The Missing Rin

Konoha Position

As the frontline war raged on, a figure hurriedly rushed to the position in a panic.

"Where's Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked anxiously.

Shintaro pointed ahead and said, "He's directing the battle."

Seeing Kakashi's anxious demeanor, Shintaro asked, "What happened? Tell me."

Kakashi's previous mission was to patrol the Eastern Front.

The eastern front was much safer than the southern front. After all, the enemy's main force could only use the original location of the Land of Whirlpools as a springboard to attack Konoha.

However, in war, what was considered safe was only relative.

Kakashi said anxiously, "Rin is missing!"

Shintaro frowned and thought, "Why is something happening to Rin again?"

He immediately pressed Kakashi's shoulder and comforted him in a deep voice, "Don't panic, explain the situation to me first."

Kakashi took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said, "Rin and I were patrolling the eastern front, but after a separate operation, I couldn't find Rin. But I used my Sharingan to track some Kirigakure ninja. I'm worried these Kirigakure ninja have kidnapped Rin."

After Kakashi finished speaking, Shintaro seemed to be thinking, so Kakashi spoke again.

"I'm here to find Minato-sensei. I'm worried I can't save Rin alone. Shintaro, what do you think?"

Shintaro shared his thoughts, "I'm wondering why Rin was taken. This time is different from the last time. Last time, you were on a secret mission. Naturally, Iwagakure captured Rin to interrogate intelligence."

"But this time is different. Konoha and Kirigakure have essentially given up on the eastern front. Even if Rin was captured and questioned about Konoha's defenses on the eastern front, it wouldn't be useful. Kirigakure doesn't have the strength to launch an attack from the eastern front."

"Unless... Kirigakure wants to use Rin for another purpose."

Shintaro then lifted his head and said, "No matter what Kirigakure wants to do, we can't let them achieve it, especially since Rin is our comrade."

"Kakashi, Minato-sensei still needs to direct the war on the southern front. I'll accompany you to save Rin."

Hearing this, Kakashi solemnly nodded and thanked him, "Thank you very much."

Shintaro patted his shoulder and said gently, "No need to say more, we are comrades."

The two immediately set off, hurrying from the Southern Front headquarters to the Eastern Front.

"Don't worry too much. Even though I still don't know what Kirigakure wants to do, at least I'm sure they won't harm Rin's life. At least until their goal is achieved, Rin will be safe. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother capturing her alive."

Shintaro comforted him along the way.

Kakashi also nodded and said, "I understand. When I was looking for Rin, I didn't find any trace of her blood. It seems Kirigakure doesn't want to harm Rin."

After a long journey, the two arrived at the Eastern Front of the Land of Fire.

Shintaro and Kakashi passed through Konoha's defenses.

Only one or two hundred soldiers were scattered along the long defense line on the eastern front.

If a small force wanted to infiltrate, it would be easy.

So Shintaro's current guess is that Kirigakure wants to use Rin to infiltrate the heart of the Land of Fire, but he still doesn't know their specific goal.

"Kakashi, take me to the place where Rin disappeared."

Shintaro suddenly said that he wanted to go to the place where Rin disappeared and use the clues to deduce Kirigakure's goal.

"Okay, it's not far ahead." Kakashi said, pointing forward.

The two soon arrived at the location where Rin went missing.

In the forest of the Land of Fire, there were messy traces.

Scattered footprints were among the fallen leaves, with some signs of battle around.

Shintaro analyzed everything around with his Six Eyes and reconstructed the situation in his mind when Rin was kidnapped.

Rin should have been suddenly surrounded by Kirigakure ninja who appeared from all directions. She used explosive tags and wind elements to resist, but was blocked by the water formation walls of the Kirigakure ninja.

Rin was then suddenly approached by Kirigakure ninja and captured alive using the Water Prison Technique.

"The Kirigakure ninja didn't use any offensive ninjutsu at all. It shows that they needed Rin alive and didn't even want her to get hurt."

"If it was just for information, I doubt it would be like this."

Shintaro analyzed.

Kakashi looked at him, thought for a moment, and asked, "What do you think?"

Shintaro put one hand on his chin as if thinking and said, "Maybe Kirigakure wants to use Rin as a Jinchuriki weapon."

"What?!"

Kakashi was shocked and exclaimed.

Shintaro and Kakashi looked at each other and said, "Yes, according to the information I know, Kirigakure's Bijuu hasn't had a suitable Jinchuriki for a long time."

"Kirigakure might want to use Rin as a temporary Jinchuriki and then lead her to infiltrate the heart of the Land of Fire to release the Sanbi. In this case, not to mention the direct damage caused by the Sanbi, it would turn Konoha into a defensive position and send ninjas back to defend. This alone would be enough to change the battle situation."

Kakashi heard this and immediately thought of this possibility.

"There is indeed such a possibility... That would be dangerous for Rin. A Jinchuriki will die if they lose their Bijuu!"

Kakashi's first thought was Rin's safety.

"But this also means that before the Kirigakure ninja release the Bijuu, Rin is indeed safe because if the Jinchuriki dies, the Bijuu will die too, and it will take at least several years to resurrect."

Shintaro analyzed calmly.

Kakashi was also smart, so he nodded and stopped panicking.

"The sealing process should be quite complicated. Kirigakure shouldn't have started taking action yet. We'll patrol separately. As soon as one side detects movement, they'll immediately send a signal." Shintaro ordered.

Kakashi nodded, and the two immediately split up to fill the gap in Konoha's weak defense.

❀❀❀

At this time, in a hidden cave in the eastern part of the Land of Fire.

"Is the sealing complete?"

Inside the cave, a Kirigakure ANBU asked.

An old man with long hair and glasses wiped his sweat and replied, "It's done."

Rin lay on the ground, and a sealing mark suddenly appeared on her abdomen.

Outside the cave, a large iron chain was entangled on the ground, with a long trail dragged across the ground.

The signs indicated that a large creature had been dragged from the coast to the cave, then suddenly disappeared, leaving only the iron chain that originally bound the Bijuu.

The leading Kirigakure ANBU immediately gave the order.

"Let's move out, infiltrate Konoha, release the Sanbi, and defeat Konoha in one move!"

"Yes!"

There were more than twenty Kirigakure ANBU in the cave, all elites. It was evident that Kirigakure highly valued this mission.

Rin happened to wake up at this moment, opened her eyes, heard Kirigakure's plan, and immediately asked, "How dare you do this? Aren't you afraid of Konoha's retaliation?!"

"Shut her up, she's too noisy, but you'll die after the mission is complete, so we won't have to bother doing it ourselves."

The leading Kirigakure ANBU gave the order, and an ANBU immediately stepped forward and gagged Rin with a piece of white cloth, causing her to only let out angry muffled sounds.

"Take her and let's go!"