Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Xiao sat down, setting their bowls of ramen on the table. Hatake Sakumo pressed his hands together and said, "Let's eat!"
Uchiha Xiao had only seen this in anime. He'd never done it so formally before, so he imitated Hatake Sakumo.
Then the two of them started slurping their noodles. The moment Uchiha Xiao took his first bite, his eyes widened. This flavor was incredible! And the texture of the noodles! His eyes lit up. So good!
Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo smiled faintly. "Kid, what's your name? Judging by how you're dressed, you must be from the Uchiha Clan."
Uchiha Xiao paused and swallowed. "Uchiha Xiao, sir."
Hatake Sakumo's eyes brightened. Uchiha Xiao! He'd heard about him from the Hokage and from members of his own clan who'd fought in the Land of Rain.
The praise had been lavish: a brilliant strategist, able to turn the odds in his favor, a rare genius! Some even called him the God of War.
"Oh? Uchiha Xiao? The God of War?" Hatake Sakumo said with a smile.
Uchiha Xiao scratched his head. "That's just people making things up. You can't take it seriously."
Hatake Sakumo shook his head. "The Hokage told me that himself when I went to see him at the Hokage Building. Are you saying the Hokage made it up, too?"
Uchiha Xiao drew in a sharp breath. He hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to think so highly of him. But when he remembered how he'd thrown the Uchiha Clan's support behind Sarutobi Hiruzen on the very first night after returning, it didn't seem so surprising.
After all, they were in the same boat. Building Uchiha Xiao's reputation would also help secure Hiruzen's rule. Look, the God of War is incredible, right? And he's on my side!
Even so, Uchiha Xiao remained humble in front of Hatake Sakumo. "Sir, I was just lucky. Most of the credit goes to Lady Tsunade. If they hadn't given me the chance to try, we might not have succeeded."
Listening to Uchiha Xiao, Hatake Sakumo nodded to himself. At such a young age, he'd accomplished so much and still remained humble. It seemed Uchiha Xiao was someone worth getting to know.
"Xiao, may I call you that?" Hatake Sakumo asked with a smile.
Uchiha Xiao nodded. "Of course."
"I've received a mission, and I'd like your help thinking it through." Hatake Sakumo's expression suddenly turned grave.
Uchiha Xiao was taken aback. He glanced at the people nearby. "This isn't the place to discuss that." Then he went back to eating.
Hatake Sakumo understood. Uchiha Xiao was willing to help him analyze the situation; they were simply in the wrong place. So he hurried to finish his meal, too.
When they were done, Uchiha Xiao asked, "Sir, would it be convenient to talk at your home?"
"Of course." Hatake Sakumo stood and led Uchiha Xiao to his home.
It took them only twenty minutes to get there. Uchiha Xiao glanced at Hatake Sakumo's house. It was an ordinary, two-story building.
Uchiha Xiao couldn't help wondering if capable people were all this low-key. Thinking of the houses in the Uchiha Clan Compound, he shook his head.
The houses there were quite grand, but for now, Uchiha Hirotomo was the only one who stood out as a strong fighter. The others... best not to mention them.
Hatake Sakumo knocked on the door. A woman's voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Meiko. I've brought a guest home!" Hatake Sakumo's eyes softened with affection as he said her name.
Click. The door opened, and a beautiful woman leaned out. She first looked at her husband, delight lighting her eyes, then noticed Uchiha Xiao and composed herself.
"Come on in!" She brought out slippers and set them by the door, then ushered her husband and Uchiha Xiao inside.
Uchiha Xiao thought that Sakumo was lucky to have such a considerate wife.
But in the anime, Kakashi seemed to have no mother and had lived with his father alone. That meant Mrs. Meiko must have met with some kind of accident and died.
"Xiao, please come in." Hatake Sakumo smiled and gestured toward the study.
Uchiha Xiao nodded, put on the slippers, and went into the study. After Meiko brewed a pot of tea, she left and closed the door.
She understood that the conversation to come wasn't something she should hear. She even locked the front door, so that anyone who came by wouldn't be able to get inside right away.
Uchiha Xiao motioned for Hatake Sakumo to explain the mission. Hatake Sakumo didn't hide anything. "According to a report from our spy in Sunagakure, a family there knows the deployment and strategy of the army."
"The Hokage ordered me to leave tonight, capture that family, and get the information from them. If they won't talk, I'm authorized to wipe them out." After speaking, Sakumo handed over the map and sealed letter the spy had sent back.
Uchiha Xiao was on the Hokage's side, so there was nothing wrong with this. Who would know, as long as the two of them kept quiet?
Uchiha Xiao examined the letter and frowned. The handwriting looked like an imitation, and some parts were poorly written.
Then he looked at the map. Seriously, was there only one house in all of Sunagakure? Why wasn't there a map of any other houses? Was this a joke?
"What do you think, Xiao? Have you noticed anything?" Hatake Sakumo asked, puzzled. He'd looked everything over, too, and something felt off. But the Hokage had given it to him, so he could only try to explain away the problems.
For instance, wasn't it normal for the map to show only the target? And if the handwriting was clumsy, maybe the spy had run out of ink?
Uchiha Xiao put down the letter and map, then looked up at Hatake Sakumo and chuckled. "The intelligence is both false and true."
Hatake Sakumo looked confused. How could it be false and true? What was Uchiha Xiao talking about?
Seeing his expression, Uchiha Xiao stopped teasing him. "The intelligence is false because the handwriting was clearly altered to imitate our spy's. That's why it's so awkward."
"But it's also true because the house shown on the map really exists, and someone lives there."
"As for whether they have information about the army, Sir, if you were a commander leading troops, would you hide military orders at home?" Uchiha Xiao said with a smile.
Hatake Sakumo froze. Right. Why would military intelligence be hidden at home? Commanders and senior officers would memorize it or keep it with the commander.
Hiding it at home didn't make sense. With Uchiha Xiao pointing it out, Hatake Sakumo finally understood what he meant by the intelligence being both true and false.
"Then what's their real aim?" Hatake Sakumo asked, baffled. From his broader perspective, the letter, and the map, Uchiha Xiao had largely concluded that this was a deliberate attempt to pass along misleading information.
The real informant might already be dead. The message they'd received was probably the result of a power struggle within Sunagakure, and they planned to use Konoha to kill the people in that house!
Uchiha Xiao explained his theory to Hatake Sakumo, who fell silent.