Chapter 177: Making plan full proof
Kakashi led Kaida through the living quarters that made up the remaining Hatake compound. It was clear the place had seen better days, with an air of melancholy hanging over the slightly dilapidated buildings. But looking at the various buildings, Kaida could conclude that this clan used to be a really powerful one at the time of its peak.
Since we know only about 2 members of the Hatake clan, and both of them - the White Fang (Kakashi's father) and Kakashi - are proof that this clan had a lot of potential to rival bigger clans like the Senju and Uchiha, maybe that's why their clan has been reduced to this state.
Once they were inside Kakashi's private residence, Kakashi turned to Kaida.
"Alright, we're alone now. Explain to me exactly what you're talking about the plan of helping Naruto."
Kaida nodded and took out the paper again.
"What is that?" Kakashi asked.
"What I am about to tell you must not be leaked, that's why we will both pass our chakra into this seal. It was made by a fuinjutsu grandmaster and will confirm that our conversation will not be leaked."
"And what if one of us leaks our discussion?" Kakashi asked.
"Our ability to wield chakra will be lost, and we will feel the gut-wrenching pain," Kaida said while passing his chakra into the seal.
Kakashi looked at the seal for some time. Since he was not even a fuinjutsu master, there was no chance that he could understand that seal, but seeing Kaida passing his chakra into it, he also passed his chakra.
He didn't know why, but Kakashi could feel that he could trust this person. There was not a hint of jealousy in Kaida's eyes, but rather excitement, so Kakashi subconsciously let his guard down.
Luckily for him, Kaida didn't plan to take advantage of this opportunity. After passing his chakra, he looked at Kakashi and said, "Can we continue now?"
Kaida nodded solemnly. "To start, have you noticed anything unusual about how the village treats Naruto? Beyond just ignoring or resenting him for being the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?"
Kakashi's eye narrowed as he considered this. "Now that you mention it, there have been a few strange incidents over the years. Caretakers being abruptly reassigned, supplies going missing, that sort of thing. I chalked it up to human error or sabotage by those blinded by hatred towards him being a jinchuriki."
Kaida stated grimly, "That may have been the case, even if those people sabotage the supplies assigned to a 4-year-old boy due to hatred. Lord Third and others should be aware of that, right? He should have assigned Anbu to provide necessities like food and clothes, but he never did anything like that."
Kakashi's face showed anger as he said, "Who could be behind something like that? And why?" But by now, he had already guessed who was behind this.
"Think about it, Kakashi. Who in this village has the authority and connections to orchestrate such a widespread conspiracy? And who might view an incredibly powerful jinchuriki like Naruto as a potential weapon to be controlled?"
Realization dawned on Kakashi's face. "Danzo..."
Kaida nodded grimly. "From what I've pieced together, Danzo aims to completely break Naruto's spirit and support system. Once he is isolated and dependent, Danzo will likely attempt to manipulate him into becoming a powerful weapon solely under Root's control."
Kakashi felt a surge of anger and protectiveness rise within him at Kaida's words. To think that Danzo would stoop so low as to deliberately make Naruto's childhood a living hell, all to try to gain control over the Nine-Tails' power - it was sickening.
"That cannot be allowed to continue," Kakashi stated, his voice hard. "Naruto is the legacy of the Fourth Hokage, my sensei. But I also know that I can't do anything against him at the moment."
Kaida nodded solemnly. "I know that since Danzo has the full support of Lord Third, it is very difficult for anyone in Konoha to go against him. But our clan has taken too many hits from his schemes to not do anything, that's why tomorrow we are going to launch a full-scale political attack against him."
Kakashi said, "There is nothing new in that. In the last 4-5 years, many clans have raised many complaints against him, and the only punishment he got from those complaints was a vacation of 1-2 weeks. Why do you think that this time it will be different?"
"Because when I said 'full scale', I meant it. There will be no going back in that attack. We have already allied with most of the major clans. Due to the nature of Danzo's work, he has made many enemies both outside and inside the village," Kaida said.
"If you were so sure, why did you come to me for help?" Kakashi asked.
"Because even with this much preparation, I am sure that the punishment Danzo will get will be mostly a 6-month vacation, which is not enough. I want to at least take his power away from him," Kaida said.
Though in his mind, he knew that with Kotoamatsukami in play, Danzo's downfall was just around the corner, but there was no reason for Kaida to tell Kakashi about that. He just continued,
"And for that, I need your help," Kaida said.
"Which help could I provide you?" Kakashi asked.
"You worked in Root for some time, right?"
"Yes."
"I want to know the location of some of the Root headquarters where they are conducting experiments on Konoha's ninjas," Kaida said.
"They're doing what?" Kakashi asked, shocked.
"Are you saying that you worked for Root and don't even know this?" Kaida asked, genuinely shocked this time.
"Even though I worked in Root, I was never a part of it, so Danzo never put his seal on my head. Since that seal is one of the reasons Root ninjas can't disclose any secrets, and I don't have that seal, I was never told any secrets and only given elimination missions," Kakashi explained.
"Well, you should still know about some of the Root bases where they do experiments, right?" Kaida asked.
"Only one. It is near the Konoha hospital. I was once assigned to guard some scientists from that base to the Fire Capital, but I'm not sure that this is the base you're looking for," Kakashi said.
"That's fine. I'll figure it out. Is there any other base where such acts may happen?" Kaida asked.
"Does Lord Third know about this?" Kakashi asked after thinking for some time.
"It would be a shame if he didn't even know what Danzo had done to Konoha's shinobi. That would just confirm that he is not fit to continue being the Hokage. I'm pretty sure that he knows about this, but he just turned a blind eye to it," Kaida said.
"If that's the case, then there may be two more bases where such things could happen. Those bases would require a huge amount of funding, which must be for continuing the research," Kakashi said.