An Orchestrated Coup [Exemplary]

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi stole one last glance at their mark before following his mentor. Galan Windforge definitely did not put off the air of someone desperate to rule. Moku’s citizens seemed to greatly admire the man and he them. The shinobi had to wondered, however, if perhaps his behavior was an attempt to schmooze with the townsfolk in an attempt manipulate them. Kakashi hated to think the worst of people, but countless times in his life he had been reminded that attempts at optimism were often met with the cold smack of reality. The stark contrast between the behavior they had witnessed in the meeting and what they had seen in their investigation was definitely raising questions in the former Anbu captain’s mind.

“So this is getting a little more complicated than we originally thought,” Minato said, leaping gracefully across a gap to the next building. He landed nimbly on the tiled roof, his former student in tow. “I wonder how much deeper this goes.”

Kakashi remained silent, following dutifully behind the blonde shinobi. He had entertained similar thoughts, wondering if perhaps the corruption in the village was far more deeply rooted than they had realized. He had not been in the village for very long at all and even he could see signs of the tension. He only hoped that their conversation with the Morikage clear up some of the uncertainty.

- - -

“Hey, Kakashi. Long time no see.”

The silver-haired shinobi looked down as he stepped through the doorway, spying the familiar face of his ninken. “Good to see you, Pakkun. Where’re the others?”

“They usually hang around the academy. They might act like battle-hardened warhounds, but they love to be petted,” the miniature pug smirked at his master, his eyes widening as the shinobi’s partner came into view. “Lord Fourth, it’s a surprise to see you here, too.”

Minato beamed, squatting to pat the ninken’s head. “I think we should all get used to surprises. I’m glad to see that Kakashi has had some friends here, Pakkun.”

“Not to spoil the heartfelt moment here, but how was the meeting?” Tsunade stood leaning against her heavy wooden desk, arms crossed. She wore a look of something akin to stern curiosity.

“Oh! Right, we have the meeting notes here,” Minato said, chuckling nervously. He strode forward, dropping the folder onto her desk. “But there’s something else we should talk about.”

Tsunade’s eyes never strayed from the duo, completely ignoring the file they had brought. “I know.”

“You know?” Kakashi parrotted, somewhat surprised.

“Yes. I may have sent you two with the express mission of moderating the meeting, though I think we all knew I had an ulterior motive.” She blinked slowly, her composure cool and serious. "Listening to a group of egotists argue hardly necessitates sending shinobi of your caliber. I could have easily sent someone else.”

“That thought had crossed my mind,” the sharingan-wielder confessed. “So, you know about the coup? The Windforge Clan?”

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, her composure breaking for the first time since their arrival. “What do you mean?”

“We were tipped off by one of the other clan-heads that the Windforge Clan were plotting a coup,” Minato explained. “We tailed their leader after the meeting ended, but he doesn’t really seem like the kind of person to be plotting something like this.”

The Morikage nodded. “You’re exactly right. And this accusation confirms that whoever is really behind all of this is simply trying to put us off of their scent. The Windforge Clan have been close friends of myself and the council since the Village’s inception.”

“He didn’t seem pleased with us when we were there. He seemed to harbor genuine animosity.” Kakashi said, letting his hands rest lazily in his pockets.

The Slug Princess turned her gaze to the open window. “I’d imagine that has to do with the death of his son. He was slain recently by an outsider, most likely a Prime.” She paused, her voice becoming somewhat quieter. “Galan protects this village as fiercely as he did his own son. He likely projects his anger and frustration with outsiders onto you two, as you’re newcomers in our village.”

“That does explain his attitude change. He seems to be loved and respected by the villagers.” Minato said, nodding.

“He genuinely is. He’s done nothing but work to keep this village safe since the beginning. It was his idea to have the regular scouting parties in the area to keep the orcs at bay. I have offered him countless times to join my council of advisers formally, but he has always declined.”

“He said that he was interested in taking the office of chief diplomat,” Kakashi said, recalling the elf’s words during the meeting. “I guess that makes sense.”

Tsunade nodded. “He’s mentioned it before. Galan wants to personally ensure that our relations with neighboring groups are civil, to prevent and unneeded violence. His son’s passing likely solidified his choice.”

“So it really was a red herring, then,” Minato confirmed, shaking his head. “Well at least we can rule him out.”

“It stands to reason that the culprit behind this whole thing is likely of the Makhel clan,” Kakashi offered. Minato nodded in kind, clearly having entertained the same thought.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Tsunade said thoughtfully. “Or, at least not entirely. I knew that I smelled a rat, but I’m thinking that this could be more complex than we realize. I have some information, but I’d like to confirm it before I go any further with it.” She paused. “Where’s Kito?”

“He was going to find a friend of his from the Miu clan,” Minato answered.

The Morikage nodded, picking up the folder from her desk. “Well, I’ll comb through these notes. In the meantime, you two should return to your investigation.”

“Investigation?” Kakashi inquired, taken slightly aback. “Where should we be looking?”

“Sadly, I can’t really say. That’s up to you two to figure out,” the kunoichi said, pursing her lips. “I wish I could help more, but I have to stay here and act like I’m not aware of anything being wrong. I can’t risk tipping them off.”

“So just...look around?” the silver-haired shinobi asked blankly.

“Follow any leads you have,” she replied. “But do so in secrecy. I’ll send a few operatives to tail Galan to give the impression that he’s under legitimate investigation and let him know that he should ignore their intrusion. The rest is up to you two.”