Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 63: Capturing the Seven-Tails

No further explanation was necessary. The simple phrase "enough to control a tailed beast" made Rin fully grasp the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

After all, it was precisely her fear of the Mist's tailed beast being unleashed in the Konoha camp that had led her to choose death at Obito's hands.

"The Sharingan reflects the heart," Fuji said calmly. "A Mangekyo's abilities are tied to the user's thoughts at the time. You know better than anyone what Obito was thinking then."

"Escape…" Rin murmured.

Obito's first thought must have been to escape—he didn't want to believe she was dead, nor that he had killed her. From that came his ability…

"Space-time ninjutsu," Fuji concluded. "You've seen the Flying Thunder God, so you understand how powerful that is."

"Right now, Obito hasn't done much, but he's already attacked Kakashi. There's no guarantee he won't target Konoha in the future."

"Obito wouldn't… he wouldn't…" Rin muttered, shaking her head in denial. But deep down, she knew Fuji was right.

After everything that had happened, Obito might no longer be the naive boy who dreamed of becoming Hokage. He was now… a vengeful soul bent on destroying everything.

This was her fault. She had burdened Obito with all of this.

Rin looked at Fuji, her smile bitter. "Am I too selfish? Thinking only about my own release from it all?"

"There's no point in asking me," Fuji replied, shaking his head. "You don't want comfort or advice—you're just looking to affirm your thoughts. I didn't place any guards here. If you wanted to leave, you could have done so before I arrived. The fact that you stayed means you've already made up your mind."

"…"

Rin fell silent.

Why had she stayed?

The Hyuga standing before her clearly had secrets unknown even to Konoha. Why had she chosen to remain?

Because of Fuji's strength?

No, that wasn't it. From the moment she stepped onto the battlefield, Rin had accepted the possibility of her death. She didn't fear it.

No, she stayed because the memories of what had happened to Obito raised troubling questions.

The Mist had captured her, implanted her with a tailed beast, and intended to make it rampage in Konoha's camp.

Then Obito, who should have been dead for half a year, appeared, rescued her, and in the end, she died at his hands to avoid bringing disaster to Konoha.

In this sequence of events, she and Obito were the core players.

Their actions seemed natural, driven by their own emotions. Yet, the circumstances around them felt orchestrated, leaving them little choice but to act as they had.

Adding Fuji's intervention, giving her a second life, and thinking it through carefully… she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all part of a plan targeting Obito.

But who was behind it? What was their goal?

And did anyone in Konoha understand the full scope of this?

What was Fuji's role in all of this?

After much deliberation, Rin decided to stay.

Because right now, Fuji might be the only one who understood the entire situation. If she wanted to know what had truly happened to Obito, she had to confront him.

She couldn't escape responsibility for what had happened—this all began with her.

And…

"The issue with the Seven-Tails makes it impossible for me to return to Konoha as a Leaf ninja or as Nohara Rin," Rin said with a sigh. "I heard Kushina-nee mention that the Seven-Tails was originally assigned to Takigakure by the First Hokage, and that village is an ally of Konoha. If word spreads that the Mist implanted me with the Seven-Tails, it'll only create problems for Sensei."

The Mist had brought both the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails to this battlefield. The tailed beast they had implanted in her must have been stolen from Takigakure at some point.

Though, now that she thought about it, there had been a "mistake" during the process. The Mist ninja responsible for implanting the Seven-Tails had been killed by the beast's sudden surge of power.

From there, the beast's chakra drove her body toward Konoha's camp, where she was intercepted by Mist ninja and then saved by Obito…

Looking back, was that surge of the tailed beast's power really an accident?

Something about it felt deliberate—like someone wanted to use her to silence loose ends or ensure her escape.

Her unease grew, and she let out another sigh. "If I reappear alive, it'll only create endless complications. It's better if I stay hidden and figure out the truth behind all this."

She raised her head, her gaze resolute as she looked at Fuji. "And regardless of your motives, Fuji-senpai, you saved me. I won't do anything to put you at risk."

"The Leaf ninja named Nohara Rin has already died for her village. From now on, I'll act according to my own will."

"I owe Obito an apology. And I owe you my thanks."

She had already died once for her village. Now, she wanted to live for herself, if only for a little while.

Fuji smiled faintly. "Good resolve. But as I said before, this was just an experiment. There's no need to thank me."

"You've been thinking a lot since regaining your memories," Fuji added. "But you've probably overlooked some other details. One of the seals I placed on your split body has already yielded results."

Seeing her confused expression, Fuji placed a hand on her forehead, and Rin suddenly felt her consciousness sink.

When she came to, she found herself in what appeared to be a dark underground space. Fuji stood beside her.

"Fuji-senpai… where is this?" Rin asked, bewildered.

Fuji didn't answer directly. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Rin, what is a tailed beast?"

As the student of the Fourth Hokage and someone close to Kushina, Rin had some understanding. "A mass of chakra."

"And what is their soul?"

"Their soul?" Rin repeated, caught off guard.

Fuji's question made her pause. She had never thought about it.

What is the soul of a tailed beast?

No, wait—what is a soul in the first place?

She had no experience or knowledge in this area and quickly fell into contemplation.

Seeing her silence, Fuji didn't press her. Instead, he led her deeper into the space, speaking as they walked.

"One of the seals I placed on your body can transfer souls. However, it doesn't affect you directly. When either of your split bodies dies, the soul transfers back to the living one, similar to how shadow clones return their memories."

That was an inherent function of the splitting technique.

"But if your body contains another soul, the seal will transfer it alongside yours."

Hearing this, Rin followed Fuji's gaze forward—and her expression changed drastically.

Could it be…

"The soul of the tailed beast… is the tailed beast itself!"

Before them, in the dark space, a massive creature floated, its form unmistakable.

The Seven-Tails, Chomei.

Fuji smiled faintly as he gazed at it.

A tailed beast's soul is chakra, and a tailed beast is a mass of chakra.

Even the use of the Reaper Death Seal to contain the Nine-Tails supported this truth.

Both facts pointed to one conclusion: A tailed beast's soul is its very essence!

"Rin," Fuji said lightly, "if you want to thank me, then assist me with the tailed beast transfers from now on."

Rin stared at the Seven-Tails, then turned to Fuji, her expression shifting between amazement and disbelief.

She had assumed he had saved her for Obito's sake.

After all, from their earlier conversation, she had realized the mastermind behind all this was trying to awaken Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan.

She had thought her role would be to limit Obito's actions or perhaps even bring him under Fuji's control.

She had been ready for that.

But now, it seemed Fuji didn't need any of that at all.

Tailed beasts—the ultimate weapons of the ninja villages—were being taken by Fuji in such a quiet, methodical way.

She had died in front of Kakashi. In the future, everyone would assume the Seven-Tails had disappeared with her death.

As long as she never reappeared, no one would ever know that the Seven-Tails was now in Fuji's possession.

(End of Chapter)