"This is a great idea!"
Rin listened to Makoto's diabolical plan, her eyes gradually lighting up with excitement.
The only difficulty with this method was how she would come back to life.
But since Makoto said it wasn't difficult, she would believe him blindly.
"But... wouldn't this be equivalent to using Rin's life as a bargaining chip? Like a hostage?" Kushina had a conflicted expression.
"It's fine, Kushina-nee. I was already dead anyway." Rin waved her hand dismissively, indicating it didn't matter.
"I just have another idea and a request..."
"That is, when the time comes, could you set up a trap technique inside my body? If the Tailed Beast gets extracted, I want that technique to activate immediately..."
'Uh.'
Hearing Rin's words, Kushina, Makoto, and even Sakura and Ino—who were busy massaging Makoto's back and waist—all froze solid.
Rin looked cute and adorable, yet she was absolutely psychotic!
No wonder she was the one who voluntarily threw herself onto a Chidori to commit suicide back then.
Earlier, she said that if there was no method to save him, then just kill Obito.
Now she was thinking that if Obito was truly "determined" and insisted on extracting the Three-Tails to start the Infinite Tsukuyomi, she would literally blow herself up along with Obito at the last moment.
This way, she could help the world one last time.
Makoto suspected that the reason Rin didn't mention "how to treat Obito if they succeeded" was because she clearly understood the reality: even if they succeeded, a sane Obito would actively choose to atone for his sins.
In other words, in Rin's calculation, no matter what happens, Obito's outcome is death.
Viego from League of Legends was mockingly called the "Ruined Clown", but it turns out the Masked Man, who suffered similar misfortunes for love, wasn't far behind in the clown department.
However...
"Self-destruct techniques like that certainly exist, such as the Reverse Four Symbols Seal and others. If nothing else, sticking a couple of Paper Bombs inside you would have a similar effect and activate even faster."
"But it won't work. His Mangekyo ability is intangibility. Physical damage simply can't reach him." Makoto explained the flaw in her suicide bombing plan.
"Alright then."
Rin looked slightly disappointed. "Then we'll have to trouble you again when the time comes."
"Rin, you'll have to work hard then. I'll pass on my 'experience' as a Jinchuriki to you, to help you resist the Tailed Beast's influence as much as possible..."
Kushina patted Rin's head and sighed softly.
"Um, with all due respect, your 'Jinchuriki experience' might be better left unshared."
Hearing Kushina say this, Makoto interjected immediately.
The Nine-Tails' hatred had been building up layer by layer because of people like her.
From being brutally beaten by Hashirama Senju and told "Your power is too immense, sorry bro," to the previous Jinchuriki, Kushina, who after chaining the Nine-Tails down declared, "You can suppress the world, but I can suppress you."
The Nine-Tails must have felt utterly wronged—what world had it ever suppressed?!
When had it ever successfully conquered the world?
It just got passed from one Uzumaki prison to another.
They were just making baseless accusations and slandering the poor fox!
"Well... alright then. You can teach Rin later."
Kushina thought about it and realized it made sense.
If, as Makoto had previously said, Tailed Beasts weren't actually that terrifying and just needed understanding, then her "domination" approach had indeed been problematic.
"Oh! If that's the case, then back then... if I had properly communicated with the Three-Tails, wouldn't I have avoided dying?"
Rin slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing the tragedy of her situation.
"No, the Three-Tails was likely fully controlled by Genjutsu at that time. It wasn't unwilling to communicate with you—it probably couldn't."
Makoto had earlier deduced that the Three-Tails and Yagura were under Madara's control even before Obito's involvement.
Following that logic, when Rin became the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, the beast was just a puppet.
"Is that so? That's a relief. I thought I died for nothing." Rin patted her chest and sighed in relief.
"Since it's decided, come with us to the Land of Water later. Resurrecting you fully can wait—no rush on that. First, we'll seal the wild Three-Tails into your body so you can get familiar with it and reconcile."
"Huh? The Three-Tails doesn't have a Jinchuriki right now?" Rin asked curiously.
"No, the Three-Tails is currently the only wild one roaming free."
"...Alright. I'll do my best." Rin clenched her fists.
"Actually, you don't need to force anything. Just communicate normally with the Three-Tails."
Makoto knew that gaining a Tailed Beast's recognition could be both difficult and simple.
Among previous Jinchuriki, except for a very few like Killer Bee, reconciliation with their Tailed Beasts only became possible after death or near-death.
This was due to the vicious cycle of hatred.
To break this cycle, one needed a bit of a "Saintly Heart."
Naruto was a prime example.
Even after the Nine-Tails impaled his parents like skewers, he could easily forgive it and treat it as a true companion.
Then there was Rin.
Rin's saintly heart differed from Naruto's, but the Three-Tails she faced was also different from the Nine-Tails.
The Three-Tails held no deep personal grudge against Rin, and after Makoto's reminder, she naturally held no prejudice against Tailed Beasts.
Then there were naturally optimistic people like Fuu.
As for Himawari in the Boruto era, who was used by the writers to "surpass" previous Jinchuriki... it could only be said that her success might be due to her abilities or weird bloodline, but certainly not her personality depth.
The claim that "compared to previous Jinchuriki, Himawari truly treats Tailed Beasts as friends" was nothing but an empty illusion.
Himawari did get along well with Shukaku and Kurama.
But this still fell short of Gaara and Naruto's relationships.
Think about it: If Shukaku killed a few people in front of Himawari for fun, or if Kurama impaled Hinata to death right in front of her, and Himawari could still forgive them and continue "truly treating Tailed Beasts as friends," then she might barely match Gaara and Naruto.
But she certainly wouldn't surpass them.
Makoto couldn't imagine what would truly constitute "surpassing" them.
Maybe after Shukaku and Kurama finished their killing spree, Himawari would pull Boruto and Naruto out as well, asking if the beasts had killed enough or if they wanted to add two more to the body count?
As for bloodline aspects... if the argument is that Himawari is closer to a "pure Tailed Beast" biologically, then there's nothing more to discuss.
Perhaps it's atavism.
After all, the fundamental laws of biology in the ninja world don't align with reality.
With Orochimaru and Kabuto's research unconcerned about organ rejection, maybe reproductive isolation doesn't exist either?
Take the Sage of Six Paths and the native humans of the ninja world—they're completely different species.
The genetic gap between the Otsutsuki-blooded Sage and the natives is even greater than the gap between him and Gamamaru the Toad Sage.
Didn't the Sage still manage to breed with humans and have children?
"Alright, that's enough massaging. I should be leaving now, you two go enjoy the hot springs."
Makoto stood up, stretching.
"Oh. Okay."
Ino and Sakura stopped their movements, but their gaze remained fixed on the hot spring entrance, looking confused.
Earlier, Lady Tsunade had clearly told them she would come in to replace them after ten minutes.
It had been way longer than that, but she still hadn't arrived.
Strange.
Makoto left the hot spring area, with Kushina and Rin floating behind him.
"Huh?"
In the outer rest lounge, Makoto finally spotted Tsunade.
She was sitting in a chair, eyes glazed over.
Sitting across from Tsunade was Uchiha Hikari, wearing a comfortable bathrobe, sipping black tea, with her Mangekyo Sharingan fully activated and spinning.
"I'm treating her," Uchiha Hikari said casually when she noticed Makoto's appearance, pointing at the catatonic Tsunade with a slight, sadistic smile.
---
If you like Danmachi please read my new book, Danmachi : Strongest Supporter