Chương 30: Chapter 30 - Teaching Kakashi
'It's fine, it's best to develop subordinates early. Only when I have my own henchmen to do gopher work for me will I feel safe from the old men hiding in the dark. Speaking of which, there might be a good candidate right here.'
Mikumo turned to look at Kakashi who was trailing right behind her. Kakashi tilted his gaze away when she did, still feeling embarrassed. Mikumo chuckled at the young boy.
"Heh, well, if you mind it so much, how about this. You will owe me three favors in the future, I can cash them in at any time, and don't worry I won't ask you to do something harmful to the village."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow slightly and then nodded, finally relaxing.
"Sure."
Mikumo grinned and then led Kakashi in the direction of the Senju grounds, as the third training ground was sealed off for investigation. Noticing the direction, Kakashi grabbed Mikumo on the shoulder.
"Hey, didn't you say you weren't going to train?"
"I'm not, I just wanted some privacy. You want to know what happened, don't you?"
Kakashi nodded, indeed he was very worried and curious about the incident. The information about the so-called 'intruders' was leaked and became public knowledge, leading to a very worrisome atmosphere in the village. The Senju took advantage of this and said declared that they would add more protective seals to the vast forest surrounding their grounds. As the Senju forest spanned a large part of the village, this made the villagers feel a lot safer.
Of course, this was just the story on the surface. Now the Senju controlled nearly a sixth of the area inside the village. For how small the clan is these days, this was unprecedented. It didn't pass without complaints, at first, it was backed only by the Hokage and the civilian council who trusted the Senju clan as one of its founders. However, in a move that surprised everyone, the new Uchiha clan leader Fugaku supported the proposal. With the other founder of the village agreeing to the proposal, the rest of the clans fell into line and agreed.
Thus, now no one can enter the forest area controlled by the Senju without them knowing about it.
No one stopped Mikumo as she stepped onto clan grounds. Mikumo and Kakashi both could sense movement in the background, however.
"Let's go, Ayane probably let them know about us."
Mikumo and Kakashi reached a clearing in the Senju forest with a small lake in the middle. Mikumo looked around and nodded satisfyingly at the spot she found.
"Hey, this place looks pretty good! Let's train here in the future."
Kakashi nodded as well, it was well hidden by the surrounding trees, a perfect place to practice jutsu in private.
"Are you sure we can use this place though? Doesn't this place belong to the Senju clan?"
Mikumo grinned smugly.
"Kakashi, this is what it means to have connections. Feel free to use this place as well, no need to thank me."
Kakashi sighed at Mikumo's smugness.
"It's not good to abuse your power."
"Oh, speaking of power abuse."
Mikumo suddenly remembered something.
"I just remembered I have an open invitation to meet with the Kurama clan. Do you want anything? I can try to get something for you."
"No, what the heck? You're meeting with a clan head, not going on a shopping trip."
"Huh, isn't it the same thing?"
Kakashi sighed and didn't say more.
"Do whatever you want. Can we talk about what happened now?"
Mikumo nodded and then walked over to the lake and started practicing her chakra control by standing on the water surface. Kakashi wanted to tell her to just take it easy but knew it was pointless so he just followed her.
Once Mikumo reached the center of the small lake, she sat down, using her chakra to repel the water from her wetting her clothes. Mikumo found that this was better for training, as she had three points of contact with the water, her feet, butt, and hands. Kakashi stayed standing as he wasn't as good at his chakra control as Mikumo.
Mikumo closed her eyes and started thinking about what to tell Kakashi.
'Hmm, how much can I tell him? Kakashi inherited a lot of love for the village from his father, whether he would like to admit it or not. I can't just tell him Konoha ninjas tried to assassinate me under Danzo's orders. He might believe me but without definitive proof, it's too risky, it could leak out. Until I get him one hundred percent on my side and fully into the fold, I'll have to just guide him slowly.'
Kakashi waited patiently for Mikumo to speak. Kakashi could count on two fingers the number of people he trusted in this world, and Mikumo was one of them. As he started ninja training from a very young age, he learned a lot about the darkness of the world from his father and matured faster than most. From that maturity came an understanding, Kakashi could occasionally tell that Mikumo hid something under her mischievous attitude and bravado and that she too was much more mature than others her age, which is why he liked hanging out with her.
Soon, Mikumo opened her eyes and sat up.
"Well, first off, I'm sure you've heard from my parents already, but I'm okay. Just a light wound on my arm."
Kakashi's gaze moved to the bandage on Mikumo's arm and nodded sadly.
"Is it going to scar?"
"Huh? Well, I guess. Ayane treated it though, so maybe not."
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.
"I see, that's good."
Mikumo chuckled and then continued.
"Anyway, Kakashi, before I say anything else, what do you think about this incident?"
Kakashi shrugged and didn't really have much to say.
"Well, I think that war is probably on the horizon, my father told me as much. We'll probably see more incidents like this one, hopefully, the village will strengthen its defenses from now on."
Mikumo nodded but internally she sighed.
