On the other side, Kurogane Ren finally arrived at the scene. He looked at the horrific battlefield. Not a single Mist ninja corpse was intact; their bodies lay shattered and mangled in pools of blood. If he had arrived just a little earlier, he might have witnessed that spectacular Wood Release.
However, it seemed the other party had no intention of exposing Wood Release, as it had already been withdrawn after everything ended.
Without wasting time, Kurogane Ren walked over to Nohara Rin, whose chest had been pierced clean through.
He first fired a signal flare, then crouched down to examine her condition. A soft green glow gathered in his hands, full of vitality, as if he were trying to prolong her life.
In reality, this was merely an act—for the White Zetsu that might still be watching from the shadows.
What no one could see was the slight frown on his face.
He had miscalculated.
He had thought Rin wouldn't die so quickly, but that wasn't the case. She had already lost all signs of life.
Fortunately, as he sensed the broken seal within her body, it was already dissipating. This seal had only been temporary; even if left alone, it would break on its own after some time.
This had been the Mist ninja's plan—to turn Rin, once brought back to Konoha, into the Three-Tails and unleash chaos upon the village.
But clearly, this plan had been manipulated from the very beginning and was never meant to succeed.
Even if Minato Namikaze wasn't in the village, the still-not-yet-aged Third Hokage would be more than capable of handling the Three-Tails. While he might not be able to defeat the Nine-Tails, dealing with the Three-Tails was well within his ability, at least enough to contain the damage.
Kurogane Ren didn't concern himself with that.
What he focused on was the Tailed Beast within the broken seal—its chakra rapidly dissipating.
Everyone knew that when a Jinchūriki died, the Tailed Beast would die along with them. Now that Rin was dead, the Three-Tails couldn't escape that fate.
Yet, a faint smile appeared on Kurogane Ren's lips.
Because the Three-Tails hadn't completely vanished yet.
When any living being dies, its chakra loses control and naturally disperses. Rin's chakra had only begun dissipating moments ago, and the Three-Tails, with its immense reserves, would last longer.
However, at this rate, it wouldn't remain for much longer.
That was why he had rushed here, even at the risk of alerting White Zetsu.
There was no more time to waste.
Without hesitation, Kurogane Ren began weaving sealing inscriptions into Rin's body, one after another.
Once the setup was complete, he silently formed hand seals.
"Sealing Technique—Chakra Severance!"
In an instant, the remaining Three-Tails chakra was split apart, as if cleaved cleanly in two by an invisible blade.
A large portion of the severed chakra was drawn into Kurogane Ren's body, forming a sealing formula within him, while the smaller portion rapidly dissipated into the air.
This was the sealing technique he had developed.
In the original story, only two techniques could achieve something like this.
One was the Akatsuki's Phantom Dragon Nine Seals, which forcibly extracted Tailed Beast chakra from a Jinchūriki. But Kurogane Ren had no way of obtaining that technique, and even if he did, it required multiple high-level shinobi working together. Even if a single person could perform it, the time required would be immense.
The other was… the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which had split the Nine-Tails and Orochimaru into two parts.
That one was even more unattainable. As far as he knew, only Minato Namikaze could use it, and whether it was even recorded in the Sealing Scroll was uncertain. More importantly, it was a guaranteed death technique. Even with the Uzumaki clan's Shinigami Mask, using it like Orochimaru did was extremely dangerous.
What Kurogane Ren had created was a third option—a sealing technique capable of splitting chakra.
As he felt the temporarily sealed Three-Tails chakra within his body, he couldn't help but lick his lips.
It worked.
There had been no resistance during the process, likely because the Three-Tails' consciousness had already dissipated, leaving it unable to fight back.
But this at least proved one thing.
His sealing technique could truly divide Tailed Beast chakra.
Separating chakra itself wasn't difficult—but creating a technique capable of splitting Tailed Beast chakra was extraordinarily challenging.
That was why he had refined it to near perfection.
After completing the extraction, Kurogane Ren shook his head slightly, ending his act. He withdrew the Mystical Palm Technique and moved to Kakashi Hatake's side, beginning treatment.
Kakashi had merely overexerted himself. The awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan had also drained most of his mental energy, causing him to faint. His physical injuries weren't severe.
It didn't take long for the treatment to finish.
Soon, the ANBU who had seen the signal flare arrived. The leader wore white, standing out starkly against the others dressed in black.
As they took in the scene before them, their expressions changed.
It looked like hell.
The blood hadn't even dried yet, and the corpses strewn across the ground were all grotesquely mutilated.
"This is…" the ANBU captain muttered, his voice filled with shock.
"It was already like this when I arrived. Kakashi Hatake is fine, but Nohara Rin…" Kurogane Ren trailed off.
The ANBU vice-captain glanced at the gaping wound in Rin's chest.
"I see. Then there's nothing we can do."
His tone remained unchanged. As long as Kakashi was alive, that was enough.
Kurogane Ren wasn't surprised.
The one who truly mattered had always been Kakashi, not Rin.
Still, as he watched the vice-captain lift Kakashi onto his back, he let out a quiet sigh.
Kakashi's life… was truly tragic.
He had lost his mother at a young age, then been forced into early enrollment due to the outbreak of the Second Shinobi War.
He graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, only to have his father, the White Fang, take his own life—right before Kakashi's eyes, leaving him deeply traumatized.
That trauma had affected his ability to work with teammates.
Then, finally, he joined Minato's team and gained two close companions—Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara.
For a moment, it seemed like he might begin to heal.
But now, Obito was dead, and Rin had been "killed" by his own hand.
If this didn't break him further, it would be a miracle.
And his tragedy didn't even end here.
He still had a teacher and a teacher's wife who cared for him deeply.
And then… what would come next, anyone familiar with the story already knew.
Kakashi's entire life was a tragedy.
That he could still rise again afterward was a testament to his mental strength—worthy of being called a genius.
Kurogane Ren sighed inwardly.
The final tragedy had not yet occurred.
And he found himself hesitating.
Should he intervene?
It wasn't a dangerous matter—just a matter of information.
If he told Minato to reseal the Tailed Beast, Kushina Uzumaki could be saved. She wouldn't die in sacrifice.
And he could also gain something in return.
For example… the Nine-Tails' chakra.
But the problem was—
If those two survived, the ripple effect on the future would be enormous.
It could change the entire course of the shinobi world.
He had no system.
If the plot deviated too far, his only advantage would shrink drastically.
Kurogane Ren's gaze darkened.
That event… wasn't far away anymore.
What should he do?