"This is…"
Only after Kakashi entered the room did he notice the extra human child present.
"A student the Hyuga clan stuffed over here. Fostering, you could say."
Kakashi glanced sideways at Habara. Fostering was one thing, but he worried Habara might end up 'fostering' the kid right into an early grave.
Upon seeing Kakashi, Hyuga Neji immediately stood up and bowed properly, appearing very polite. As for politeness, he had that part down pat.
"The Byakugan, huh? Quite rare," Kakashi remarked casually.
Given the close blood ties—Hizashi Hyuga being the first generation of the Branch House—and the fact that Neji hadn't yet received the Caged Bird Seal, a comprehensive analysis concluded… this child's Byakugan purity was definitely sufficiently high.
"As long as he's willing to work hard, he'll surely grow into an excellent ninja someday. Provided he doesn't get hot-headed and take a hit for someone else," Habara said, his tone thick with teasing.
This statement, naturally, baffled Kakashi. Normal people couldn't comprehend such dark humor.
"I don't doubt the talent of Hyuga clan ninja. The problem is, Habara, do you even know how to teach? What if you lead students astray?"
Kakashi didn't pursue the deeper meaning in Habara's words, because he figured there was no deeper meaning. Was there any need to analyze such casual, everyday remarks? He simply expressed his concerns more directly.
"Kakashi-senpai, what's the key factor in whether a ninja achieves great success? Their own effort, of course! So even if someone fails to amount to anything, what does that have to do with me? Besides, what's the definition of leading students astray? Surely not being able to go to the battlefield at age six doesn't count as useless, right?" Habara continued to jest.
Although there were obvious flaws in that statement, Kakashi found himself momentarily unable to refute it.
Actually, Habara himself knew his words were problematic. It wasn't about debating whether being unfit for the battlefield at six made one useless; rather, Habara believed a ninja's ultimate success had little to do with their effort. It depended entirely on who their ancestors were.
Effort determines achievement—such a view was far too much like feel-good chicken soup for the soul.
"Indeed. Many things simply require us to wait and see," Kakashi thought, Why am I even worrying about this? He changed the subject. "Once a month. Naruto's about to burst."
As he spoke, he handed Naruto to Daigo.
Kakashi's description might have sounded a bit ambiguous, but it didn't mean Uzumaki Naruto's situation had become abstract. This 'bursting' didn't mean Naruto needed the bathroom; rather, the amount of Nine-Tails chakra within him was nearing its critical threshold.
It wasn't that reaching the critical threshold would necessarily harm Naruto's body, but it would inevitably lead to two negative consequences. First, the excessive Nine-Tails chakra would constantly press against Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal; over time, this would inevitably cause the seal to be strained. Second, given the Eight Trigrams Seal's "slit-like" design, once the interior was filled with Nine-Tails chakra, it would inevitably leak through the seal's gaps into Naruto's chakra pathways, causing significant corrosion to the young boy.
Since Tailed Beast chakra contained potent negative emotions, coupled with its corrosive nature, it would inevitably poison young Naruto's body and mind. Or rather, as long as the possibility of such harm existed, his mother wouldn't allow it to happen.
Resolving this hidden danger wasn't difficult in itself. All that was needed was a "transfer payment"… Transferring Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra to Daigo made it a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Setting aside Naruto at his current age, once he grew slightly older, reducing the chakra within him would have a distinct advantage: improving his control over his own chakra. This practice of controlling the Nine-Tails chakra needed to continue until Naruto's body truly matured enough to withstand the Kyubi… Objectively speaking, this was a more scientific method of raising a Jinchuriki, as it eliminated the risk of the Tailed Beast losing control.
Daigo took Naruto and placed him on the desk in front of her, then placed her hand on his abdomen. Since this procedure had been performed more than once, Naruto already knew how to cooperate… Don't do anything, just stay put obediently.
Naruto's limbs remained still, but his eyes weren't idle. His eyeballs darted around in their sockets, frequently glancing towards Neji. Clearly, he was very curious about the other human child invading his territory.
Neji was also watching Naruto. He couldn't understand what was happening at all, which made him watch even more intently. If Neji's Byakugan were usable at this moment, he would see a large amount of chakra being transferred from Naruto to Daigo, then from the puppet Daigo through special underground chakra 'conduits' buried deep beneath the earth.
Only when this chakra reached Daigo's main body was the chakra transfer process finally complete.
After drawing out the Nine-Tails chakra from Naruto, Daigo casually popped several pieces of 'candy' into his mouth. As the saying goes, 'wool comes from the sheep's back,' and 'borrowing becomes easy when debts are repaid'… Watching her actions, Habara finally understood where her habit of casually stuffing chakra crystals into human children's mouths came from.
Seeing that business was concluded, Habara turned his gaze back to Kakashi. "One more thing, Kakashi-senpai. You said my application was approved—what specifically are you referring to? Which of my applications got approved?"
"…"
Kakashi froze for a second, needing the strength of nine bulls and two tigers just to suppress the urge to retort… Just how many freaking things have you applied for?!
"Weren't you the one who wanted to read through all of Orochimaru's research materials left behind in Konoha? The Hokage thought it over and agreed to your request. But there's one thing you need to be careful about: many of those things you can only read, you cannot attempt them. After all, that's stuff Orochimaru came up with," Kakashi explained further.
"Understood. I merely have a heart curious about science. I just want to learn Orochimaru's experimental methods; I have no intention of imitating his actions," Habara readily agreed.
"Good," Kakashi nodded. He knew Habara was someone who understood propriety and knew his limits.
"So, Kakashi-senpai…"
"What is it?"
Kakashi looked at Habara's outstretched hand, feeling somewhat baffled.
"Don't you understand? Where are the materials?"
"… Shouldn't you go get them yourself?"
"Kakashi-senpai, could you help me retrieve them?" Habara made another request.
It didn't take a genius to figure out Orochimaru's leftover materials would be both voluminous and heavy. Therefore, Habara needed a delivery boy.
"Me?"
Kakashi's tone was filled with disbelief. He wasn't that kind-hearted. Firstly, he was lazy by nature. Secondly, he wasn't Habara's mother; there was no need to spoil him like this.
"Who else? Or maybe you stay here and watch the kids, and I'll go move the materials myself?" Habara immediately proposed a trade.
Kakashi paused. He looked at Neji, then at Naruto, and immediately declared righteously, "Fine, I'll go."
Moving things was definitely better than taking care of brats. The former took a toll on the body; the latter took a toll on the spirit.
"See? Didn't we reach a consensus?"