The Anbu Assessment Was Far Too Easy

The next morning, Youhu arrived at the Hokage Building.

"Lord Hokage! I'm here."

As Youhu was about to knock and enter the Hokage Office, he spotted a familiar yet unfamiliar figure by the door. The man was dressed as Anbu, wearing a Fox Mask to conceal his identity, and had an unmistakable head of white hair.

Youhu recognized him at a glance with the Body Flicker Technique. Wasn't this the famous Kakashi Hatake?

Seeing a familiar Plot Character, Youhu hurried over to greet him. "Hey, aren't you Jonin Kakashi? Are you here to see Lord Hokage too?"

Hearing someone call his name, Kakashi froze for a moment, then turned to look at Youhu, his eyes full of confusion.

Who was this guy? How had he seen through his identity so quickly?

He couldn't be that famous, could he?

Before Kakashi could speak, the Third Hokage called from inside the office, "Is that Youhu and Kakashi? Come in, you two. Don't stand around outside."

After Youhu and Kakashi entered the office, the Third Hokage introduced them.

"Youhu, this is Jonin Kakashi. He'll be your Examiner, and your team captain once you join Anbu."

"Kakashi, this is Youhu. You've probably already heard about him."

Kakashi nodded and glanced at Youhu beside him with interest.

So this was Youhu. No wonder he'd recognized him at a glance.

Before coming to the Hokage Building, Kakashi had already read Youhu's file. Youhu was only a Chunin, but he had a remarkable talent for causing trouble. His remarks over the past two days had set the whole village buzzing.

Even the street vendors selling things by the roadside had started gossiping about the Hokage and the Uchiha Clan Head.

Still, apparently the kid's Original Intention had been good. He'd spread rumors to divert attention and stop his clan from staging a coup, helping the village avoid a Civil War.

Noticing Kakashi's gaze, Youhu wondered if he could use him to earn some Deception Points.

Kakashi had plenty of interesting stories. With a few tweaks to make him believe a lie, Youhu could probably earn a lot of Deception Points—and maybe reveal some more "Konoha Scandalous Information" along the way.

For instance, the truth behind White Fang's death, or the Power Struggle within Konoha.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Youhu reached out his right hand first.

"So you're going to be my captain, Jonin Kakashi. I've heard all about your glorious achievements. I look forward to working with you."

What glorious achievements did he have?

Kakashi would rather think of those events as tragedies. Every time he earned the village's praise, he lost someone important.

By now, there were hardly any friends left around him with whom he could speak openly.

Thinking of this, Kakashi felt that life was hopeless. He listlessly replied, "We'll talk about looking out for you after you pass the assessment. I'm not your captain yet."

"Lord Third, if there's nothing else, I'll take him out for the assessment."

The Third Hokage waved them off, giving them permission to leave. He was busy and didn't have much time to chat with his subordinates. He'd only made time to see Youhu yesterday because the rumors had spread so widely.

After he'd denied them yesterday, they seemed to spread even faster.

Still, he'd also taken the opportunity to talk with Fugaku last night. And now that he'd eased the restrictions on Uchiha joining Anbu, the tension between the village and the Uchiha should ease considerably.

A few minutes later.

Kakashi brought Youhu to the Anbu Training Ground.

Before beginning the assessment, Kakashi removed his mask and asked the question that had been bothering him. "Youhu, how did you recognize me at a glance? We've never even met before."

"In the village, you're the only Ninja with white hair and a Sharingan, Captain Kakashi."

Youhu pointed at Kakashi's hair, then at his left eye, hidden behind his Forehead Protector and mask. "Besides, Captain Kakashi, you're very famous. Wearing a mask doesn't really make any difference."

"..."

"You have a point."

Kakashi was at a loss for words. Youhu did have a point.

Given his reputation, wearing a mask or not made little difference when he was out on missions. But Anbu had rules, and he followed them. He just hadn't expected Youhu to identify him at a glance.

"I think so too."

As Youhu picked up the training tools scattered across the ground, he continued, "It's a shame I couldn't bring Lord Hokage and the Clan Head together. If I had, maybe the conflict between the Hokage and the Uchiha could've been resolved in our generation."

"So you spread those rumors for the good of the village?"

Kakashi found Youhu's way of speaking amusing. It reminded him of an old Uchiha friend.

Youhu picked up a Kunai and aimed at a distant target. After hitting the bull's-eye, he continued, "What else? I don't want my clan and the village fighting each other. Rather than waste time on infighting, we might as well fight another Ninja World War and let off some steam. At least then, those who die will all be Heroes."

"That's an awfully extreme way to think. The Ninja World War was brutal..."

Kakashi was about to tell Youhu just how brutal the Ninja World War had been when he realized Youhu had already led him off track. He was here to assess Youhu's abilities, not to make conversation.

With that in mind, Kakashi put on a stern face. "Youhu, get ready. The assessment is about to begin..."

Youhu lowered the Kunai in his hand and said excitedly, "Captain Kakashi, is the assessment a Bell Test or killing your teammates? Like how the Aburame Clan raises bugs?"

"..."

Even though Kakashi was already a jaded old hand in Anbu, someone like Youhu still managed to rattle him.

"Youhu, putting aside what my assessment involves, why would you put a Bell Test and killing your teammates in the same category? Those two things are nothing alike. And where did you hear about these assessments?"

Youhu scratched his head. "Isn't the Bell Test a tradition of the Hokage Faction? I remember one of my clansmen went through a Bell Test when he became the Fourth Hokage's student."

"I made up the part about killing teammates. I heard Anbu had an assessment where they made people kill each other, so I thought this one might be the same."

"Don't believe every rumor you hear. Anbu assessments aren't that brutal."

Kakashi was completely speechless. Youhu had a way of taking him back to the past. When he'd been on a team with Obito, Obito had been just as scatterbrained and had driven him up the wall.

Still, the kid wasn't entirely wrong. The Root Ninja Training Class really did have brutal, survival-of-the-fittest assessments, producing a batch of Ninja tools who followed only Danzo's orders.

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

Suppressing the distracting thoughts sprouting like weeds, Kakashi led Youhu to the center of the training ground. He took out a Kunai, his gaze suddenly turning sharp.

"Becoming my subordinate is simple. Just last three minutes against me, and you'll pass."

"I only have to last three minutes?"

Youhu was taken aback. He hadn't expected the Anbu assessment to be so easy. He'd thought there would be written tests or something, but all they had to do was test his strength.

At that thought, Youhu asked with a faint smile, "What if I beat you, Captain Kakashi?"