Early the next morning, Hikaru left his room without delay.
There was no such thing as "vacation time" for him right now—he still had plenty of missions to finish.
But his current Division Commander seemed to have heard something. He still assigned Hikaru work—after all, the appointment hadn't officially come down yet—but the tasks became noticeably lighter.
Mostly village patrols.
Anything that required leaving the village? Hikaru was no longer included.
That was good news.
It gave him more time to make arrangements before taking office.
As for Elder Shōma's demand, Hikaru had considered it seriously. But like he'd said, it wasn't something he could decide by himself.
Every place had its rules.
Someone like him couldn't just smash them.
Still, even if he couldn't directly bring people in, he could report it to Hiruzen.
It would look like "candor."
After all, ANBU was still Hiruzen's ANBU. If Hikaru wanted to move comfortably inside it, he needed to lean toward that man—at least on the surface.
"Of course… I should also talk to Minato."
Because whatever the reality looked like, Minato was still the Fourth Hokage.
After accepting his patrol assignment, Hikaru sent Kakashi to cover another sector.
Then he slipped into a secluded patch of forest and activated the Flying Thunder God marker—calling Minato.
He waited quietly.
Only a moment later, Minato appeared in front of him—so quickly it exceeded even Hikaru's expectations.
"Hikaru," Minato asked at once, brows faintly knit, "I heard you caused some kind of incident in ANBU yesterday? But everyone's been sealed up. What happened?"
"…Hm?"
Hikaru stared at him, expression turning oddly complicated.
He hadn't expected to be questioned before he even opened his mouth.
And what surprised him even more—
Minato knew less than Elder Shōma did.
Shōma at least knew Hikaru had confronted Murashima Takumi.
Minato, the Fourth Hokage, only knew ANBU had "some kind of problem."
That was… alarming.
Hikaru vividly remembered how many ANBU had witnessed the fight after he dragged Owl out of that office.
When Murashima arrived, it was basically everyone.
And yet Minato only had a vague outline?
Even if Hiruzen suppressed it quickly, Minato was still Hokage.
Even without real control over ANBU, he shouldn't be this blind.
The realization sharpened Hikaru's caution.
He still didn't understand the depth of Hiruzen's grip over ANBU nearly well enough.
"There was an issue," Hikaru said after a brief pause, choosing his words carefully. "Yesterday I went to HQ to submit reports. I also had information on that mysterious puppet master—something meant for the Third Hokage."
He spoke quickly, recounting what happened: Murashima refusing to take the document, Owl appearing and offering to "handle it," his own suspicions, and the decision to seize Owl and interrogate him.
He told Minato almost everything.
Almost.
The only lie was the content of what he'd "submitted."
Minato listened in silence, eyes focused.
When Hikaru finished, Minato's expression became… deeply strange.
He'd met the ANBU Director before.
They'd spoken.
Minato's impression of Murashima Takumi had always been: reliable.
A man who didn't bother with false pleasantries.
A man who would even oppose Minato's decisions directly at times.
Minato had thought Murashima was rigid—almost painfully so.
But rigid to this extent?
It was nearly indistinguishable from ROOT—those shinobi with no self, no will, only the mission.
"…Could it be," Minato murmured, eyes darkening, "that Murashima Takumi is nothing more than a tool—an obedient puppet who listens only to the Third Hokage?"
If that was true…
Then the Owl Hikaru had sent to the hospital was likely the "guide" behind Murashima.
The one who linked the ANBU Director to Hiruzen.
The one who ensured that even the top of ANBU ultimately pointed in one direction.
The idea chilled Minato.
Even if it was still "only a guess," it had a terrifying logic to it.
He drew a slow breath, then looked at Hikaru seriously.
"This is speculation," Minato said. "Don't speak this thought aloud again. It's the kind of accusation that becomes… the gravest charge. And it could even be treated as slander."
"I understand, Hokage-sama." Hikaru smiled and nodded. "I only told you. I haven't said it anywhere else."
Slander?
Hikaru's inner amusement was almost lazy.
This was nothing.
There was far worse hidden in his possession—the sealed flesh sample he couldn't even safely take out.
Compared to that, this "accusation" was a pebble.
But he still hadn't decided what to do with that thing yet.
Until he'd wrung every last drop of value from it, he had no intention of letting it leave his hands.
"By the way, Hokage-sama," Hikaru smoothly shifted the topic. "My family has learned I took the commander assessment. They want me—if I succeed—to bring some of the clan into my division."
"Into your division?" Minato blinked. "If you're Division Commander, don't you have the authority to choose your own members?"
The words left his mouth, and Minato immediately paused.
Then he gave a rueful smile.
"Authority" sounded nice.
But in practice, it was tightly limited.
ANBU wasn't a place just anyone could enter.
Once you stepped in, you lost your secrets.
But you gained privileges.
And because ANBU was the Hokage's direct force, having clan members accepted into ANBU was, in many ways, a sign of Hokage approval.
That was why so many clans chased it even knowing it could expose them.
"This is something you'll have to handle yourself," Minato said with a helpless scratch of his head. "First, they need to be qualified."
