to the meeting point—a remote area deep within the border forest, with complex terrain. Quiet and secluded, it was the perfect location for a covert rendezvous.
Soon, a lone figure appeared in the distance. He wore a heavy coat, had bandages wrapped around his face, and a hat pulled low over his head. Only his eyes were visible—constantly scanning the surroundings with vigilance.
"That's probably him, right?" Sakumo asked instinctively.
In truth, the intel Kosuke had brought back didn't include a physical description of the spy—only the meeting location. Anyone arriving at that spot at the right time would naturally be the contact. Looking at the lone figure now, it was clear—this must be the spy.
"Yeah, that should be him. Let's go." Kazekaze nodded slightly and began walking toward the figure.
Kagami and Sakumo exchanged a glance and followed. After all, their captain had already given the order—they had to comply. Still, Kagami activated his Sharingan immediately. You never knew what could happen in a spy exchange.
In fact… There was no way to even verify whether the person in front of them was really who they were waiting for.
'Kazekaze and Sakumo are just seven or eight years old', Kagami thought, 'even though they're shinobi, they still don't fully understand the rules of this world. I must ensure their safety at all costs. I'm not just a shinobi of the Uchiha Clan—I'm a shinobi of the Leaf Village.'
That was why Tobirama trusted him so deeply. Kagami was one of the few Uchiha who could step beyond clan loyalty and see the bigger picture for the sake of the village. Kazekaze and Sakumo were rare talents. Especially Kazekaze—his gifts were so extraordinary that Tobirama clearly saw him as a future Hokage successor. His life was… precious.
Moments later—the two sides stopped about five meters apart.
"Shin Mechanism." The man spoke in a low, raspy voice—clearly altered to mask his real tone. For a ninja working in espionage, even the slightest slip could spell disaster. Until the code was confirmed, he wouldn't say another word—nor reveal his identity.
"When the enemy makes a major disturbance..." Kagami replied slowly, completing the passphrase. Only when Kagami finished the full code did the spy finally breathe a little easier.
I never expected the village to send such young ninja for the exchange, he thought, internally baffled. Kazekaze and Sakumo looked no older than seven or eight—and yet they were tasked with such a sensitive mission. What was the village thinking? Still, that thought stayed in his head. He wasn't about to voice it. Besides, the longer he lingered, the greater the risk. After confirming Kagami's identity as the contact, the spy reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll—containing all the intel he'd gathered recently on the Hidden Cloud. At the same time, Kagami took a dark green scroll from his ninja pouch. This was the scroll Kosuke had received from Masakawa. It contained the spy's next mission.
Kagami stepped forward, preparing for the exchange. But then—
"Let's do it from here," the spy suddenly said.
There were still two meters between them. To the spy, that was the safe distance—close enough to throw the scrolls, far enough to escape danger. Kagami had no objections. He nodded and tossed his scroll. The spy did the same. The two scrolls arced through the air on perfect trajectories— Suddenly!
A black kunai whistled through the moonlit air with a sharp whoosh, piercing both scrolls mid-flight and pinning them to a tree trunk nearby.
Thud!
Kagami and the spy both froze, their minds going blank. No one had expected this turn of events.
"Kazekaze, watch out!" Kagami shouted the next moment, leaping backward instinctively.
And just as he thought—The moment he moved, another kunai flew straight to the spot where he had stood, stabbing deep into the ground. It had been aimed exactly where Kagami had been.
Their meeting had been discovered by the Hidden Cloud!
The spy cursed under his breath and immediately turned to flee. For someone like him, capture by the enemy wouldn't mean execution—It would mean being handed over to ANBU's interrogation division—and undergoing inhumane torture. And not just to break his silence—Sometimes, just to vent their anger. He absolutely could not be captured.
But just as he turned and ran, a brutal kick slammed into his abdomen. A Hidden Cloud shinobi had already been lying in wait along his escape route. The spy flew backward like a broken kite. At the same time, more Cloud-nin began dropping from the trees, sealing off all escape routes around Kazekaze and his team.
And then— A figure appeared that Kazekaze never expected to see. A red gourd strapped at his waist, a strange sword across his back. Gray hair, two upright horns on his head, whisker-like markings on his cheeks. A colored short-sleeved top, white vest over it, and a huge "銀" (Silver) character tattooed on his arm.