"Damn."
Kakashi looked at the forest in the distance, destroyed by Wood Release, and thought, This is bad.
He had just pushed himself to the limit to catch up, and had finally subdued that Root jōnin.
Am I still too late?
The devastation left behind by Wood Release was everywhere.
If something had happened to Yatsuhashi...
Kakashi's gaze sharpened, and the lightning in his hand crackled louder.
He would never let anyone kill his comrade.
"If that really happened, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Kakashi stopped holding back, ready to make the Wood Release-wielding Root ninja pay for the blood debt—
and avenge his teammate, Uchiha Yatsuhashi.
But when he charged into the center of the ruins, killing intent radiating from him, he saw a scene completely different from what he had expected.
Two figures stood amid the ruins.
One was Yukimi, the Iburi girl, cowering nervously with her shoulders hunched.
The other was a boy in an Anbu uniform, head lowered as he examined the corpse on the ground.
Wasn't that Yatsuhashi?
Kakashi froze for a second.
Then relief washed over him, and the lightning in his palm quietly faded.
"Captain Kakashi."
Yatsuhashi raised his head, his expression unreadable.
"Yatsuhashi, are you all right?"
Kakashi landed beside him and quickly surveyed the area.
"What happened to that Root ninja who used Wood Release?"
"He left after destroying the laboratory."
Yatsuhashi answered calmly, deliberately glossing over the details. "What should we do about Sano Yuji?"
Kakashi nodded without pressing him.
After all, everyone had their own secrets.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Kakashi quickly pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch.
He unrolled it, formed Hand Seals, and sealed Sano Yuji's body inside.
It was proof that he had completed the mission, and an explanation for the Fourth Hokage.
"Take Yukimi back to the village first. As for that Root ninja who used Wood Release, we'll report him to Lord Hokage before deciding what to do."
Yukimi stayed close behind Yatsuhashi. The three of them wasted no more time and raced toward Konoha.
Meanwhile, after Uchiha Yatsuhashi made a convincing case, Tenzō voluntarily withdrew from Danzo's Root.
In the end, he chose to return to the cave to prevent Danzo from sending Root operatives to silence Gota and the other Iburi Clan members.
After all, compared to Danzo's empty promises, Uchiha Yatsuhashi—who had once cured their clan's affliction—was clearly far more trustworthy.
The sun sank in the west, stretching the three figures' shadows long.
Kakashi looked at the two walking side by side ahead of him, his thoughts churning.
If Yatsuhashi hadn't stepped forward and shielded him at the crucial moment,
he wouldn't have completed this mission so quickly.
"Get some rest when we return to the village."
Kakashi spoke softly. "You did very well on this mission."
The atmosphere in the Hokage Office was grim.
Although all three had returned,
they had lost an Anbu member.
It was no easy matter for the village to train a ninja,
let alone an elite Anbu operative.
The cost had been too high.
Minato Namikaze sat behind his desk, listening quietly to Kakashi's report.
When he heard that "Sano Yuji was a spy planted in the Anbu by Danzo,"
the furrow in Minato's brow eased slightly, but the coldness in his eyes remained.
"Sano Yuji..."
Minato murmured the name, then quickly signed the document.
"Give him a proper burial, in keeping with the honors due to an Anbu ninja who died in the line of duty."
Kakashi paused, then nodded. "Yes, Lord Hokage."
Though he now knew the man had been a spy planted in the Anbu by Danzo, Minato Namikaze still granted him the dignity of a proper burial as Hokage.
However, when he heard that "Danzo is still secretly carrying out the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project,"
shock flashed in his eyes. "Hadn't the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project failed long ago?"
"The records in the archive scrolls are perfectly clear. All the test subjects..."
"Lord Hokage, it didn't fail."
A calm voice cut in.
"I was one of the people involved at the time. The Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project didn't fail.
At least in the batches I was part of, quite a few people survived."
Minato and Kakashi both turned toward Uchiha Yatsuhashi, who stood in the corner.
He still wore the Eagle Mask, but the certainty in his voice sent a chill through them.
Minato's pupils contracted. Even Kakashi's usually half-lidded eyes widened.
A deathly silence fell over the office.
"So that's why..."
He finally understood.
After Orochimaru defected, why had Danzo been so eager to send Yatsuhashi and the others on a suicide mission to the Land of Water?
It hadn't been to eliminate Orochimaru's remnants. It had been to silence them.
Once everyone connected to the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project was dead,
the secret of its success would be buried with them.
Danzo could then continue experimenting on the children he had abducted, and even pin all the evidence on the defected Orochimaru.
If Yatsuhashi hadn't miraculously survived, the village would still be in the dark.
Minato closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, only icy killing intent remained.
"If you hadn't stopped him in time, Danzo would have pinned all the evidence on Orochimaru to cover up the truth."
Minato looked at Yukimi, standing beside Yatsuhashi.
The little girl representing the Iburi Clan stood there timidly.
"Yukimi." Minato's voice softened.
"By the authority of the Fourth Hokage, I pardon you and your people. You no longer need to serve Danzo. Under Konoha's protection, you can live like ordinary people."
Yukimi looked up sharply, her big eyes instantly filling with tears.
She dropped to her knees with a thump. "Thank you, Lord Hokage! Thank you, Brother Yatsuhashi!"
Her voice was almost choked with sobs.
Although Minato had explained that the village's resources couldn't be used to support clans from outside the village,
just the word "pardon"
meant that the Iburi Clan could finally leave their dark cave and live openly beneath the sun!
After Yukimi left with Yatsuhashi to be settled in, only the two former teacher and student remained in the office.
Minato looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, what do you think of Yatsuhashi?"
Kakashi scratched his silver hair, unusually setting aside his customary air of laziness.
"Sensei, he's a capable Anbu, and in the Iburi Clan incident, he also prevented a large-scale bloodshed."
He paused, then added, "At least for now, he poses no threat to the village.
On the contrary, he has a lot of humanity in him. He isn't the sort to kill indiscriminately."
Minato nodded, agreeing with Kakashi's assessment.
"Relations between the village and the Uchiha Clan still haven't fully thawed.
We need more Uchiha like Yatsuhashi to ease the tension between us.
I'm entrusting you with the task of guiding him, Kakashi."
Perhaps he was thinking of Uchiha Obito. Kakashi's gaze dimmed for a moment.
But then he smiled. "Understood, Sensei."
Minato slowly walked to the window and looked down over bustling Konoha.
The sunset's glow fell across his golden hair, but it did nothing to dispel the gloom in his eyes.
"Every child in the Land of Fire is the village's future."
His voice was quiet, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
"Danzo is using children for experiments. That is the greatest violation of my office as Hokage."
Minato turned around. "Kakashi, notify every available Anbu captain. Tell them to come see me at once."
Kakashi's pupils contracted. "Sensei, are you going to..."
"I will not allow anyone to conduct such inhumane experiments on children right under my nose!"
Minato's voice echoed through the empty office.
"It's time to deal with Danzo and his Root."
Before you continue