Land of Grass, Dusk.
One person and one dog ran through the complex mountain and rock terrain.
Obito was unaware of the approaching dark clouds, and the wind suddenly intensified, carrying dust and sand that made Obito squint his eyes as he ran.
Leading the way, Pakkun gazed at the darkening sky and turned to Obito, saying, "Looks like rain is coming. Let's pick up the pace before the scent vanishes."
"Yes."
Obito disregarded his chakra consumption, channeling it into his legs and soles to increase his speed. At the same time, he retrieved emergency military food pills from his pouch, consumed them to restore chakra, ensuring he wouldn't run out during a battle.
Before long, silver threads drifted down from the sky, gradually transitioning into raindrops, which pelted Obito and Pakkun, bringing a cold sensation.
"Pakkun, how far is it from here to Rin?" Obito asked while running.
"We're almost there. Just a few more minutes."
"In the forest?" Obito questioned, his gaze fixed on the rain-covered forest, where the darkness seemed to deepen.
As they entered the forest, Pakkun alerted Obito.
"Obito, you'd better be careful now."
"What's the matter?" Obito asked, puzzled.
"There's something in the air making me feel uneasy."
"An uneasy presence?"
Obito frowned in confusion.
"It's chakra," Pakkun remarked, glancing at the gloomy surroundings. "This chakra gives me a dreadful feeling. All the animals have disappeared, as if something terrible is hidden within the forest. Animals are most sensitive to danger."
"I see. It doesn't matter; I can rely on my Sharingan for the fight. I must find Rin." Obito clenched his fists, activating his Sharingan, with no hint of fear on his face.
Pakkun turned his head to scrutinize Obito briefly, then returned his focus to leading the way.
...
In the rainy forest, figures dashed about frantically, as if in pursuit of something, their expressions fraught with anxiety.
"Damn it, find that girl quickly. It will be troublesome if she escapes to the Land of Fire."
They were all clad in ninja attire and had forehead protector distinct from the five major nations.
Their relentless search was driven by the theft of their village's most powerful weapon, a feat accomplished by an teenage girl.
The girl wore a Konoha protector, but this wasn't an excuse for stealing their village's ultimate weapon.
Because that ultimate weapon has been handed down from ancient times. A tailed beast.
They come from Takigakure, in the Land Of Waterfalls, which is one of the few ninja villages among small nations with ninja power in addition to the five major nations.
They were the only village that possessed a tailed beast weapon legally among the smaller villages.
The tailed beast, in their possession, was the Seven-Tails, one of the nine tailed beasts. A weapon bestowed upon them by Konoha's first Hokage, Senju Hashirama, following the first Five Kage Conference.
According to their village's legend, each tailed beast had the potential to reshape the world.
Such a powerful weapon had been stolen by ninjas from another village, and this was utterly unacceptable, even if those ninjas were from Konoha.
"Still no sign?"
"Damn it! Where did that girl go?"
"Hurry up! Search everywhere, she must be nearby. Don't miss a spot!"
"The weapon must be recovered!"
The Takigakure ninjas who were out searching for the whereabouts of the girl who had stolen their tailed beast, carefully and closely searched the surrounding, not letting go of every plant and tree.
On the other side of the forest, the Konoha girl with the Seven-Tails, Takigakure's most powerful weapon, was heading towards Konoha in the Land of Fire.
At her current speed, she would reach Konoha in a day.
This girl was naturally Rin, who had been missing for a long time. Since the day she was sucked into the strange swamp, her consciousness had been in a coma, as though manipulated by an unseen hand.
When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by strange, white humanoid creatures, who called themselves White Zetsu.
They had extracted the Seven-Tails from the Takigakure Jinchuriki and sealed it within her, while using an unknown medical jutsu.
They revealed their intent to use the power of the Seven-Tails to destroy Konoha.
This news terrified Rin. Even as a Chunin, she knew the dangers of tailed beasts, which were banned as they were weapons of mass destruction.
If such a weapon entered Konoha and ran amok, the consequences would be catastrophic. Not only ninjas but also civilians would suffer heavy casualties in the sudden attack.
She had to prevent that from happening.
However, her body continued to move in the direction of Konoha, and she couldn't harm herself. She could only helplessly watch her body's relentless journey towards the Land of Fire, carrying the extremely dangerous tailed beast within her, ready to release it in Konoha.
She couldn't understand why the mysterious enemy had sealed such a dangerous thing within her, or why they had such hostility towards Konoha, aiming to unleash the tailed beast's power for destruction.
At this moment, all she could do was pray and hope.
She prayed for someone to come and intervene, to prevent this catastrophe.
Only through intervention could Konoha's safety be assured.
"Found her!"
"Here she is!"
"Don't let her escape!"
Shouts erupted from behind, confirming that Taki ninjas were closing in on her.
Discovering that the Jinchuriki had been killed and the tailed beast transferred, they pursued her relentlessly, like mad dogs, intent on bringing her back to Takigakure, extracting the tailed beast, and resealing it.
This was what Rin expected.
However, it was clear that she was not acting of her own volition. Someone was remotely controlling her body, ensuring she escaped the Taki nins, as they wanted to use her to destroy Konoha.
But more questions followed.