Then he looked at Hikaru, curious.
"But why tell me this?"
"Because…" Hikaru's smile didn't change. "You're the Hokage, Hokage-sama."
That answer pleased Minato.
It also stung a little.
In name, he was Hokage.
But in practical authority… was he really?
Minato didn't linger on it. He shook his head and moved the conversation along.
Hikaru proactively reporting to him was still a good sign—overall, it felt better than it felt bitter.
So Minato began discussing Flying Thunder God usage with him.
During their previous spar, Minato had noticed Hikaru didn't prepare for Flying Thunder God the way Tobirama had intended—
For example, using marked kunai as carriers: toss them mid-fight, appear instantly, and execute a sudden kill.
Tobirama invented that method.
Minato had refined it into an art.
What Minato didn't know was—
Once Hikaru understood seal imprinting and successfully embedded Flying Thunder God marks, he already "had" that method.
Hikaru wasn't a pure talent-type.
He was a cheat-type.
It wasn't that he couldn't throw kunai.
He was ANBU—basic weapon handling was a given.
He simply didn't think it was necessary.
Minato was the master of that style.
If Hikaru tried it in that spar, the kunai would have barely left his fingers before Minato slipped away.
He'd be fighting an expert in the expert's own game.
That would be suicide.
But Minato didn't know any of that. To him, Hikaru's approach looked dangerous—effective, yes, but high-risk.
One mistake, and you'd lose your life.
"I understand, Hokage-sama. I'll try to improve it."
Hikaru agreed immediately.
Minato's advice was genuine.
Refusing it would be stupidity—even if Hikaru privately had no intention of changing his habits.
He could engrave marks on kunai whenever he wanted.
With enough kunai prepared, the "setup" problem didn't exist for him at all.
But he would never tell anyone that.
Not even Minato.
That was a card he intended to keep hidden.
The more random it is—if even I don't know when I'll use Flying Thunder God—then the ambush is deadlier, and the enemy dies faster.
With that thought, Hikaru parted from Minato and found Kakashi.
They returned to their division's station, reported in, and moved to the rest room.
Even after a patrol, they couldn't fully leave—this was standby time. If something happened, they'd deploy immediately.
But inside Konoha, incidents were rare.
Even when they happened, it was usually hunting exposed spies.
Relatively light work.
And since Hikaru's current commander wasn't going to hassle him now, Hikaru's free time was still abundant.
After sitting around for a while, Hikaru told Kakashi he was stepping out—and quietly slipped off to ANBU HQ.
Owl had been hospitalized, but his injuries weren't serious. Hikaru hadn't aimed to kill him.
At the time, Hikaru's goal had been capture and interrogation.
So Owl recovered quickly.
"You again?"
At HQ, someone stiffened the moment they saw Hikaru.
"I need to report something to the Hokage," Hikaru said mildly. "Please have Captain Owl pass it up."
The man flinched despite Hikaru's gentle tone.
He still remembered that same tone from a few days ago—right before Hikaru struck without mercy.
But he steadied himself quickly.
He was Hiruzen's man.
He didn't believe Hikaru would dare attack him again—especially with everything already clarified.
And Hikaru had no intention of striking anyway.
Once he delivered the message, he left.
This time, things moved efficiently.
In the afternoon, near the end of the workday, Hikaru received a notice:
Go to ANBU HQ.
The Director wanted to see him.
Hikaru was satisfied.
Because the one he truly wanted to see wasn't Murashima Takumi—
It was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama." Entering the Director's office, Hikaru bowed slightly toward the Third Hokage seated behind the desk.
"Owl said you had something urgent," Hiruzen said, nodding once. "Speak. If you were in such a hurry, it shouldn't be something trivial."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hikaru straightened. "There are two matters. First—about my meeting and sparring session with the Fourth Hokage…"
"Stop."
Hiruzen cut him off mid-sentence, studying him with interest.
"You already reported that you sparred with the Fourth. Why tell me the details now?"
It was a pointed question.
Hikaru met Hiruzen's gaze and smiled naturally.
"Because it's necessary to report to Hokage-sama," Hikaru said respectfully, voice warm and steady. "Especially anything involving the Fourth Hokage. I must be precise. I must be thorough."
"That answer satisfies me," Hiruzen said.
Then his eyes sharpened slightly.
"And it also dissatisfies me."
He rose, walked to Hikaru's side, and patted his shoulder.
"Because some support I will give openly."
"But some support, I will not give openly. And I will not acknowledge it either."
"Do you understand?"
"I do, Hokage-sama." Hikaru bent slightly at the waist. "I'll be more careful."
"Good." Hiruzen withdrew his hand. "If nothing changes, your appointment comes down tomorrow."
He paused.
"You said two matters. What's the second?"
"My clan," Hikaru answered calmly. "The Elder wants me to promote some of our members into my division if I succeed. Hokage-sama—how should I handle it?"
"I won't object," Hiruzen said smoothly. "You'll be Division Commander. It's your division."
Then his eyes narrowed in quiet amusement.
"But I'm curious."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Hikaru's smile didn't waver.
"Because…"
"Because you're the Hokage, Hokage-sama."
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