The Anbu Assessment Is Too Simple

The next morning, Youhu arrived at the Hokage Building.

"Lord Hokage! I'm here."

As Youhu was about to knock on the door to enter the Hokage Office, he saw a familiar yet strange figure at the doorway. The person was dressed in Anbu attire, wearing a fox mask to conceal their identity, and had a very conspicuous head of white hair.

Youhu recognized the person's identity in a flash; wasn't this the famous Kakashi Hatake?

Seeing a familiar plot character, Youhu quickly approached to greet him: "Hey, isn't this Jonin Kakashi? Are you here to see Lord Hokage, too?"

Hearing someone call his name, Kakashi paused, then turned his head to look at Youhu, his eyes filled with confusion.

Who is this person? How did he see through my identity so quickly?

I shouldn't be that famous, should I?

Before Kakashi could speak, the Third Hokage in the office said slowly: "Is that Youhu and Kakashi? Come in quickly, don't just stand outside."

After Youhu and Kakashi walked into the office, the Third Hokage began to introduce their identities:

"Youhu, this is Jonin Kakashi, the examiner responsible for your assessment, and also your captain after you join the Anbu."

"Kakashi, this is Youhu. You should already know about his exploits."

Kakashi nodded, looking at Youhu beside him with interest.

So he is Youhu. No wonder he was able to see through my identity at a glance.

Before coming to the Hokage Building, he had already read the files regarding Youhu. Although Youhu was only a Chunin, his ability to cause trouble was quite strong; these past two days, the village had been in an uproar because of Youhu's words.

Even the peddlers selling goods on the roadside had started discussing the gossip about the Hokage and the Uchiha Clan Head.

However, it was said that the kid's original intention was good. He had deliberately spread rumors to distract people in order to stop his clansmen from staging a coup, which could be considered saving the village from a crisis of civil unrest.

Youhu noticed Kakashi's gaze and began calculating whether he could use Kakashi to obtain Deception Points.

This guy Kakashi had quite a few interesting experiences. As long as he could slightly alter things to make him believe his lies, he should be able to harvest a good amount of Deception Points, and he could even continue to reveal some "Konoha scandals" along the way.

For example, the inside story behind the death of the White Fang, or the power struggles within Konoha.

Pulling back his wandering thoughts, Youhu took the initiative to extend his right hand:

"So Jonin Kakashi is my future captain. I have long heard of Jonin Kakashi's glorious deeds. Please take care of me in the future."

What glorious deeds do I have...

Compared to glorious deeds, Kakashi preferred to view those events as tragedies. Every time he performed a service for the village, he always ended up losing someone important.

By now, he could hardly find a few friends left with whom he could truly open up.

Thinking of this, Kakashi suddenly felt that life was hopeless. He said listlessly, "As for looking after you, wait until you pass the assessment. I am not your captain yet."

"Third Lord, if there is nothing else, I will take him out for the assessment now."

The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling that the two could leave. He was busy with work and did not have much time to chat with his subordinates. Being able to spare the time to see Youhu yesterday was only because the rumors had spread so wildly.

After the debunking yesterday, it seemed to have spread even more intensely.

However, he had also taken the opportunity to chat with Fugaku last night. Coupled with the relaxation of restrictions on the Uchiha joining the Anbu, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha should be able to ease significantly.

Several minutes later.

Kakashi brought Youhu to the Anbu Training Ground.

Before carrying out the assessment, Kakashi removed his mask and asked Youhu about the doubt in his heart: "Youhu, how did you recognize me at a glance? We have clearly never met before."

"In the village, there is only one ninja with white hair and a Sharingan, and that is you, Captain Kakashi."

Youhu pointed to Kakashi's hair, then pointed to the left eye covered by Kakashi's headband and mask. "Besides, Captain Kakashi, you are very famous. Actually, it makes no difference whether you wear a mask or not."

"..."

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

Kakashi was speechless, feeling that what Youhu said made a lot of sense.

Given his fame, it made little difference whether he wore a mask while executing missions abroad, but he still followed the rules of the Anbu. He just hadn't expected Youhu to be able to identify him at a glance.

"I think so too."

As Youhu picked up the training ninja tools on the ground, he said:

"It's a pity I couldn't bring the Hokage and the Clan Head together. Otherwise, the conflict between the Hokage and the Uchiha might have been resolved in our generation."

"So you were spreading rumors for the sake of the village?"

Kakashi found Youhu's way of speaking quite interesting; it reminded him of an old Uchiha acquaintance.

Youhu picked up a kunai and aimed at a distant target. After hitting the bullseye, he continued:

"What else? I don't want the clan and the village to fight. Rather than wasting time on internal strife, it would be better to fight another Ninja World War to consume that energy. At least after sacrificing, everyone is a hero."

"Your way of thinking is too extreme. The Ninja World War is very cruel..."

Kakashi was just about to talk to Youhu about the cruelty of the Ninja World War when he suddenly realized he had been led along by Youhu's pace. He was here to evaluate Youhu's abilities, not to chat with him.

Thinking of this, Kakashi kept a straight face and said, "Youhu, get ready. The assessment is about to begin..."

Youhu put down the kunai in his hand and said with an excited expression, "Captain Kakashi, is the assessment content the Bell Test, or is it to kill a comrade? Like how the Aburame Clan raises their insects?"

"..."

Even though Kakashi was already a veteran Anbu, encountering a weirdo like Youhu still managed to break his composure.

"Youhu, let's not even talk about my assessment content for a moment. How can you put the Bell Test and killing a comrade in the same category? These two things are completely incomparable. And how do you even know about these assessments?"

Youhu scratched his head and said:

"Isn't the Bell Test a tradition of the Hokage Faction? I remember when a clan brother of mine became a disciple of the Fourth Hokage, he went through a Bell Test assessment."

"The 'killing a comrade' part was something I made up. I've heard that the Anbu has assessments involving mutual slaughter, so I assumed this time would be the same."

"Don't go believing rumors from the outside so easily in the future. Since when is the Anbu assessment that cruel?"

Kakashi was left completely speechless. This guy, Youhu, gave him a feeling of being transported back to the past. When he used to be on a team with Obito, Obito was just as thick-headed, annoying him to no end.

However, the kid wasn't wrong about everything. Within the Root, the training branch of the Anbu, there were indeed cruel, Gu-raising-like assessments used to cultivate a batch of ninja tools that only obeyed Danzo.

He and Yamato had nearly died at Danzo's hands.

Suppressing the wild, weed-like distractions growing in his mind, Kakashi led Youhu to the center of the training ground. He took out the kunai he carried with him, and his gaze instantly turned sharp.

"Becoming my subordinate is simple. As long as you can last three minutes against me, you will pass the assessment."

"I only need to last three minutes?"

Youhu was slightly startled. He hadn't expected the Anbu assessment to be this simple; he had assumed there would be written exams or something similar, but it turned out to be a simple test of strength.

Thinking of this, Youhu chuckled and asked in return:

"What if I manage to defeat Captain Kakashi?"