**Chapter 15: The Doubtful Kakashi**

Ryo had clearly only wanted to quietly train to the level of a jōnin, but he was forced to kill, disrupting his training rhythm. For a moment, he was speechless. 

Should he destroy the body and erase all traces? 

It was probably too late for that now.

Whoosh!

Without checking the body of Lin Qin Yu, Ryo leaped up, grabbed his belongings, and quickly fled into the distance.

He could guess that the Konoha Anbu would likely be arriving soon, and he didn't want to run into them.

Almost immediately after Ryo left...

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Several ninja figures appeared at the site of the battle, all wearing various animal masks—these were none other than Anbu ninjas directly under the command of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Over there!"

One of the sensory ninjas blinked and spotted Lin Qin Yu's body. Instead of approaching directly, he swiftly threw a shuriken that pinned the body to the ground, confirming that the opponent was indeed dead.

The other two Anbu ninjas closed in from the sides.

"He's dead."

One of them crouched down. After confirming Lin Qin Yu's death, he turned the body over, revealing the forehead protector with the symbol of the Hidden Mist Village.

The three Anbu ninjas exchanged glances, surprise flashing in their eyes. They had initially thought that a Konoha ninja had been attacked and killed, but it turned out to be a ninja from the enemy village—probably a scout. They just didn't know who had killed him.

"This guy must be an elite chunin from the Mist."

The crouching ninja quickly examined the body. A hint of uncertainty crossed his eyes, and he turned to his companions, saying, "You sensed the battle here less than a minute ago, right?"

"Yeah..."

The sensory ninja frowned. "To be able to eliminate an elite scout from the Mist in such a short time, it must have been a jōnin from our village. But I have no recollection of that chakra, and after killing the Mist ninja, they just left? It seems like they didn't want to meet us."

The one examining the body was also deep in thought, but then he suddenly froze, staring closely at the wound on the back of Lin Qin Yu's head, a look of astonishment in his eyes. "This wound..."

"What's wrong?"

The two others looked over.

The Anbu ninja who had been examining the body hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "I've seen this kind of wound before... It should be a mark left by Lord Sakumo's sword technique."

"Impossible!"

"Lord Sakumo died two years ago..."

The other two Anbu ninjas reacted almost in unison.

The examining ninja also couldn't believe it. After confirming the wound several more times, he said, "This wound was definitely caused by Lord Sakumo's sword technique, but it couldn't have been Lord Sakumo himself—otherwise, the forehead protector would have been cut through as well."

Upon hearing this, the three Anbu ninjas exchanged looks.

The Mist ninja had been killed by the Hatake sword technique, but only a select few would still be capable of using it. After Sakumo's death, there were hardly any left.

"...Let's clean up and report this to the Hokage."

"Understood."

After making their judgment, the Anbu ninjas quickly returned to the village.

The death of an enemy scout wasn't a big deal, especially in such tense times. It wasn't serious enough to wake Sarutobi Hiruzen in the middle of the night. So, it wasn't until the next morning that Hiruzen learned about the previous night's events when he arrived at the Hokage's office.

"A Mist elite scout... killed by the Hatake sword technique, and the entire battle took less than a minute?"

Upon hearing the Anbu's report, Hiruzen was surprised. 

To have a Mist elite scout infiltrating near Konoha, at the very least, he must have been an elite chunin. And to eliminate such a ninja in under a minute would require a jōnin, but there should be no jōnin in Konoha capable of using Hatake sword technique.

"Could it be him?"

Hiruzen's mind flashed to Kakashi's image.

He was shaken.

To kill a Mist scout in under a minute... When did Kakashi grow this much? He's still not even eight years old!

Though it was hard to believe, upon further reflection, no other candidate fit the description. Hiruzen sighed, "Where's Kakashi? Find him, I have something to ask him."

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja responded and quickly disappeared.

A moment later, Kakashi appeared outside the Hokage's office. After walking in, he saluted Hiruzen, saying, "Hokage-sama, you called for me?"

Hiruzen stood up and walked over to Kakashi, smiling kindly. His eyes filled with admiration, "You've made a lot of progress in your training lately. I didn't expect that at your age, you'd have mastered Sakumo's sword technique to this extent."

"?"

Kakashi froze.

Hiruzen patted Kakashi's shoulder and smiled, "Seeing you is like seeing Sakumo when he was young... Don't you have something to report to me?"

Kakashi looked at Hiruzen in confusion, unsure of what he meant. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Hokage-sama, what do you mean?"

Hiruzen looked slightly surprised, then smiled again.

He hadn't expected that young and impetuous Kakashi would learn to hide things. It seemed like Kakashi had truly grown up. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he could take on the responsibilities of a jōnin. Had he known this, he wouldn't have asked Minato to guide Kakashi in the first place.

*Thud!*

Hiruzen raised his hand and tossed something toward Kakashi.

Kakashi reached out to catch it, and found that it was a Mist village forehead protector, with bloodstains on the top and a white line in the middle, as though it had been slashed by a sharp blade.

Confused by the sudden toss of the forehead protector, Kakashi became even more puzzled, his mind sinking into confusion as he looked at Hiruzen.

"...You still haven't remembered?"

Hiruzen took a sip of tea.

It's good to know how to hide things, but since he already knew, Kakashi should now report everything clearly.

Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Kakashi's mind raced, but he couldn't remember anything related to the forehead protector. After a long pause, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Hokage-sama, what exactly is this forehead protector..."

Hiruzen's brows furrowed slightly, surprised that Kakashi was still concealing something, and he said lightly, "The battle last night—you should report the details to me now."

"Last night?"

Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then his expression became serious, "Hokage-sama, I was at home last night, I didn't participate in any battle..."

(End of Chapter)

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