Taiichi watched Yusuke walk away, sighing internally at how unpredictable life could be.
In the original timeline, Yusuke was one of the key figures who drove Hatake Sakumo to his breaking point. In this reality? He was Sakumo's staunchest supporter.
Taiichi turned and headed for home, his mind racing with the next steps. There was only one variable left to manage: Kakashi.
He hadn't seen the kid in a while. He didn't know if Kakashi was even in the village, or if he had already said something hurtful to his father under the pressure of the rumors.
Just thinking about it gave Taiichi a headache. He was an outsider, yet here he was, playing family therapist for the Hatakes.
But, he reminded himself, Sakumo and Kakashi helped me when I was a nobody just starting to learn Kenjutsu. Sakumo mentored me just yesterday. Kakashi has been my friend for years.
Taiichi sighed, accepting his fate. I guess I'm just born to work.
Just as he resigned himself to his busy schedule, a familiar Chakra signature flared from around the corner ahead.
---
At the same time, Kakashi was walking aimlessly down the street, hands deep in his pockets, his silver brows furrowed in frustration.
He had been wandering all morning. Even though he tried to tune it out, the vicious gossip drifting from the alleys and storefronts felt like demonic whispers, constantly picking at his nerves.
Even if his father claimed not to care, Kakashi was his son. How could he stand by and let people drag his father's name through the mud?
The problem was, he had no idea how to fix it. He had racked his brain but came up empty.
Desperate, he thought about calling in reinforcements. Gai and Obito popped into his head first—they had backed him up in the street fight yesterday—but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Neither of them exactly had the "brains" for a psychological operation, and frankly, they were too weak to handle the fallout if things went south.
He thought about his current teammates, but shook his head again. He'd only been with them for a few months. This was a private, sensitive family matter; he couldn't trust them with it.
Then, his mind went to his other close friend—Taiichi.
The guy was smart, strong, and reliable. He was the perfect co-conspirator.
But where is he? Kakashi wondered. I heard he helped my dad on the mission. If it wasn't for him, the mission might have failed completely, and things would be even worse.
Lost in thought, Kakashi rounded the corner and nearly collided with someone. He slammed on the brakes.
"Kakashi!"
"Taiichi!"
They shouted each other's names in unison. The volume startled the pedestrians around them, drawing curious looks.
Taiichi looked at Kakashi. Even the mask couldn't hide the dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted.
Kakashi, meanwhile, noticed the dust on Taiichi's clothes. It didn't look like training dust; it looked like travel dust.
"I was looking for you," Kakashi said first, his voice laced with rare urgency. "About the rumors..."
"I know," Taiichi cut him off. "I was at your house yesterday. I saw Sakumo. I just finished speaking with his teammate, the guy he saved—Yusuke."
Kakashi's pupils constricted. He hadn't expected Taiichi to be this involved. Seeing the travel-worn state of his friend, he realized Taiichi had been running around trying to fix this mess, too.
A wave of gratitude washed over him. First Gai and Obito, now Taiichi. He wasn't alone.
"Thank you," Kakashi said, his voice sincere.
Taiichi dug a finger into his ear, acting like he'd gone deaf. He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Kakashi's neck, and shook him playfully.
"Did I hear that right? Kakashi actually said 'Thank you'? If Obito were here, he'd pass out from shock."
Kakashi struggled for a second but couldn't break the grip, so he just let Taiichi hang off him.
"You know about my dad," Kakashi muttered. "He says he doesn't care what the village thinks, but I'm worried..."
"Honestly? After hearing you say that, I'm not worried about Sakumo anymore," Taiichi laughed brightly.
He was relieved. The Kakashi of this timeline wasn't the cold, broken tool from the original story. He still had his heart.
"But you're right," Taiichi continued, his tone turning serious. "We need to put a stop to these rumors. They might not kill him physically, but they're designed to break him mentally. It's disgusting."
"Do you have a plan, Taiichi? I've been thinking all morning, but I've got nothing."
