"Good morning, Hokage-sama."
"Ah, Hikaru-kun. Good morning."
Early the next morning, Hikaru quietly appeared in a hidden stretch of forest.
After a quick check of the surroundings, he directly used the Flying Thunder God mark Minato Namikaze had left behind and summoned him over.
He wasn't going to run to the Hokage's office to look for Minato—and clearly, Minato didn't intend to do that either.
So the best choice was simple: Hikaru would set the time himself, and he would be the one to call Minato.
Sure enough, it didn't take long.
Just like that night, Minato appeared silently in front of him.
Facing him, Hikaru kept his usual gentle, harmless-looking smile and greeted him.
Minato returned a warm smile as well—though he was also openly sizing Hikaru up.
To be fair, the Senju bloodline might not compare to the Uchiha in certain ways, but it was still solid.
And with Hikaru seemingly descending from the Second Hokage's line, he had white hair and sharp features.
Even Hikaru knew his case was unusual.
Typical Senju had brown hair—but when the hair color "mutated," the looks rarely suffered.
Just look at Tobirama.
Look at Tsunade.
And then look at Hikaru.
Still, Hikaru personally preferred black hair. That was what he'd had in his previous life—and white hair was simply too noticeable.
"Especially on stealth missions… white hair is practically a full moon in the dark."
Unfortunately, genetics weren't something he could change. After so many years, he'd already gotten used to it. He'd never bothered dyeing it back.
"It seems you're prepared, Hikaru-kun." Minato finished looking him over and smiled. "Then let's begin right away."
"Hokage-sama—before we start, I think you should look at this first."
Hikaru shook his head lightly and handed him a scroll.
Minato raised an eyebrow, accepted it, and opened it.
He'd assumed Hikaru would want instruction first, and only hand over intelligence after.
Looks like the kid had his own rhythm.
Minato didn't dwell on it. He was genuinely curious what Hikaru had written.
But as he read, his expression shifted—then darkened.
The scroll was essentially a record of what Hikaru had personally learned, and what he suspected, regarding ANBU and Root.
Minato had expected some of this.
But seeing it laid out so clearly still rattled him.
He knew exactly how ANBU's internal divisions were structured. The smaller sub-units existed to keep the machine running smoothly.
And yet, inside those units, Hikaru had marked key positions—one after another—as aligned with the Third Hokage:
The head of the ANBU Interrogation Team
The head of the ANBU Intelligence Team
Two captains leading the active operations forces
Even the ANBU commander
With those people in place, it was easy to imagine who new ANBU recruits would truly be trained—and ideologically shaped—to obey.
Even worse, the one division leader not marked as aligned with the Third was instead marked as loyal to a "mysterious person."
That note made Minato's brow tighten.
Someone else had their hand in ANBU too?
After a long silence—after Minato finished reading the entire scroll—his face became stern.
"Captain Hikaru." Minato's voice turned serious. "Can you vouch for the truth of this report?"
"Hokage-sama, I can't." Hikaru answered immediately. "Some of it is what I personally witnessed… and some is my speculation."
Then he added, without hesitation:
"Besides, Hokage-sama knows this too—whether the information is true or not, I would still deny that this report exists. Correct?"
Minato fell silent.
He couldn't refute that.
With the Hokage title he carried, even he couldn't lightly admit something like this.
And Hikaru was not only an ANBU captain—he was also Senju.
Still, Minato couldn't help wondering: how could a mere squad captain reach this deep?
As if reading his mind, Hikaru smiled.
"You're wondering how I had access to this sort of information, aren't you?"
He didn't wait for Minato to ask.
"Hokage-sama… I've been in ANBU for years, and I'm Senju. Do you really think I was only serving Konoha in a 'pure' way?
Even if I wanted that… my clan wouldn't."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you also carried the task of investigating ANBU from the inside—and reporting it back to your clan?"
Hikaru simply nodded, as if he had no fear of exposing that secret at all.
Minato's gaze turned strange.
He'd seen rumors and suggestions like this before, in half-finished investigations.
But hearing it admitted so plainly was different.
"I assume you've seen similar intelligence too, Hokage-sama?" Hikaru asked lightly—though it sounded more like a certainty than a question.
"…Yes." Minato hesitated, then nodded. "I've seen similar leads, but they were never confirmed—and the inquiry was halted."
"That isn't surprising." Hikaru sighed softly. "After all, ANBU was created by Lord Tobirama. The Senju once had deep influence inside it.
That influence faded as the Senju declined—especially after Lady Tsunade left the village.
But there are still people… and still families… who chose to lean toward us. That gives us access to information.
And I've stayed inside ANBU the entire time. Naturally, I can confirm certain things from firsthand contact.
So the intelligence in your hands, Hokage-sama… has been personally verified by me."
"Clan intelligence… verified by you…" Minato murmured, and finally fell silent.
Just as Hikaru said: even in decline, the Senju were still the Senju.
They would still have their own channels.
And with clan support… and with ANBU being Tobirama's creation in the first place…
It wasn't strange at all that Senju hands could still reach into the village's core.
And the scroll Hikaru had given him—
was clearly part of that clan network.
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