The Transparent Release puppet sat motionless in the treetops, its form completely invisible as it stared down at the forest floor below. Kakashi moved through the underbrush, following several summoned ninja hounds as they tracked toward the Kiri outpost.
Kenji had been watching Kakashi and Rin constantly since arriving at the eastern front. He knew better than anyone that Madara wouldn't give them much time. The old Uchiha's body was failing, sustained only by the Gedo Statue. He'd push his plan forward as quickly as possible.
And "Rin's death" was the lynchpin of that plan.
The puppet maintained its technique constantly. It followed at a safe distance as Kakashi reached the perimeter of the Kiri outpost.
Down below, the pack of hounds split up on Kakashi's command. They scattered in different directions, drawing the attention of the guards posted around the cave entrance. He moved the moment the distraction began, using the chaos of barking dogs and confused shouts to slip past the outer defenses.
An explosive tag detonated somewhere to the left, and more guards rushed toward the sound. He was already inside the cave system where Rin was held, moving through the tunnels.
The puppet emerged inside the cave network. It expanded its sensory range. The Flying Thunder God mark Kenji had placed on Rin days ago glowed clearly in its perception.
Kakashi found her in a small chamber, restrained with chakra-suppressing bindings and unconscious from genjutsu. He worked quickly, dispelling the illusion and cutting through the restraints. Rin's eyes fluttered open.
"Kakashi?"
"Come on, we're leaving." He pulled her to her feet, supporting her weight as she struggled to stand. "Can you move?"
"I think so."
They made their way toward a hidden exit Kakashi's reconnaissance had located earlier. The tunnel was narrow and dark, forcing them to move single file. Behind them, shouts echoed through the cave system as the Kiri ninjas realized something was wrong.
The puppet followed.
Kakashi and Rin emerged from the hidden exit into open forest. Pakkun was waiting for them, along with the rest of the pack.
"Hurry!" the small dog said urgently. "We'll draw them away, but you need to move now!"
"Thanks, Pakkun." Kakashi nodded, already pulling Rin toward the treeline.
"No problem," Pakkun said, his tail wagging. "If things get bad, we'll just cancel the summoning. They can't kill what's already disappeared, right?"
The ninja hounds scattered, barking and leaving scent trails in multiple directions. Immediately, Kiri ninjas poured out of the cave entrance, splitting up to chase the various targets.
"Let's go, Rin." Kakashi started running, setting a pace he knew Rin could maintain.
They'd gone maybe a hundred meters when Rin grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.
"Kakashi, wait. Something's wrong with me."
Her face was pale, eyes wide. Kakashi looked at her, trying to assess the situation quickly.
"Are you hurt? Did they poison you?"
"I don't know. It's not that, it's..." Her hands were shaking. "I can feel something inside me."
"We're still in enemy territory," Kakashi said firmly. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it once we're safe. Right now we need to move."
"Right. Okay." Rin nodded and forced herself to keep running.
They managed to break through the Kiri defensive perimeter without further contact, moving deeper into the forest toward Konoha's operational area. But after another few minutes, Rin slowed again. Her breathing was ragged.
"I can feel it more clearly now..."
"What are you talking about?" Kakashi turned to face her.
"The Kiri ninjas performed some kind of ritual on me. I remember feeling something being forced inside. I can sense it getting stronger—"
"Found them! Don't let them escape!"
Several Kiri ninjas burst through the trees behind them, weapons drawn. They'd tracked through the hounds' distraction faster than expected.
"You run, I'll hold them off!" Kakashi drew a kunai and charged toward the approaching enemies.
The first Kiri ninja went down with a kunai through his throat before he could react. The second managed to block Kakashi's initial strike but took a kick to the knee that shattered bone, followed by a blade across the jugular. The third enemy landed a shallow cut across Kakashi's shoulder, before Kakashi's counter strike caught him in the chest.
Blood sprayed. Bodies dropped. Kakashi turned immediately to catch up with Rin. She was still standing where he'd left her.
"Kakashi, they performed a sealing ritual. They sealed the Three-Tails inside me."
"The what?" Kakashi's mind raced, trying to process that information while also listening for more pursuers.
