"Yo, Kazuhiko-sensei, welcome home!"
After receiving Madara Uchiha's letter, the Daimyo swiftly disbanded the ninja guard unit protecting him. After all, word that the Daimyo had paid to hunt ninja had already spread across the nations, and he no longer felt safe keeping Kazuhiko and the others at his side.
After several years away, Kazuhiko returned to Konoha, where Hayato Hyuga and Madara Uchiha waited for him at the village gates.
Over the years, Hayato and Madara had both grown much taller, and Madara now wore the Hokage's robes. Kazuhiko looked them over carefully and smiled, full of emotion. At the same time, he felt fortunate that he had backed them all those years ago.
"Kazuhiko, now that you're back, you'll serve as captain of the Hokage Office's Guard Unit."
Over the past several years, Kazuhiko had passed Madara a great deal of classified information about the Land of Fire's upper ranks, greatly aiding his infiltration of the country. Now that Kazuhiko had returned home in triumph, Madara would naturally honor his promise.
Kazuhiko no longer wanted to live with his life constantly on the line, so Madara had arranged the safest possible position for him.
"Kazuhiko-sensei, I recommended making you captain of my squad, with me as your deputy, but Itachi insisted you were smart and wanted to keep you at his side. Let me tell you, the Hokage Office's Guard Unit doesn't have any members! Calling you its captain is just a trick!"
Standing beside Madara, Hayato began rambling as soon as Madara finished speaking. Clearly, he was quite unhappy with the arrangement Madara had made for Kazuhiko.
Just as he had years ago, Kazuhiko patted Hayato's head with a touch of fond indulgence. The boy was still so innocent after all these years. Madara must have protected