"Ah, it all happened so suddenly. That was the day Naruto was born."
"Naruto is Sister Kushina's son. At the time..."
For the first time, Nohara Rin learned that her mentor's wife was Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki, learned of the mysterious Masked Man's existence, and learned how terrifying the Nine-Tails was.
"Damn that Masked Man. He actually got Teacher Minato killed and almost killed Sister Kushina and little Naruto." Nohara Rin's face flushed, her fists clenched, her teeth grinding.
"Truly hateful, utterly inhuman." Kageyama Kogetsu agreed.
Earth, Kirigakure, Mizukage Building, in the secret chamber behind the Mizukage's office.
Obito, wearing a mask, suddenly sneezed several times, feeling an uncomfortable twinge in his heart.
"What's going on?"
"With my physique, could I actually be catching a cold?" Obito was baffled, unable to figure it out.
"Could it be that Kakashi is badmouthing me?"
"That damned Kakashi!"
While hurrying through the forests of the Land of Fire, Kakashi also suddenly sneezed a few times. The subordinates beside him quickly expressed concern and told Kakashi to put on more clothes.
Moon, center of the Hamura Temple.
"Kogetsu, I want to go back as soon as possible to check on Sister Kushina." Worry showed on Nohara Rin's face.
Kageyama Kogetsu looked troubled. "That may not be possible in the short term."
"Why? Are we trapped here?"
"Not that. It's to avoid alerting the enemy and spooking the Masked Man who pulls the strings from behind the scenes."
"What does that have to do with me?" Nohara Rin asked in confusion.
"Rin, don't you think what we encountered back then was very strange?"
"There were so many squads, so why did the Kirigakure shinobi fixate on us and refuse to let go?"
"And the ones they sent were all Anbu elites. Was our squad so famous, so threatening?"
Kageyama Kogetsu's brows were knit tight, his look saying there had to be something fishy.
"It does seem a bit off." Nohara Rin strained to recall. "I don't know if it was just an illusion, but compared to you guys, Kirigakure's Anbu seemed to target me more."
Kageyama Kogetsu said, not entirely certain, "Based on my investigation, the Masked Man behind the scenes seems to be targeting Team 7, as if he bears a grudge against your Team 7."
"If not for the stroke of luck that brought you back to life, the only one left from Team 7 would be Kakashi."
Nohara Rin added, "And you."
"I don't count. I'm only filling in for a while."
"Apart from that, someone who died years ago suddenly showing up in the village could cause an uproar."
Nohara Rin nodded. "Makes sense. In that case, I'll listen to you."
"You'll get bored staying here alone, so I prepared some things for you to do, and I've also prepared a companion for you."
With that, Kageyama Kogetsu waved his hand, and a large scroll flew toward Nohara Rin.
"The scroll contains medical ninjutsu, offensive ninjutsu, utility ninjutsu, basic sealing techniques, and a taijutsu training manual."
"You can pick a few that interest you and train."
Hugging the large scroll, Nohara Rin said, embarrassed, "This is too precious, I..."
She knew how valuable ninjutsu were, and how hard it was for ordinary shinobi to acquire them. The medical ninjutsu she knew had been taught by her teacher.
"No need to be embarrassed. I'm currently Konoha's Anbu Deputy Commander, deeply trusted by the Third Hokage. We have all the standard jutsu, and it is permissible to pass on some of them."
"Don't you want to become stronger?"
"Of course I want to become stronger. I never want to be a burden again." Nohara Rin spoke quickly, her face resolute.
She had been a burden twice. The first time got Obito killed. The second time got herself killed. Both times nearly cost her comrades their lives.
How could she not care?
Of course, at the end of the day this blame still fell on Tsunade. The proposal to insert medical-nin into combat squads was indeed too naive.
Dan Kato, who voiced support, had to shoulder part of the blame, too.
"Then train hard. Work in silence, and when the time comes, dazzle everyone."
"If you really feel indebted, find a chance to repay me later."
"Alright." Nohara Rin's face was earnest and firm.
"By the way, how is Kakashi doing?"
"Him? He suffered for a long time, often going to the cemetery to visit you and Obito. Only recently has he improved a bit. He is now an Anbu squad captain."
"Yes, he's my subordinate. I'm his direct superior."
Nohara Rin covered her mouth and laughed. "Kakashi is indeed as outstanding as ever. But Kogetsu is even more amazing, managing to overtake him later on."
