Boom! Boom! Boom!
The suspension bridge exploded, severing in half, and Kiyosuke's team pulled back.
The people from Lock Village immediately scattered.
"I'll go after the old man," Kiyosuke said. "You go after Hanare."
Without another word, he sprinted toward where the old man had fled.
Kakashi, meanwhile, went after Hanare, who had already changed into the attire of a Lock Village shinobi.
Hanare glanced back at Kakashi, flashing a bright smile before picking up speed.
On Kiyosuke's side, the old man's age was catching up to him—his legs weren't strong, and he hadn't gotten far before being caught.
The elder's cloudy eyes hardened with resolve.
"Don't underestimate the shinobi of Lock Village. Once the lock is set, it can never be undone."
From within his cloak, explosive tags began to burn.
Kiyosuke immediately grabbed the cloak and flung it aside, then turned and kicked the old man hard in the chest.
Boom!
The cloak exploded, sending up great plumes of water from the river.
Kiyosuke walked over to the old man lying on the riverbank.
"Sorry," he said lightly. "Konoha has a professional lockpicking unit."
Morino Ibiki, head of the Torture and Intelligence Division, dropped down with his men.
"Take him back. And this time, don't let him get any intel on us."
"Yes. That won't happen again."
At Ibiki's signal, his men knocked the old man unconscious and carried him off.
Compared to Hanare, who had never been to Lock Village, this elder was far more likely to yield valuable intel.
Kiyosuke immediately headed for Kakashi's location.
There, Kakashi and Hanare stood at the edge of a cliff.
"I'm not letting you take Konoha's secrets back with you," Kakashi said flatly.
"So you figured it out?"
"When we locked eyes earlier, my Sharingan copied the movement of your eyes. You used your eyes to form a seal, allowing you to peer into your own mind. In other words, you deliberately let yourself be captured so that, during interrogation, you could let the interrogator enter your mind—while you, in turn, used that technique to steal all the Konoha intel they knew. Which means you now know everything Inoichi-san knew about Konoha."
When Kakashi had accidentally kissed Hanare back then, his Sharingan had unwittingly copied the movement of her eyes forming a seal. The moment after, Kakashi saw the state of his own mind and realized the truth—while Inoichi had been interrogating Hanare, she had been secretly interrogating him right back.
Even a veteran like Inoichi hadn't noticed.
After all, who would ever imagine that the one being interrogated could actually steal information from the interrogator?
Hanare had exploited that blind spot perfectly, walking away with Konoha's secrets under Inoichi's nose.
But her luck had run out—she'd met Kakashi with a Sharingan, and worse yet, he had copied her technique.
From that moment of eye contact, Kakashi had known. But he'd kept quiet, because with Riichi captured, his priority had been rescuing his comrade.
"That's exactly right," Hanare admitted with a smile. "But I've already erased all of that intel with my technique. Honestly, I'm glad it's you chasing me. If I have to die, I'd rather it be by your hand than anyone else's."
"..."
When Kakashi stayed silent, she went on.
"All these years, I've never even seen my own village. But in the short time I've been in Konoha, I've grown to truly love it. Believe it or not, Kakashi, I like this village. Lock Village will never get Konoha's secrets from me."
Kiyosuke raised an eyebrow.
"We don't exactly believe you," he said. "How about this—come back to Konoha with us. If you really don't have the intel, I can guarantee your safety. And Lock Village wouldn't dare try to take you from me."
"Hey, don't mess around!" Kakashi shot back. "You're a Konoha shinobi!"
"Kakashi, you chose the village. Hanare-san chose you. I choose to save a life." Kiyosuke grinned. "It's not every day you find a girl who likes you—better hold on to her."
"You—!"
Right now, Kakashi wanted nothing more than to beat Kiyosuke up. Unfortunately, it would be an even match at best…
Hanare shook her head.
"No. If I went to Konoha, I'd only bring trouble to you all."
She smiled brightly.
"I really enjoyed my time in Konoha. Thank you, Kiyosuke-san—you're a good man."
She stepped back. Behind her was nothing but open air, the sheer drop easily fatal.
"I already know I'm a good man—so don't go doing anything stupid! Gambling ruins lives—stay away from it!"
Kakashi's face darkened.
"This isn't the time for stupid jokes!"
"Hahaha! Hanare-san, now's not the time for suicide. And I won't stand by and watch someone die in front of me."
Before Hanare could react, Kiyosuke appeared behind her and knocked her unconscious.
He hoisted her up and tossed her toward Kakashi.
Catching her quickly, Kakashi scowled.
"Why do you always have to do things your own way?"
"Everything she said was true. She really does like you. And I'm pretty sure you like her, too. Kakashi, you're not getting any younger—it's about time you found someone. Otherwise, the Hatake bloodline ends with you. I'm only looking out for you here!"
"Oh, shut up—you're single too!"
We're both single, so why's he acting like he's responsible for my clan's future?!
"How am I the same as you? If I wanted to get married, it'd just take a bit of effort. You, on the other hand… fine, maybe we're about the same."
Kiyosuke coughed. If Kakashi ever showed his face, he might actually rival Kiyosuke in looks.
In Konoha, the only one who could threaten his looks was Kakashi.
"Anyway, she's yours now. Do what you want! See you in the village!"
With that, he leapt away.
"Hey, wait, you—!"
Holding Hanare in his arms, Kakashi was suddenly at a loss for what to do.
Just as he was about to take her somewhere to hide, Naruto and his team appeared, with members of the Torture and Interrogation Division right behind them.
With no other choice, Kakashi brought Hanare back to Konoha.
In the end, under the effects of a genjutsu, Hanare declared she had erased all the intel on Konoha, saying it was because she liked the village's atmosphere… and liked Kakashi.
At the time, Kakashi's face turned red, while Kiyosuke smirked from the sidelines, nearly provoking a fight between them.
As for the elder from Lock Village, he spilled plenty of intel about his home, including its location, some of its members, and the fact that Hanare's parents had died on a mission years ago.
He also revealed information on other villages and even shared several techniques Lock had developed specifically for undercover operatives to survive longer in enemy territory—massively boosting the survival odds of Konoha's own spies.
It was, without a doubt, their greatest gain.