"Good morning, Lord Hokage."
"Morning, Hikaru."
Deep in the forests of Konoha, Hikaru greeted Minato Namikaze with his usual warm smile—a smile that had long since become a habit.
And habits, when cultivated deliberately, could become symbols.
Among his peers, Hikaru's gentle, sun-like smile was already well known. But that was far from enough. His ambition was far greater: he wanted everyone in Konoha—no, in the entire shinobi world—to associate that smile with him.
Minato, however, looked slightly different today.
He appeared tired and somewhat helpless, yet beneath that fatigue there was a faint trace of joy.
Hikaru's perception was sharp. Even without deliberately activating his sensory abilities, he could still pick up on the emotional state of those around him. While he couldn't read good and evil the way Naruto would one day, discerning emotions like exhaustion or happiness was well within his reach.
The fatigue and helplessness were easy to explain—being Hokage was never a relaxing job, and the situation within ANBU alone was enough to give anyone a headache.
But the joy?
Hikaru mentally calculated the timing and quickly arrived at an answer.
At this stage, the only thing that could truly bring Minato such happiness was his family.
"Congratulations on gaining such powerful support," Minato said sincerely, "and on completing such a difficult mission. You've done well, Hikaru."
"It was mostly luck," Hikaru replied modestly, smiling. "And Kakashi helped a lot too. Still, thank you, Lord Hokage."
He made sure not to claim all the credit. Kakashi had been part of the mission, and any success naturally belonged to both of them. This had nothing to do with Kakashi being Minato's student—Hikaru would have done the same regardless.
It was good for reputation.
Minato nodded lightly, then his expression gradually grew serious.
"About the intelligence you provided—" he lowered his voice, clearly intending to continue.
"Intelligence?" Hikaru interrupted, tilting his head in confusion. "If you mean the Third Kazekage puppet, I wouldn't call that intelligence I provided. That man used it so openly that anyone could see it."
Minato shook his head inwardly. This kid really was careful.
He wasn't talking about that, of course.
But since Hikaru had no intention of bringing it up, Minato didn't press the issue.
"Alright, I understand," Minato said. "Then—"
"Lord Hokage, this is for you."
Before Minato could finish his sentence, Hikaru interrupted again, handing him a scroll.
Interrupting one's superior wasn't exactly proper, but Hikaru didn't seem concerned. Minato's temperament was tolerant—this much Hikaru knew well.
If it were the Third Hokage, Hikaru would never behave like this.
This was deliberate.
With Minato, Hikaru didn't want to act like a mere subordinate. He wanted to show a different stance—one closer to an equal partner. This was the best moment to do so.
"What's this…?" Minato asked, puzzled, as he took the scroll.
"Please take a look first," Hikaru said with a calm smile.
Minato unsealed the scroll and began reading.
After only a short while, his expression changed.
He quickly rolled the scroll back up.
Hikaru wasn't surprised in the slightest. The contents were anything but pleasant.
Inside were Hikaru's conjectures regarding the underground laboratory.
He had actually intended to give Minato this information earlier, but he deliberately held back. One couldn't place all their chips on the table at once—future leverage mattered too.
Most of the contents were conjecture, but parts were based on real observations.
As an ANBU operative, Hikaru had seen strange things: people vanishing in forests, suspicious activity beneath Konoha, rumors of Orochimaru's forbidden experiments—rumors serious enough that they had once cost Orochimaru his chance at becoming Hokage.
Combined with the intelligence Hikaru had already provided, this was practically spelling it out.
The underground Root facilities were conducting human experiments.
Of course, Hikaru stopped there.
He didn't mention what those experiments truly involved.
Anything related to the First Hokage was far too dangerous to reveal without solid evidence. Even hinting at it recklessly could invite catastrophic consequences.
Hikaru was many things—but foolish was not one of them.
"This matter…" Minato suppressed the anger rising in his chest and calmly burned the scroll. "It's extremely serious. I'll need time to investigate it thoroughly."
In truth, Minato had already tried probing once before—and failed.
He couldn't get close.
Even as Hokage, many of those facilities were completely sealed off from him. Attempts to gather reports had also led nowhere.
If Hikaru's information was correct, then Minato's previous suspicions had been right all along.
Root. Danzō. Orochimaru.
And perhaps even the Third Hokage himself.
Such experiments could never be completely hidden.
Taking a deep breath, Minato composed himself and smiled once more.
"Alright," he said, "let's continue your training in fuinjutsu. Are you ready?"
"Well…" Hikaru scratched his cheek, looking both embarrassed and oddly proud. "I'm afraid we might need to skip ahead a stage."
"…What do you mean?"
"Because," Hikaru said, lifting his head with a calm, confident smile,
"I've already learned it."
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