True and False Intelligence, Borrowing a Knife to Kill

Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Kō sat down, placing their ramen on the table. Hatake Sakumo pressed his palms together and said, "I'm digging in!"

Uchiha Kō had only ever seen this in anime; it was his first time witnessing it in person, so he mimicked Hatake Sakumo's gesture.

The two began to slurp their noodles. With the very first bite, Uchiha Kō's eyes widened. The flavor was incredible, and the texture of the noodles was perfect! His eyes lit up—it was delicious!

Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo smiled slightly. "Kid, what's your name? Judging by your Uchiha attire, you must be from the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Kō stopped and swallowed his noodles. "In reply to Lord Sakumo, my name is Uchiha Kō."

Hatake Sakumo's eyes brightened. Uchiha Kō! He had heard of this man from the Hokage and his own clansmen who had participated in the war in the Land of Rain.

The evaluations were all glowing: a tactical genius, a master of winning against overwhelming odds, a natural-born talent! There was even a vague title circulating: the God of War.

"Oh? Uchiha Kō? The God of War?" Hatake Sakumo laughed.

Uchiha Kō scratched his head. "Those are just rumors spread by others; they aren't to be taken seriously."

Hatake Sakumo shook his head. "I heard that from the Hokage himself when I visited the Hokage Building earlier. Are you suggesting the Hokage is spreading rumors too?"

Uchiha Kō gasped. He hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to hold him in such high regard, though upon reflection, it made sense; he had led the Uchiha to align with Sarutobi Hiruzen on his very first night back.

After all, they were in the same boat. Building up Uchiha Kō's reputation was beneficial for the Hokage's own rule. Look, isn't the God of War impressive? Very impressive, right? And he's my man!

Still, Uchiha Kō remained humble in front of Hatake Sakumo. "Lord Sakumo, that was just luck. It was mostly thanks to Lady Tsunade; if they hadn't given me the opportunity to try, I might not have succeeded."

Listening to Uchiha Kō, Hatake Sakumo nodded inwardly. To achieve such great merit at such a young age, yet remain so humble—it seemed Uchiha Kō was a man worth befriending.

"Kō-kun, I can call you that, right?" Hatake Sakumo smiled.

Uchiha Kō nodded. "Of course."

"I've received a mission, and I'd like your advice on it," Hatake Sakumo said, his expression suddenly turning grave.

Uchiha Kō was taken aback, then glanced at the crowded surroundings. "This isn't the place to discuss such things." He went back to eating his noodles.

Hatake Sakumo understood that Uchiha Kō was willing to help analyze the situation, just not in public, so he also sped up his eating.

Once they finished, Uchiha Kō asked, "Lord Sakumo, is it convenient at your home?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Naturally." He stood up and led Uchiha Kō toward his house.

The walk took only twenty minutes. Uchiha Kō looked at Hatake Sakumo's house—a very ordinary two-story cottage.

Uchiha Kō sighed. Are all powerful figures this low-key? Thinking of the houses in the Uchiha Clan Compound, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The houses there were built quite large, but the only person of note was Uchiha Hirotomo; as for the others... it was better not to mention them.

Hatake Sakumo knocked on the door, and a woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Meiko. I've brought a guest!" When Hatake Sakumo mentioned the name Meiko, his eyes were filled with tenderness.

Click. The door opened, and a beautiful woman peeked out. She looked at her husband with joy, then noticed Uchiha Kō and composed herself.

"Please, come in!" She took out slippers, placed them at the entrance, and invited her husband and Uchiha Kō inside.

Uchiha Kō sighed. Sakumo is a lucky man to have such a virtuous wife.

However, in the anime, Kakashi didn't seem to have a mother and lived alone with his father. This meant that Lady Meiko must have met with some accident and passed away.

"Kō-kun, please come in," Hatake Sakumo said, gesturing toward the study.

Uchiha Kō nodded, put on the slippers, and entered the study. After Meiko served a pot of tea, she left the room and closed the door.

She understood that the following conversation was not for her ears; she even locked the front door so that no one could enter unexpectedly.

Uchiha Kō signaled for Hatake Sakumo to reveal the mission. Hatake Sakumo didn't hold back. "According to a secret report from our spy in Sunagakure, a family there possesses the deployment plans and strategies for their army."

"The Hokage has ordered me to set out tonight, capture that family, and extract the intelligence. If they won't talk, I am to eliminate them entirely!" After saying this, Sakumo handed over the map and the secret letter provided by the spy.

Uchiha Kō was part of the Hokage's faction, so there was no issue with this. As long as the two of them didn't speak of it, who would know?

Uchiha Kō looked at the letter and frowned. The handwriting showed signs of imitation, and in some places, it was quite sloppy.

He looked at the map. Good grief, is that the only house in Sunagakure? Why are there no other buildings on the map? Are you kidding me?

"How is it, Kō-kun? Do you see anything?" Hatake Sakumo asked, sounding a bit puzzled. He had looked at these himself and felt something was off, but since they came from the Hokage, he had tried to find excuses to justify them.

Maybe it's normal for the map to only show the target? Maybe the handwriting is shaky because they ran out of ink?

Uchiha Kō set the letter and map down. He looked up at Hatake Sakumo and chuckled. "The intelligence is fake, yet it is also real."

Hatake Sakumo was confused. What do you mean it's fake yet real? What are you talking about?

Seeing Hatake Sakumo's expression, Uchiha Kō stopped playing coy. "The intelligence is fake because the handwriting is clearly an imitation of our spy's penmanship, which is why it looks so clumsy."

"The intelligence is real because the house on the map is real, and there are people living inside."

"As for whether there is military intelligence, Lord Sakumo, if you were a commander, would you hide your military orders in your own home?" Uchiha Kō asked with a smile.

Hatake Sakumo froze. That's right. How could military intelligence be hidden in a house? It would be kept in the minds of the commanders and high-ranking officers, or kept close to the commander himself.

Hiding it at home was unrealistic. After Uchiha Kō's guidance, Hatake Sakumo finally realized what he meant by the intelligence being both fake and real.

"Then what is the other party's goal?" Hatake Sakumo asked, still puzzled. Through his god-like perspective, the letter, and the map, Uchiha Kō was certain this was a premeditated message.

The real informant was likely already dead, and this message was merely a product of a power struggle within Sunagakure. They wanted to use Konoha to kill the people in that house!

Uchiha Kō explained his hypothesis to Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Sakumo fell into a heavy silence.