A Rat in the Village, the Administration Department, the Council of Elders!

Kakashi took the scroll Tenzo handed him and put it away.

Then he looked at Hagoromo. "Mirror Flower, you've passed your assessment mission."

"All right, Captain."

Hagoromo nodded, feeling nothing in particular.

It had been his first mission in a long time, and he had also taken a group of lives.

But to Hagoromo, these were simply things every ninja had to go through.

"Captain, this is the information we got by interrogating the bandit chief."

Uchiha Itachi, who was beside them, stopped writing as well. He stood and handed Kakashi a scroll.

Kakashi took the scroll and began reading.

Only after a long while did he solemnly put it away. He looked at Tenzo and said:

"Tenzo, take Team Six's Anbu and continue the mission. You can ask Itachi about the intelligence for now."

"I'll return to the village and report to Lord Hiruzen first, then catch up with you."

"Yes, Captain!"

Tenzo nodded and waved a hand. The Anbu members of Team Six vanished from where they stood the next instant.

Hagoromo turned to look at Kakashi. After all, he wasn't part of Team Six.

"Let's go. We need to head back first. We can't afford to delay."

Kakashi, seemingly shaken by the intelligence he had just read, spoke up, then took a step and vanished.

"We really can't stop for a moment."

After muttering to himself, Hagoromo followed Kakashi.

Behind him, an explosion rang out from the bandit stronghold. Hagoromo didn't stop, only turning to look back.

The entire stronghold was engulfed in raging flames.

At a guess, it would be reduced to ashes in less than half an hour.

By the time they saw the Konoha Gate again, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The Konoha Gate was already open, and Kakashi and Hagoromo dashed straight through.

The gatekeepers had just moved to stop them, but before they could speak, a kunai shot into a wooden board.

Looking closer, they saw a village entry pass pinned to it.

"That senior does this every time."

Kotetsu Hagane scratched his head, looking somewhat helpless as he spoke in exasperation.

"It's not the first time. You'll get used to it."

Izumo Kamizuki, who was on gate duty with him, spoke unconcernedly as he struggled to pull the kunai from the board.

Hagoromo followed Kakashi as they raced over the rooftops toward the Hokage Building.

Doesn't the Hokage need to rest? Would he be in his office at this hour?

Hagoromo, who rarely returned to the village to report on a mission at this hour, couldn't help wondering.

"Anbu don't have to go through the mission department when carrying out missions. We report directly to Lord Hiruzen."

Perhaps sensing Hagoromo's confusion, Kakashi turned his head and spoke as he raced ahead.

As soon as he finished speaking, before Hagoromo could respond, they arrived on the roof of the Hokage Building.

Hagoromo glanced around and sensed several people hidden in the shadows, but paid them no mind.

Following Kakashi, he entered the Hokage Building directly from the roof.

They went straight to the Hokage's office, where Kakashi reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Only after receiving a reply did Kakashi lead Hagoromo inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw Hiruzen rubbing his temples, looking utterly exhausted.

Neither Hagoromo nor Kakashi spoke. They simply removed their masks and waited in front of the desk.

"Kakashi and Hagoromo!"

It took Hiruzen Sarutobi a while to collect himself. Seeing the two young men before him, he smiled and spoke.

"Lord Hiruzen!" Hagoromo and Kakashi quickly answered.

"Lord Hiruzen, this is the intelligence gathered during the mission and the supplies we obtained at the bandit stronghold."

With that, Kakashi presented two scrolls and placed them on the desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and picked up the scroll containing the intelligence.

As he read through it line by line, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow gradually furrowed.

He had initially thought it was ordinary smuggling and trafficking, but the intelligence extracted from the chief clearly indicated a connection to the neighboring Land of Rice Fields.

"Kakashi, what do you think?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked without even looking up.

When Kakashi was asked, he first glanced at Hagoromo beside him.

Hagoromo caught the signal and naturally knew better than to stay. He bowed to Hiruzen and prepared to leave the office.

As a prospective Anbu member, he was better off not staying here, and he really wasn't interested in this sort of thing anyway.

"Hagoromo, stay. This was your assessment mission, after all."

After waiting a long time without an answer from Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up and saw Hagoromo about to leave.

He quickly spoke up.

Uh...

Hearing that, Hagoromo could only return obediently to his place.

"Lord Hiruzen, Tenzo checked the supplies. The markings had been deliberately erased, but some of them did indeed belong to the village."

"Everything else points to the Land of Rice Fields."

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. The report seemed to have chased away all his early-morning drowsiness.

Leaving the Land of Rice Fields' supplies aside, Konoha's supplies had turned up in a bandit stronghold.

There was a rat in the village, and this rat wasn't a simple one.

The Administration Department, the Council of Elders.

The Administration Department had always assisted the Hokage in his work and served as a bridge between the Land of Fire and Konoha.

More importantly, it oversaw the finances and supplies allocated to the village by the Land of Fire.

Almost all of the village's expenditures and supplies, large and small, had to be allocated by the Administration Department before they could be used.

"Kakashi, go summon the Council of Elders and Shikaku."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Yes!"

Kakashi nodded, then vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Once Kakashi was gone, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Hagoromo and said:

"Hagoromo, you've passed the assessment. Congratulations on joining the Anbu."

"Thank you for nurturing me, Lord Hiruzen."

Hagoromo bowed in response. After all, an ordinary person really wasn't qualified to join the Anbu.

"Mm. This mission needs to be classified top secret, and it's getting late."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the clock hanging in the office. "Go home and rest up first, then teach your classes this afternoon."

Worried that Hagoromo wasn't used to traveling such a long distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi had intended to let him rest at home for the morning.

"There's no need, Lord Hiruzen. It's what I should do. I'll take my leave now."

Hagoromo declined Hiruzen Sarutobi's kind offer with a smile.

Good grief, if I don't teach those classes, where am I supposed to get my rewards?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback, then nodded.

That was fine too. After all, Konoha was a little short on teaching staff at the moment.

If Hagoromo took the morning off, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to make arrangements with another teacher.

"All right, then keep up the good work. I'll issue the paperwork for a raise later."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a smile.

"All right, thank you, Lord Hiruzen."

Hagoromo naturally had no objection to the welcome raise, and the smile on his face grew more sincere.