Rengoku also quietly used Yamanaka Inoichi's abilities to continue guiding Rin.
Hearing Kakashi's question, Rin spoke in a voice as soft and faint as a whisper in the wind, "If you don't like me, then stop meddling in my life."
Not long ago, Kakashi had personally witnessed Rin crying like rain-soaked pear blossoms, as well as the terrifying moment when she hovered on the edge of death.
At that moment, it felt as though a heavy hammer had slammed into his heart, leaving him unable to breathe from the pain.
And now, as he looked at the fragile yet stubborn girl before him, he finally understood where the awkwardness buried deep in his heart had always come from.
It was because Rin was too wonderful.
So wonderful that he felt ashamed of himself, convinced he was completely unworthy of a love like hers.
But Rin had already fallen for him to this extent. He knew he could no longer keep running away.
Kakashi understood clearly that if he backed away again this time, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
He took a deep breath and gathered all his courage, completely ignoring where he was or who might be watching nearby.
His eyes locked onto Rin's tear-streaked face as he spoke with absolute seriousness and resolve:
"I like you!"
The sudden confession struck like thunder splitting the sky, instantly freezing the entire world in place.
Rin's body trembled slightly, as if she had been hit by a paralysis jutsu, and she slowly lifted her head in disbelief.
Her once dim eyes suddenly shone with surprise and joy as she stared straight at Kakashi, her lips trembling as she asked, "R-Really?"
At this moment, Rin's heart was overflowing with happiness, grievance, and deep disbelief.
For all these years, she had silently given everything, quietly protecting a love that had never once been answered.
And today, Kakashi had actually said the words she had dreamed of hearing, right in front of everyone.
The whole thing felt so unreal that Rin almost thought she was dreaming.
The feeling of nearly losing Rin again still lingered heavily in his chest, leaving Kakashi with nothing but endless fear.
Hearing her question, Kakashi felt intense regret, convinced that his earlier hesitation had already made Rin lose faith in him.
Looking at the tear stains still clinging to her cheeks like scattered pearls, Kakashi felt as though an invisible hand were squeezing his heart painfully tight.
Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and pulled Rin tightly into his arms.
Then, without giving her any chance to react, Kakashi lowered his head and swiftly captured her soft pink lips in a kiss.
Though Kakashi's action was somewhat forceful and domineering, his movements themselves were incredibly gentle.
The instant his lips touched hers, a scorching warmth spread between them.
The sudden kiss completely stunned Rin. She had never expected Kakashi would actually force a kiss on her.
Her mind went blank, leaving her utterly at a loss.
But only for a brief instant.
Very quickly, Rin snapped back to herself and relaxed the tension in her body.
Not only that, she boldly and slowly lifted her arms around Kakashi's neck, parting her soft lips slightly as she passionately returned his kiss.
At this moment, Rin could clearly feel the sincerity and determination deep within Kakashi's heart.
She could hear the fierce pounding of his heartbeat, each powerful thump seeming to declare the deep and intense love he felt for her.
At the same time, she could genuinely feel the warmth and protectiveness conveyed through the way Kakashi held her tightly.
Rin slowly closed her eyes, allowing tears of happiness to quietly slide down from the corners of her eyes.
She had suffered through far too much pain, torment, and endless waiting just to reach this day.
Countless times before, she had nearly chosen to give up on this love completely.
But in the end, she had persevered, clinging stubbornly to the faintest shred of hope in her heart.
Now, at long last, she had finally gotten the Kakashi she had yearned for all this time. At this moment, every bit of suffering and effort she had endured felt completely worth it.
Sensing Rin's passionate response, Kakashi held her even tighter, as though he wanted to melt her entire being into himself.
For that single instant, time itself seemed to freeze. Everything around them faded into insignificance, as though the whole world contained only the two of them embracing and kissing each other.
But… not quite.
Standing nearby were still Rengoku, Karin, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Minato, who had just arrived via Flying Thunder God.
Minato wore the satisfied smile of a father finally seeing his son learn how to win over a girl.
Beside him, Karin covered her mouth with one hand, giggling to herself.
Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head with a smile, looking utterly helpless toward these youngsters.
Only Rengoku's expression looked somewhat strange.
As he watched the scene before him, an extremely similar image suddenly surfaced in his mind.
In that image, Kakashi was likewise kissing Rin, except that Rin was clearly much younger, and the location was not here.
Even more surprising, along with the image came a string of thoughts that clearly did not belong to Rengoku himself.
["When two people obviously have feelings for each other yet keep hesitating like this, wouldn't it be such a waste if they missed their chance?"]
["No matter what, they should at least be brave once."]
["Even if things don't work out in the end, they'll still remember that they gave it everything they had, right?"]
["This kind of sweetness is seriously addicting!"]
Rengoku shook his head and began tracing the source of these thoughts.
Only after investigating did he realize that all these images had been stored inside his eyes.
'These are Natsuki's thoughts?'
["Oh my, oh my, so you noticed?"]
Those words flashed through Rengoku's mind, the final message Natsuki had left behind.
Before Rengoku could continue questioning, the remaining messages automatically continued playing.
["You're way too stiff, so I figured I'd help you train a few hobbies."]
["My thoughts will influence you a little, so you can experience what it feels like to ship couples."]
["But now that you've discovered it, the influence will disappear too."]
["Whether you pick up this hobby or not is entirely up to you."]
["Hope we meet again next time, Kana!"]
'Haa!'
Rengoku's thoughts raced rapidly, and he finally understood why Natsuki had wanted him to pair Tenten and Neji together.
Perhaps Natsuki had wanted him to experience the fun of shipping couples.
Rengoku didn't know whether forcing Tenten and Neji all the way into becoming an established couple had been his own idea or the result of Natsuki's influence, but he had genuinely enjoyed it.
And now, seeing Kakashi and Rin finally become lovers and embrace each other happily, even Rengoku felt strangely invested in it.
Rengoku stroked his chin thoughtfully. Recently, he really had begun feeling more connected to this world.
'So… this is Natsuki's real gift?'
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