Kakashi's Confusion

All Feng Ye wanted was to cultivate quietly until he reached Jonin level, but he had been forced to kill someone, disrupting the rhythm of his training and leaving him speechless for a moment.

Should I destroy the body...

It was probably too late.

Whoosh!

Without checking Rinsei Yuya's corpse, Feng Ye leaped up, retrieved his belongings, and swiftly headed away into the distance.

He could guess that Konoha's Anbu were most likely rushing here, and he had no desire to come face-to-face with them.

Almost immediately after Feng Ye left.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Several ninja figures appeared at the site of the earlier battle. All wore different animal masks; they were clearly Anbu ninja directly under the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Over there!"

One of the sensory ninja's eyes flashed as he spotted Rinsei Yuya's corpse. Rather than approaching directly, he swiftly flung a Shuriken, pinning it into Rinsei Yuya's body and confirming that he was dead.

The other two Anbu approached from either side as well.

"Dead."

One of them crouched down. After confirming Rinsei Yuya's death, he turned the body over so it faced upward and saw the Hidden Mist Village forehead protector on his brow.

The three Anbu ninja exchanged glances, surprise flashing through their eyes. They had assumed a Konoha ninja had been attacked and killed, but it turned out to be a ninja from an enemy village. He looked to have been some sort of scout, but they had no idea who had taken him out.

"This guy was probably an elite Chunin from the Hidden Mist Village."

The crouching man quickly examined the corpse, a strange look flashing through his eyes. He turned to his companion and said, "Less than a minute has passed since you sensed the battle here, right?!"

"Mm..."

The sensory ninja frowned. "Someone capable of taking out an elite Hidden Mist Village scout in such a short time should be a Jonin from our village. But I have no impression of that chakra signature at all. And after killing a Hidden Mist Village ninja, they just left? It seems they had no intention of meeting us."

The ninja examining the body wore a thoughtful look as well, but then he suddenly froze. He stared carefully at the wound on Rinsei Yuya's head, surprise flashing through his eyes. "This wound..."

"What is it?"

Both companions looked over.

The Anbu ninja examining the body hesitated for several seconds before saying uncertainly, "I've seen this kind of wound before... It should be a scar left by Lord Sakumo's swordsmanship."

"Impossible!"

"Lord Sakumo passed away two years ago..."

The two Anbu ninja beside him reacted almost identically.

The examining ninja found it difficult to believe as well. He checked several more times before saying, "This injury was definitely caused by Lord Sakumo's swordsmanship. But it shouldn't have been Lord Sakumo himself. Otherwise, even this forehead protector would have been cut through."

Hearing that conclusion, the Anbu ninja exchanged glances.

Hatake Swordsmanship was a secret technique never passed outside the Hatake Clan, much like the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique and the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Secret Technique. Since Hatake Sakumo's death, the number of people who could use it could be counted on one hand.

"...Clean this up and report it to the Hokage."

"Understood."

After reaching their decision, the Anbu ninja quickly returned to the village.

The death of a scout from an enemy village was not a major matter amid such tense circumstances. There was no need to wake Hiruzen Sarutobi in the middle of the night, so it was not until the next morning, when he arrived at the Hokage Office, that he learned what had happened the night before.

"An elite Hidden Mist Village scout died under Hatake Swordsmanship, and the battle lasted no more than a minute?"

Hearing the Anbu report, Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised for a moment.

For an elite Hidden Mist Village scout to infiltrate near Konoha, he had to be at least an elite Chunin. To kill an elite Chunin within a minute required at least a Jonin. But the problem was that Konoha should not have any Jonin capable of using Hatake Swordsmanship.

Could it have been him?

Kakashi's figure flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

His heart shook.

He had killed a Hidden Mist Village scout within a minute... When had Kakashi grown to such a level? He was not even eight yet!

Though he found it hard to believe, after thinking it over carefully, he truly could not find anyone else who met the criteria. Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help taking a breath. "Where is Kakashi? Bring him here. I have something to ask him."

"Yes."

The Anbu beside him answered and swiftly vanished.

A short while later.

Kakashi appeared outside the Hokage Office. After entering, he said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Lord Hokage, you sent for me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood and walked over to Kakashi. He looked at him with a kindly smile, admiration in his eyes. "Your training has improved greatly lately, hasn't it? I never expected that at your age, you would study Sakumo's swordsmanship to such a degree."

"?"

Kakashi froze.

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Kakashi on the shoulder. "Seeing you is like seeing Sakumo in his younger days... Don't you have anything to report to me?"

Kakashi looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in confusion. After hesitating, he said, "Lord Hokage, what are you referring to?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly surprised, then smiled again.

He had not expected the hot-blooded Kakashi to learn to conceal himself as well. It seemed he had finally matured. Perhaps before long, Kakashi would truly be able to shoulder the responsibilities of a Jonin. If he had known this, there would have been no need to have Minato teach Kakashi.

Clack!

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a hand and tossed a forehead protector toward Kakashi.

Kakashi caught it. It was a Hidden Mist Village forehead protector. Blood still stained the top, while a white line ran through the center, as though it had been slashed by some sharp blade.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had inexplicably tossed him a forehead protector, leaving Kakashi even more confused. He stood there completely bewildered as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"...Still haven't remembered?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Knowing how to conceal oneself was a good thing, but since Hiruzen Sarutobi already knew, Kakashi should now clearly report the specifics to him as Hokage.

At Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, thoughts raced through Kakashi's mind, but he truly could not remember anything related to this forehead protector. After hesitating for a long time, he finally could not help asking, "Lord Hokage, this forehead protector is...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. He had not expected Kakashi to keep hiding it even now, so he said calmly, "Explain the details of last night's battle to me."

"Last night?"

Kakashi was startled for a moment, then immediately said with a serious expression, "Lord Hokage, I was at home the entire night. I wasn't involved in any battle..."