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"Hokage-sama."
Kurenai Yuhi was the first to push open the door to the Hokage's office and walk in.
Kaito followed her inside.
"Tsunade-sama," he bowed gracefully, his demeanor elegant. "It's our second meeting."
"Kaito."
Tsunade, seated behind her desk, had a complicated and somewhat stifled expression.
"Welcome to Konoha."
She still stood up to greet him.
"Kaito! You evil devil! Let me go at once!"
A voice filled with curses, like a howling demon, drifted in through the window.
Kaito ignored it, smiling and nodding at Tsunade.
"You're too kind, Tsunade-sama."
He then turned to Kurenai and said, "Thank you for escorting me here, Kurenai-san."
"You're welcome, Kaito-san," Kurenai replied, then addressed Tsunade, "I'll take my leave now, Hokage-sama."
"You still have missions to attend to, so go ahead," Tsunade nodded.
"Yes."
Kurenai exited the office.
"Kurenai-sensei!"
Hinata and the others, who had been waiting at the other end of the hallway, approached her.
"Let's go, we need to continue our patrol mission," Kurenai said, leading the way toward the exit.
"Yes!" Kiba and Shino quickly followed.
Hinata glanced back at the door to the Hokage's office before leaving with her teammates.
"Kaito-san, please have a seat here."
Inside the Hokage's office, Shizune gestured to Kaito.
"Kid, come over here."
Jiraiya, sprawled on the sofa in the reception area, weakly waved his hand.
Kaito nodded at Shizune and walked over to Jiraiya.
"It's been a while, Jiraiya-sama."
After speaking, he sat upright on the sofa across from Jiraiya, his posture formal.
Tsunade also walked over and sat down beside Jiraiya.
"Kaito-san, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, please have some tea."
Shizune brought over a tea tray and served tea to the three.
"Thank you, Shizune-san."
Kaito thanked her politely, then added apologetically, "It's just a shame that I'm currently only a clone and can't truly appreciate your tea-making skills."
At this moment, Kaito exuded a gentle and refined demeanor, his manners impeccable, and his words as soothing as a spring breeze, making it easy for others to feel goodwill toward him.
It could be said that his current behavior was a far cry from how he acted in front of Izuna and the others.
"It's fine, Kaito-san."
Shizune's tone unconsciously softened.
"Tsunade-sama, I'll leave you to it."
She picked up the tea tray and exited the office, closing the door behind her.
Kaito picked up the teacup, sniffed the aroma, and glanced out the window at the eaves.
Kaito listening to the curses that only he could hear, he smiled slightly and gently set the teacup down.
It seems Lord Danzo is still doing quite well.
Trapped in a paper puppet, forced to watch his reputation crumble and his clan fall, yet he still has the energy to curse.
Even Kaito couldn't help but admire Danzo's resilience.
With a subtle hand seal hidden in his sleeve, the curses abruptly stopped.
"You got here pretty fast, kid. We only agreed yesterday, and you showed up first thing this morning," Jiraiya said casually, his words laced with probing intent.
"Coincidentally, this clone of mine wasn't far from Konoha," Kaito replied politely.
"Oh? So you've placed these long-term clones all over the shinobi world?" Jiraiya teased, a playful look on his face. "You're quite the sneaky one!"
"It's all for the sake of gathering more information about the Ōtsutsuki clan," Kaito smiled slyly. "Maintaining clones requires a lot of effort. I have no choice."
"Of course, it's all for the fight against the Ōtsutsuki. You've worked hard," Jiraiya said, feeling a toothache coming on.
"It's my duty," Kaito accepted the praise without a hint of guilt.
*Sss…*
Jiraiya sucked in a breath.
This kid is really hard to deal with!
"Tsunade-sama, I've come this time to fulfill our agreement," Kaito turned his attention to Tsunade. "When shall we begin the process of removing the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird Seal?"
"We can start anytime," Tsunade didn't beat around the bush. "Although the Hyuga clan is currently helping to protect the village, many of their shinobi are still without missions."
"I'm ready to start whenever," Kaito said. "I'll follow your arrangements, Tsunade-sama."
"Then let's head to the Hyuga clan now."
Tsunade stood up decisively.
With Konoha in such a turbulent state, she clearly didn't want to delay this matter.
"Wait!" Jiraiya stopped her.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked impatiently.
"Don't we still need to clarify the intelligence about the Akatsuki's attack?" Jiraiya muttered.
"Don't worry, Jiraiya-sama," Kaito said understandingly. "The Akatsuki won't attack Konoha for at least three more days."
He also stood up.
"I'll inform you as soon as I receive more specific information."
"Hahaha… That's a relief!" Jiraiya pretended to relax.
Kaito didn't pay much attention to Jiraiya's exaggerated acting and turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, shall we head to the Hyuga clan now?"
"Alright."
Tsunade led the way out of the office.
After leaving the Hokage building, the group walked through the quiet streets.
Tsunade and Jiraiya flanked Kaito, with the Hokage's guard team surrounding them. Their presence attracted even more overt and covert glances along the way.
Kaito remained completely unfazed, his demeanor calm and composed.
"You're different from any Uchiha I've ever met."
Tsunade suddenly spoke, looking at Kaito.
"Perhaps it's because I'm not a shinobi," Kaito replied gently.
"No, it has nothing to do with being a shinobi," Tsunade said firmly. "Your personality is very different from the Uchiha I've known."
"Is that so?" Kaito smiled shyly. "I'll take that as a compliment, Tsunade-sama."
"Tch, such a pretentious kid," Tsunade looked away.
"I understand what you mean, Tsunade-sama."
Kaito continued, "The Uchiha of the past were too proud. That superficial pride gradually turned into arrogance. However, this is a common trait among all major clans in the shinobi world. The Uchiha were just more outwardly expressive."
"Arrogance, huh?" Tsunade seemed to be reminiscing.
"Tsunade-sama, in the end, the Senju clan was also arrogant," Kaito said.
"How so?" Tsunade wanted to hear his thoughts.
"The Senju clan's arrogance also came at a heavy cost."
Kaito spoke in a casual tone, but his words were sharp and to the point.
"Konoha was founded by the Senju and Uchiha clans. From the very beginning, both the Senju and the Uchiha placed themselves in a special position. Later, due to Madara Uchiha's actions, the Uchiha clan took a step back. However, the Senju clan always equated Konoha with their own clan, blindly shouldering too much responsibility. That, too, was a form of arrogance. That's why, during the First Shinobi World War, the Senju clan suffered far greater losses than the other clans."