Hikaru knew it himself: whether or not he dragged the Senju clan into the mess, the Senju were already on the board.
His identity alone had already decided too many things—things he couldn't change even if he wanted to.
But he had neither the mood nor the intention to notify the clan.
To be blunt, his voice in the Senju wasn't that strong.
Among the younger generation, he was doing fine—yet as an ANBU member, he rarely interacted with same-age clan youths at all.
And among the middle-aged and elder generation… his age, status, and visible "abilities" simply didn't earn him much weight.
Of course, that was partly because Hikaru himself was hiding key cards.
Sage Mode, for example—he had never revealed it to anyone.
To him, Sage Mode was his single most important trump card.
Unless there was a truly special reason, he would never expose it—unless he decided it had become necessary.
"For now, I'll leave it like this," Hikaru thought. "Once I get what I want, I'll have time to deal with the clan problem slowly."
After a full night's rest, Hikaru arrived at ANBU early the next morning to clock in.
To his surprise, Kakashi was already there, sitting alone in a corner, quiet and waiting.
"Morning, Kakashi," Hikaru said with a gentle smile as he walked over. "How were the last three days?"
"They were… okay," Kakashi replied softly, lifting his head. "I'm just not used to it yet."
"Used to what?"
"Everyone being… so enthusiastic."
During the three-day break, Kakashi had tried—tentatively—to reconnect with his old friends.
He didn't even have to look.
Might Guy and the others came to him on their own.
After a long time of being cold and distant, Kakashi was finally trying to interact again, to feel that warmth again.
But after living in a near-empty, hopeless state for so long—even after Hikaru's guidance, even after he'd thought through many things—his old coldness wasn't something he could just switch off.
He was adapting as best he could, but it still felt unfamiliar.
Hikaru could guess what Kakashi meant.
He smiled and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
"It's fine. Take it slow. You've already taken the most important step."
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded. "I know."
He didn't say much more after that.
But Hikaru could tell—Kakashi actually seemed to enjoy those moments, even if he didn't know how to handle them yet.
Even the coldest people long for sunlight.
Even ice has warmth inside.
Sooner or later, warmth melts frost.
Just look at Kakashi in the future—he lived with Obito's shadow, sure, but he still changed.
Then Kakashi's expression turned faintly strange.
He looked at Hikaru, opened his mouth slightly… and then seemed to stop himself, unsure what to say.
During the break, Kakashi had learned some "interesting" details from Guy—especially about that Uchiha girl from the training ground.
Hikaru had said she was an old classmate. Nothing more.
But from Guy, Kakashi learned something else:
After Hikaru left the academy, that girl seemed to keep a close eye on him.
Even though she hadn't seen him, she knew Hikaru was close with Guy and used Guy to learn about him.
That kind of attention… didn't feel so simple.
Luckily, Kakashi also knew Guy didn't understand Hikaru's real situation.
Otherwise, his mind might've drifted into "spy" territory.
"What's wrong?" Hikaru noticed Kakashi's look. "Your eyes are kinda weird."
"It's nothing," Kakashi hesitated, then decided not to stir trouble. "I was just wondering if you met with my teacher during the break."
"I did," Hikaru replied. "The Hokage treated me very well."
His expression became faintly subtle.
"I learned a lot."
"That's good… that's good…" Kakashi gave an awkward chuckle, and that was the end of it.
Mentioning that topic made Hikaru instinctively think of his now-even-worse chakra reserves.
Meanwhile, Kakashi clearly didn't want to pry.
So the two of them fell into silence.
But it didn't last long.
The squad leader suddenly entered the break room.
Everyone stood at once.
Respecting rank was basic shinobi discipline—and ANBU, being even more militarized, took it seriously.
The squad leader swept his gaze across the room, then fixed his eyes on Hikaru and Kakashi.
"Nightingale. kakashi. You two—come with me."
"Yes, Captain."
Hikaru and Kakashi followed immediately, but they exchanged a quick look.
Both of them understood.
Their quiet days were over.
If the captain was singling them out, it meant a troublesome assignment was coming.
Hikaru didn't refuse missions, but his situation was awkward right now.
He had been thinking maybe he should "lie low" for a month—keep a low profile, avoid drawing attention.
Instead, he was being dispatched on his very first day back.
"Come in," the captain said at an office door, entering first.
"Yes."
Hikaru and Kakashi stepped inside.
"Read this," the captain said, handing them a file. "This mission isn't too difficult… but it's somewhat complicated."
"Complicated?" Hikaru unfolded the document and read it alongside Kakashi.
He'd received missions as written files before.
Usually, when they handed the document directly to you to read, it meant the mission wasn't outrageously high-risk—but it did tend to be annoying.
Still, the captain specifically emphasizing "complicated" caught Hikaru's interest.
As he read, Hikaru's brows slowly furrowed.
The report described a place in the Land of Fire called Shouqi City City.
Strange incidents had been happening there.
According to local accounts, the region had once been its own country—later absorbed into the Land of Fire—but certain old place names remained.
Shouqi City City was one of them.
Now, something about the city had become deeply unsettling.
Inside the city stood a castle.
And those who visited that castle had an alarming tendency to vanish.
Sometimes individual disappearances.
Sometimes entire groups disappearing at once.
Naturally, such a bizarre pattern caught Konoha's attention.
Konoha had previously sent a squad to investigate.
Unfortunately… that squad—including the chunin team leader—disappeared completely.
And that was why the case had now fallen into ANBU's hands.
…
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto