"Alright, Fifty-Fifty. With that three-tomoe Sharingan of yours, you should be able to tell whether this is genjutsu or not."
Having taken enough photos, Uchiha Ren finally put away the camera with a satisfied expression, shattering Kakashi's lingering illusion.
Rin Nohara stepped out from behind Ren again.
"Kakashi, I'm not dead."
"Surprised? Unexpected?" Ren grinned mischievously. "I've been preparing for today for a long time."
Kakashi: "..."
For a moment, Kakashi didn't know what to say.
He didn't even know what he was feeling.
But when he saw Rin wipe away the blood at the corner of her mouth and remove the fake wound from her chest, Kakashi suddenly felt as if the world had become bright again.
"Rin… you really…"
His voice trembled. Afraid he might still be trapped in an illusion, Kakashi asked cautiously:
"You're really not dead?!"
"I'm really not dead."
Rin's playful expression faded as she spoke seriously.
"Teacher Ren saved me with a technique. But we were being targeted by a powerful enemy, so Teacher Ren had me fake my death and hide in the orphanage near the edge of the village."
"A technique?"
Kakashi still looked worried and turned toward Ren.
Ren sighed and explained:
"Izanagi."
"It's a forbidden technique passed down within the Uchiha Clan—a dōjutsu capable of rewriting reality itself. The price is that the eye used will permanently lose its light."
"In truth, the mission you carried out that day was a trap from beginning to end. To save Rin, I sacrificed a three-tomoe Sharingan and used a Transcription Seal to implant Izanagi into her body in advance."
"That day, Rin really did die once."
"But after her body was brought back to Konoha, the Izanagi inside her activated—rewriting the reality of her death and bringing her back to life."
"Th-this…"
Kakashi finally accepted the reality that Rin was alive.
Two lines of tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks as he choked out:
"Rin… it's really great that you're alive!"
Rin's feelings were complicated as well.
"Don't worry, Kakashi. I won't die."
Under Rin's gentle reassurance, Kakashi finally released the emotions he had been suppressing for so long.
However—
Click. Click. Click.
The sound of a camera shutter rang out again.
Unable to resist, Uchiha Ren had taken out his camera once more, recording the scene in front of him.
Just like Kakashi's terrified expression earlier, the sight of fragile, emotional Kakashi was also incredibly rare.
The sudden shutter sounds snapped Kakashi out of his emotional state.
When he saw the camera in Ren's hand again, terror flashed through his eyes.
The more emotional he had been just moments ago—
The more embarrassed he felt now.
If those photos were ever leaked, Kakashi felt he might as well die on the spot.
"You bastard! Give me the photos!"
Without hesitation, Kakashi lunged toward the camera.
Ren casually stored the camera away with one hand while effortlessly neutralizing Kakashi's attack with the other.
Shaking his head, Ren said:
"Kakashi, you've really let yourself go during this time."
"At your current state, you probably can't even beat Rin. So save your effort."
Ren wasn't exaggerating.
When Izanagi rewound reality, it restored Rin to the moment the curse seal in her heart shattered.
And at that moment—
Rin Nohara was the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
In other words, under the effects of Izanagi, Isobu—the Three-Tails—had also revived inside her body.
Rin was still the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
Moreover, after Ren had conducted a series of "friendly negotiations" with Isobu while staring at it with his Mangekyō Sharingan, the tailed beast had become extremely well-behaved inside Rin.
Fortunately, among the tailed beasts, Isobu had a relatively mild temperament, which matched Rin's gentle personality quite well.
During this time, the two had gotten along surprisingly well.
Rin had already begun to borrow Isobu's power.
And after her body fully adapted to the Three-Tails' chakra…
It was entirely possible that Rin might become a Perfect jinchūriki.
So given Kakashi's current exhausted condition—
He really might not be Rin's opponent.
Realizing the gap in strength was too large, Kakashi reluctantly gave up on retrieving the camera for now. After glaring at Ren, he silently committed the humiliation to memory.
A gentleman's revenge is never too late.
One day, Kakashi would settle this score.
Ren noticed Kakashi's glare and scoffed.
"What's with that look? In your current condition, you think you can turn things around?"
After glancing at Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan, which was still active, Ren spoke thoughtfully:
"That eye is practically draining your body dry."
"Since the conditions are perfect today, you should just remove it."
Kakashi was startled and immediately covered his left eye.
"What are you trying to do?! That's Obito's eye! I'm not giving it up!"
Ren frowned slightly.
"You should already realize it. Your body simply can't handle that eye. It's already limiting your growth."
"To pay such a heavy price for a technique that isn't even that special…"
"It's not worth it."
Kakashi's self-created technique, Chidori, was a high-speed thrusting ninjutsu.
By concentrating lightning chakra in his hand, it greatly increased piercing power while using Lightning Release to stimulate the body and accelerate movement.
But because the speed was so great, the user's vision often couldn't keep up.
Enemies could easily exploit that opening and counterattack.
Only with the dynamic vision of the Sharingan could Chidori's flaw be compensated for, making it a complete technique.
However, compared to the burden imposed by the Sharingan, the boost provided by Chidori simply wasn't worth the cost.
In Ren's opinion, Kakashi would have a much higher potential without the Sharingan.
Kakashi didn't need it at all.
But Kakashi shook his head firmly.
"This isn't about whether it's worth it."
"This eye is Obito's legacy."
"I'll use it to see the world for him."
Did Kakashi know the Sharingan limited his growth?
Of course he did.
No one understood the burden of that eye better than Kakashi himself.
But—
It was Uchiha Obito's eye.
That alone was reason enough.
No matter how heavy the burden, Kakashi was willing to carry it.
Ren suddenly realized he had approached the matter from the wrong angle.
He changed tactics.
"First of all," Ren said calmly, "if Obito wants to see the world…"
"He can do it himself."
"Second, I was planning to return that eye to Obito anyway."
"I think he'd enjoy seeing the world much more with both eyes intact."
Kakashi: "???"
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