"You bastard!" Kakashi glared at the other person, his eyes bloodshot.
He knew he was out of time; he had to find a solution before Rin was completely controlled.
But facing the violent Tailed Beast Chakra, his Lightning Cutter seemed so small, and the Sharingan's insight could not find a weakness in the Three-Tails.
At that moment, Rin's body suddenly convulsed violently. She jerked her head up, a brief moment of clarity flashing in her eyes as she screamed at Kakashi, "Kakashi! Kill me! Kill me now! I don't want to become a monster that destroys everything!"
"Rin... I can't do it!" Kakashi's voice trembled, his heart aching as if pierced by a blade. The Sharingan Obito had traded his life for was meant to protect Rin, yet now, he was supposed to end her life with his own hands?
The seawater at the Three-Tails Seal Altar remained turbulent. The violent Tailed Beast Chakra rampaged through Rin's body, causing her to convulse continuously.
Kakashi fought his way through the Kirigakure Ninja's blockade and finally reached the stone platform. The golden light of the Lightning Cutter burned brightly in his palm, but he hesitated to strike—he couldn't bear to hurt Rin, still hoping to find a way to save everyone.
"Rin, hang in there! I'll get you out of here!" Kakashi roared, his short blade severing the last chain as he reached out to pull Rin behind him. If they could just break through the altar's Barrier and return to the camp, there might still be a chance!
But just as his fingertips were about to touch Rin, her expression suddenly changed.
Those eyes, which were once filled with pain and pleading, instantly became hollow and lifeless, as if her Soul had been snatched away.
A strange ripple of Chakra emanated from her. It wasn't the violence of the Three-Tails, but rather the coldness unique to Uchiha Dōjutsu—it was Uchiha Madara!
From the shadows, he was remotely controlling Rin's body through some unknown means!
"Rin? What's wrong?" Kakashi's heart sank as a wave of foreboding washed over him.
A second later, Rin's body suddenly moved.
Instead of answering Kakashi's call, she lunged at him, her chest aimed directly at the destructive power of the Lightning Cutter concentrated in his palm.
Her movements were stiff and mechanical, her face expressionless, possessing only the cold numbness of a manipulated Puppet.
"No—! Rin! Don't come any closer!" Kakashi's pupils constricted, scared to the point of his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
He instinctively tried to withdraw the Lightning Cutter, but the Lightning Release Chakra had already reached its peak; forcibly retracting it would only cause a backlash against himself.
He tried to dodge, but Rin's body was precisely controlled by Madara, locking onto his position and leaving him with no way to escape.
"Puchi—!"
The sound of pale lightning piercing through flesh rang out harshly across the altar.
The Lightning Cutter pierced through Rin's chest without resistance. Blood sprayed out instantly, staining Kakashi's arm and splashing onto his cheek.
The warm blood carried the scent of life, yet it made Kakashi feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Rin's body shuddered as the Lightning Cutter impaled her, and a brief moment of clarity flickered in her hollow eyes.
Looking at Kakashi's shocked and pained face, her lips moved as if to say something, but in the end, she only coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her head slumped to the side, and her life force vanished completely.
Those once-gentle eyes closed forever.
"Rin... Rin?!"
Kakashi stood frozen in place as the Lightning Cutter in his hand slowly dissipated.
He stared at his arm piercing Rin's chest, then at her body collapsing into his arms. His mind went blank, as if all consciousness had been drained away.
It wasn't that he wanted to kill Rin... she had thrown herself onto it... she was being controlled... but regardless, it was his Lightning Cutter that had ended Rin's life.
It was he who had personally killed the person he wanted to protect most.
"No... impossible..." Kakashi's voice trembled with unbelievable despair. "I didn't mean to... Rin, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Holding Rin's cold body, he shook uncontrollably. Tears mixed with blood fell, dripping onto Rin's face.
Past promises, Obito's entrustment, and the times they spent fighting side by side all turned into the sharpest blades at this moment, ruthlessly piercing his heart.
He broke down completely, like a Puppet that had lost all its supports, slumping in the pool of blood with hollow, dead eyes.
Just then, a heart-wrenching roar echoed from the entrance of the altar.
"Rin—!!!"
Obito let out a heart-wrenching roar, his voice filled with endless grief and despair.
His right eye suddenly erupted with a brilliant red light; the Two-Tomoe Sharingan instantly evolved under the impact of extreme emotion!
The three tomoe spun rapidly and fused, finally forming a unique Mangekyo pattern—the Dōjutsu that could manipulate space, Kamui!
At the same time, an abnormality occurred in Kakashi's left eye! The Sharingan that Obito had gifted him years ago also broke through its limits after witnessing Rin's death and enduring the immense pain of killing his comrade with his own hands; the Two-Tomoe evolved into a Mangekyo!
Within the crimson pupil, a pattern completely different from Obito's emerged, containing the power to destroy everything!
Both Mangekyo awakened simultaneously. Two powerful Dōjutsu Chakra collided within the altar, creating a terrifying aura that even suppressed the violent Three-Tails Chakra.
Obito's eyes were bloodshot. He stared intently at Kakashi, his voice as cold as if it came from Hell: "Kakashi... you killed Rin... I'll make you pay with your life!"
Kakashi stood frozen. The light of the Lightning Cutter gradually faded, but his arm remained in Rin's chest as blood continued to drip.
Staring at Rin's lifeless face and feeling the tearing pain from the Mangekyo in his left eye, his heart was filled with nothing but endless self-reproach and despair—he really had killed Rin, the person he wanted to protect most.
On a cliff not far from the altar, Uchiha Xia Yin stood quietly in the shadows, like a cold bystander.
His crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan watched everything on the altar—Rin's death, the Awakening of the twin Mangekyo, Obito's breakdown, and Kakashi's despair.
His eyes held no sympathy, only cold indifference and a fleeting flash of intense killing intent.
"Finally... it's here," Shine whispered to himself, his fingertips stroking the hilt of his tachi as a cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
Rin's death, the Awakening of the dual Mangekyo, and Obito's complete descent into darkness—everything was progressing according to his script.
Obito's Mangekyo Kamui and Kakashi's Mangekyo Lightning Cutter—if they mastered these two powers, they might become obstacles for him in the future.
Especially Obito; after being brainwashed and corrupted by Madara, he would surely follow Madara's plan to subvert the Ninja World. This presented an irreconcilable conflict with his own goal of controlling the Ninja World and making the Uchiha reign supreme over all...
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808