At the Land of Fire's border, inside a room commandeered by Kiri-nin.
"Am I captured?" Nohara Rin murmured, slowly regaining consciousness with a groan, her mind still foggy.
Recalling the earlier battle, she realized she had indeed been taken by Kiri-nin. She had been with Kakashi at the time.
"I hope Kakashi's okay." Rin thought, clinging to hope. With his jonin-level skills, he shouldn't have been captured like her.
"But why is no one here? And my chakra isn't sealed." Rin noted, shifting slightly and sensing her chakra flowing freely.
Suddenly, she heard voices nearby, freezing her in place.
From another room, she overheard a discussion about her fate, each word chilling her to the core.
The Kiri-nin had already decided her fate: they had sealed the Three-Tails, Isobu, inside her and placed a cursed seal on her heart. Their plan was to send her back to Konoha, where the Three-Tails would wreak havoc, crippling the village.
A destabilized Konoha, facing four ninja villages, would have no chance of victory.
"The Three-Tails is sealed in me?" Rin lifted her shirt slightly, revealing a seal on her abdomen. Touching it gently, determination flashed in her eyes.
"And my heart has a seal too, preventing me from taking my own life?" A trace of helplessness flickered in her gaze.
"Trouble! Konoha ninja are nearby!" A voice called from outside, followed by the sound of several people leaving.
In an instant, the adjacent room fell silent, devoid of even a breath.
"This is my chance." Rin said, rising from the bed and pushing open the door. As expected, no one was there.
"I need to escape." Opening the main door, she saw a large group of Kiri-nin gathered to the right, likely preparing to fend off approaching Konoha ninja.
"I'll head the other way and link up with Konoha's forces." Rin decided.
She didn't know how many Konoha ninja were coming or if they could defeat the Kiri-nin here. As a Konoha ninja, she refused to be a weapon for Kirigakure to destroy her village.
Meanwhile, in an underground chamber near the Land of Earth.
"You're really going out there?" White Zetsu asked Uchiha Obito.
"Yes. I need to see Kakashi and Rin." Obito replied.
He had been here for a long time, his body half-recovered, capable of taijutsu and ninjutsu with ease.
"Alright, I'll help you." White Zetsu said.
"Thank you." Obito responded.
With White Zetsu's aid, Obito shattered the stone door, catching the attention of an elderly Uchiha Madara.
"Obito, are you truly leaving?" Madara asked.
"Yes. I'm grateful you saved my life. If I get the chance, I'll repay you." Obito said, then departed.
He had heard Kakashi and Rin were being hunted by Kiri-nin.
"I didn't expect Kirigakure to join this fight." Obito muttered, running swiftly to aid his teammates.
Watching the broken door and Obito's retreating figure, Madara smirked coldly. "Obito, don't blame me. I'm giving you a new beginning."
Unbeknownst to Obito, every step he took was part of Madara's calculations.
…
"I can't keep going. My chakra's running out." Rin gasped, fleeing as dozens of Kiri-nin pursued her.
Though she had escaped, the Kiri-nin soon spotted her and gave chase.
Their goal was to capture and kill her.
Rin, unaware of their intent to kill, believed they wanted to use her as a weapon against Konoha.
"Rin!" A familiar voice called, startling her. "Kakashi!"
"Kakashi!" Rin exclaimed.
"Kiri-nin." Kakashi noted, spotting her pursuers.
Since Rin's capture and the sealing of the Three-Tails, Kakashi had been relentless in his efforts to rescue her.
"Rin, get behind me. I'll handle these Kiri-nin." Kakashi said, confident as a jonin, especially since he noticed no jonin among the pursuers.
"Konoha ninja!" The Kiri-nin exclaimed, surprised to encounter one here.
"Kill them both!" They decided, eager to resolve this quickly and report back to their camp.
"Chidori!" Kakashi's right hand crackled with lightning as he prepared his signature technique to dispatch the Kiri-nin.
As Kakashi charged, Rin made a choice, her thoughts fixated on the cursed seal in her heart. She knew she couldn't end her own life.
In a moment that stunned Kakashi, Rin stepped in front of him, her heart aligning with his Chidori.
Time seemed to freeze as everyone stood in shock.
Even the Kiri-nin were baffled, why would a Konoha ninja choose to die like this?
"Kakashi." Rin said, smiling softly.
"Why…" Kakashi stammered, staring at his hand piercing her chest.
"My heart has a cursed seal, and the Three-Tails, Isobu, is sealed inside me. They planned to use me to destroy Konoha." Rin said, blood trickling from her mouth. "So, Kakashi, dying by your hand… I'm truly happy."
Rin's smile was radiant.
"Rin!" From a distance, Uchiha Obito arrived just in time to witness Kakashi's hand ending her life.
In that instant, Obito's heart shattered, memories of their past crumbling into pieces.
"Rin!" Obito roared, his voice raw with anguish
***
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