At this moment, Kakashi and Rin, immersed in the sweetness of love, had completely forgotten everything around them.
The two kissed deeply, lips and tongues entwined, as though the entire world contained only each other. They had utterly lost themselves in the moment.
Watching from nearby, Minato realized things were heading in a dangerous direction. If he let them continue getting carried away like this, who knew where things would end up.
Left with no choice, he cleared his throat and deliberately coughed twice, breaking the intimate atmosphere.
"Ahem!"
Hearing Minato cough, Kakashi and Rin jolted awake as though snapping out of a dream and hurriedly separated in embarrassment.
Even after the kiss ended, Kakashi still held tightly onto Rin's hand, unwilling to loosen his grip for even a second, as if afraid that the happiness before him would vanish like an illusion the moment he let go.
Rin, who had only just begun recovering from her weakened state, still felt soft and powerless throughout her body.
She had no choice but to lean against Kakashi's sturdy arm just to barely keep herself standing.
Blushing faintly, Rin shyly glanced toward Minato and Rengoku.
Although the idea itself had been Rengoku's, Kakashi's sudden passionate kiss had never been part of the plan.
Rin truly had been caught off guard at the time.
But this was Kakashi, the person she had loved for years.
So she quickly accepted the intensity of his feelings.
To the point that the two of them had completely lost themselves in the kiss, unable to pull apart for a long while, as though time itself had stopped.
Only after Minato's soft cough interrupted them did they finally come back to their senses.
At this moment, Kakashi could not help feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Just now, he had been completely overwhelmed by his surging emotions and had utterly forgotten that there were plenty of people watching nearby.
Now that he suddenly realized so many eyes were fixed on him and Rin with teasing expressions, his face immediately burned with embarrassment.
Compared to him, Rin was even more mortified. She lowered her head deeply against her chest, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the ground and disappear.
The atmosphere became incredibly awkward for a moment, so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard.
Thankfully, Minato was the first to break the silence, "Rin's only just recovered a little strength. Hurry and take her to the hospital for a proper checkup."
Hearing Minato's words, Kakashi snapped awake as if from a dream and hurriedly nodded.
"Ah… oh… right, right…"
Seeing that Rin lacked the strength to walk, he directly bent down and carried her into his arms before fleeing the area at nearly panicked speed.
Both Rengoku and Minato smiled at the sight.
Standing nearby, the two watched the scene unfold, faint smiles appearing on both their faces.
But Minato quickly put his smile away, his expression turning serious.
After steadying his emotions, he turned toward Rengoku beside him and spoke apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Rengoku. Obito got away."
"Hm?", Rengoku looked puzzled, "How could he possibly escape from you?"
Somewhat awkwardly, Minato went over the earlier battle in detail.
Rengoku listened quietly, occasionally rubbing his chin thoughtfully as a more serious look appeared in his eyes.
"So he's got dual Kamui now… that's troublesome. But without the Rinnegan, what's his next move supposed to be?"
Rengoku muttered to himself.
The Rinnegan was gone, and Rin had completely broken with him.
Logically speaking, Obito's former ideals had already been destroyed. Obito had cut away everything from his past, and right now, Rengoku genuinely could not guess what he intended to do.
"It doesn't matter. This time it was only because Itachi and I weren't there. Next time we'll just kill him."
Then his consciousness swept through several of his clones, and a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like there's another way."
———
At the wall dividing the inner and outer city, battle cries and the clash of weapons rang nonstop. The entire battlefield had descended into complete chaos.
Kazuma, Fuen, Fudo, and Fuka were desperately trying to break through the gap and rush into the inner city, but Suigetsu and Anko had blocked their path.
After quickly exchanging a glance with Kazuma and the others, Fudo suddenly slammed a palm heavily onto the ground.
A thunderous rumble erupted as the solid earth began shaking.
Immediately afterward, a huge section of the nearby city wall was sliced away as though manipulated by some mysterious force.
It shifted sideways, instantly separating Suigetsu and Anko from each other.
As a result, the two could only deal with the danger before them individually.
Suigetsu quickly swept his gaze across the shifting rock walls around him and noticed that Fudo's figure disappeared among them in the blink of an eye.
Yet despite being trapped in such a predicament, not only was there no panic on Suigetsu's face, there was even a trace of excitement.
After all, the ninja world had remained relatively peaceful these past years. Fierce battles like today's were rare.
So for Suigetsu, this sudden brutal fight instead stirred up a long-lost rush of excitement in his blood.
Without hesitation, he drew the long blade from his waist and gripped it tightly in hand.
Though trapped within this narrow rocky enclosure, he remained extraordinarily calm.
He simply focused all his attention on observing every movement around him, waiting patiently for any opening to appear.
Right then, a crack suddenly split open in the nearby rock wall without warning, and Fudo's fist shot through like a ferocious beast lunging for prey, carrying fierce winds straight toward Suigetsu.
"Hah!"
Despite Fudo's overwhelming ferocity, Suigetsu made no attempt to defend against the crushing punch aimed directly at his head.
Instead, with cold eyes, he swung his blade in a devastating slash toward Fudo's neck.
The move completely disregarded his own life, as if he fully intended to drag the enemy down with him.
Fudo was startled. Never before had he encountered someone who fought so irrationally.
Because if both attacks landed, there was no question that both of them would die.
Yet facing this seemingly crazed young man, Fudo's expression became even more savage and vicious. Gritting his teeth, he thought to himself:
"Hmph! I refuse to believe this brat actually dares stake his life against mine!"
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