Ten minutes later.
Hiruzen arrived, and Veigar departed.
"Show them your resolve, Minato-sensei."
Stepping out of the Hokage's office, Veigar's slightly upturned lips showed he was in high spirits.
He'd had quite a conversation with Minato just now.
Outside the Hokage Residence.
Rin and Kakashi, who had left earlier, hadn't gone far.
Or rather, Rin hadn't left yet.
She was waiting for Veigar.
"You guys haven't left yet?"
Stepping outside, Veigar saw Kakashi leaning against the wall and Rin looking around, as if waiting for someone. He smiled and spoke.
"Veigar, you're out!"
"Thank you!"
Seeing Veigar, surprise lit up Rin's eyes. Standing before Veigar, she bowed deeply and sincerely.
Gratitude overflowed from her.
Whether it was Veigar completely sealing the Three-Tails within her, or his full effort today to protect her from Danzo taking her away.
Rin knew clearly that if not for Veigar, she wouldn't be standing here now.
"It's nothing, just a small favor."
"Get up."
Veigar accepted Rin's thanks. As she straightened up, he continued:
"Stay in Konoha Hospital for a while. With me around, they absolutely won't dare to lay a hand on you."
"I'll also teach you how to undo the seal yourself, by the way."
If Danzo were to give up the chance to acquire Isobu, the Three-Tails, so easily, Veigar wouldn't believe it for a second.
After a moment of contemplation, Rin agreed to Veigar's first suggestion. As for the second...
"Okay, I'll stay at the hospital for now. As for undoing the seal... let's not bother with that."
Rin touched her stomach, her emotions complex.
Having become the Three-Tails Jinchūriki unknowingly and unwillingly, Rin simply didn't know how to face it.
After all, it was a...
Monster.
A monster with immense power.
If she accidentally released it, the consequences...
Rin couldn't imagine.
Veigar placed his hand on Rin's head. Under her puzzled gaze, and Kakashi's sharp stare, he ruffled Rin's hair gently, then slowly said:
"Don't dwell on other things. The fact that you are the Three-Tails Jinchūriki cannot be changed now. You need to learn to accept the reality of what has happened, and accept it."
"Try looking at it from a different perspective, with different eyes. You'll find that the Three-Tails is just a slightly larger summoning animal."
"It might even make you stronger."
Although Veigar's words sounded very reasonable, Rin couldn't possibly accept this fact so quickly.
"I..."
Seeing the rejection in Rin's eyes, Veigar knew what she wanted to say.
"Don't overthink it! Come on, let's go back to the hospital and talk more there."
Removing his hand from Rin's head, Veigar turned and walked towards Konoha Hospital.
"Rin, don't worry. I'll definitely protect you from now on."
Following behind Veigar, walking side-by-side with Rin, Kakashi said with a very serious and firm tone.
"Kakashi, I..."
Rin was deeply touched by Kakashi's words, but she still found Veigar's perspective hard to accept.
In the Hokage's Office
Hiruzen sat beside Minato as usual, watching Minato diligently handle official duties. The thoughts in his mind kept buzzing.
Buzzing...
Minato had just finished one document and picked up another, preparing to review it, when he suddenly heard Hiruzen say:
"Minato, put those documents aside for a moment."
Turning his head, Minato asked, looking puzzled:
"Lord Third, is something wrong?"
"Ah..."
Slowly exhaling the smoke into his lungs, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed softly, then said:
"Minato, you and Veigar were too impulsive today. And that child, Rin, handing her over to Danzo for handling is actually the most suitable option right now."
Minato understood that Hiruzen hadn't given up yet.
Composing himself, Minato turned to face Hiruzen directly and, in an equally slow and firm voice, said:
"I trust Rin. She will become a pillar of Konoha in the future. There's no need to bring up handing her over to Danzo again; I won't agree to it."
Minato's tone was resolute, everyone could hear the determination in it.
The idea of Minato handing Rin over to Root was something he would absolutely never agree to.
"Minato, I know you're reluctant to let Rin go, but the Three-Tails..."
Hiruzen hadn't finished speaking when Minato directly interrupted him.
"Lord Third, there's no need to discuss this matter further. I've already decided where Rin will go; you don't need to worry."
"Also, Lord Third, I've decided to arrange a new position for Veigar. With his abilities, remaining as a vice-director at Konoha Hospital is truly a waste of talent."
Seeing Minato shift the topic to Veigar, Hiruzen paused, then asked:
"Where do you plan to send Veigar?"
Between Veigar and Rin, Hiruzen was naturally more concerned about Veigar's movements.
Without the Three-Tails, there wasn't much about Rin that was worth Hiruzen's attention. Even with the Three-Tails, in Hiruzen's eyes, it couldn't compare to Veigar.
"The Anbu."
"The Anbu?"
Minato's face was calm, while Hiruzen's was full of suspicion.
"Will he agree?"
Hiruzen's brow furrowed at the thought of Veigar returning to the Anbu, as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
He couldn't refuse Minato, because Hiruzen knew his refusal would be useless. If Minato was determined to place Veigar in the Anbu, he couldn't stop it.
Although control of the Anbu was currently in his hands, Minato was its nominal commander.
Now that Minato held the official title, he didn't need Hiruzen's permission to assign Veigar to the Anbu.
Hearing Minato's idea, Hiruzen knew even more that Minato intended to extend his influence into the Anbu.
"He'll agree."
Minato replied with certainty.
Before he became the Fourth Hokage, Veigar had provided him with a very in-depth analysis of his future situation as Hokage.
During this time, Minato recalled everything Veigar had said; it had all come true.
Without what happened today, Minato might not have made up his mind, might not have realized the seriousness of the Anbu not being under his direct control.
Without Veigar, he might not have known how to handle things, as he had no one to rely on.
Perhaps his life would have still played out as in the original story, where he would have paid with his life to separate and seal the rampaging Nine-Tails within himself and his son.
But now, things were different.
Veigar was his trump card.
"Since that's the case, then do what you want to do."
Hiruzen agreed to Minato's idea with a full smile.
Minato simply nodded in response.
"It's good that you agree."
Konoha Hospital.
Veigar led Rin and Kakashi directly to his office. After inviting them to sit down, Veigar made no attempt to hide from Kakashi as he prepared to teach Rin how to release and close the Reverse Reaper Death Seal.
Kakashi was probably just along for the ride.
The three sat facing each other. Veigar smiled and said to Rin Nohara:
"Rin, if I just teach you the method like this, you probably wouldn't use it, would you?"
Rin's silence was her answer, acknowledging Veigar's point.
"Alright then. Before that, let me tell you what Tailed Beasts truly are."
Both Kakashi and Rin instantly showed interest, yet also deep confusion, at the topic Veigar intended to discuss.
"Are there secrets about Tailed Beasts?"
Spreading his five fingers, Veigar's right hand was covered in a layer of chakra. Then he said to Rin:
"Let the Three-Tails listen to this as well, since it's one of the parties involved, after all."
"Stand up."
Rin looked at Veigar with confusion, then turned to glance at Kakashi.
"Rin, listen to Veigar. I trust him."
Kakashi said, looking incredibly serious and staring intently at Veigar.
"Mm!"
Rin nodded heavily and stood up.
Reverse Reaper Death Seal, Release.
Veigar's chakra-covered right hand slapped Rin's abdomen. Instantly, a portion of the Reverse Reaper Death Seal on Rin Nohara's body was undone.
Inside Rin's body, Isobu, the Three-Tails, which was in a completely sealed space, confined within its cage, no matter how much it struggled or what it did, without being able to influence its Jinchūriki with its chakra or see the outside world through its Jinchūriki's eyes—
It went mad.
It roared wildly.
But it was still completely useless.
However, it didn't give up. It continued to roar defiantly.
