This ninja in Naruto is unscientific

Chapter 143 A Conspiracy in the Dark

The morning sunlight streamed through the windows into the corridor, but Kakashi Hatake felt no warmth at all.

He stood at the door of his father's room, holding breakfast in his hand, hesitating whether to knock.

My father has changed ever since he returned from that mission.

The once spirited and sharp-eyed White Fang of Konoha now seems to have lost his backbone.

He often sat alone under the corridor, staring blankly at the short knife, sometimes for an entire day.

"Father?"

Kakashi called out softly.

no respond.

Sakumo Hatake remained in the same posture, wiping his short sword, his eyes vacant, as if unfocused. His back looked so desolate, so lonely.

Kakashi felt as if something had ripped his heart out.

He put down his breakfast and silently left.

As he walked down the street, Kakashi keenly sensed the unusual atmosphere around him.

"Look, White Tooth's son."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. I heard that Lord Sakumo messed up this mission, causing heavy losses to the village."

Although the volume was deliberately lowered, a ninja's hearing was still able to pick up some of it.

Kakashi pulled down his mask, lowered his head further, and quickened his pace.

……

Ninja Academy, Class 5-B.

Kakashi had promised Kana Uzumaki and Shizune that he would come to see them today.

However... Kana Uzumaki was kept after school again and had to finish yesterday's homework before she could leave.

"Little White Hair, why are you so late? I've already finished my homework!"

Kana Uzumaki was lying on the table, holding two large meat buns in her hands. Her long red hair was casually tied into a ponytail, making her look very energetic.

Fifth-grader Chanel has grown quite a bit taller, and her red eyes still sparkle with an indomitable spirit.

"Here you go, this is what Jingyin just bought, it's still hot, and it has lots of meat in it!"

Kakashi looked at the steaming hot buns, and his previously cold heart warmed up a little.

"Thank you," he said softly, taking the bun but not eating it immediately, appearing somewhat absent-minded.

"What's wrong?"

Shizune walked over carrying Tun Tun, her gentle face filled with worry.

She keenly sensed that something was wrong with Kakashi; his dead fish eyes were even dimmer than usual, as if covered with a layer of gray.

"Is it... because of those rumors?" Shizune asked cautiously.

Kakashi's body stiffened for a moment, and he tightened his grip on the steamed bun slightly.

"You've heard about it too?"

"Hmm..." Shizune nodded, looking at him with some concern. "Recently, a lot of people at school have been saying bad things about Sakumo-sama, saying that he... saying that he doesn't deserve to be a ninja."

"Nonsense!"

Chanel slammed her hand on the table and stood up angrily.

"Uncle Sakumo is so amazing, how could he be a waste! Those people are just jealous! Jealous that Little White Hair has a good father!"

She turned to look at Kakashi, her large eyes filled with determination, even welling up with tears of excitement:

"Little White Hair, don't listen to their nonsense. Shizune and I both believe Uncle Sakumo is a good person. If it weren't for Uncle Sakumo, I would have been captured by those bastards from Kumogakure long ago!"

Chanel will always remember that night when the silver-haired man appeared in the cave like a god descending from heaven and rescued her from despair.

That warm embrace and gentle voice are memories she will never forget.

"Yes, Lord Sakumo is a hero," Shizune said firmly. "If anyone dares to gossip about him behind his back, I'll... I'll have Ton-ton bite him!"

"Pfft—" Tun Tun made a cooperative humming sound, revealing two small, not-so-sharp teeth.

Kakashi felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he looked at the two girls who stood up for him.

In this indifferent world, at least they are still willing to believe in their fathers.

"I'm fine."

Kakashi picked up the steamed bun, took a big bite, and tried to hide the desolation in his eyes.

"As long as I become stronger, I can prove them wrong."

"That's more like it!" Kana patted his shoulder and said casually, "Come on, smile! If you're unhappy, I'll tell you a joke? Or... I'll demonstrate a new sealing technique I learned? How about sealing that mask of yours?"

"No." Kakashi resolutely refused.

"Tch, you stingy guy." Kana pouted, but seeing that Kakashi was finally willing to eat, she still smiled happily.

"Oh, right, TunTun has recently learned to dance! Let TunTun show you!"

"Pfft—" Tun Tun jumped onto the table and wiggled her butt in agreement.

Seeing this comical scene, Kakashi's face remained expressionless, but his eyes softened considerably.

……

Along the riverbank, the setting sun dyed the river water blood red.

After parting ways with Kana and Shizune, Kakashi did not go home. Instead, he sat alone on the grass, holding a kunai in his hand, and kept throwing it into the river, splashing water everywhere.

"If you're angry inside, you can't vent it by just throwing stones."

A gentle voice came from behind.

Kakashi paused, then turned around to look.

Minato Namikaze stood on the embankment, his golden hair gleaming in the setting sun, holding two cans of cola in his hand.

"Minato-senpai." Kakashi put away his kunai and greeted him politely, but his voice remained low.

Minato came down, sat down next to Kakashi, and handed him a can of cola.

"Here, this will make you feel better."

Kakashi took it, but didn't open it.

"Senior, do you also think... my father did something wrong?"

