Late at night, inside a cave somewhere in the Land of Fire, Kakashi and Natsuhiko sat facing each other.
After fleeing the entire day, they had arrived at a town closest to Konoha.
However, Natsuhiko had no intention of entering it.
After all, they had just snatched a "head" from the hands of Kakuzu—a vicious man whose strength had long since reached Kage level.
And they had truly snatched it from him.
There was no way Kakuzu could swallow that humiliation.
Even though they had run fast enough, Natsuhiko was certain that someone who valued money as much as Kakuzu would never let them go. Being pursued was inevitable.
The only reason they managed to seize the head was because Kakuzu had been careless.
He simply hadn't taken Natsuhiko and Kakashi seriously.
That gave them a small window of opportunity to complete the mission.
But if Kakuzu caught up—
They would be facing a Kakuzu fighting at full strength.
And Natsuhiko didn't believe the two of them could handle that.
So they avoided entering towns.
Along the way, they erased every possible trace.
To mislead Kakuzu, they even used Shadow Clones to run in different directions.
For someone who had fought nearly nine years on the battlefield and spent almost six years in the Anbu, this sort of thing was second nature.
Still, Kakashi was puzzled.
He didn't understand why Natsuhiko was being so cautious.
"Captain."
Slowly stirring his instant rations and glancing at the ninja hound standing guard at the cave entrance, Kakashi finally asked,
"Isn't this… a bit too careful?"
"It's rest time. You can call me Natsuhiko," he replied with a small stretch, his tone gentle. "There's nothing wrong with being careful. The opponent we're dealing with isn't simple."
"But he's already dead, isn't he?" Kakashi frowned.
That man's heart had been pierced by his Chidori.
He didn't believe someone whose heart had been penetrated could continue living.
A ninja's defensive ability wasn't extraordinary.
Even senbon needles, if they struck vital points, could cause instant death.
No one was exempt. No one survived by luck.
"Dead?" Natsuhiko shook his head lightly, still wearing that mild expression. "Kakashi, that man isn't dead."
He paused there.
Seeing Kakashi about to ask a question, he smiled faintly and continued.
"Confused?
You just joined the Anbu. Normally, the process is to first familiarize yourself with intelligence files before gradually being assigned missions.
I don't know if it was the Fourth Hokage's request, or the commander's decision, but you were sent straight out on a mission with me.
Kakuzu is extremely dangerous. According to intelligence records, he once faced six elite jōnin in the black market, each worth over thirty million ryō—and wiped them all out.
During that battle, he himself had his heart pierced.
In the end, he walked away from the black market exchange with nearly two hundred million ryō.
Yes, you pierced his heart.
But I truly don't believe someone like him would die so easily."
Natsuhiko spoke slowly.
Kakashi listened carefully.
When mentioning the Anbu's standard procedures earlier, Natsuhiko had deliberately observed Kakashi's expression and reaction.
Inside the cave, both of them had removed their Anbu masks.
Kakashi, however, still wore his usual face covering.
Unfortunately, Natsuhiko detected nothing unusual in Kakashi's eyes.
He remained calm.
Honestly—
Natsuhiko had hoped the kid would show at least some kind of reaction.
However, toward the end of the explanation, Kakashi finally showed some reaction.
He seemed surprised by Kakuzu's strength.
He was also astonished that someone could survive after having their chest pierced.
But he understood something else as well—if what Natsuhiko said was true, then that bounty hunter named Kakuzu was very likely still alive.
Kakashi wasn't a fool.
He had already noticed that during the fight, Kakuzu hadn't been serious at all. The man simply hadn't taken them seriously.
If he was still alive—and Kakashi mistakenly believed he had killed him—
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Thinking this through, Kakashi nodded lightly.
"I understand, Captain. So when his body was paralyzed, you cut off the target's head and retreated quickly?"
"Yes." Natsuhiko smiled. "We ran into some unexpected trouble, but after we return, reviewing intelligence files will be very beneficial for our missions."
Intelligence was the key.
In the ninja world, once you understood your enemy's information while they knew nothing about you—
You held the initiative.
You could even strike unexpectedly and eliminate them.
And what Natsuhiko said wasn't nonsense.
There truly were intelligence records in the Anbu archives.
It was just that those records were scattered across multiple smaller reports.
Natsuhiko was confident he had seen them before—otherwise he wouldn't have dared say it.
He wasn't worried that if Kakashi investigated later, he wouldn't find the information.
Watching Kakashi nod silently and fall quiet, Natsuhiko maintained his gentle expression, though inwardly he sighed.
Why didn't you follow my train of thought and consider why, the moment you joined, you were thrown directly into a mission instead of following proper procedure?
But since Kakashi hadn't thought about it, Natsuhiko didn't bother pushing further.
His deliberate guidance was merely a reminder.
The waters of the Anbu run deep—you might not be able to handle them.
The Fourth Hokage had just taken office and had no stable power base.
Even now, all of Konoha remained under the Third Hokage's influence.
Not to mention, the Anbu still answered to the Third Hokage.
Even the Anbu commander remained one of the Third's most loyal subordinates.
This period was extremely sensitive.
Even if the Fourth had legitimate reasons for bringing Kakashi into the Anbu, it would still agitate those aligned with the Third.
Were they really that impatient?
That eager to seize control of the Anbu?
In their eyes, Kakashi entering the Anbu wasn't just a normal appointment—
It was a signal.
Otherwise, the Commander wouldn't have given him such a "welcome lesson" the moment he arrived.
Natsuhiko shook his head indifferently.
If Kakashi didn't realize it, so be it.
At most, he would give him another friendly reminder later.
As for the power struggle between the Third and Fourth Hokage—
Natsuhiko wasn't particularly interested.
If he truly had to place a bet, he would rather bet on the Third.
After all, the old man still had over ten years left to live.
The Fourth, on the other hand, had barely more than a year.
But if some disturbance were stirred up in advance, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Natsuhiko either.
After all, his family was very much looking forward to the Third Hokage's downfall.
And to some extent—
Natsuhiko himself was also a spy.
As an Anbu, I spend my days hunting down spies…
But what you didn't expect is—
I'm one too.