In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, speaking slowly: "Kakashi, yesterday, Rat went on a mission with several others and hasn't returned. Go investigate it!"
He didn't know what had happened to Rat, so he called on Kakashi!
After all, Kakashi was a tracker ninja, and he should be able to locate Rat's whereabouts.
Rat hasn't come back?
Kakashi was stunned. He hadn't expected this outcome. Could it be that Genya sent someone after them?
Though confused, he didn't show it. Instead, he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "What mission were they on? Which direction did they go?"
"They went after a rogue ninja. As for the direction, you'll need to investigate that yourself!" Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't tell him that he sent Rat on the mission but simply gave a brief reason.
After hearing that, Kakashi raised an eyebrow!
As expected, Hiruzen wasn't being completely honest with him. Was Senju Hayashi a rogue ninja of Konoha? It seemed that relations between the village and the Uchiha clan were getting more tense.
"Do you think it's difficult? Can you not track them down?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, noticing Kakashi's surprised expression.
Kakashi was Konoha's best tracker ninja. If he couldn't do it, then... finding Rat and his team would be really difficult for Konoha.
"No... I'm just thinking about how to find them," Kakashi shook his head and finally agreed.
He too wanted to know what had happened to Rat's team. Or perhaps what method Genya had used to help Senju Hayashi escape the chase.
"Alright, go look for them. Recently... Konoha assassin have been quite rampant, occasionally hunting down Konoha ninjas. I'm worried something might have happened to them!" Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and added, as if to justify his concern for his subordinates.
Actually, he had some concerns in his heart. Rat shouldn't have trouble handling a kid with only the strength of a Chunin. If something went wrong, it would definitely be that black-clad assassin's doing.
But still, a part of him hoped that Rat just hadn't found anyone yet.
"Got it, I'll go look for Rat now!" Kakashi nodded and left the Hokage's office.
Once outside, he looked up at the sky. "Genya, was it you who did it?"
He muttered to himself, and in his mind, the calm child appeared. Maybe it was his early experiences that made him less childish than others his age, and instead, quite mature.
This surprised Kakashi even more. What kind of child could be so calculating?
So, before searching outside the village, he went to the Uchiha clan's grounds again. After waiting for a short time, he once again bumped into Genya unexpectedly.
This time, Genya was out with Hikari. It seemed like they were headed somewhere for some reason.
The two of them met at a small alleyway again. Kakashi hadn't expected to run into Genya so soon.
"Kakashi, what a coincidence, we meet again!" Genya looked at him, raising an eyebrow, a playful yet oddly childish smile on his face.
The smile made Kakashi uneasy, as if Genya knew he had come to find him and had purposely met him here!
However, this feeling only lasted for a moment in his mind before he pushed it aside.
Genya didn't have the ability to predict the future, so it must've been a coincidence, just a coincidence.
What Kakashi didn't know was that, in reality, Genya had purposely come to see him. Using his Sharingan ability, he saw Kakashi approaching, so he brought Hikari along.
His goal? To see why Kakashi had come here again!
"What a coincidence, we meet again!" Kakashi smiled slightly, and the stiff corner of his mouth moved under his mask. He then remembered the reason he came today. "Did you send someone to help Senju Hayashi?"
Kakashi thought to himself, if this was really Genya's doing, then he would find a chance to cover for him! After all, this was a mistake made by the Third Hokage, and Genya wouldn't be wrong to retaliate.
"Help Hayashi?" Genya looked at Kakashi with a smile on his face. "Why would you say that? I was resting yesterday, I didn't do anything!"
"But..." Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he looked at Genya. "The few ninjas who left Konoha yesterday haven't come back. What do you have to say about that?"
However, Kakashi failed to find any sign of guilt or hesitation in Genya's eyes. It was as if Genya had already anticipated this outcome.
"Is that the reason?"
Genya knew why Kakashi was here, but he asked casually, "What does this have to do with me? You seem to be asking the wrong person!"
In fact, Kakashi was indeed asking the wrong person. Ever since Genya had let Hayashi out of Konoha, he no longer paid attention to such small matters.
If Hayashi couldn't handle a few ninjas, he shouldn't be out there pretending to represent Atsukara.
"Do you really not know?" Kakashi frowned at Genya and asked again, "But those people haven't returned since they left, and I've only told you about this. You didn't send anyone to help Hayashi—who else would help him?"
Kakashi only thought Genya was trying to avoid the truth and didn't want to admit anything.
"I've already told you, let Hayashi handle this himself. Why should I send someone to help him?" Genya said, a bit speechless. He was speaking the truth, so why didn't Kakashi believe him?
Genya didn't want to waste time and started walking forward.
"Hayashi has only trained in ninjutsu for three years. How could you possibly escape Rat's pursuit?" Kakashi was still confused.
Like everyone else, even though Senju Hayashi's talent was exceptional, he had only trained for three years—at most, he'd have the strength of a Chunin.
Among Rat's team, there were three Jonin.
It was only when Genya passed by Kakashi that he spoke up: "I'm guessing the Third Hokage sent you to investigate the disappearance of those people. I hope you can figure it out. But let me be clear, I had nothing to do with it!"
After saying that, Genya walked past Kakashi, his expression relaxed, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Indeed, Senju Hayashi hadn't let him down. Judging by Kakashi's words, the people he mentioned were likely already buried in the wilderness.
"Huh, the more I look at this, the more it feels like that Konoha assassin's figure... Damn it, I'm thinking too much!" Kakashi muttered to himself, watching Genya's back.
Since he found out that Obito was still alive, his emotions had been a mess.
Shaking off his thoughts, Kakashi took a turn at the intersection and entered a nearby alley, leaving Konoha behind.
After leaving the village, he quickly summoned his ninja dog:
"Pakkun, sniff this out and find him!"
As he spoke, he took out an item from Rat.
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