Spy

Late at night, in a cave somewhere in the Land of Fire, Kakashi and Xia Yan sat upright.

After fleeing for an entire day, they had reached the town closest to Konoha.

But Xia Yan had no intention of entering. After all, they had only just stolen a "kill" from Kakuzu, an extremely vicious man whose strength had long since reached Kage Level.

They had stolen the head in the literal sense, too. Kakuzu most likely would not swallow that insult.

Even though they had run fast enough, Xia Yan felt that someone like Kakuzu, who valued money so highly, would never let them go. Pursuit was inevitable.

The only reason they had managed to steal the head was that Kakuzu had been careless. He had not taken Xia Yan or Kakashi seriously at all.

That had given the two of them a small opening, allowing them to complete the mission.

But if he actually caught up, they would probably have to face Kakuzu going all out. Xia Yan did not believe for a moment that the two of them could take him on.

They stayed out of town and erased all kinds of traces along the way, even deliberately sending Shadow Clones along roundabout routes to confuse Kakuzu.

With one of them having fought on battlefields for nearly nine years and the other having spent almost six years in the Anbu, they were both well versed in this sort of thing.

Yet Kakashi was still somewhat puzzled. He did not know why Xia Yan was being so cautious.

"Captain." Slowly stirring the instant food in his hands, Kakashi glanced at the Ninja Dog standing guard at the cave entrance and could not help asking, "Aren't we being a little too cautious?"

"We're on a break now. Just call me Xia Yan." Xia Yan stretched slightly before saying gently, "It never hurts to be careful. We aren't dealing with some ordinary opponent."

"Isn't he already dead?" Kakashi frowned. His Chidori had pierced that man's heart!

He did not believe someone whose heart had been pierced could keep living.

A ninja's defenses were actually nothing special. Even a Senbon could kill one outright if it struck a vital point.

No one was an exception, and no one could escape through luck.

"Dead?" Xia Yan shook his head gently, then continued with the same mild expression, "Kakashi, that man isn't dead."

Xia Yan paused there. Seeing Kakashi about to ask a question, he smiled and shook his head.

"Confused?

"You've only just joined the Anbu. The normal procedure should have been for you to familiarize yourself with the various intelligence files first, then gradually start taking on missions.

"I don't know whether it was the Fourth Hokage's request or the unit commander's decision, but you actually came straight out on a mission with me.

"Kakuzu is extremely dangerous. According to the intelligence records, he once faced six elite jonin, each worth over thirty million on the Black Market, and wiped them all out.

"His own heart was pierced during that operation as well, but the final result was that he collected nearly two hundred million ryo at a Black Market exchange!

"You did pierce his heart, but I really don't think someone like him would die so easily."

Xia Yan spoke slowly, and Kakashi listened attentively.

When he first mentioned the Anbu's normal procedure, Xia Yan had deliberately observed Kakashi's expression and demeanor.

Inside the cave, they had both removed their masks, though Kakashi still wore his usual face covering.

Unfortunately, Xia Yan found nothing unusual in Kakashi's eyes. He remained very calm.

Honestly, he had really hoped the kid would show some reaction.

But when he reached the latter part, Kakashi finally reacted somewhat. He seemed a little surprised by Kakuzu's strength.

He was also very surprised that the man could survive having his chest pierced.

But he also realized that if things were truly as Xia Yan said, then this bounty hunter named Kakuzu might very well still be alive!

Kakashi was no fool. He had naturally noticed that the man had not been serious during their fight and had not taken them seriously at all.

If he was still alive while Kakashi believed he had already killed him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

At that thought, Kakashi nodded slightly. "I understand, Captain. So that was why you cut off the target's head while his whole body was paralyzed, then retreated immediately?"

"Yes." Xia Yan smiled. "We did run into something unexpected, but read more intelligence reports after we get back. It'll be a great help when we carry out missions."

Intelligence was the key.

In the world of ninja, once you knew your enemy's intelligence while they knew nothing about you...

You would hold every advantage and might even catch your opponent off guard and kill them.

Besides, Xia Yan was not talking nonsense. This really was intelligence recorded in the Anbu's files.

It was just that this information was scattered among various smaller reports. Xia Yan had only dared to mention it because he was certain he had seen those reports.

He was not worried that Kakashi would fail to find them if he investigated after returning.

Watching Kakashi nod silently and say nothing more, Xia Yan kept his expression mild, but sighed inwardly.

Why don't you follow my line of thinking and really consider why you were sent straight on a mission the moment you joined, with none of the usual procedures?

But seeing that Kakashi had not thought along those lines, he could not be bothered to say much more. His deliberate guidance had only been meant as a warning.

Namely, "The Anbu's waters run deep. You might be out of your depth."

The Fourth Hokage had only just taken office and had no stable core of supporters at all. All of Konoha still remained under the Third Hokage's control.

Leaving everything else aside, the Anbu alone still obeyed the Third Hokage. Even its chief remained one of the Third Hokage's most loyal men.

This was the most sensitive period. Even though the Fourth had ample reason to send Kakashi into the Anbu, it had still touched a nerve among the Third Hokage's people.

Was he really that impatient?

Was he that eager to seize control of the Anbu?

In their eyes, Kakashi's entry into the Anbu probably had nothing to do with any other reason. It was simply a signal.

Otherwise, the unit commander would not have put him in his place the moment he joined.

Xia Yan shook his head indifferently. If Kakashi had not caught on, so be it. At most, he would give him a few friendly reminders when the time came.

Xia Yan had little interest in the power struggle between the Third and the Fourth. Even if he really had to back one of them, he would rather back the Third Hokage.

After all, that old man still had more than a decade to live, while the Fourth only had a little over a year.

But stirring up some unrest among them ahead of time would not be a bad thing for Xia Yan, either.

After all, his family was very much looking forward to the Third Hokage's downfall, and to some extent, Xia Yan was a spy himself.

As an Anbu, I spend all day eliminating spies. You never expected it, did you? I'm one too...