"…My apologies, everyone from Konoha. I spoke out of turn."
Momochi Zabuza forced the words out between gritted teeth. Anyone could see he was only bowing his head because he had no choice—his eyes were filled with blatant defiance.
That attitude made Oniyuzu Anjō frown deeply.
Why… why couldn't the Kirigakure's geniuses all be as sensible as Kyoichi?
Or at least have the basic awareness that Mangetsu had?
"Elder Anjō, let's head in. Hokage-sama should've received the message by now. He's probably waiting for us… There's no need to waste more time on this."
Minato spoke up, smoothly guiding the situation forward and dissolving the tension.
He could clearly see Zabuza's apology had no sincerity whatsoever.
But as long as he apologized, even perfunctorily, the rest could be tolerated for now.
Because both sides—Kiri's delegation and Konoha—wanted this negotiation over with as soon as possible. The Hokage, in particular, wanted to settle the matter of the captured Kiri shinobi so that the Third Great Ninja War could be officially declared over, with Konoha the undeniable victor.
After that…
The Third Hokage could retire gracefully and pass the mantle to the next generation.
More importantly, Minato himself had grown weary of war.
So had the villagers.
So had nearly every shinobi in Konoha.
Thus, resolving a trivial clash like this peacefully was already a blessing.
No need to cling to it and fan the flames.
No need to turn a small spark into something larger—Minato despised unnecessary escalation.
"Then let's go, Minato!"
Anjō accepted Minato's lead naturally. Before he knew it, he was already calling Minato by name—and Minato, not minding at all, allowed it.
The group resumed moving.
But they hadn't walked far before the Konoha gate guards stepped forward to stop them. Fortunately, Minato was present. He showed them the authorization scroll issued by the Third Hokage, allowing Kiri's delegation to bypass the standard inspection and enter directly.
Of course…
This "bypass" only avoided the visible inspection.
Everyone knew perfectly well that during the brief time they'd stood at the gate, countless hidden sensory shinobi had already examined them from head to toe.
The Hyūga clan alone—every single member—was essentially a walking sensor.
The Byakugan's insight was indisputably the strongest in the ninja world.
"Elder Anjō, are we heading straight to the negotiations now?"
Mizushiro asked quietly while walking beside him.
"Not that fast."
Anjō shook his head.
"Then our meeting the Hokage now is…?"
"Just a courtesy."
Anjō answered calmly.
"We came under the Mizukage's orders. Naturally, we must greet the Hokage. As for the negotiation itself… just as the Mizukage isn't coming in person, the Hokage won't sit down and argue line by line either. We'll be facing Konoha's 'prepared experts.'"
He glanced sideways.
"Mizushiro, did you have something you wanted?"
"Nothing serious." Mizushiro smiled. "I just wanted to ask if we'll have time to walk around Konoha a bit."
"Strolling around… Minato, is that permitted?"
Anjō asked. Although he personally didn't think Konoha had anything particularly worth strolling through, he didn't outright dismiss Mizushiro's request.
Minato replied frankly,
"That's something only Hokage-sama can grant permission for. I can't decide."
"Fair enough. Then I'll ask after we meet him."
Anjō accepted the explanation and turned his attention toward the famous Hokage Rock in the distance—the massive stone faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage carved into the mountain.
It was an impressive sight.
After all, building giant statues wasn't unique to Konoha; the other great villages did it too.
But in Kirigakure, their statues were placed inside the Mizukage Tower—not carved into a mountainside on such an absurd scale.
This landscape—this level of spectacle—was something only Konoha had.
At this moment, Kyoichi quietly stepped closer to Mizushiro with a smile.
"Mizushiro, who would've thought—you actually enjoy strolling around?"
"That's not it."
Mizushiro shook his head helplessly.
"To be honest, I hate shopping. But I promised someone to bring back some souvenirs from Konoha, so I have no choice but to ask… I mean, I can't just pluck some random leaves from a tree and say they're 'authentic Konoha leaves' and give them as bookmarks, right?"
"Oh, that explains it."
Kyoichi narrowed his eyes, studying him.
Nothing looked suspicious.
"What? Kyoichi, something wrong?"
Mizushiro met his gaze without the slightest hint of guilt.
"No. Actually, you reminded me of something."
Kyoichi smiled lightly.
"If we really do get some free time, maybe I'll go browse the shops too. See if there's anything new that we don't have in the Kirigakure. Something I can bring back as gifts—you know, since coming to Konoha on a mission… I shouldn't return empty-handed."
Kyoichi said it casually.
But Mizushiro took it seriously.
Thinking of Terumi Mei constantly circling around Kyoichi, he said with sympathy,
"Kyoichi, you've got it hard. Being pursued by the shared princess of both the Terumī Clan and the Kirigumo Clan… trying to keep her happy must be quite the challenge."
"…"
Kyoichi fell silent.
His suspicion eased a little—this Mizushiro… really didn't seem to have anything wrong.
However—
Once a mirror is cracked, it can never return to perfection.
From the moment suspicion bloomed, Kyoichi would never truly view Mizushiro the same way again. Even if a thousand pieces of evidence proved him innocent, a sliver of caution would always remain.
"Mizushiro, if Konoha allows us to walk around, let's go together."
Kyoichi said with a smile after a brief pause.
"Sure thing!"
Mizushiro replied immediately—straightforward and without a shred of hesitation.
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