Master Genji, This Little Bastard Is Framing Me!
The council chamber of the Hidden Mist Village was filled with a suffocating tension.
The moment the elder finished speaking, the gathered jōnin erupted.
"Oh my God, I never imagined the Kaguya Clan had such hidden contact with the Hyūga Clan of Konohagakure!"
"This is the first time I've heard of such a thing!"
"If that's true, then this isn't just suspicion it's treason!"
The name Taketori no longer existed in Kirigakure's records. The so-called "Bamboo Cutter Clan" had been nothing more than a mistranslation. The true name was the Kaguya Clan wielders of the terrifying Shikotsumyaku, the Kekkei Genkai that allowed them to manipulate their own bones as weapons.
And now that bloodline was being dragged into accusations of betrayal.
"Cough."
A firm voice cut through the noise.
"Silence."
The speaker was none other than the Fourth Mizukage,
Yagura Karatachi.
The Three-Tails' jinchūriki sat upon the elevated seat, his expression unreadable beneath the tall ceremonial hat of the Mizukage.
"Hoshigaki Kaimai has not finished."
At the Mizukage's words, the chamber gradually quieted.
Standing at the center was Hoshigaki Kaimai, a member of the Hoshigaki clan distant kin to Kisame, though far less renowned. His shark-like features were stiff with restrained excitement.
"When the topic shifted to the Kaguya Clan's historical contact with the Hyūga of Konoha," Kaimai continued calmly, "I was shocked, just as you are."
"But history alone is not proof of betrayal."
He paused deliberately.
"However… recent events within Kirigakure align far too precisely to ignore."
The jōnin exchanged glances.
At the edge of the chamber stood Kaguya Kaku, clan head of the Kaguya. His expression was dark, veins bulging faintly at his temples. He restrained himself only by force of will. His fingers twitched as if ready to draw a bone blade from his palm.
Kaimai continued.
"Murakami Jōnin was your brother not recently ambushed during a classified mission after the route was leaked?"
Murmurs.
"He remains hospitalized."
"And on multiple occasions," Kaimai went on, "whenever our forces attempted to capture Kakashi Hatake, information seemed to reach him beforehand."
At Kakashi's name, the atmosphere shifted again.
The Copy Ninja of Konoha famed for his mastery of over a thousand techniques, wielder of the Sharingan had infiltrated the Land of Water weeks ago. His presence alone was an insult to Kirigakure's pride.
"And yet," Kaimai's voice sharpened, "whenever the Kaguya Clan led the pursuit, Kakashi escaped."
He turned abruptly.
"Why?"
Kaguya Kaku's teeth clenched.
"Does Chief Kaguya believe himself comparable to Madara Uchiha capable of crushing an elite jōnin of Konoha effortlessly?"
Gasps rippled across the hall.
The comparison was deliberate. Dangerous.
Madara Uchiha was a legend even in the Mist a specter of the Warring States Period.
Kaku's voice exploded.
"I'll explain your mother! You're twisting facts!"
His composure shattered. Killing intent flickered faintly from him a cold, sharp chakra pressure characteristic of the Kaguya's battle-hungry bloodline.
Kaimai's lips curved faintly.
"Anger born of guilt?"
He raised both hands placatingly.
"Everything I've said so far is deduction. If I offended Chief Kaguya, I apologize."
A pause.
"But I act only for Kirigakure."
Before he could continue, a shinobi burst through the chamber doors, pale and breathless.
"Mizukage-sama!"
"Kakashi has escaped!"
Shock surged through the hall.
Escaped?
Was he not gravely wounded during the last confrontation with Kaguya Kaku? Even without ANBU surveillance, Kirigakure's prison security was not so easily bypassed.
All eyes turned to Yagura.
The Mizukage did not appear alarmed.
"Be calm."
His voice was steady.
"Kakashi's escape was permitted."
The chamber froze.
Permitted?
Had the Mizukage… betrayed the village?
Yagura's gaze swept across them.
"Hoshigaki Kaimai. Explain."
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Kaimai stepped forward eagerly.
"Kakashi's escape was part of a larger design."
"Design?"
"To expose the traitor."
The final word echoed.
"This entire meeting," Kaimai declared, "was arranged to draw the traitor into action."
His finger pointed directly at Kaguya Kaku.
"The Kaguya Clan Head."
The jōnin recoiled almost instinctively, stepping away from Kaku as if proximity itself would implicate them.
Kaku trembled not from fear, but fury.
"You dare"
"Kakashi infiltrated the Land of Water," Kaimai pressed on. "A shinobi of his caliber cannot be tracked so easily. Yet we located him repeatedly."
He scanned the room.
"Can any of you guarantee you could pinpoint Kakashi's position consistently within our own territory?"
Silence.
"Furthermore during the final capture, Kakashi surrendered far too easily."
That statement caused visible confusion.
"Kakashi Hatake," Kaimai emphasized, "student of the Yellow Flash, elite jōnin of Konoha, wielder of the Sharingan does anyone here truly believe he would fall so simply?"
Even those skeptical of Kaimai's motives hesitated.
Power levels mattered.
Kakashi was no ordinary shinobi.
"And then there was that large-scale Fire Release incident flames raining from the sky days prior."
Whispers.
"That level of technique resembles high-ranked Fire Release from Konoha's lineage. Coincidence?"
He spread his hands.
"These alone are suspicions."
"But Lord Mizukage prepared a test."
"We summoned every jōnin to this chamber leaving the prison lightly guarded."
"To create an opportunity."
He looked at Kaku with open triumph.
"And as predicted, someone moved."
"Taketori Reiko"
He corrected himself smoothly.
"Kaguya Reiko, was intercepted after delivering food to the prisoner."
"She assisted Kakashi's escape."
The words fell like executioner's blades.
Inside Kaguya Kaku's mind, chaos roared.
Reiko?
Impossible.
Unless
Unless this had been orchestrated from the beginning.
His gaze darted toward the Mizukage.
Yagura's expression was unreadable. Too unreadable.
"You little bastard!"
Kaku roared.
"You're lying! I never ordered such a thing!"
"Didn't you?" Kaimai replied coolly. "At this point, denial only worsens matters."
He sighed theatrically.
"I always believed the Kaguya were warriors of honor. It pains me to see such deception."
"Enough!"
Kaku's chakra flared violently, bone spikes subtly pushing beneath the skin of his forearms before he forcefully suppressed the instinct.
He turned desperately toward the elder seated near the Mizukage's right.
"Master Genji!"
His voice cracked with urgency.
"Please speak for me!"
The elder was
Genji, one of Kirigakure's senior advisors.
Unlike Yagura, Genji's aged eyes were sharp and calculating.
Kaku continued hoarsely:
"This brat is framing me! I swear upon the Kaguya bloodline we have not betrayed Kirigakure!"
His pride as clan head clashed with the humiliation of pleading publicly.
He did not even look at Yagura for support.
Everyone knew Hoshigaki Kaimai acted under the Mizukage's authority.
If salvation existed, it would come from the elder council.
At that very moment
A faint ripple passed through the air.
Invisible to ordinary shinobi.
And then