Hayate snorted and subsequently had to cough, a brief fit that was both loud and sounded terrible. Clearing his throat, he rasped at Itachi, "No, I certainly did not." Honestly, and imply Konoha sent out sickly ninja to do its jobs? Hayate shook his head.

"I was a silent presence of danger." He cleared his throat again, but the faint rasp, a roughening of the edges of his voice, never truly went away. "As befitting a true shinobi."

The answer was only slightly mocking, an attempt to provoke another one of those little smirks from Itachi.