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Accepting Danzo's reasoning did not mean that Jin agreed with Danzo's methods.
Danzo wanted to drag Konoha and Iwagakure back into a large-scale war, and that alone was unacceptable to Jin. Such a move would inevitably delay Minato's succession as the Fourth Hokage.
That outcome was something Jin could not tolerate under any circumstances.
If Iwagakure needed to be punished, it did not require another war. A firm and uncompromising stance would have been enough.
After all, Iwagakure was the defeated side. They should have been the anxious ones, not Konoha.
Hiruzen and Danzo represented two extremes. One avoided conflict at all costs. The other pursued it recklessly. In Jin's eyes, both approaches were flawed.
That was why Jin chose to head toward the Land of Rain.
First, he intended to interfere with Danzo's plans and, if possible, prevent Danzo from returning alive. Second, he wanted to see if he could change the fate of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
There was also another reason.
Obito should be somewhere near Nagato at this point in time, and Jin wanted to see how far that boy had developed.
In the original timeline, Obito was discovered and groomed by Uchiha Madara, manipulated through an elaborate scheme, and presumed dead during the Kannabi Bridge mission. From that moment on, he became Madara's successor in the shadows.
Jin knew this future well, yet he chose not to warn Minato.
He allowed events to unfold as they originally had.
On one hand, Madara's true strength was unfathomable. No one knew how many contingencies he had prepared.
Interfering too aggressively might only have driven a different monster into hiding.
Even if Obito were rescued from Madara's influence, there was no guarantee another Obito would not emerge later. An enemy lurking unseen was often more dangerous than one acting openly.
On the other hand, Jin believed that experiencing this tragedy might not be entirely harmful for Minato's team.
At the time, Team Minato was deeply flawed.
Hatake Kakashi, hailed as a prodigy, had become cold and emotionally distant following his father Sakumo's suicide.
He was obsessed with rules and missions, trapped in a rigid mindset that left no room for empathy.
Without Obito's apparent death, without witnessing the ultimate proof that comrades mattered more than orders, Kakashi might never have broken free from that path. He could have ended up walking a far darker road.
Obito himself had problems just as severe.
Despite being a Uchiha by blood, he lagged far behind in strength and was seen as the team's weak link. He was a burden in combat.
There was no denying Obito's potential. But his talent could not be awakened through conventional means.
Without Madara's intervention, Obito might never have unlocked his true power.
More troubling than his strength was his mindset.
When the woman he loved died, Obito did not think of saving her, honoring her memory, or protecting others. His first instinct was to destroy the world itself.
That way of thinking alone was proof of how unstable he truly was.
Both Madara and Obito were deceived, yet Madara was remembered far more favorably by history. The reason was simple.
Madara manipulated events, but he did not strip Obito of his autonomy.
The attack on Konoha during Kushina's childbirth, the release of the Nine-Tails, and the deaths of Minato and Kushina were all Obito's own decisions.
Those actions were stains that could never be erased.
Because Jin knew the future, he could not help but view Obito with distrust. He did not want that bias to cloud his judgment.
So he returned the choice to Obito himself.
If, after experiencing everything he was meant to experience, Obito still chose to unleash the Nine-Tails, then in Jin's eyes, he would already be halfway dead.
And if Obito truly resented Minato for failing to recognize him that night, then Jin would wait.
Once Minato exposed Obito's identity, if Obito still refused to turn back, Jin would no longer hesitate.
At that point, Obito only deserves pity not Mercy.
If Obito were to turn back from the path he was on, then everything would end on the best possible note.
Kakashi would find his way back to the right path. Obito would rise into a true powerhouse.
Madara's greatest hidden contingency would be dismantled, and instead of becoming a disaster, it would contribute to the future.
And then there was Nohara Rin.
Among Team Minato, Rin was the only truly ordinary one. She was also the one Madara exploited most thoroughly.
Rin's death was the turning point that pushed Obito into darkness, and it was also the beginning of Kakashi's emotional collapse.
Although Jin did not interfere with the events at Kannabi Bridge, he made a small adjustment when it came to Rin's fate.
At present, Rin was dead But she was also not truly dead.
At the very least, until Obito stepped onto the stage Jin had prepared for him, Rin remained dead in his eyes.
For the sake of his clansman, Jin had already done everything he reasonably could.
The situation of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan was different from Obito's.
Those three were genuine victims.
Yahiko was a sacrifice.
Konan was a follower.
There was little more to say about either of them.
The key figure was Nagato.
Although Nagato and Obito were both men who killed their teacher, the two could not be compared.
Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha shinobi. His homeland was destroyed in the wars between Konoha and other nations. His closest friend died in front of him due to a plot orchestrated by Konoha shinobi.
Nagato and Konoha were bound by a blood feud.
So when Jiraiya infiltrated Amegakure as a Konoha shinobi to gather intelligence, the two sides were already enemies.
What stood between Nagato and Jiraiya was not personal hatred, but opposing loyalties.
Nagato fought for his fallen friend's unfinished dream, and Jiraiya fought for Konoha.
There were no personal emotions mixed into their conflict.
Nagato even gave Jiraiya chances.
At the start of their battle, Nagato only used a single Animal Path body. He showed no overwhelming intent to pursue or annihilate him.
Jiraiya had multiple chances to retreat safely, yet chose to stay and fight until his death in Amegakure.
Because of that, Jin did not harbor much resentment toward Nagato.
If the original tragedy could be avoided, Nagato would not necessarily walk down that path.
The Akatsuki might still become the neutral organization it was meant to be, one that sought peace without relying on extreme violence.
"Danzo's methods are far too extreme."
After fully understanding the situation, Minato finally calmed down.
From a purely strategic standpoint, Danzo was acting in Konoha's interests, and Minato could not deny that.
But like Jin, Minato could accept Danzo's intentions while rejecting his methods.
Fighting for Konoha's benefit was not wrong. Using any means necessary was.
If war were to break out again, Konoha would suffer just as much as anyone else.
Danzo's approach treated comrades as tools to be exchanged for political gain.
That was something Minato would never allow.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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Thank you so much for your support and for reading!