"Kakashi, about this mission, there's something I need you to carry out in secret!"
In the Hokage's office, after Naruto and the others had left with Tazuna, Minato Namikaze kept Kakashi behind and spoke to him alone.
"Just as I thought!" Kakashi showed no surprise at Minato's words. He had already suspected that this mission wasn't simple. There was no way the Hokage himself would assign an ordinary C-rank mission. Minato's words now confirmed his suspicions.
"Minato-sensei, what's the mission?"
Kakashi nodded and asked. The person who replied wasn't Minato Namikaze, but Nara Shikaku, who stood beside him. Shikaku picked up a scroll from Minato's desk, walked around the desk to Kakashi, and handed it to him as he spoke:
"The person described in this scroll is named Gato. He's a wealthy merchant who controls every harbor in the Land of Waves."
"But he isn't an honest merchant. He's involved in human trafficking and the smuggling of banned goods, and he's responsible for quite a few deaths."
"Your mission is to eliminate him and his entire organization!"
Shikaku spoke gently, but there was no hiding the killing intent in his words.
"An assassination!" Kakashi nodded without asking why. He took the scroll from Shikaku and quickly memorized Gato's appearance and personal details. As a ninja, if his superiors told him to kill someone, he killed them. He didn't need to know why.
"Understood!"
Kakashi bowed to Minato and tucked the scroll into his vest.
"Hey, Kakashi, don't you want to know why your teacher sent you to kill this man?"
Uzumaki Kuming, who had been sitting on the sofa, spoke up. Leaning forward slightly, he watched Kakashi with curiosity.
"I'm a Konoha ninja. If I need to know, my teacher will tell me."
"If I don't need to know, then