Kakashi's silence

And yet...

Kakashi reached out with his right index finger and gently traced the Mark. Yet he felt nothing but cold, as though the Mark were merely an illusion. He could not even detect the caster's Chakra that an ordinary Sealing jutsu would leave behind.

How was that possible?

Kakashi's brow furrowed. As far as he knew, the Nine-Tails had been regarded as a natural disaster throughout the Shinobi World since ancient times. Ever since Konoha brought him under its control, his abilities had been specifically analyzed and documented.

Yet none of those records had ever indicated that the Nine-Tails possessed any ability involving Sealing Jutsu.

And although Kakashi had been caught off guard at the time, he had remained vigilant. Even his Sharingan, which could control a tailed beast's will, had had no effect.

Even with the Sharingan's aid, he had failed to notice how the Nine-Tails had placed this Sealing on him.

Kakashi made several more attempts to control his thoughts, then drew a few tentative conclusions about the Sealing's effects.

First, the unknown Sealing seemed to be linked to his will. Whenever he wanted to tell someone about the Nine-Tails, the Sealing would react. Judging by what had happened earlier, it seemed that if he brought the matter up of his own accord, he would enter a state of forgetfulness.

It did not rewrite his memories. Rather, it was closer to a jutsu that puppeteered or controlled him.

From what he knew, it was somewhat similar to the chakra threads used by the puppeteers unique to the Wind Hidden Village. In essence, it probably also used chakra to control the body's actions.

Yet the Mark the Nine-Tails had left was barely concealed. It simply rested there, quiet and easy for him to detect.

"Was the Nine-Tails' Sealing Jutsu not sophisticated enough, or was he merely warning me?"

Kakashi did not dare jump to conclusions, but this was certainly not good news.

Sealing Jutsu were techniques that very few people in the Shinobi World had the opportunity to encounter and learn. Kakashi only knew something about them because of his past experiences.

He had been a student of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, whose mastery of sealing jutsu had been exceptional. Some of the sealing jutsu Kakashi knew had thus been taught to him by Minato back then.

With his current mastery of Sealing Jutsu, he could not understand the principles behind the Mark on his neck.

It was even harder to guess why the Nine-Tails had placed this Sealing on him.

Didn't he know that doing this would only expose him?

In any case, I should first figure out how to bypass this sealing jutsu and find a way to notify Lord Third. Any information concerning the Nine-Tails was no laughing matter for the village.

Yet just as Kakashi was about to try recording the information through something like a letter, without relying on his conscious recollection, he suddenly stopped.

He thought of Naruto.

The pen in his hand began tapping the paper in a slow rhythm, spreading blots of ink.

Everything the Third had done was meant to give Naruto freedom. A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who could escape an Elite Jonin's assassination attempt unscathed at just six years old would have no one in the village who could threaten him. Everyone would acknowledge him as a genius the likes of which the village rarely saw, but—

The condition was that he had to be safe enough.

Not only did Naruto himself have to be safe, he also absolutely could not jeopardize the village's safety!

That was Lord Third's goal. He hoped Naruto would embrace and inherit the Will of Fire, allowing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to become a force that protected the village.

But if I reported this information about the Nine-Tails, and the village once again faced the threat of his return, then...

All of that would cease to exist. Even Naruto's life might become something they chose to sacrifice!

Minato-sensei's only child left in this world, and the safety of the village...

Kakashi fell silent.