Taiichi steered Kakashi toward a quiet, secluded alleyway. He pulsed his sensory radar to make sure they were truly alone.
"Do you know who started the rumors?" Taiichi asked.
Kakashi shook his head blankly.
"Do you know why they started the rumors?"
Kakashi shook his head again.
"Have you thought about how to avoid retaliation from the people who started them? Because anyone willing to smear a war hero isn't going to play nice."
Kakashi looked like he was about to shut down. He hadn't realized stopping gossip required a degree in political science.
Taiichi suppressed a chuckle. Seeing the usually cool and collected genius look this dejected was a rare treat. If he had a camera, he'd frame this moment.
"Alright, listen up," Taiichi said, dropping the teasing act.
Drawing on his knowledge of the plot and his recent investigations, he laid out the grim reality for Kakashi.
---
Kakashi listened, his brow furrowing deeper with every sentence.
"I guessed someone was pulling the strings," he whispered, "but... Root? Why would they do this to their own village's hero?"
Taiichi sneered, tapping his finger against a tree trunk.
"Because Sakumo's reputation is too high. The title 'White Fang of the Leaf' carries more weight than the Sannin combined right now. And for certain rats who like to hide in the dark, that light is blinding."
Taiichi leaned in, lowering his voice.
"Danzo has always wanted the Hokage seat. Sakumo is a natural rival. If he can destroy Sakumo's reputation and remove a competitor in one move, why wouldn't he?"
"How does he dare?" Kakashi asked, incredulous. "Does the Hokage not know?"
He looked up and saw the cynical look in Taiichi's eyes. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. It was a sanctioned hit.
"But my father has no intention of becoming Hokage!" Kakashi argued, still clinging to logic.
"You believe that. I believe that. But do you think paranoid politicians believe that?"
Taiichi slapped Kakashi's shoulder hard, waking him up from his naivety.
"In that world, it doesn't matter what you want. It matters what you represent."
"Is there proof?" Kakashi asked, his voice trembling. His entire worldview was crumbling.
"When I went to see Yusuke earlier, I intercepted two guys trying to pressure him into denouncing your father," Taiichi said, enjoying the look on Kakashi's face.
"They hid it well, but they smelled like Root. Dead eyes, robotic speech. Also," Taiichi gestured to the street, "didn't you notice anything about the people spreading the rumors while you were walking around?"
Kakashi thought back. Now that Taiichi mentioned it... yes. The malice in their voices was too calculated. Their movements were stiff. They repeated the same scripts.
They fit the profile of Root operatives he had read about in the academy textbooks.
Kakashi clenched his fists, his chest heaving. The darkness beneath the village's sunny exterior was terrifying.
It took a long time for him to calm down. He buried the anger deep in his heart. Right now, revenge was impossible. Priority one was killing the rumors.
"So," Kakashi asked, looking at Taiichi, "what's the plan?"
Taiichi grinned confidently. "You know the saying: A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. We can't stop the source. We can't clarify the truth because people love a scandal. So, there is only one option."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"You're treating?" Kakashi deadpanned through gritted teeth. "Fine. BBQ. My treat."
"Deal!" Taiichi snapped his fingers. "The best way to kill a rumor is to start a better rumor. A louder, juicier, more scandalous rumor."
Lightning seemed to strike behind Kakashi's eyes. He got it immediately.
You don't defend. You distract.
If the village is busy talking about something else, they'll forget about Sakumo. The human attention span is short.
"And as for manpower," Taiichi added, "that's where we come in. Shadow Clones and Transformation Jutsu. We are the perfect agents. No paper trail. If we get caught, poof, the evidence vanishes."
The two of them huddled together, drafting the script. They concocted a series of wild, scandalous, yet vaguely plausible stories about Danzo Shimura.
Then, they split up to execute the mission.
---
According to the plan, Taiichi headed East. He found a blind spot in an alleyway, wove the signs, and popped out two Shadow Clones.
"Transform."
The clones shifted into the appearances of two generic villagers.
