Outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Kei walked alongside Kakashi, leaning lightly on his white cane.
Thanks to a bit of verbal maneuvering the day before, Kakashi had eventually been coaxed into agreement, reluctantly consenting to follow Kei's arrangements for a while. That night, Kei spent hours conducting what he called a "mental simulation" of Kakashi.
This mental simulation, as Kei defined it, involved building an internal model of the subject's psyche, then immersing himself in that simulated mindset, reliving the events of Kakashi's past, to infer his current psychological state.
Based on the results of the simulation, Kei concluded there were two major emotional knots that needed untying.
The first was the suicide of Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake. It left Kakashi not only disappointed, but deeply disillusioned, and triggered an obsessive dedication to completing missions at all costs.
To Kei, this obsessive dedication was just a manifestation of fear: Kakashi was terrified of becoming like his father.
If that were the only issue, Kei felt the problem wouldn't be too hard to resolve. But the deeper wound lay elsewhere.
Kakashi had also experienced the deaths of his teammates, Obito and Rin, and then the loss of his teacher, Minato Namikaze. One by one, everyone Kakashi once trusted and relied on had vanished from his life. It left his already fragile heart completely shut off from the world.
From a psychological perspective, sudden emotional shifts often arise from trauma inflicted on one's loved ones. When the impact is strong enough, it births a surge of negative emotions.
If left unchecked, those emotions could lead to madness. In more extreme cases, even suicide.
For most people, such trauma is nearly impossible to fully recover from, let alone cure.
Yet Kakashi, having suffered so many losses, had still managed to walk through the darkness and survive. That alone proved how remarkably strong his psyche was.
But the stronger someone's mind, the deeper their fall into darkness. And the harder it becomes to pull them back out.
So, rather than using bonds and emotional healing to reach Kakashi, Kei intended to take another path entirely.
A path he liked to call: psychological detox.
Kakashi trailed beside him, occasionally glancing over from the corner of his eye. Seeing Kei strolling along so casually, looking like he was out for a leisure walk rather than on a mission, finally became too much to ignore.
Kakashi stopped in his tracks, his voice cold. "What exactly are you taking me out here to do? I don't have time to waste on your games."
"I'm the mission lead, Kakashi," Kei replied calmly. "All you need to do is follow orders."
"At the very least, I should know what the mission is. I need to prepare in advance. That's basic protocol for any shinobi, you know that."
Kei turned to face him, expression composed. "Of course I do. But you, as a member of the ANBU, should also understand that mission details are often classified."
"If everyone around knows what mission you're carrying out, then whether you succeed or fail, something's gone wrong."
"It means either someone's trying to manipulate the outcome… or the operative is an idiot who leaked it themselves."
Kei paused slightly, then added, "So here's the real question, Kakashi, would you ever willingly leak the details of one of your missions? Especially one that ended in failure?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, trying to read Kei's placid face. He had the distinct sense that Kei's words weren't just a hypothetical. They were aimed at something, someone, specific.
"Don't try your psycho-babble tricks on me. What do you even know?" Kakashi said stiffly.
Kei just shrugged. "I was answering your question. If you don't want to hear it, let's keep walking."
Kakashi fell silent, and the two resumed their journey until they reached a small town just beyond the Leaf Village border.
As they walked along the main road of the west street, Kei swept the area with his chakra, then stopped before a bustling teahouse.
"This is the spot," he said.
Pointing toward the shop, Kei spoke: "Use the Transformation Jutsu to become an ordinary passerby. Walk into that teahouse and casually mention that there's free pork being handed out on East Street. Tell them anyone who goes there can get some."
"…Are you joking?" Kakashi deadpanned. "That's so obviously fake no one would believe it."
He stared at Kei like he'd gone mad. Free meat? From nowhere? Did Kei think the people inside were fools?
Even a fool would recognize this was nonsense. As far as Kakashi was concerned, Kei had clearly lost his mind.
Kei's tone didn't shift at all. "You agreed to follow my instructions. Or are you planning to go back on your word?"
"I told you, if you follow my orders for a while, I'll personally report to the Third Hokage and clear your psychological evaluation."
Kakashi gave him a long look and muttered, "You'd better keep your promise."
After a few quick seals, he transformed into a nondescript man and stepped into the teahouse. Five minutes later, he came back out.
"Well?" Kei asked. "What was the reaction?"
"No one believed it," Kakashi replied, eyes sharp with frustration. "They thought I was crazy. Honestly? I think I am, just for going along with this lunacy."
"Don't be so quick to judge," Kei said, pointing his cane toward the teahouse. "We'll know soon enough who the real lunatic is."
"Go back in. Change form again. Same approach. Same line: free pork on East Street."
"You're not a therapist. You're insane."
Even Kakashi, who was known for his calm, found himself at the edge of his patience. But Kei's earlier promise echoed in his mind, and he grit his teeth.
Fine. He'd play along, just to get it over with.
Again, five minutes passed. Kakashi returned.
"And now?" Kei asked.
"Same result," Kakashi sneered. "You think people can't tell a lie when they hear one?"
Kei merely smiled. "Let's try once more. One more disguise. Same story."
Kakashi didn't bother replying this time. He was too tired to argue with this lunatic. He just wanted to finish this farce and be done.
So, a third time, he stepped into the shop.
But this time… he didn't come out in five minutes. It took seven.
When he did, Kei was already waiting.
"What happened?" he asked gently.
Kakashi hesitated. "They still didn't believe me."
"Then why did it take two extra minutes?"
"…They asked me a few follow-up questions."
Kakashi's voice was tight. "But even so, they still didn't believe me. So by your logic, you're wrong."
"Am I?" Kei lifted his cane and pointed to the teahouse door. "Then tell me, why are those two people leaving and heading straight for East Street?"
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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