"What happened?"
Inside the underground laboratory beneath Konoha's dense forest, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, dressed in a black robe and leaning on a cane. His right eye was wrapped in bandages.
Coldness clung to him like a second skin. Even without anger, his presence alone carried intimidation.
It was Shimura Danzo.
"Danzo-sama." Aburame Ryoma dropped to one knee immediately, head lowered. "Two ANBU passed by. Our people overreacted and drew their attention."
"ANBU?" Danzo frowned. "Returning that late… Did you identify them?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama." Ryoma nodded respectfully. "Senju Hikaru and Hatake Kakashi. They just returned from the border and captured Suna's ANBU—Yashamaru."
If Kakashi heard that, he would've been shocked.
How much time had even passed? And this man already knew who they were, what mission they ran, and even what they accomplished.
But if Hikaru were here, he wouldn't be surprised at all.
Danzo's partnership with Orochimaru—his hope of pushing Orochimaru into the Hokage seat—had another purpose:
To rebuild Root, which had been nearly destroyed by Nagato.
And to do that, Danzo needed to step closer to the surface again. He couldn't remain forever buried underground.
Which meant his target was ANBU.
If he couldn't become ANBU Commander in name, then he would become ANBU's true controller in practice.
So his infiltration into ANBU ran deep, and his grasp on their intel was far from weak.
Hikaru's mission might've been "classified" to most.
To Danzo, it was just another file he could flip through at will.
"Senju Hikaru… Hatake Kakashi…" Danzo repeated. For a moment, he fell silent.
He knew these two, of course.
And because he knew them, that silence carried weight.
They were… mildly troublesome.
"It's those two." But to Danzo, trouble was only a matter of scale. After a pause, he continued in a slow tone. "They're both talented. How did they behave afterward?"
"Senju Hikaru is sharp. He recognized us, and he knows what should be said—and what shouldn't." Ryoma spoke quietly. "But because Hatake Kakashi is involved, he stated that this matter would be reported to the Hokage, Danzo-sama…"
"Enough. I understand." Danzo nodded, voice flat. "Reporting to the Hokage is procedure. It's nothing." He paused. "Did you track them afterward?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama." Ryoma nodded. "Hatake Kakashi tried to ask. Senju Hikaru didn't say a single word."
Danzo considered that sufficient.
That Hikaru had self-awareness.
As for "reporting to the Hokage," Danzo didn't care. He could tell Hikaru's wording didn't specify which Hokage.
It could mean the current Fourth, Minato.
Or it could mean the real lever behind ANBU—the Third Hokage.
Either way, it didn't matter.
What Danzo did, Hiruzen knew.
And in many cases… tolerated.
And as for Minato—
What right did that young Hokage have to "investigate" him?
"This ends here," Danzo said coolly. "But keep them observed afterward. And tonight—discipline those who deserve it. Their performance was unacceptable."
"I understand, Danzo-sama." Ryoma answered firmly. "I'll make sure they learn what a Root shinobi is supposed to be."
...
After leaving the forest behind, Hikaru and Kakashi walked in silence until they arrived at the Heroes' Cemetery.
Perhaps because it was deep night, the cemetery was eerily quiet. Only the wind moving through branches made any sound at all.
With Kakashi leading, they soon reached a corner where two graves stood side by side.
One for Nohara Rin.
The other for Uchiha Obito.
This wasn't Hikaru's first time here. To maintain his "persona," he'd come before with Guy and the others during days off.
But war, ANBU work, and his thin attachment to most classmates meant his visits were few and far between.
And for Rin and Obito specifically…
This was his first time paying respects.
They stood quietly before the stones, and for a while it felt like neither of them wanted to speak.
Kakashi was buried in his emotions.
Hikaru's eyes stayed fixed on the graves.
He knew Rin's grave likely still held remains.
But Obito's was absolutely empty—
Because that man was still alive, somewhere out there.
Hikaru sighed softly and glanced at Kakashi.
Even behind the mask, it was obvious: Kakashi's heart was anything but calm.
Then Hikaru remembered the question Kakashi had asked earlier—about killing a teammate.
His answer back then had been "complete," but not "perfect."
Now the question was how to bring it up again without forcing it.
Should he just tell Kakashi directly: You did well. You did the right thing.
Kakashi was trapped in a spiral. A blunt approach might work.
But Hikaru knew it was a gamble.
If it failed, everything he'd "built" with Kakashi could collapse.
Best case? Back to zero.
Worst case? Into the negatives.
"Captain…" Kakashi spoke first.
Hikaru looked at him.
"You really think… I'm worth envying?"
"…Huh?" Hikaru's tone carried genuine confusion. The question landed strangely.
"Sorry, Captain. Maybe I still can't fully understand what you mean. Even if…" Kakashi's voice faltered. He opened his mouth—but couldn't finish.
After a long pause, he exhaled.
"Captain… am I really that much of a failure?"
"I killed the person most important to me with my own hands."
"Even if you comfort me and say it wasn't my fault, even if you say I wasn't wrong… I still feel like a complete failure."
"I let everyone down. I betrayed Obito's trust. I…"
"Enough, Kakashi."
This time, Hikaru didn't let him finish.
Kakashi was struggling too hard—clawing at the same wound, unable to accept what happened, unable to face it cleanly.
He could wear coldness on the surface like armor, but the despair underneath was real.
And that despair couldn't be faked.
But it also meant Kakashi hadn't become something terrifyingly numb yet.
More importantly…
It meant Kakashi was starting to trust him.
Hikaru placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and spoke with quiet weight.
"Do you know something, Kakashi?"
"In life, success is always temporary."
"Because…"
"Failure is the main theme."
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