Konoha, Hokage Building.
The entire building was cloaked in silence and darkness.
At this hour, only patrolling Anbu remained inside.
With a flash of yellow light, Minato Namikaze landed on his office balcony, then stepped through the glass door.
An Anbu followed closely behind him into the office and switched on the lights.
"The Fourth Hokage, this is the intelligence just received from Iwagakure. Please review it!"
After Minato settled into the chair symbolizing the highest authority in the village, the Anbu gestured toward the report lying on the desk.
Minato nodded and glanced toward a corner of the office, spotting several other hidden Anbu lurking in shadows.
This intelligence didn't appear to be an official dispatch directly from Iwagakure. The packaging wasn't complex, sealed only with a special technique.
Whoever opened it would leave visible traces.
Frowning slightly, Minato dismissed these concerns.
A large character marked the scroll—'Secret.' It looked serious.
Slowly unrolling it, Minato's eyes quickly scanned the contents.
As he began reading, the Anbu quietly faded away from the light, vanishing back into the darkness.
The scroll contained only a few short sentences.
Essentially stating that near Rain Country, close to Fire Country, Konoha's rogue ninja Orochimaru and another Akatsuki member had been spotted. Iwagakure requested aid from Konoha.
Minato finished reading and gently placed the scroll down.
He thought deeply—he couldn't afford to miss this chance.
Whether it was the Akatsuki member or Orochimaru, who had long ago betrayed the village,
if they managed to defeat or even kill them, valuable intelligence would certainly be obtained, giving Konoha the upper hand.
This would serve as a solid start for what might come later.
"But then, who should I assign to carry out this mission?"
Minato closed his eyes. From the party earlier, he had consumed some mild sake.
It slightly clouded his thinking now.
"Orochimaru's involved, so we need someone who can match him."
"As for the entire village, I can't leave in person at the moment. So The Third and Master Jiraiya are possible candidates, while Tsunade-sama can be temporarily ruled out."
"This Akatsuki member, though their identity remains unknown in the report, partnering with Orochimaru suggests considerable strength..."
"I'll form a squad with Kakashi and Guy, along with others."
"If possible, securing a few Uchiha members currently in Anbu would help—their abilities would provide excellent control during battle."
"This mission must ensure the enemy is either captured or eliminated. Intelligence at this stage is crucial."
"Iwagakure will likely request backup from us as well, so that shouldn't be a problem."
"Tomorrow, I'll also consult Master Jiraiya, considering how it involves Orochimaru."
"Very well," Minato said, quickly sorting out his thoughts.
Since Iwagakure had encountered members of the Akatsuki this time, they absolutely couldn't let that person escape without capturing crucial intelligence!
As for Orochimaru, he was a very troublesome ninja. Leave him to Master Jiraiya — only Jiraiya could truly handle all of Orochimaru's difficult techniques and fighting style.
Leaning back in his chair, Minato slowly turned his gaze toward the village outside the window.
"Genma, tomorrow morning, notify Kakashi and Guy first thing! Let them come assemble here early!"
Looking at the sky, Minato didn't plan to start acting immediately right now.
Rushing into action would only cause unnecessary losses because Konoha's ninja wouldn't have enough preparation.
He needed to properly assign personnel for this operation tonight. The names he mentioned just now were merely preliminary choices.
"Yes sir!"
The ninja Minato called out to was Genma — the same Anbu who had guided him earlier. He normally served as Minato's personal guard — his full name was Shiranui Genma.
Though trusted by Minato, Genma wasn't the only guard. There were two others: Namiashi Raidō and Sarutobi Iwashi.
All three were quite powerful, and together they could perform [Flying Thunder Formation Technique], which allowed for transferring objects or people within their formation.
This was one of the jutsu Minato had taught them when they became his guards.
"Understood!" A voice came from the shadows — it should be Genma responding just now.
Among the three, Genma was the strongest, serving as their leader and spokesperson.
...
One night passed, and many departments in Konoha began operating.
Early in the morning, Kakashi received the notification and hurried toward the Hokage Office, not even having time for breakfast.
It was just after five — the sky still dull gray, the world hushed under the quiet weight of early morning.
Although many breakfast spots had already turned on their lights, they hadn't opened yet.
There was still over an hour before most breakfast places opened in Konoha. At this time of day, the entire village stayed fast asleep, except for a handful of ninja who'd already started their day.
Kakashi lived in the expansive Hatake Compound. Once a flourishing family when Konoha was first established, it had gradually declined over the past few decades.
Currently, Kakashi held an important position within the Anbu and was also the disciple of the Fourth Hokage.
Even though the Hatake were down to just Kakashi, no one in Konoha would ever underestimate him.
Leaping across rooftops, Kakashi moved with effortless agility.
Today, he wore none of his Anbu insignia.
Immediately after waking up, he'd received notice from one of the Fourth Hokage's personal guards that this mission required him to act as Kakashi Hatake himself.
Kakashi moved fast — leaping from rooftop to rooftop — with what seemed like faint blue glowing light flickering around him, increasing his speed.
The Hatake had been around since the Warring States era for a reason — and even now, no one could ignore their place in Konoha.
Every member of the Hatake clan has mastered the family's traditional swordsmanship.
As the son of Sayuna Hatake, Kakashi inherited an even more powerful sword style developed by the legendary White Fang of Konoha, based on the family techniques.
This new sword style eliminated many flashy movements in favor of faster attacks and greater destructive power.
Unlike his previous life where he followed a different path to strength, this time around, Kakashi resembled someone not yet fully grown into the next generation's White Fang.
The Sharingan allowed Kakashi to match his opponents evenly, but also ended up holding him back.
"Hm?"
Running across rooftops, Kakashi noticed a strange figure ahead.
The figure looked odd because it was moving upside down—and pretty fast, too.
Its hands moved like wheels spinning at full speed, leaving afterimages in their wake.
"Guy?"
Kakashi squinted through the swirling dust and recognized the person—someone he knew all too well.
The ninja in green spandex slowed slightly, apparently hearing the movement.
And in all of Konoha, only Guy could pull off something so ridiculous yet hard to do!
Boosting his speed, Kakashi suddenly surged forward with blue electric sparks flashing beneath his feet, instantly becoming a blur chasing after Guy.
"Yo, Kakashi! What a coincidence!"
No sooner had Kakashi approached than Guy spotted him.
"Yeah, did you receive Lord Third Hokage's orders too?"
Kakashi nodded, continuing his rooftop leaps, while Guy kept his handstand position, spinning his arms in wide circles.
"Oh right! You're going too?"
Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Guy immediately caught on. He pushed off with both hands, flipping midair before landing upright.
"Exactly."
Kakashi replied.
"Perfect! Then let's have our thirty-second round since we started counting—come on, Kakashi! First one to reach the Hokage Office wins!"
Realizing this fit perfectly into his usual morning workout routine, Guy was stoked. Doing it with his greatest rival made it even better!
"Pfft. Boring."
Kakashi pulled a sour face, seemingly indifferent toward Guy's antics. Yet his visible eye—one peeking through his mask—slowly shed that usual lifeless, "no motivation" look, sharpening with focus.
"Begin!"
Guy narrowed his eyes, thick eyebrows furrowing together to form a vertical crease across his forehead.
Without a word, he swung both legs in wide circles and blasted forward, ignoring Kakashi's protest entirely.
"Tch! Already cheating, huh!"
Tensing his body and flashing lightning under his feet, Kakashi shot straight after Guy.
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