In Naruto, build the strongest Hidden Mist Village.

Chapter 17 Kakashi, Konoha abandoned you, just like your father did.

Kakashi Hatake clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes.

Kaguya Naoki's devilish whispers lingered in his ears, and with these words as a fuse, Kakashi Hatake inevitably had a flood of guesses and ideas.

No.

Kakashi Hatake suddenly opened his eyes.

These poisons, enough to shake his faith, were something Kakashi Hatake avoided at all costs, and he wanted to banish all those thoughts from his mind.

But Kaguya Naoki, who is striving to build a close bond with Kakashi, would never allow such a thing to happen.

"Kakashi-kun, I don't want to make such a malicious guess in front of a Konoha ninja like you."

Naoki Kaguya sighed and shook his head, as if expressing regret over everything.

"But that's Wood Release."

"The Wood Release technique possessed by the First Hokage."

"I ask you, in that era, who could possibly harm the First Hokage?"

Kakashi couldn't plug his ears, so he could only listen silently. At the same time, a force deep within him compelled him to continue listening.

He remained silent in the face of Naoki Kaguya's questioning.

Indeed, it's impossible.

The first generation was an invincible existence.

The history of all the schools in the five great ninja villages of the entire ninja world clearly records one point: the First Hokage, who possessed Wood Release, was invincible in the world.

No one could possibly hurt him.

Except for Madara Uchiha, who was killed by the First Hokage long ago.

"Then, isn't the body of the First Hokage still under strict guard by your Konoha village?"

"Could it be that other ninja villages might have the opportunity to plunder his corpse?"

Naoki Kaguya leaned forward, her voice gradually rising in pitch as it lingered in Kakashi Hatake's ears.

"This experiment is destined to be conducted only in Konoha, and the Wood Release technique on Obito Uchiha will undoubtedly be a feat that can only be accomplished by Konoha!"

"Why would a combat hero who has long since died, a combat hero who never told you he was still alive, appear?"

"And it happened precisely at the moment you chose to kill Lin?"

Kakashi's heart pounded violently, as if it were about to explode.

Bonds, village, father—images and speculations kept flashing through my mind.

Kakashi Hatake closed his eyes once again.

What he doesn't want to admit is...

He truly began to doubt the village for which he was willing to give everything.

[Kakashi Hatake's character's fate has shifted; he has been identified as a non-Hidden Mist ninja, and his defection to the Hidden Mist Village is imminent (2/10)]

A hint of excitement flickered in Kaguya Naoki's eyes as she prepared to strike while the iron was hot and continue to pummel Kakashi's increasingly vulnerable mind.

At that moment, Kakashi, whose heart should have been destroyed, suddenly opened his scarlet eyes.

Looking quite disheveled, he suppressed all his emotions and looked at Kaguya Naoki, this guy who was half enemy and half friend, and asked with barely managed to remain calm.

"So, what is your purpose, Kaguya Naoki?"

What is your purpose in doing all this?

A newfound determination appeared in Kakashi's eyes.

"If you want me to defect from the village and come to Kirigakure, you'd better save your breath."

"I, Kakashi Hatake, would never betray you."

Naoki Kaguya chuckled and shook his head.

"I never dared to hope that you, Kakashi, would defect today."

The conversation shifted abruptly, and Naoki became serious.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Isn't a Mangekyou Sharingan and Wood Release ninja who absolutely hates Kirigakure worth doing something for?"
Kakashi Hatake fell silent once again.

For the sake of the village.

Zabuza Momochi's eyes revealed a complex expression.

That guy, Naoki Kaguya.

Zabuza Momochi's fate has shifted; he has been identified as a Hidden Mist Ninja. Exchange Fragment *1 obtained.

Ignoring everything else, Kaguya Naoki continued to look at Kakashi and spoke fluently.

"I want peace, but I don't want a guy with absolute power watching our village all the time."

Kakashi Hatake nodded: "Understood."

After a slight hesitation, Kakashi still spoke firmly.

"If you want to exchange information with me, that's absolutely impossible."

That's the bottom line for Konoha ninjas.

Kakashi sighed inwardly.

If they were to actually exchange information with a Hidden Mist ninja like Kaguya Naoki, then it would only be a matter of time before they defected.

Naoki Kaguya chuckled softly: "Kakashi, you're quite perceptive."

I do intend to exchange some information, but only with Obito Uchiha.

"how?"

Kakashi Hatake shook his head, still not responding.

Naoki Kaguya sighed softly.

"I originally wanted Kakashi to still have a sliver of hope for Konoha Village."

But now it seems I have no choice but to reveal all of this.

A bead of cold sweat instantly appeared on Kakashi's forehead.

Any evidence?

Kakashi instinctively wanted to reject it all.

But reason told him to listen.

If you don't want to be schemed against anymore and still want to save Obito, then listen up, Kakashi!

Kakashi Hatake opened his ears.

Seeing this, Naoki Kaguya curled the corners of her lips and turned to Zabuza, who was somewhat shaken.

"Momochi Zabuza, produce the mission scroll."