'Well, it's a pretty surface-level analysis. Though I guess he is still super young.'
"Kakashi, what you said would probably make sense to a normal person but in the shinobi world, things aren't always what they seem on the surface. You have to look deeper if you want to understand the truth. Didn't you tell me you wanted to graduate early? How can you be a ninja with such surface-level views on things? "
Kakashi scratched his head and shrugged.
"Isn't it fine just to complete missions as ordered? Leave the thinking and worrying to other people."
Mikumo sighed and shook her head.
"Kakashi, what's the difference between a ninja and a kunai?"
"Hm? What kind of question is that? Obviously-"
"Obviously, one is a human and the other is a tool. What separates us is our ability to think, so never be afraid to question things and dig deeper. Sakumo-sensei once told me that the reason why he became a ninja is to protect the village, I'm sure you know this as well, don't you?"
Kakashi nodded, remembering when his father first started training him in ninjutsu.
"People protect, weapons kill. If you want to inherit your father's will, you have to understand this first point. Never mindlessly accept orders, we are humans, we aren't weapons."
Kakashi solemnly nodded, trying his best to carve Mikumo's words into his mind. Seeing Kakashi in heavy contemplation, Mikumo smiled wryly.
"As long as you understand, then you will be a fine shinobi, just like your father. The reason why I'm telling you this is because yes, there is more to the matter of yesterday's incident than just a simple break-in by Kirigakure ninjas."
Kakashi turned his full attention back to Mikumo, hearing the seriousness in her voice.
"I can't tell you much, as it involves sensitive matters. But if you trust me as your friend Kakashi, you won't speak of what I'm about to tell you to anyone else, can you promise me that, Kakashi?"
"Not even my father?"
Mikumo nodded solemnly.
"Not even sensei, for now."
Kakashi thought for a few moments, trying to gleam any sort of insight he could from Mikumo's severe tone. For a moment, he thought about whether this was something he wanted to involve himself in or not, but as soon as he gazed back at Mikumo, and her injured arm, his hesitation faded away.
"I trust you."
Mikumo smiled widely and breathed a sigh of relief.
"For now this is what I'll tell you. I was attacked by two ninjas 'dressed in Kirigakure Anbu clothing.' From this, what can you tell?"
"Well, if you say it like that, it sounds like your attackers weren't actually from Kirigakure."
Mikumo nodded and continued, hoping to guide Kakashi's mind into thinking deeper.
"Kakashi, don't you find it strange that two hostile ninjas can invade so deep into our village without tripping any of our barriers?"
Kakashi thought for a moment and then brought up a counterpoint.
"My father once told me that it's almost impossible to completely ward off spies from other nations, as we still need to keep active trade routes open to keep the village running."
"Yes, correct. However, spies are one thing, and combatants are another. What's the difference? A spy would never risk blowing their cover, as a spy is infinitely more valuable alive than dead, especially if they can infiltrate the village undetected."
"I see..."
"So, now that we've established that these weren't Kirigakure spies, what insight can you glean from this?"
"Hmm...there's no point in sending ninjas who aren't good at infiltration to investigate another village, they would just get caught, which they did. I don't think that Kirigakure would do something so foolish so close to the start of a new war. That would make sense as to why you hinted to me that your attackers weren't actually from Kirigakure. Someone wanted to frame Kirigakure? Maybe another village trying to incite fighting between us and Kirigakure? But who would willingly sacrifice their ninjas like this? And why? We're already enemies with Kirigakure."
"Now you're starting to think deeper, which is good, however, you're still not close to the truth yet. Unfortunately, this is where I'll have to stop here. As I mentioned before, it involves sensitive matters, and I don't want to endanger you or myself any further."
Kakashi gulped upon hearing what Mikumo said and carved another reminder in his heart to never speak of this to anyone else.
"From all of the words I've spoken to you today, I've given you enough hints for you to put together a picture. Whether or not you're able to put that picture together is up to you. What I wanted to do today was to teach you that things aren't always what they seem. Lastly, I'll mention it again, don't speak of what we've talked about to anyone else, got it?"
Kakashi nodded firmly.
"Yes, I got it."
Mikumo smiled and then stood up.
"Alright, if one day you do put the picture together, at that time, I'll leave whatever decision you want to make up to you."
Kakashi didn't fully understand what Mikumo meant behind her cryptic words, but from the flow of the conversation today and what Mikumo told him earlier, he could tell it was a severe matter. After all, Mikumo was attacked.
"I can't say I'll know what my future self will do with that information, but what I do know is, I would never do anything that would harm you."
Mikumo looked directly into Kakashi's serious eyes and then smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
Kakashi scratched his head and then turned around.
"Sure, no problem."
Mikumo giggled and then walked in the direction of the village.
"Now let's get some ramen!"
"Fatty food isn't good for a recovering patient."
"Oh, don't be such a tough cookie, since I'm a recovering patient, shouldn't you let me do what I want for once?"
Kakashi sighed.
"You do whatever you want anyway, but fine, sure."
"Hehe, let's go!"
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