"The tailed beast. I can feel its chakra inside me." Tears were running down her face now. "I can't go back to Konoha. If I return to the village, this thing inside me will attack. It'll kill everyone."
"That's insane," Kakashi said. "We'll get back and tell Minato-sensei. He knows sealing techniques better than anyone. He'll be able to remove whatever they did to you."
"No!" Rin shouted. "You don't understand. If I let him examine me, the Three-Tails will be released. That's why they let you rescue me so easily."
Kakashi stared at her. A tailed beast unleashed in the middle of the village would be catastrophic. Thousands would die before they could contain it.
"Then we don't go back to Konoha. We head to one of the forward camps instead, and figure out a solution there."
"Kakashi." Rin's voice went quiet. "There's only one solution. You need to kill me. Right now, before they catch up to us."
"What? No! I promised Obito I'd protect you!"
"And I'm asking you to keep that promise." Rin was crying now. "Protect the village. Protect everyone we care about. Please."
"There has to be another way—"
"There isn't!" Rin's hands clenched into fists. "I've been trying to kill myself. The seal won't let me. I can't even hold a kunai properly if I try to turn it on myself. The only way this ends is if someone else does it. And it has to be you, because I trust you to make it clean."
Behind them, more Kiri ninjas were approaching. They had minutes at best.
High above in the trees, Kenji's puppet watched everything unfold. He'd already used the Flying Thunder God to teleport his real body and the Sharingan Puppet to the area, remaining invisible just a few dozen meters away. His Sharingan Puppet tracked every movement and chakra fluctuation. He could sense Obito approaching from the west, moving at high speed. The timing was almost perfect.
Kenji had considered interfering with the kidnapping hours ago. He'd considered killing the Kiri ninjas himself, grabbing Rin and teleporting her somewhere safe where they could figure out a solution. But doing that might prevent Kakashi and Obito from awakening their Mangekyō Sharingan. And more importantly, it would alert Madara that someone was disrupting his plans. The old Uchiha would adapt, and find other ways to break Obito. And those other paths would almost certainly still end with Rin's death. She was the one Obito cared about most. If Madara needed to shatter him, Rin would always be the fulcrum. Intervening now wouldn't save her, it would only change the shape of the tragedy, possibly into something even worse. At least this way, Kenji knew what would happen.
Better to let this play out as planned, then step in afterward. It made him sick, standing here and doing nothing. In this moment, he felt no better than Madara himself. But sometimes the smart play was also the cruelest one.
Down below, Kakashi had moved away from Rin, engaging another group of Kiri ninjas that had caught up to them. His movements were mechanical now, going through the forms without really thinking. Kill the enemy. Protect Rin. That was all that mattered. He finished the last Kiri ninja and turned back toward Rin. She hadn't run. She was just standing there, staring at him.
"You have to live," she said softly. "For both of us. For Obito too."
Kakashi's hands formed seals automatically, muscle memory from thousands of repetitions. Lightning chakra gathered in his palm, condensing and sharpening until it screamed like a thousand birds. He charged at the last remaining Kiri ninja, intending to end the fight quickly so they could keep running. Rin ran forward at the same moment, putting herself between Kakashi and his target.
The Chidori went through her chest before Kakashi could stop it. Blood sprayed across his face. The lightning chakra cut out instantly as his concentration shattered.
"Kakashi..." Rin's hand came up, reaching for his face. Her fingers barely brushed his cheek. "Thank you."
Her eyes closed and she fell forward. Kakashi caught her, lowering her gently to the ground.
His hands were shaking.
His whole body was shaking.
"Rin. Rin, no. No no no..."
He pressed his hand to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding even though he knew it was pointless. The Chidori had pierced her heart. There was no coming back from that.
"RIN!"
And that's when Obito arrived.
He burst through the trees at full speed, and then everything stopped as he saw the scene in front of him.
Kakashi kneeling over Rin's body, his hand covered in her blood. Rin lying motionless on the ground.
"Rin..." His voice came out strangled. "Kakashi... what..."
His Sharingan spun wildly, the three tomoe blurring with speed. The world around him seemed to shatter and reform, reality breaking apart at the edges. Pain unlike anything he'd ever felt ripped through his skull.