"Hahaha, thanks for the compliment." Kageyama Kogetsu laughed heartily.
"Also, besides training here, I want you to help me expand the Combat Puppet Corps."
"Combat Puppet Corps?"
"I don't know anything about that. Please don't let me mess up your affairs." Nohara Rin looked uneasy.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand yet. You can learn slowly. There are people who understand and will assist you."
Kageyama Kogetsu moved his mind, using the Tenseigan to transmit directly to Otsutsuki Toneri and the Otsutsuki Puppet leader.
"Huh... Kogetsu, your eyes look so mysterious, so beautiful." Nohara Rin exclaimed, only now noticing how unusual Kageyama Kogetsu's eyes were.
Mysterious referred to the black eyes. Beautiful referred to the Tenseigan.
"Thanks for the compliment. This pair of eyes is a secret art I cultivated with great effort." Kageyama Kogetsu smiled. "They're here."
Nohara Rin turned to look. Two figures, one tall and one short, approached.
"Byakugan!" Nohara Rin was surprised.
"We pay our respects, Teacher." The two bowed.
"Rise."
"She is Otsutsuki Toneri. She is Otsutsuki Puppet."
"The former is a descendant of the moon's Otsutsuki clan. The latter is the leader of the Combat Puppet Corps and also a puppet, with the highest level of intelligence."
"This is the moon?" Nohara Rin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes. This is not the shinobi world. I used a space-time passage to teleport to the moon."
"The Otsutsuki clan on the moon are the bloodline of the Six Paths Sage's younger brother, Otsutsuki Hamura."
"Our Konoha Hyuga clan is as well. The two are distant relatives, so they also possess the Byakugan."
Nohara Rin felt a little dizzy. It was a lot to take in.
Even the legendary Six Paths Sage and his younger brother were now involved.
"At present, across the entire moon, aside from you and Toneri, there are no other living beings."
"When I'm not here, you two are the masters of the entire moon."
"Here, you will take the lead, with Toneri assisting."
"I will grant you Level Two permissions for the puppet forces, and give Toneri Level Three permissions. You can learn the specifics slowly."
"Okay." Nohara Rin sounded a bit dazed.
"Toneri, from now on she is your elder sister. You must listen to her, understood?"
"Okay." Otsutsuki Toneri, eyes full of curiosity as he studied Nohara Rin, nodded quickly.
"Have the puppets bring a chair. Let's eat together."
"Okay." Otsutsuki Toneri replied happily.
"Kogetsu, what happened in Konoha afterward?" Once she had calmed down, Nohara Rin asked curiously.
As he ate, Kageyama Kogetsu recounted what happened afterward.
After listening, Nohara Rin sighed. "I didn't expect so much to have happened after I died."
"No wonder you were able to overtake the others later, having made so many great contributions. That's truly incredible."
"It's a pity. I never would have thought that the dignified Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, would defect."
Kageyama Kogetsu laughed loudly. "Haha, don't idolize me. I'm just a legend."
Nohara Rin's cheeks reddened, and she said, a bit embarrassed, "To be honest, I really do admire you a little. I think it would be hard for any normal girl not to."
"Your rise truly is a legend, another legend after Teacher Minato."
"How wonderful. Because of legends like you, Konoha can continue on, and all the villagers can live in peace."
Kageyama Kogetsu set down his knife and fork, drained the remaining red wine in one go, and stood up. "Thanks for the praise. I should head back to the village."
"Huh? So soon?" Nohara Rin was caught off guard.
"My position ties me down. The leave isn't long."
"Don't worry. I'll come visit you whenever I can."
"By the way, your parents, myself, Sister Kushina, and Kakashi are all looking after them."
"Although your passing made them look a bit older, their health is still acceptable."
At that, Nohara Rin froze, then burst into tears, stood up, and choked out, "Th... thank you."
"Live well. The time for your family to reunite won't be too far off." Kageyama Kogetsu encouraged her with a smile.
"Okay." In an instant, Nohara Rin was filled with motivation.
"Rin, Toneri, I'm off."
Kageyama Kogetsu waved, and his figure flashed toward the outside of the hall.
"Respectfully seeing Teacher off." Otsutsuki Toneri bowed deeply.
Nohara Rin also bowed deeply and did not rise for a long time. Only after Otsutsuki Toneri reminded her several times did she stand up.
Kageyama Kogetsu crossed space repeatedly and soon returned to Konoha.
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