Chapter 118: Time
Konoha's sky remained dim before dawn.
The village still rested in silence.
Aside from the occasional sound of early risers passing through the streets, everything else remained suspended in that half-awake state before sunrise.
Stepping out from the inn, Mei Terumī leisurely finished enjoying Konoha's specialty breakfast.
After glancing toward the sky and carefully confirming the timing, she arrived at Konoha's main gates with perfect punctuality.
As Konoha's eternal gate guardian duo, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane immediately noticed the Kirigakure guest.
"Good morning, Miss Mei!"
Clearly, after so many days wandering around Konoha, the beautiful woman from Kirigakure had already become fairly familiar to many people in the village.
"Morning."
Mei smiled brightly.
Truthfully, her mood today felt excellent.
After staying inside Konoha for so long, she could finally leave and get some fresh air.
Besides Kirigakure itself, this was the first time she had ever remained in another hidden village for such an extended period.
Still—
One small disappointment lingered.
Kakashi had withdrawn his "companionship"—no, his surveillance—last night.
Meaning Mei ended up going to sleep surprisingly early.
"Kakashi-senpai isn't with you today?"
Izumo asked curiously.
"He should arrive soon."
Mei lazily stretched.
"He told me yesterday that everyone would gather here at six in the morning."
The moment she said that, Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged awkward glances.
As fellow Konoha shinobi familiar with Kakashi, they instantly understood the problem.
"Um…"
Kotetsu coughed lightly.
"You might have arrived… a little too early."
"?"
Mei tilted her head in confusion.
Thus—
Time gradually reached six in the morning.
Before long, Hinata Hyūga arrived carrying a neatly prepared travel pack.
The moment she noticed Mei standing there, Hinata froze briefly before quickly stepping forward politely.
"Good morning, Mei-neechan."
"Morning, Hinata."
Mei smiled back warmly.
Then she watched Hinata politely greet the two gate guards as well.
Afterward, Hinata calmly walked over to the side.
Then—
Like performing magic—
She pulled out a small folding table from her pack.
Next came several carefully prepared breakfast dishes.
Then she poured three cups of morning tea.
Suddenly remembering something, Hinata looked up toward Mei.
"Mei-neechan…"
"If you haven't eaten yet, would you like to join us…?"
"No need."
Mei waved gently.
"I already ate earlier."
Still—
Watching Hinata elegantly arrange the breakfast spread caused Mei to fall into thought.
So this is the elegance of Konoha's great clans?
Even while preparing for missions, they still maintain this much refinement…
"Uwaaah~"
A sleepy yawn suddenly sounded nearby.
"Oh! Mei-neechan too, good morning!"
Naruto approached while looking half-asleep.
Then after greeting Mei, he naturally walked straight toward the breakfast table and sat down beside Hinata before clasping his hands together with a grin.
"Thanks for the food!"
Watching Naruto comfortably begin eating breakfast, Mei's eye twitched slightly.
Still, she maintained her composure.
However—
Soon afterward, Sasuke also arrived.
Unlike Naruto—who looked almost identical to normal—Sasuke carried a small travel pack in addition to his usual cool-guy outfit.
After all, they were leaving on a long-distance mission.
Naturally, preparation was necessary.
Sasuke nodded politely toward Mei before walking directly to the table.
Then he accepted the teacup Hinata handed him with perfect manners.
"Thank you."
"I'm eating."
And just like that—
He also calmly started eating breakfast.
Are these children even aware they're leaving for a mission?
Mei silently questioned reality while staring at the scene before her.
Meanwhile, Izumo and Kotetsu stood nearby looking completely accustomed to this routine.
Then—
After finishing breakfast…
Cleaning up all leftovers…
Stretching slightly…
Chatting leisurely…
And even rechecking all of their equipment afterward…
Only once all three clearly reached their best possible condition—
"Yo, everyone! Good morning!"
Kakashi finally appeared with his dramatically late greeting.
"Oh wow, you're actually early today."
Naruto blinked in surprise.
"I didn't even get enough time to badmouth you to Mei-neechan yet!"
"Thank goodness for that."
Kakashi visibly sighed in relief.
"Alright, let's head out."
Watching the four of them casually begin walking out of the village together as though nothing strange had happened—
Mei finally lost control of the confusion building inside her.
"Wait."
"What exactly is going on here?"
"Did I remember the wrong time?"
"Was the actual meeting time seven instead?"
Only now did Kakashi finally seem to "realize" the misunderstanding.
He turned toward Mei and smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, right."
"I forgot to mention earlier…"
"When our team goes on missions, they're already used to this schedule."
Then Kakashi immediately continued his excuse with perfect seriousness.
"This morning, I encountered an elderly person in trouble on the road…"
Although Mei barely managed to force herself into accepting Kakashi's explanation—
Naruto's group had already begun whispering among themselves nearby.
"A new excuse."
"Haven't heard that one before."
"Well, it's been a while since we saw Kakashi-sensei regularly. New excuses are normal."
"At least he was only one hour late this time."
"I definitely won't arrive earlier than you next time!"
Mei suddenly looked at Kakashi completely seriously.
"Ahahaha…"
Kakashi immediately waved his hands helplessly.
"No need to take it that seriously."
"Anyway, let's discuss the next operation."
"The first destination isn't very far. Still inside the Land of Fire…"
Kakashi pulled out a map and pointed toward a marked location.
However, his words immediately drew curiosity from the others.
"Wasn't the original plan investigating Akatsuki activity inside the Land of Water first?"
"No no no."
Kakashi shook his head.
"Temporary destination change."
"At our speed, we should arrive tomorrow."
"Didn't I mention encountering a troublesome old man earlier?"
"We need to help him confirm something first."
The location Kakashi pointed toward—
Was the secret Orochimaru base Danzō previously reported.
Meanwhile—
Inside Root headquarters—
Within one of the organization's deepest hidden chambers—
Danzō Shimura excitedly looked toward his trusted subordinate.
"Confirmed?"
"Hiruzen already left Konoha?"
"Yes."
The Root operative immediately answered.
"The Third Hokage departed last night together with several elite Jōnin and ANBU. Approximately ten personnel total."
"If not for Root's hidden observers reporting along the route, almost nobody would've discovered their movement."
"Hmph…"
Danzō sneered coldly.
"Deliberately feeding me false departure timing information…"
"So he intends to finish confirming things quickly and return earlier?"
"Even now, that old man still guards against me…"
"Unfortunately…"
Danzō slowly tightened his grip around his cane.
"Although the intelligence I provided wasn't fake…"
"Orochimaru abandoned that base long ago."
The cold smile on Danzō's face deepened.
"Hiruzen's early departure means he'll also return earlier than expected."
"Which means…"
Danzō's single remaining eye narrowed dangerously.
"We only have tonight."
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