If it were the old Zabuza Momochi, he might have been somewhat dissatisfied with Kaguya Naoki's somewhat cold voice and his dawdling, eventually cursing him as a bastard. But today, he simply took out the mission scroll from his backpack.

The changes occurred without anyone noticing, but they certainly happened.

Naoki Kaguya took the mission scroll and casually handed it to Kakashi Hatake.

"Kakashi-kun, please take a look."

"This is the mission scroll."

"The following is the task log."

Kakashi Hatake silently accepted the book and carefully flipped through it.

Naoki Kaguya's eyes fell on the scroll, as he explained it to Kakashi page by page.

"The first page contains the route the Third Mizukage gave us for invading the Land of Fire."

Just as Kakashi Hatake was about to casually flip over, Naoki Kaguya spoke seriously.

"During this period, not a single Anbu member was lost, and not a single Konoha ninja was discovered."

Kakashi Hatake's hand trembled, and a hint of resentment flashed in his eyes.
If there had been some warning, he and Lin wouldn't have ended up like this.

"The second page contains the route that Lord Mizukage gave us for attacking your camp."

"During this period, not a single Anbu member was lost, and not a single Konoha ninja was discovered."

Kakashi Hatake's hand froze completely in mid-air, the clever man having already automatically filled in the rest of the text.

They stormed the supposedly heavily guarded camp and easily captured Nohara Rin and Kakashi.

As expected, Naoki Kaguya spoke with a smile.

“A heavily guarded location offered almost no resistance. We easily captured Nohara Rin and you, Kakashi.”

Naoki Kaguya sat down, leaned forward, and continued speaking as if he and Kakashi were close friends.

"After traveling for several days through the heart of the Land of Fire, we did not encounter any Konoha ninjas and casually breached a camp that should have been heavily defended."

Kakashi's heart sank little by little; Kaguya Naoki was the force that pulled him down.

"You might also think that these task scrolls and logs of mine were forged specifically for you."

Naoki Kaguya's voice suddenly rose as she shouted at Kakashi Hatake, who was still fidgeting.

"Kakashi, stop fooling yourself. You're smart enough to have already guessed it, aren't you?"

"Our Hidden Mist Village's plan to infiltrate the Land of Fire was fully known to Konoha."

Therefore, they did not resist at all along the way.

Even if they were to enter your defended camp, you, Kakashi-kun, would only offer them a slight resistance.

"Konoha has given up on Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara."

Naoki Kaguya softened his tone slightly and said sarcastically.

"Just like when they abandoned Konoha's White Fang."

"The purpose of everything is to bring a better future to Konoha."

Kakashi stopped, swayed, and looked somewhat dazed.

All the speculations are not unfounded; rather, they are based on some clues.

Perhaps, in a sense, this is the truth.

Two faces appeared in Kakashi's mind at the same time.

One was wrapped in bandages, the other had a pipe hanging from it and wore a bright red conical hat.

Is that you?

Kakashi murmured to himself.

Seeing Kakashi waver, Naoki Kaguya was secretly pleased and immediately gritted his teeth, as if suppressing his anger.

"Kakashi-kun".

"It would be naive of me to question the wickedness of Konoha's actions."

"I only want to make a deal with you to get information about that Mangekyou Sharingan."

This time, Kakashi didn't immediately refuse; he began to think about it seriously.

Should we agree?

No.

There are still people in the village I want to protect.

He raised his head and spoke seriously.

"I can't be sure that you can persuade Obito to attack the village in the same way you persuaded me today."

"So, I choose to refuse."

Naoki Kaguya chuckled.

"Excuse me, if you hadn't witnessed everything with your own eyes, Kakashi-kun, how could you believe me?"

"Just this scroll?"

Kakashi Hatake involuntarily shook his head.

Indeed, if he hadn't witnessed all the unusual things firsthand, he would never have believed Kaguya Naoki.

Seeing is believing, hearing is not.

"Even if I told you my purpose, you wouldn't believe me. After all, we're just using each other."

"Kakashi-kun, don't hesitate."

"After all, the battle hero Obito Uchiha is now a rat in the darkness."

Naoki Kaguya leaned close to Kakashi's earlobe and whispered something.

"Rats are not suitable to appear in Konoha."

Think about your father, and then think about it again. Am I right?

Kakashi Hatake remained silent, clenching his fists.

"Whether Obito Uchiha lived or died after that, I don't need to say more, do I?"

"Is this your ninja way, to let your comrades and father die one by one due to the conspiracy of some high-ranking officials for the future of the village?"

Kakashi Hatake's breathing suddenly became heavy, clearly indicating that he had wavered somewhat!

[Kakashi Hatake's character's fate has shifted; he has been identified as a non-Hidden Mist ninja, and his defection to the Hidden Mist Village is imminent (3/10)]

Let me summarize what Kakashi saw: Obito Uchiha (confirmed), Obito Uchiha using Wood Release (confirmed), his father dying in the village turmoil, unable to be a war hero, and witnessing a part of Konoha's darkness (confirmed).
The idea that Wood Release only appears in Konoha Village is a given in the common sense of Kakashi and all ninjas.

What Kaguya Naoki and Kakashi had seen and heard, along with their speculations about the future, caused Kakashi to waver.

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(End of this chapter)