"Killed by Kakuzu?"
When Natsuhiko heard Kakashi say that, he was momentarily stunned. But very quickly, his expression turned somewhat awkward.
That guy Kakuzu really held grudges.
Back then, all Natsuhiko had done was cut off the head of a corpse Kakuzu planned to exchange for bounty money. Just because he couldn't find the right person to take revenge on didn't mean he had to vent it on other Konoha ANBU.
Natsuhiko sighed inwardly. The situation was indeed frustrating, but there was nothing more he could say.
Members of Konoha's ANBU were always among those facing the highest level of danger—especially those in pursuit and assassination units. Their risk factor was terrifyingly high.
There were always those who lived by the creed "succeed or die trying," and countless shinobi lost their lives because of missions.
Strictly speaking, being killed by Kakuzu wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
Besides, in a certain sense, Kakashi had already avenged them.
Kakashi destroyed one of his Earth-nature chakra hearts. It wasn't enough to kill Kakuzu completely, but it's better than nothing.
Although Kakuzu's retaliation left Natsuhiko feeling awkward, that was the end of it. It wouldn't cause him much real trouble.
In fact, Natsuhiko should have sensed something when Shinichi and Yaya were reassigned.
The fact that two people were transferred out from his squad so precisely meant there was definitely something behind it. At the time, however, he had assumed the commander was targeting Kakashi and hadn't thought much of it.
Now it seemed that the commander had actually been responding to the Kakuzu incident—perhaps giving Natsuhiko a subtle warning.
Even if ANBU personnel were always at risk of retaliation, Natsuhiko had indeed stirred up trouble himself. A quiet warning was only natural.
"It does seem like this matter is connected to us," Natsuhiko sighed softly. But soon he returned to his usual gentle smile. "Still, there's no need to dwell on it. We reported the situation in advance, didn't we?"
"That's true, but…" Kakashi sighed lightly. "I can't help but feel a little guilty. If we had just…"
"Then we'd be the ones dead," Natsuhiko interrupted calmly. "And besides, we reported the information ahead of time. That intelligence should have been circulated so others could stay alert."
Of course, he knew what Kakashi meant.
They could have stayed and tried to eliminate Kakuzu.
Was it possible? Technically, yes.
Natsuhiko had intelligence on Kakuzu, and he hadn't gone all out last time. With proper coordination with Kakashi, there might have been a chance.
But "a chance" was not enough.
For Natsuhiko, there were only two options:
Either absolute certainty—or don't do it.
When he fought Kakuzu before, he had been confident he could retreat safely—and the outcome had proven him right.
That was a calculated move.
But killing Kakuzu outright?
Not worth the risk.
"I understand." Kakashi nodded lightly. "By the way, what do you plan to do about our squad? You're the captain, but we're short on numbers now."
"Still missing two people? It's not a big deal," Natsuhiko replied casually. "And even if we recruit new members, that would take time. Training them would take time too. No rush."
An ANBU squad, including its captain, could consist of three or four members. Natsuhiko's previous team had been the standard four-person setup.
ANBU organizational structure generally didn't change.
At present, they were still two members short of a full squad.
However, ANBU also allowed some flexibility.
Unless the commander specifically assigned replacements, it was acceptable to operate under strength.
That said, regardless of whether a squad was fully staffed or not, missions still had to be carried out.
No one would be granted rest simply because they were short-handed.
Of course, Natsuhiko understood all of this clearly. But he didn't pay it much mind. Just as he had said, recruiting new members was troublesome.
New recruits would come from the reserve roster. After joining, they would still need to go through a necessary adjustment period.
That adjustment period was essential—but it was time-consuming. And most of the real prodigies in the reserve pool were already spoken for. The ones left were… average at best.
Bringing in someone like that without proper time to integrate them would, more often than not, mean they'd just end up blocking kunai or taking the brunt of a jutsu.
Natsuhiko had never actually done such a thing.
But he had considered it.
If he hadn't been worried about inspections upon returning from missions revealing problems, he might have done it already.
ANBU weren't battlefield shinobi. Their inspections were always the strictest and most troublesome. Otherwise, he wouldn't constantly complain that ANBU was no place fit for human beings.
Therefore, when it came to accepting new members, he generally chose to wait and observe for someone more suitable.
As for inexperienced recruits who made mistakes during missions, he usually neither killed them outright nor went out of his way to rescue them.
Such an approach aligned well with Konoha's wartime ninja values.
Natsuhiko understood "political correctness" very well—he would never do something like Sakumo Hatake.
"Let's wait until there's time," Natsuhiko said, patting Kakashi on the shoulder. His face carried a gentle, harmless smile. "If they join now, they might just get themselves killed during missions."
"I see." Kakashi nodded. "Understood, Captain. By the way… about what I said last time—did it cause you any trouble?"
"Don't worry, it's fine," Natsuhiko replied with a smile. "Your cooperation afterward was pretty good. I don't think there'll be any issues."
Kakashi felt somewhat embarrassed at that.
His "cooperation"?
That hadn't been cooperation at all—it had been a genuine sparring match. Without using lethal techniques, that level of combat had already been close to his limit.
Yet at that limit, he had been struggling against Natsuhiko.
And now it was being mistaken as "cooperation"—that didn't exactly make him feel better.
Soon, however, Kakashi noticed Natsuhiko taking out paper and pen, seemingly recording something. That piqued his curiosity.
"Captain, what are you—?"
What puzzled him even more was that Natsuhiko was writing about those attackers they had encountered earlier.
"For Lord Hokage," Natsuhiko replied calmly, this time his voice low and steady. "Some things must be clearly reported. And this is part of my task."
"A task?" Kakashi took a deep breath, then nodded and asked no further questions.
He didn't know what kind of mission connected Natsuhiko and his teacher.
And he didn't intend to ask.
Because he understood—
The complexity involved was far beyond his imagination.