Failure was the main theme (Part one)

"What happened?"

In an underground laboratory in Konoha's dense forest, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

He looked to be in his forties or fifties, wore a black robe, and held a cane. His right eye was wrapped in bandages.

An icy aura radiated from his entire body, and his imposing bearing inspired fear even without anger. He was Shimura Danzō!

"My lord." Aburame Ryoma immediately dropped to one knee upon seeing Danzo, bowing his head low. "Two Anbu were passing by, and our people overreacted, drawing their attention."

"Anbu?" Danzo frowned. "Returning this late? Have you found out who they were?"

"Yes, my lord." Aburame Ryoma nodded and said respectfully, "Fukami Natsuhiko and Kakashi Hatake. They had just returned from the border after capturing Yashamaru of the Sunagakure Anbu."

Had Kakashi heard Aburame Ryoma's words, he would certainly have shown some surprise.

So little time had passed, yet this man had already worked out who they were, what mission they had been carrying out, and even what they had accomplished!

But had Xia Yan been here, he probably would not have been surprised at all.

Danzo had another reason for working with Orochimaru and hoping to see him become Hokage: rebuilding Root, which Nagato had nearly destroyed.

At the same time, he needed to step into the public eye little by little, so that he would no longer be the root hidden underground.

His target was therefore the Anbu. He needed to become its commander, or at the very least, its de facto leader.

As such, he had infiltrated the Anbu extensively, and his grasp of its internal intelligence was by no means weak.

Xia Yan and the others' mission might have seemed classified, but to Danzo, it was merely an ordinary mission whose files he could browse at will.

"Fukami Natsuhiko, Kakashi Hatake?"

Danzo fell silent upon hearing those two names. There was naturally no way he would not know them.

It was precisely because he knew them that he fell silent. Those two were somewhat troublesome.

"So it was those two." Still, that trouble was not particularly significant to Danzo. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, "I see. Both are talented. How did they behave afterward?"

"Fukami Natsuhiko is very clever. He knows about us, and he knows what he should and shouldn't say," Aburame Ryoma said quietly. "However, because of Kakashi Hatake, he stated that he would report this to the Hokage. My lord..."

"Enough, I understand." Shimura Danzō nodded and said evenly, "Reporting to the Hokage is part of his duties. It is nothing significant. Did you follow them afterward?"

"Yes, my lord." Aburame Ryoma nodded. "Kakashi Hatake wanted to ask about it, but Fukami Natsuhiko said nothing."

Hearing this, Danzo felt that was enough. Clearly, that Xia Yan knew his place.

As for reporting to the Hokage, Danzo paid it no mind whatsoever, even though he could tell that Xia Yan had not specified whom he meant by "the Hokage."

It could mean the current Fourth Hokage, or naturally, the Third Hokage, who actually controlled the Anbu. Either way, it did not matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew what he was doing, and even tacitly approved of it!

As for Minato Namikaze, what right did that brat have to investigate him?

"This matter ends here, but have someone keep watch afterward," Danzo said indifferently. "Also, you will administer the punishments those people deserve for tonight. They were utterly inadequate."

"Understood, Lord Danzo," Aburame Ryoma immediately replied firmly. "I will make certain they understand how a Root ninja should conduct himself."

After leaving the forest, Xia Yan and Kakashi silently made their way to the Heroes' Cemetery.

Perhaps because it was late at night, the Heroes' Cemetery was especially quiet. Only the sound of branches swaying in the wind continually broke the silence.

With Kakashi leading the way, the two soon reached a corner of the cemetery, where two gravestones stood side by side.

One belonged to Rin Nohara, and the other to Obito Uchiha.

This was not Xia Yan's first visit. To maintain his persona, he had come here with Might Guy and the others on his days off.

But between the war, his Anbu missions, and his own rather tenuous feelings toward these classmates, he could count his visits here on one hand.

This was his first time paying his respects at Rin Nohara's and Obito Uchiha's graves.

The two stood quietly before the gravestones, seemingly having lost all desire to speak for the moment.

Kakashi was completely immersed in his emotions, while Xia Yan's gaze rested entirely on the two graves.

He knew that Rin Nohara's grave might still contain her remains, but Obito's was definitely empty, because that fellow was still very much alive.

With a soft sigh, Xia Yan turned his gaze toward Kakashi. Though Kakashi still wore his mask, Xia Yan could tell that he was far from calm inside.

Suddenly, Xia Yan remembered the question Kakashi had once asked him. Although the answer he had given back then was complete, it had not been perfect.

The trouble was how to bring up the subject.

Was he supposed to simply tell Kakashi that he had actually done well, and done a great job?

Kakashi was trapped in his own thinking, and perhaps a direct approach from Xia Yan would yield very good results.

But Xia Yan felt that this was really a gamble. If it failed, all his previous efforts to build a relationship with Kakashi would be in serious trouble.

Being sent back to square one would be the better outcome. If things went straight into the negatives, that would be awful.

"Captain..."

Yet just as Xia Yan was considering giving Kakashi some words of advice, Kakashi suddenly spoke on his own.

"Do you really think I'm someone worth envying?"

"Hm?" Xia Yan gave Kakashi a puzzled look. That question was rather strange.

"I'm sorry, Captain. Maybe I still can't fully understand what you mean, even though..."

Kakashi opened his mouth, but could not finish what he was saying. Only after a long while did he let out a soft sigh.

"Captain, am I a failure? I killed the person most important to me with my own hands.

"Even though you comforted me by saying I wasn't to blame, that I hadn't even done anything wrong.

"I still feel like a complete and utter failure.

"I let everyone down. I betrayed Obito's trust in me. I..."

"Enough, Kakashi."

This time, Xia Yan interrupted before Kakashi could finish.

Clearly, Kakashi was struggling fiercely inside. He still seemed unable to accept and recognize certain things.

No matter how cold a facade he put on, the despair and repression within him could not be faked.

Still, this also showed that Kakashi had not yet become frighteningly cold. It likewise suggested that he seemed to be starting to trust Xia Yan.

At that thought, Xia Yan patted Kakashi on the shoulder, then said meaningfully,

"Actually, do you know something? In life, success is always only temporary, because...

"Failure is the main theme."