"Go," Taiichi whispered. "Spread the word about Danzo. Make it sound like a secret you're dying to tell."
The clones nodded and melted into the crowd.
"Hey, did you hear? That elder, Danzo? I heard he's doing human experiments..."
"Shh! Keep it down. But yeah, I heard it was Wood Style experiments..."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"I heard he's doing it for power. He wants to be the Fourth Hokage, no matter the cost to the village."
"Seriously? Isn't he supposed to be protecting us?"
"I heard he sacrificed his own teammates back in the day to save his own skin..."
Taiichi's main body moved to another block, waited for his chakra to regen, and repeated the process.
"They say he's jealous of the White Fang because he failed where Sakumo succeeded."
"I heard the Second Hokage didn't pick him because he was a coward."
Taiichi did a lap around the village. By the time he met up with Kakashi on the West side, there were twelve "Taiichis" currently gossiping their hearts out.
Kakashi was waiting for him. The usually calm prodigy was pacing back and forth, vibrating with adrenaline.
"How did it go?" Kakashi asked, his eyes shining with excitement. This was way more fun than standard training.
Taiichi flashed him a thumbs-up.
"Smooth sailing. I've got twelve clones out there stirring the pot."
"I've got eight," Kakashi reported proudly.
"Perfect. Let's go. You owe me a feast." Taiichi threw his arm around Kakashi's neck again.
"Don't worry. Eat as much as you want," Kakashi said, actually smiling under the mask.
---
Inside the BBQ restaurant.
Once the meat arrived, Taiichi cast a silent soundproofing barrier around their booth.
"We probably won't see results today," Taiichi said, flipping a piece of beef on the grill. The fat sizzled, sending up a mouth-watering aroma. "But by tomorrow morning? The streets will be buzzing."
He dipped the meat in sauce, wrapped it in a lettuce leaf, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.
"Do we do it again tomorrow?" Kakashi asked, barely looking at the food. He was still in mission mode. "Should we get more people?"
"We do it tomorrow, and the day after. But no new people," Taiichi said, swallowing. "This is a black ops mission, Kakashi. The more people who know, the higher the risk. Even your dad can't know."
He grabbed another slice of raw meat with his chopsticks.
"Don't rush it. If we push too hard, we'll look suspicious. We're playing a dangerous game here. If Danzo catches us, we're toast."
Kakashi nodded slowly. He had been too eager. It had taken days for the anti-Sakumo rumors to reach this fever pitch. He couldn't expect to reverse it in an hour.
Satisfied with the logic, Kakashi finally looked down at the grill.
His eyes widened.
The grill, which had been covered in premium beef moments ago, now held only three tiny, burnt scraps of meat.
"Hey! Taiichi! You pig! I haven't eaten a single bite!"
"Snooze, you lose!" Taiichi laughed maniacally, shoving the last few pieces into his mouth. "You were too busy plotting! Survival of the fittest, ninja!"
Chew, chew, gulp.
Taiichi wiped his mouth and canceled the sound barrier. "Hey, waiter! Same order again! Make it a double!"
He looked at Kakashi's betrayed expression and laughed. "Relax, moneybags. I said you're treating, I didn't say I'd starve you. That first round was just an appetizer."
"You're a monster," Kakashi grumbled, but he picked up his chopsticks, guarding the grill like a hawk as the second round arrived.
Taiichi watched him with a hidden smile.
When he first saw Kakashi today, the kid looked like a bowstring pulled so tight it was about to snap. If he stayed that tense, he'd crack long before the rumors died down.
That was why Taiichi was teasing him, stealing his food, and acting like a jerk. He needed to pull Kakashi out of his head.
It seemed to be working.
Kakashi was now fiercely focused on defending his beef, the political intrigue completely forgotten.
They decimated three more rounds of meat before throwing in the towel.
Leaning back in their chairs, clutching their distended stomachs, the two boys looked at each other's messy, sauce-covered faces and burst into laughter.
The laughter rang out, loud and genuine, washing away the gloom that had hung over them for days.