If that was the case, why didn't they simply send her to Konoha to release the tailed beast? Why let her escape from Takigakure all the way to Konoha? The fact that they could silently capture her from the Konoha's camp indicated they were highly skilled infiltrators.
It seemed unreasonable to let her escape from Takigakure, leading Rin to suspect an unknown conspiracy at play. This cast doubt on the true intentions behind using the tailed beast in her body to destroy Konoha.
Rin began to believe that the White Zetsu people had a different purpose and were using her to fulfill a mission task.
"Water Release · Water Bomb..!"
A Taki nin chasing her performed hand seals, creating a torrent of water that surged towards Rin.
Rin had no time to defend herself and was swept away by the current. She choked on water and struggled on the ground. After the attack ended, she managed to stand up, coughing uncontrollably.
Seizing the opportunity, the Taki nins surrounded her. There were eleven of them, all with serious expressions.
"Don't think being a Konoha ninja will save you from the consequences,"
The leader of the group said to Rin.
They didn't want to waste time; the Seven-Tails was Takigakure's most valuable asset, and they aimed to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
They were uncertain if Konoha's ninjas would arrive. After all, Konoha wouldn't simply send a young girl over to steal their weapon. Otherwise underestimating Takigakure's strength would be a mistake.
Rin struggled to evade the non-lethal attacks from the Taki nins. They wanted to capture her alive, as the safety of the Jinchuriki had to be ensured. Any harm to her would endanger the Seven-Tails within her.
Although Rin did her best to dodge, she lacked combat skills, and some of the ninjutsu attacks landed, leaving her with injuries. She leaned against a tree, struggling to breathe.
Now, she could only allow the Taki nins to return her to their village and extract the tailed beast from her body.
But would everything proceed as expected?
The mysterious enemy, the White Zetsu, were certainly observing, they wouldn't allow Takigakure to capture her deterring their plan to destroy Konoha.
Rin was angry but powerless. The seal within her prevented her from harming herself, and the Taki nins intended to capture her, not kill her.
"This way, you won't be able to use a weapon and fight back,"
A Taki nin said, his breathing steady. During the battle, they hadn't exerted their full strength, only aiming to capture Rin alive.
After their return, they would select a new Jinchuriki and transfer the tailed beast.
"This trick will make you unable to move a finger again!"
"Water Release · Water Cannon!"
The Taki nin straightened his body, rapidly forming hand seals. After completing the seals, he inhaled deeply and expelled a massive water cannonball towards Rin's body mercilessly.
As the water jutsu closed in on Rin, a larger fireball suddenly emerged from the side. It was a bright, intense fire that consumed the water bomb, transforming it into mist.
"What's this?"
The Taki nin turned to see a figure, not very tall, swiftly approaching with a kunai in hand, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
There was no time to defend, and the Taki nin, despite attempting to retreat, sustained a deep cut to his abdomen. He dodged in time, so the wound wasn't severe, but blood trickled out.
"That pattern and those eyes... Uchiha ninja?"
The injured Taki nin observed the ninja with a slightly confused expression.
The ninja had a young face, donned a Konoha protector, and had the Uchiha symbol on his outfit, signifying their affiliation with Konoha's renowned clan.
The enemy also had a pair of open Sharingan, unmistakably an Uchiha ninja.
Dealing with a ninja from this clan would be far more challenging than a regular opponent. The key was to avoid their Sharingan.
"Ob... Obito..."
Rin spotted a familiar figure standing in front of her and immediately recognized the person from behind. Her eyes widened, showing her surprise.
"Sorry, Rin, I'm late. Don't worry this time, I' will protect you this time"
Obito said, his clothes damp from the rain. A gentle smile graced his face.
In the next moment, he shifted his focus to the surrounding Taki nins, staring at them with his Sharingan. The smile disappeared from his face, turning into a solemn look.
There were eleven people in the group, and even with Sharingan, Obito couldn't guarantee victory against them. There was a possibility he might not make it out of this encounter alive. Still, he was determined to ensure Rin's safe escape.
The Taki nins surrounding them also grew uneasy, fearing that more Konoha ninja reinforcements might arrive.
Given the size and reputation of Takigakure, they stood no chance against Konoha. If the Jinchuriki reached Konoha, retrieval would be nearly impossible. Their primary goal was to vet 5he Jinchuriki before they arrived Konoha, avoiding any potential mishaps.
While they wondered why additional reinforcements hadn't come yet, they understood the urgency lay in securing the Jinchuriki quickly.
Each Taki nin produced a shuriken and launched them at Obito at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
Obito relied on his Sharingan to effortlessly track the complicated paths of each shuriken. He countered with a kunai, expertly deflecting and destroying the incoming projectiles without sustaining any injury himself.
The Taki nins were surprised and shocked by the power of the Sharingan. A barrage of shuriken from any of them would have turned them into a human hedgehog, ending the fight.
"Rin, move quickly! I will catch up once I deal with them!" Obito shouted without turning around. He urged her to leave the dangerous battlefield immediately and then charged forward at the eleven Taki nins.
His sole focus was to defeat them and ensure Rin's safe return. However, facing eleven opponents, he couldn't guarantee his survival. At best, he might fall alongside them, allowing Rin to escape unharmed.
Yet Obito harbored no regrets. Even if Rin survived alone, it wouldn't reduce the meaning of his sacrifice.
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