It hadn't been sealed before, but this was the first time it couldn't see the outside world at all.
So, it kept trying.
"ROAR..."
Venting its frustration, constantly impacting the cage with its chakra, it suddenly found its chakra seeping out. This made it incredibly excited.
"ROAR..."
Struggle, struggle, struggle...
Finally, Isobu, the Three-Tails, saw the outside world through Rin's eyes. It saw Veigar, it saw Kakashi.
At the same time.
Affected by Isobu's chakra, a layer of chakra materialized around Rin's body, also known as a Tailed Beast Cloak.
Just as a painful expression appeared on Rin's face, Veigar suddenly shouted sternly:
"Three-Tails, if you don't want to be completely sealed again, quiet down!"
In Kakashi's eyes, the Tailed Beast Cloak covering Rin Nohara receded at Veigar's roar, as if the Three-Tails feared Veigar.
Rin, now back to normal, also thought the same. But in reality, Veigar's mental energy entered Rin Nohara's body in that instant. He stood outside the cage and met Isobu, the Three-Tails.
"Brat, who are you?"
After finally managing to permeate and affect the Jinchūriki's chakra, it was suddenly cut off by Veigar, who appeared before its eyes. Isobu, the Three-Tails, instantly became furious.
"If you want to keep seeing the outside world, you'd better behave, or I'll lock you in a dark room for decades."
Leaving that remark, Veigar vanished from before Isobu, the Three-Tails.
Despite being threatened by Veigar and not knowing Veigar's identity, Isobu, the Three-Tails, understood that the sealing jutsu holding it was cast by Veigar, and its ability to let its chakra permeate was because Veigar had partially released the seal.
"This brat, he infuriates me!"
Fury was fury, but Isobu, the Three-Tails, no longer rampaged, wildly trying to permeate its chakra out of Rin's body.
"Alright, it's fine now!"
His consciousness returned, Veigar smiled and said.
"Veigar, was that... just now?"
Kakashi's tone was assertive yet slightly uncertain.
Veigar nodded and calmly said:
"That's right, that was the Three-Tails' chakra."
Immediately, fear appeared in Rin's eyes. That power was too strong, and Rin was worried she might be influenced and consequently harm Konoha.
The false memories in her mind were still affecting her.
Isobu, the Three-Tails, within Rin's body, naturally sensed Rin's inner turmoil at this moment.
Kakashi's understanding and Rin's fear were all seen by Veigar, but he showed little reaction.
"Rin, power isn't good or bad; what matters is how you use it."
The fear had not completely subsided, but Rin took a deep breath and then said to Veigar:
"Yes. I understand!"
"Good, as long as you understand!"
If Rin didn't understand now, it was fine. Veigar believed she would understand in the future.
"Alright, now I'll tell you about the Tailed Beasts."
Kakashi and Rin instantly straightened up, adopting an attentive posture.
Especially Kakashi, he was genuinely listening intently.
Even though the Three-Tails wasn't sealed within him, it was inside Rin's body.
"Isobu, the Three-Tails, is the name of the Tailed Beast sealed inside you. And there are a total of nine such Tailed Beasts in the shinobi world."
Staring into Rin's eyes, Veigar spoke very seriously and solemnly.
"They are generally perceived by the world as manifestations of disaster, only knowing destruction, bringing immense catastrophe to humanity every time they appear."
"But these are all misunderstandings people have of them, merely suspicions about their immense power."
"In my eyes, they are simply powerful summoning animals. As for monsters, that's baseless nonsense."
"Are there really so few strange-looking, powerful summoning animals in the shinobi world?"
"Frogs, snakes, slugs, salamanders, and so on—aren't they all enormous animals? Why does no one consider these summoning animals monsters?"
"This is all because humanity has too little understanding of Tailed Beasts. Many people don't know that Tailed Beasts' intelligence is in no way inferior to ours; in fact, it far surpasses human intelligence. Over their long lifespans, even if they started as fools, they've become intelligent."