Hokage Tower.
A thin ribbon of smoke drifted through the office as the Third Hokage sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, studying the masked shinobi standing before him. His gaze lingered longer than usual, weighed down by thoughts he did not voice.
Hatake Kakashi.
A prodigy without question. Natural mastery across all chakra natures. The son of the White Fang. The student of the Fourth Hokage. On paper, he read like the hero of a story meant to inspire. In reality, he stood here hollowed out, silent, and frighteningly indifferent.
"Kakashi," the Hokage said at last, exhaling slowly. "Early this morning, Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, Yūhi Shinku, Mitarashi Anko, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Ebisu came to see me. Your classmates."
Kakashi did not react.
"They asked me to remove you from ANBU."
The man in front of him remained motionless. His posture was correct. His breathing steady. He might as well have been a weapon propped upright against the wall.
The Hokage had heard the reports. Since the night of the Nine Tails, Kakashi had grown colder, quieter. In battle, he fought like someone who no longer cared whether he survived. Within ANBU, a nickname had begun to circulate in low voices. Cold-Blooded Kakashi.
Another plume of smoke curled upward.
"You've changed more than I realized," the Hokage said quietly. "If they hadn't come to me, I might never have understood how far it's gone."
War left scars. Everyone knew that. But seeing them manifest so deeply in someone this young was harder to accept than he liked to admit.
In ANBU, Kakashi was a blade. Sharp. Reliable. Lethal.
But even the finest blade shattered if never sheathed.
"Kakashi," he said, voice firm now. "You need rest."
Kakashi lowered his head slightly. No protest. No agreement. Just obedience.
The Hokage studied him for a moment, then shifted the conversation as if it were an idle thought.
"I heard you sparred with Uchiha Yoru last night. Neither side won."
Kakashi answered without hesitation. "I lost."
The words were flat, stripped of pride or resentment. Titles meant nothing to him now. Genius. Prodigy. They belonged to a life that felt very far away.
The Hokage chuckled softly. "Then tell me how the fight went."
He already knew the details. This was not an interrogation. He wanted to hear it through Kakashi's eyes.
Kakashi reported like an ANBU operative returning from a mission.
"Uchiha Yoru's chakra reserves are at jonin level. His control exceeds the average jonin. Taijutsu proficiency at jonin standard. Ninjutsu specialization in Fire Release and Lightning Release. Based on observed data, his overall combat capability is jonin-class."
The Hokage listened in silence, eyes half-lidded.
Yoru was Orochimaru's student. By extension, the Hokage's own grandstudent. With the Sharingan active, his strength had indeed reached jonin territory.
Awakening the Sharingan at fourteen. Advancing it to two tomoe within half a year. A fifteen-year-old jonin was rare, but the Hokage understood the reason. Bloodline limits changed the rules.
The Sharingan granted perception, copying, genjutsu aptitude, and insight beyond normal human limits. Once awakened, illusion techniques advanced almost automatically.
If last night had been a true fight to the death, without Kakashi's lapse, the outcome might not have favored Yoru at all.
The Hokage tapped his pipe against the desk.
"How long have you been in ANBU?" he asked.
Kakashi answered precisely. "Since the Fourth Hokage assigned me. Almost two years."
The Hokage sighed, wearing the expression of an aging man looking at a wounded successor.
"Minato placed you in ANBU hoping it would drive away the darkness in your heart," he said. "When I resumed the office, I kept his structure intact."
He paused, then continued more slowly.
"But nearly two years have passed. That darkness hasn't faded. It's grown worse. If Asuma hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have known how severe it's become."
Concern first. Recollection second. The familiar rhythm of a veteran politician who had guided generations of shinobi into loyalty and trust.
"Kakashi," he said gently, "this path will only lead you deeper. ANBU missions are too heavy. Keep going like this, and you'll lose yourself completely."
The Hokage's gaze softened. "Take off your mask."
Kakashi complied. Slowly, mechanically, he removed the ANBU mask.
The face beneath was still young. Too young to look this empty.
For a brief moment, regret flickered in the Hokage's eyes.
"Officially, I will remove you from ANBU," he said. "Unofficially, you will report directly to me. There is a mission I want you to consider."
"I accept," Kakashi replied at once.
There was no hesitation. Perhaps endless assignments were the only way he knew to keep the past at bay.
The Hokage did not explain the mission yet. Instead, he turned toward the window, looking out at the Hokage Rock carved into the mountainside.
"The village has barely survived the Third Great Ninja War," he said. "And last year, the Nine Tails nearly shattered the balance of the entire shinobi world. We came dangerously close to another great war."
He exhaled smoke slowly.
"You saw it yourself. The Sharingan in the Nine Tails' eyes. I will say this clearly, Kakashi. The attack had a mastermind. And that mastermind is very likely connected to the Uchiha."
The Sharingan was undeniable. And now, the mission revealed its shape.
"I heard that Uchiha Yoru invited you to join the Military Police Force," the Hokage continued. "Once you're removed from ANBU, Might Guy will formally approach him. That will give you a natural reason to enter the Police."
His voice grew heavy.
"I want you to investigate the Uchiha clan quietly. Determine whether they are connected to the Nine Tails incident."
The Hokage released one final cloud of smoke, obscuring his expression as his words settled into the room.