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"No, this won't do. I need to embellish this a bit – perfect timing to stabilize the situation in the shinobi world." The shinobi world could afford to be chaotic, but the foundational strength of the Five Great Shinobi Villages couldn't be allowed to erode too severely. This was especially true for the Mist Village and the Sand Village. They were already on the verge of exhausting their resources. Now was the perfect opportunity to use the Akatsuki's own actions as a catalyst to bring the war between those two villages to an early conclusion.
Picking up a fresh scroll, Kazuki began transcribing the intelligence Kisame had brought, while simultaneously weaving in certain pieces of information he himself knew. Let this world-shaking news spread far and wide. He carefully wrote down everything that should be included and ruthlessly discarded whatever shouldn't. Once he'd finished preparing this scroll – liberally laced with his own personal additions – Kazuki smiled with a hint of cunning. "Izumi, take this scroll to the Intelligence Division. Have them dispatch personnel to deliver it personally into the hands of the Raikage, the Tsuchikage, and the Kazekage. Also, send a copy to Mei Terumi on the front lines of the Land of Wind's battlefield."
There was no need to send one to the Mizukage. He was nothing more than a manipulated puppet. Besides, this scroll was essentially a private disclosure exposing the fact that Yagura was under the Akatsuki's control. How could that be delivered directly to the Mist Village? Sending it to Mei Terumi would suffice. That woman had not betrayed her innate talent and strength; her standing within the Mist Village had been steadily climbing. Coupled with the backing of her clan, she had already become a prominent general of the Mist Village. Kazuki trusted that once she learned this intelligence, she would make the correct decision. Naturally, within the intelligence, Kazuki had not forgotten to inform the various villages that Kisame had already defected to the Leaf Village. As for whether Mei Terumi or the Raikage would blow their tops over this, that wasn't something Kazuki needed to worry about. His task was simply to leak the information, ensuring that those who needed to know would know. The rest was not his concern.
The intelligence was swiftly dispatched. That very afternoon, Itachi returned from the front-line camp. When Itachi came to report to him, Kazuki briefly explained the situation regarding Kisame. "From today onward, you will be responsible for him. At the same time, you'll be responsible for keeping an eye on him." Just like that, Kisame was unceremoniously foisted off onto Itachi. Since the two of you got along so swimmingly in the original timeline, you can just carry on that way.
Kisame had long since heard of Itachi's great name. After all, during his time in the Akatsuki, Obito had mentioned him several times, and the organization had also specifically gathered intelligence on him. Uchiha Itachi, the genius of the Uchiha Clan, following in the footsteps of Shisui and Kazuki. Deeply trusted by Kazuki, he was, alongside Shisui, one of Kazuki's chief bodyguards – the kind Kazuki would take with him practically wherever he went. His strength was formidable, and it was suspected that he had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Specific details were impossible to unearth; after all, even Black Zetsu wasn't omniscient enough to know every single thing happening in the shinobi world. Kisame had assumed that Itachi's personality would be more or less similar to Shisui's. It was only after meeting him face-to-face that he discovered they were complete polar opposites. Shisui, when dealing with people, was fairly amiable. Itachi, on the other hand, projected an overwhelming sense of keeping people at a thousand miles' distance.
"The Advisor is going on an outing to enjoy the spring scenery. Follow me." Difficult to approach and simultaneously taciturn – this was the first impression Itachi left on Kisame. After being so busy for so long, Kazuki could finally slack off a bit and relax. Added to that, Kurenai had just returned to the village, so Kazuki took her out to enjoy the spring scenery.
"As guards, our primary task is to assist the Advisor with various trivial matters. When necessary, we step in to resolve minor nuisances that we can handle. As for the Advisor's personal safety – that requires no concern from us." It was only when discussing the specifics of their duties that Itachi's words became slightly more voluminous. At other times, he might go for several hours without uttering a single sentence. As the head bodyguard, Itachi was thoroughly dedicated. He didn't target Kisame, nor did he deliberately make things difficult for him or set traps. He meticulously explained all the important points a bodyguard needed to be aware of.
And then... Kisame's expression became rather intriguing. The Hokage's Advisor was going out to enjoy the spring scenery and relax, and the primary task of his bodyguards was to assist in hunting, clean the game, and then roast the meat to perfection. That was it... The workload was pitifully light – so relaxed it couldn't possibly be any easier.
"No, wait until we get back. We can't do this here." Feeling Kazuki's hands starting to wander inappropriately, Kurenai immediately put a stop to it. They were out enjoying nature, and you wanted to get frisky?! How dare you!!! Kazuki naturally wouldn't actually mess around out in the open, especially with quite a few people accompanying them nearby. Withdrawing his hand, Kazuki sat on the grass and wrapped an arm around her waist. "How's the progress of the little ones in your squad?"
"Not bad. The children are working very hard. I think next year we can recommend them for the Chunin Exams, although they are still a bit young."
"They are indeed a little young. They should wait another two years," Kazuki said, not particularly in favor of young ninja taking the Chunin Exams too early. Unless they were all prodigies, it was better for them to quietly stabilize for a few years at the Genin level. Even if their strength was sufficient, there was no need to rush into the exams.
Kurenai treasured the days Kazuki could spend with her. After all, Kazuki was extremely busy, and she herself was very busy as well. If their schedules hadn't coincidentally aligned, forget going out to relax – even sitting down together for a simple meal would have been difficult. By rare and fortunate coincidence, Kazuki stayed by Kurenai's side the entire day, and even when night fell, he didn't leave.
"Let's go, back to rest." Returning to the village, Kazuki went directly to Kurenai's home. Itachi decisively took Kisame and departed.
"???" Kisame paused in confusion. Wasn't he supposed to continue following them for the rest of the time? Sensing Kisame's unspoken question, Itachi explained: "The Advisor strongly dislikes being followed during his personal time, especially when he's with a company."
"..." You didn't need to be that blunt! Kisame hadn't expected Itachi to be so direct as to even toss out that last emphasizing detail. No matter who it is, when they're with a woman – especially when going home to rest at night – no one likes having people tailing them! Did that really need to be spelled out?
Within the Uchiha Clan district, in front of a small building not far from the Clan Head's main residence, Itachi stopped and said to Kisame, "This will be your place to rest. My home is over there. If you have nothing else to do, don't wander around aimlessly. You'll be watched by both the Anbu and members of the Uchiha Clan – myself included. If you get hungry, you can buy ingredients and cook for yourself, or you can eat out. You can also pay someone to deliver food to you, but that will cost extra." Having said everything that needed saying, Itachi turned and left without hesitation.
"An interesting fellow." Others might find Itachi difficult to get along with, but Kisame felt exactly the opposite. He sensed that Itachi was like a man composed entirely of secrets.
Cooking? Cooking was out of the question. He could only go out and eat something to fill his stomach. Kisame knew people were watching him, but he didn't care, because he had no intention of causing any trouble whatsoever. So he would eat when he needed to and drink when he needed to – no need to put such heavy psychological pressure on himself. Completely at ease and not treating himself as an outsider at all, Kisame still had no idea that he was about to have a colossal black pot firmly strapped to his back. What's more, this colossal black pot was one that Kazuki had proactively dumped on him, leaving him in the same predicament as Orochimaru before him: suffering in silence, with no choice but to pinch his nose and carry the pot obediently.