A gift

"That covers the details. End of report."

In a house in Konoha's civilian district, Xia Yan spoke calmly to the old man before him.

The house looked very old-fashioned, completely at odds with Konoha's current decorating trends. Simply being inside it evoked a sense of history.

It was said to have been built during the Senju Clan's heyday, and it had remained even after the clan's decline.

But Xia Yan did not like coming here at all. Everything here carried an air of decay to him.

It even felt as though the place was blindly steeped in the Senju's former glory, unwilling to emerge and face reality.

It was sad, but it also matched the reality of the old man before him.

Unfortunately, he had no choice. After every mission, he either submitted intelligence or came here to report it.

This time was the latter, and whether it concerned matters within the Anbu or the mission he had carried out, he had to report every detail.

Ultimately, he was a spy himself.

He had now recounted everything about this mission, from his encounter with Kakuzu to what he had said to Kakashi at the end.

"Well done."

After hearing Xia Yan's account, the old man seemed to sink into thought. Only after a long while did he give a solemn nod.

"You were just a little too obvious. Although there is some distance between the Fourth Hokage and the Third Hokage, he is still the student of Hiruzen Sarutobi's student.

"But I have also heard that the Fourth Hokage is having a difficult time, and the Anbu all obey Hiruzen Sarutobi completely.

"All things considered, your approach was somewhat conspicuous, but there is nothing wrong with treating it as a friendly reminder.

"Ultimately, there is little room for reason or gratitude when interests are at stake."

Xia Yan could not help nodding slightly at those words, although he did not much like this old man who dwelled on the past and constantly preached about what they should do for the Senju.

Still, he had to admit that while the old man could be quite muddleheaded at times, at others he was exceptionally clearheaded.

There was indeed little room for reason or gratitude when interests were at stake.

Minato Namikaze might still have had such feelings. He had gained his position as Hokage because Hiruzen Sarutobi had passed over Orochimaru and promoted him directly.

He could not possibly have felt no gratitude. Besides, he was completely unfamiliar with a Hokage's work, and his selection had been so rushed that he had never cultivated a team of his own.

Thus, he had neither made nor dared to make any moves, instead dutifully following the Third Hokage's arrangements.

Minato Namikaze was compliant, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's interest group might not believe that was what he intended.

An interest group never belonged to just one person. Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed its spokesman, but what he had to do was coordinate the rights and interests of all the parties within it.

He also had to secure enough benefits for his interest group to retain the support of the group as a whole.

Simply put, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi did not think Kakashi joining the Anbu was any great matter,

his interest group would not necessarily think the same. To them, this was nothing less than a signal that the Fourth Hokage wanted to reclaim authority over the Anbu.

As a result, the Anbu were still relatively unwelcoming toward Kakashi, which had led to some of what happened afterward.

"All right, that is all for today." The elder had no intention of continuing. "For now, keep a certain distance from Kakashi, but do not alienate him either. I trust you know what to do."

"Yes, Elder." Xia Yan smiled and nodded, then stood up. "Then I will take my leave."

"Go." The elder lifted his teacup and took a light sip before saying evenly, "Oh, I had someone send you a gift. Take a good look at it."

"Yes, Elder." Xia Yan smiled and nodded again, then slowly walked out.

He gently closed the door, then left without looking back. He had taken the elder's words to heart, but remembering them was all he did.

The two of them were very different. Even if their goals bore some similarities, they were not entirely the same.

Still, Xia Yan was grateful to the elder for teaching and raising him. Although Xia Yan had a cheat, he could not have made it this far without a relatively stable environment.

I should head back and think carefully about how to proceed.

Kakashi has already joined the Anbu. It's time I gave certain things some thought.

And what is this gift the elder mentioned?

"Lord Hokage, that is roughly what happened."

Inside the Hokage's office, Kakashi knelt on one knee. He had just recounted the mission he had carried out with Xia Yan.

However, he had concealed a few things in his report. Some of Xia Yan's words, for instance, he had kept to himself, and he had indeed not repeated all of them when reporting.

"Didn't I tell you to just call me teacher?"

Minato Namikaze could not help frowning at Kakashi's report, but he soon gave a warm smile.

"Never mind. I never expected you to encounter such a difficult opponent on your very first mission."

"Yes. Xia Yan said that we could not handle him." Kakashi kept his head lowered, his voice cold and detached. "But we completed the mission."

"Fukami Natsuhiko. Come to think of it, he was your classmate. Make sure you learn from him from now on," Minato said with a smile. "All right, go get some rest."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi stood up. After a moment's hesitation, he took out a scroll and handed it to Minato. "This is the detailed report on this mission. I will take my leave."

With that, Kakashi turned and left without giving Minato a chance to speak.

Minato Namikaze was somewhat puzzled. Hadn't Kakashi just given him a full account of what had happened?

Why give him a report now as well? Wasn't that redundant?

Still, Minato picked up the report without betraying anything. He had already noticed something during Kakashi's account.

According to normal Anbu procedure, shouldn't Kakashi have first familiarized himself with the intelligence, then learned a few necessary things before going on missions?

Minato had never served in the Anbu, but that did not mean he did not understand their procedures. He had learned even more since becoming Hokage.

In fact, Minato had considered the possibility that the Anbu thought Kakashi was a powerful fighter, and that sending him straight into combat would be better than having him learn the procedures.

But Kakashi's somewhat unusual behavior just now made Minato feel he needed to give it more thought-for instance, by reading the report Kakashi had given him.

With that in mind, Minato simply opened the report. As he read, however, his expression shifted slightly.

Once he had finished reading it all, he quickly closed the scroll, his expression becoming utterly inscrutable.

Only after a long while did he sigh softly. "This really is quite a gift..."