Kakashi lowered his head, looking at the can in his hand, his voice trembling slightly.

"Breaking the rules of the ninja, causing the mission to fail, and harming the village... that's wrong, isn't it?"

Minato looked at the bewildered boy, his smile fading, and his eyes became serious and profound.

"Kakashi, I've heard those rumors too."

Minato opened the red bean soup, took a sip, and slowly said, "But I made a special trip to the hospital today to see those two Chunin who were saved by your father."

Kakashi suddenly looked up.

"One of them... he's crying." Minato sighed. "He's not hating your father, but hating his own incompetence. It was because he fell into a trap that Sakumo-senpai had to make a choice. He's blaming himself, he's feeling guilty, but these emotions have been exploited by someone with ulterior motives and turned into weapons to attack your father."

"Someone with ulterior motives?" Kakashi keenly grasped the key point.

"Yes."

Minato patted Kakashi on the shoulder, his azure eyes gleaming with wisdom.

"Kakashi, you must remember this. Rules are meant to make missions go more smoothly, but comrades... are what make a ninja 'human'."

"Sakumo-senpai's choice may be controversial in terms of rules, but in terms of humanity, he is great."

"and……"

Shuimen stood up, his gaze fixed on the police headquarters building in the distance, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Che has already taken action. He told me that this rumor is not simple and that there is someone behind it."

"Since someone wants to smear a hero, then we must make him pay the price."

Minato looked down at Kakashi and extended his hand: "Trust your father, and trust us. The truth will soon come out."

As Kakashi looked at Minato's outstretched hand, and recalled Kanae and Shizune's words, a crack finally appeared in the ice in his heart.

He reached out his small hand and grasped the large hand of the water gate.

"Um."

……

Meanwhile, the Konoha Police Department.

The interrogation room was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the smell of burning.

Uchiha Hachiro held a crackling Lightning Release baton in his hand, coldly staring at the middle-aged man in front of him who was already foaming at the mouth from being electrocuted.

"Tell me, who gave you permission to spread rumors at the izakaya?"

"I...I was just drunk...I just said it offhand..." the middle-aged man continued to argue, his eyes darting around.

"Just something you said offhand?"

Yashiro sneered, picked up a document from the table, and slammed it hard in his face.

"According to our investigation, yesterday you said the same thing to five different groups of people in three different taverns, and the content was strikingly consistent—'White Fang abandoned the mission, causing losses to the village.' You even fabricated the specific losses in a very convincing way. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"How could an ordinary drunkard know the details of the village's secret mission? And how could he make up such a convincing story?"

Yashiro pressed the baton close to the man's face, the blue arc of electricity reflecting in the man's terrified pupils.

"Furthermore, the way your chakra flows... although well concealed, it can't escape my Sharingan."

Yashiro's eyes instantly turned scarlet, and the three-tomoe gems slowly rotated.

"You're from Kumogakure, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, the man's body trembled violently.

"It's not just you."

Yashiro pointed to the interrogation room next door, where screams of agony could be heard one after another.

"This afternoon, we arrested twenty-three 'drunkards' like you from the entire village. Half of them were spies from Kumogakure, and a few others were from other ninja villages."

"So you planned this all along? Trying to use public opinion to destroy our top combat force?"

Yashiro stood up, straightened his police uniform, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Unfortunately, you've miscalculated."

"Lock them all in the torture chamber. No one is allowed to visit them without the captain's order! Interrogate them until their brains are completely emptied!"

"yes!"

……

Late at night, in the police department building, the light in the captain's office was still on.

As Fugaku listened to Yatsushiro's report, his face darkened horribly, and the teacup in his hand cracked from his grip.

"It really was an enemy spy pulling the strings."

Fugaku threw the report in his hand on the table, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

"They're trying to destroy Sakumo, to destroy the backbone of Konoha! Those despicable bastards!"

"However, this also proves that our guess was correct."

Nishikawa Tetsu stood by the window, watching the spies being escorted downstairs, his tone calm.

"Although Danzo is cunning, he wouldn't do something that would destroy the foundation of the village. In this incident, we really didn't find any evidence against him."

"So what do we do now?" Fugaku asked. "Expose these spies to the public? Tell the villagers they've been deceived?"

"No rush."

Nishikawa Tetsu shook his head, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"It's not interesting to just catch a few small fry. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to completely reverse public opinion and even turn the tables on them."

He pointed to the unpublished sample copy of the Konoha Weekly on the table.

"Tomorrow's newspaper will give the villagers the 'truth'."

"A story about how heroes make choices in dire straits, abandoning their missions to protect their comrades. And... the truth about how enemy nations despicably use rumors to assassinate heroes, attempting to undermine Konoha from within."

"When the angry villagers discover that they have been used as pawns by spies from an enemy country, their guilt and resentment will become the strongest shield protecting Senior Sakumo."

Nishikawa Tetsu turned around, looked at Fugaku, and his eyes were firm.

"Senior, get ready to receive the praise of the entire village. This time, the police department has done a great job. We not only caught the spy, but also rescued a hero."

Looking at Nishikawa Tetsu's confident eyes, Fugaku's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

"I hope Konoha's White Fang... can pull through this."