Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 62: Rin: I'm Falling Apart

After pondering the situation carefully, Madara found no signs of outside interference in recent events and decided to let the matter rest.

"How is the plan progressing?"

"There are too few suitable targets; we've only identified five ninja so far."

"That's not enough. Continue."

"Understood!"

…

After listening to Kakashi's account, Kushina wanted nothing more than to storm into the medical corps and demand an explanation for how Rin had ended up alone on the battlefield.

But reason told her that the medical corps likely wasn't to blame.

"Rin, Mist ninja, Obito, Mangekyo, white creatures, Uchiha Madara…"

Kushina could see the pieces starting to form a coherent line, but something was still missing.

Suppressing her grief, Kushina turned to Hyuga Fuji. "Fuji, how strong is Obito?"

Although she didn't want to admit it, if they encountered Obito again, he would likely be their enemy.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Fuji replied, "He's quite formidable. After a few more battles and some experience refining his Mangekyo abilities, he'll become a very difficult opponent."

"Fugaku mentioned that overusing his Mangekyo abilities could lead to blindness. Does Obito not have that limitation?" Kushina asked, puzzled.

"He was using it constantly during the fight, especially to evade attacks," Yakumaru interjected, frowning. "It doesn't seem to drain him much at all."

"And in the end, he sucked himself into some kind of vortex centered on his right eye," Yakumaru continued. "I suspect his Mangekyo ability is some kind of space-time ninjutsu. But if that's the case, I can't understand how he's also able to phase his body in and out of existence."

"I see," Kushina murmured, committing the information to memory before turning back to Fuji. "Fuji, can you still hold up?"

Before Fuji could respond, Yakumaru looked at him with a questioning expression and said, "He clearly looks fine."

"Not really," Fuji replied, casting a brief glance at Yakumaru. "My chakra is running low, but otherwise, I'm fine."

"It's not just a matter of chakra, is it? You've been fighting for too long," Kushina said gently. "Even with the Byakugan giving you a full view of the battlefield, analyzing all that information while fending off a thousand enemies and then taking on Obito must have been mentally exhausting. Fuji, you should return to the camp and rest."

She then turned to Kakashi. "You too, Kakashi. Leave the rest to us."

Kakashi nodded. His mind was still a mess, and all he wanted was to figure out why Rin had ended up on the battlefield.

"So you've been pushing yourself this whole time," Yakumaru muttered, glancing at Fuji, who didn't protest Kushina's suggestion. "I thought you were as unfazed as your expression makes you look. Aren't you worried that running low on chakra might get you killed by Obito?"

"I set aside enough chakra to use the Flying Thunder God to escape if necessary," Fuji replied calmly.

Yakumaru: "…"

Space-time ninjutsu really is unfair. Once I get back, I need to keep pestering the Fourth Hokage to teach me Flying Thunder God.

"Yakumaru, since you're still full of energy, I assume you can keep going," Kushina said, grabbing the back of Yakumaru's collar as he looked at her helplessly. She began walking in the direction Minato had gone. "Let's go see how our Konoha's Three-Tails is thrashing those Mist ninja scum!"

The Mist ninja who had chased Obito and Rin were clearly one of the root causes of this tragedy. While she couldn't uncover the full truth yet, she could at least make the Mist pay.

Back on the battlefield, Hyuga Fuji and Kakashi exchanged a glance.

"I'll take you back to the camp," Fuji said.

"Thank you," Kakashi replied.

Using the Flying Thunder God, Fuji returned them to the camp. He watched as Kakashi walked toward the medical corps' station, then turned and headed to another part of the camp.

…

Hearing footsteps behind her, Rin, seated in a chair, turned around with a complicated expression.

"Fuji-senpai."

Her lips trembled as she thought about asking why he had done what he did. But remembering that she would have died without his intervention, she swallowed her question and awkwardly said, "Thank you for saving me."

"It was just an experiment," Fuji replied flatly. "No need to thank me. How's your body holding up?"

"…A bit weak. I'll need some time to recover," Rin replied hesitantly. She watched Fuji walk to a desk and glance over the experiment logs. Clenching her fists, she said, "I think I saw Kakashi near the battlefield. You're teammates, right? How is Obito doing?"

"Physically, he's fine. Mentally… you probably have a better idea than I do," Fuji said indifferently.

"…"

Sometimes, surviving can hurt more than dying.

Rin looked down, a bitter smile on her face. "If I had known I was still alive, I could have told him."

"If you'd done that, Obito would have died there," Fuji stated.

Hearing this, Rin looked up and asked, "Can you tell me everything that happened?"

She only knew bits and pieces.

After joining the medical corps, she had been taken to this location by another ninja and asked to participate in an experiment.

Seeing Hyuga Fuji there, she had agreed without much thought. After all, a member of the Hokage's shadow guard wouldn't harm her, right?

As it turned out, she was correct—apart from feeling weak after waking up, she hadn't noticed any other changes.

However…

She had been unconscious for most of the experiment and had no idea that she had been "split in two."

Her two bodies had been assigned separate roles—one stayed here while the other returned to assist the medical corps.

It wasn't until her other body died and the memories returned to her that Rin realized what had happened.

At one point, there had been two of her in this world, yet she had been completely unaware. And no one around her had noticed, either.

What terrifying drugs…

After finishing the experiment logs and adding some notes of his own, Fuji closed the book and looked at Rin.

"Where would you like me to start?" he asked.

Rin replayed the events she had just learned through her other body's memories: the Mist ninja attacking the medical corps, her capture, and Obito killing her.

After a moment of silence, she muttered, "What happened to Obito after that?"

Walking over to her, Fuji said softly, "He thinks you're dead. He's completely lost hope in this world and wants to avenge you. To gain more power, he even attacked Kakashi, trying to take back his other eye."

With each word Fuji spoke, Rin's face grew paler. When she heard about Obito and Kakashi fighting each other, her heart ached terribly.

"An eye… It's just one Sharingan. There's no way Obito would…" Rin said weakly, struggling to believe it.

"A normal Sharingan wouldn't justify it, but what about a Mangekyo?"

Seeing Rin's confused expression, Fuji explained calmly, "When a Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan experiences the death of someone they love most, they may awaken a much more powerful ability—the Mangekyo Sharingan, strong enough to control a tailed beast."

(End of Chapter)