In truth, Natsuhiko himself understood that whether or not he dragged the Senju clan into things, they had already been drawn onto the chessboard long ago.
His identity alone had already determined many things.
That was something even he couldn't change.
Still, he had neither the mood nor the intention to inform the Senju clan.
To be frank, his voice within the clan did not carry much weight at present.
Among the younger generation, he was fairly outstanding.
But as an ANBU member, he had very little interaction with others of his generation within the clan.
As for the middle-aged and older generations, whether in terms of age or demonstrated ability, he simply wasn't someone they would take too seriously.
Of course, part of that was because Natsuhiko had deliberately concealed certain crucial things.
For example, he had never revealed Sage Mode to anyone.
Sage Mode was absolutely his most important trump card.
Unless there was a special reason, he would never disclose it—unless he decided it was necessary.
"For now, I'll leave things as they are. Once I obtain what I want, I'll have time to deal with clan matters slowly."
After a good night's rest, Natsuhiko reported to the ANBU headquarters early the next morning.
To his surprise, Kakashi was already there, sitting quietly in a corner.
"Morning, Kakashi."
Natsuhiko walked over with a smile and greeted him.
"How were the past three days?"
"They were alright. I'm just… not quite used to it yet."
Kakashi looked up and spoke softly.
"It feels like everyone's… very enthusiastic."
During his three-day break, Kakashi had tentatively tried to reconnect with his old friends.
In fact, he hadn't even needed to seek them out—Guy and the others had come to him.
After such a long period of emotional numbness, Kakashi was trying to reconnect with them and experience that warmth again.
However, after having nearly lost all hope for so long, even though Natsuhiko had talked some sense into him—and even though he had thought through many things—
That cold detachment wasn't something that could be cast off overnight.
He was doing his best to adapt, but it still felt unfamiliar.
Natsuhiko could roughly guess what Kakashi was thinking.
Smiling, he patted his shoulder.
"It's fine. Take it slow. You've already taken the most important step."
"Mm. I understand."
Kakashi nodded and didn't elaborate further.
But Natsuhiko could tell that Kakashi was, in fact, enjoying those moments from before.
Even the coldest person yearns for sunlight.
Even the most emotionally frozen heart still contains warmth.
Warm sunlight will eventually melt even the hardest ice.
Just look at Kakashi in the future.
Though he would clearly live carrying Obito's shadow, he would still change, wouldn't he?
However, Kakashi's expression suddenly turned strange.
He looked at Natsuhiko, opened his mouth slightly, but seemed unsure how to speak.
During these three days off, Kakashi had learned some interesting things from Guy—especially regarding that Uchiha girl from before.
Natsuhiko had said she was simply their former classmate.
Nothing more.
But through Guy, Kakashi discovered something intriguing.
After Natsuhiko left the Academy, that girl seemed to pay quite a bit of attention to him.
Even though she hadn't seen Natsuhiko since, she knew he was close to Guy and had apparently asked about him more than once.
That kind of attention…
Didn't seem so simple.
Fortunately, Kakashi knew Guy didn't actually understand Natsuhiko's real situation.
Otherwise, he might have started considering the possibility of espionage.
"What's wrong?"
Natsuhiko noticed Kakashi's gaze and asked curiously,
"That look in your eyes is a little strange."
"Nothing," Kakashi hesitated for a moment before deciding it was better not to say anything unnecessary. "I was just wondering… did you see sensei during these three days?"
"I did. The Hokage treated me very well."
The moment the topic shifted to his successful three days, Natsuhiko's expression became a little subtle.
"I learned quite a lot."
"That's good… that's good."
Kakashi gave an awkward chuckle and didn't continue.
The moment that topic came up, Natsuhiko couldn't help but think about his chakra reserves—which had already been strained and were now even worse.
Meanwhile, Kakashi felt too embarrassed to pry further into such matters.
And so, the two of them fell into silence.
Fortunately, it didn't last long.
Their commander suddenly walked into the lounge, prompting everyone to stand up immediately.
Respecting one's superiors was a basic quality of a shinobi.
And since shinobi operated within a military-style system, hierarchy was taken even more seriously.
The commander swept his gaze across everyone present before finally fixing his eyes on Natsuhiko and Kakashi.
"Nightingale. White Fang. You two, come with me."
"Yes, sir."
Natsuhiko and Kakashi followed at once, though they couldn't help exchanging a glance.
They both had the same thought—
Their peaceful days were probably over.
When the commander called them out alone like this, it usually meant a troublesome mission.
Natsuhiko didn't reject missions.
But his current situation was somewhat awkward.
He had been considering lying low for the month—keeping a low profile and avoiding drawing attention.
Yet on his very first day back, he was already being assigned a mission.
"Come in." Reaching an office door, the commander spoke briefly before entering first.
"Yes." Natsuhiko and Kakashi quickly followed.
"Take a look."
The commander handed them a file.
"This mission isn't especially difficult, but it's somewhat complicated."
"Complicated?"
Natsuhiko unfolded the document and read it together with Kakashi.
He had handled missions like this before—when the file was handed directly to them to review.
Usually, such missions weren't as dangerous as one might imagine.
But since the commander specifically mentioned it being complicated, Natsuhiko's interest was piqued.
As he read carefully, his brows gradually furrowed.
The report described a place within the Land of Fire called Kubisaki Castle.
Strange incidents had been occurring there.
According to legend, it had once been its own country before being absorbed by the Land of Fire.
However, some of its old names had been preserved.
Kubisaki Castle was one such remnant.
The strange part was this:
Within the town stood a castle.
Visitors to that castle frequently went missing.
In some cases—entire groups vanished at once.
Naturally, such bizarre circumstances had drawn Konoha's attention.
Konoha had previously dispatched a team to investigate.
Unfortunately, every member of that team—including the Chūnin who led them—had disappeared.
And so—
The matter had been handed over to the ANBU.
...
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