Raidou gave an uneven shrug. “Not really my specialty,” he said, rather than his first, less tactful response of genjutsu sucks ass. Beneath the tabletop, he rubbed his index finger and thumb together, feeling flakes of dried blood crumble away from a deep, narrow puncture in the pad of his thumb.

Bad enough to stab himself when kai had failed. Worse to stab himself, have that also fail, and think he’d finally lost all ability to deal with illusion.

Of course, so had everyone else.

Hatake Kakashi—coward’s son, hero’s student, Sharingan-bearer. Raidou had privately marked him down as cunning little shit.

But he had voted yes.

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” Genma said dryly.

Raidou ate a broccoli stem. “I think he’s going to cause problems. He’s a smart, high profile kid, and his judgement’s obviously not as good as he thinks it is. But if he’s half as talented, he’s gonna be show-stopper.”

“I did a couple missions with a guy who worked with him before,” Genma said. “Said he's absolutely as talented as everyone says, and twice the pain in the ass.”

“Did the guy have any specifics?” Raidou asked. Second-party information was still rumor lite, but it ranked higher than general village gossip.

Genma had tucked his senbon behind one ear while he ate; he freed it now, spinning it absently around the fingers of his off-hand. “According to Seiji,” he said slowly, “Hatake Kakashi pretty much knows he's better than everyone else, isn't afraid to let you know he knows it, and isn't real big on the 'working as a team' thing. Doesn't bother explaining or getting consensus on a plan. He just does shit and expects everyone else to fall in line.”

Raidou filed that away. “How much do you trust Seiji?”

Genma shrugged. “He’s usually a decent judge of character, but he's also the kind of guy who will hold a grudge, so if Kakashi pissed him off…”

“Character assassination abounds,” Raidou finished. He finished the last bite of ribs and drained his water, sitting back to stretch out the Trial aches. His spine popped like old knuckle bones. “I might be inclined to believe him, though. Did you spot Hatake stealing everyone’s jutsu?”

“He had both eyes open and wasn't making any effort to hide it,” Genma said dryly, which sounded like his thirteen-word way of saying duh. “But I don't know, is it really stealing? I mean, we're all Konoha ninja. If I had a Sharingan, I'd probably be collecting jutsu, too. Most of the Uchiha do; it's not like it's giving aid to the enemy.”