Uchiha Kai narrowed his eyes.
After laying out his idea, he turned his gaze on Obito, his expression tinged with amusement.
Minato and Kakashi were stunned.
But Obito—
He looked completely dumbfounded, pointing at himself in disbelief.
"Me?"
"You've got to be kidding?"
There was a trace of panic in his voice. He was timid by nature, and when it came to anything involving Nohara Rin, his instinct was always to retreat.
"Yes. That's right," Kai said flatly. "It's you, Obito!"
"The reason Rin can be manipulated by the Hokage is that she has no close family left. She doesn't hold much attachment to this world."
"And because of her gentle and selfless nature, she doesn't want her teacher or friends to suffer on her account. She doesn't want war to break out again because of her. So the moment the village whispers about sacrifice, she might choose suicide without hesitation."
"That's exactly why—"
"If we can make Rin develop attachments, give her more bonds, make her realize that her death would bring about even greater consequences—"
"Only then can we stop her."
"Since she has no blood relatives left, I'll simply create one for her."
"So, Obito!"
"I know you like Rin. When she comes back later, I want you to confess to her immediately."
"Rin's nature is something I understand. Even if she doesn't see you that way, her kindness won't allow her to reject you outright."
"In fact, when you confess—make it dramatic. Tell her things like 'if you die, I'll die with you.'"
"I believe… even if she doesn't accept you, she won't be able to dismiss it outright."
"Because once she knows that her death will take you with her, she won't want to go through with it."
"For you, this isn't even that hard."
"You've got a thick skin. At worst you'll be rejected, and I doubt that'll crush you."
Kai gave a sigh.
"It's a shame though… We're too young. If we were older, the best way would be to make Rin have a child. Then she'd never dare throw her life away."
"What a pity!"
His face was full of lamentation.
Yes.
The method was shameless, but it was also the most effective plan he could think of in the short term.
Morality aside—it would work.
Minato: "..."
Obito / Kakashi: "..."
All three were dumbstruck.
Good heavens!
Even if Kai had said earlier he could only come up with a crooked scheme—this was beyond crooked.
"Isn't this way too unreliable?" Minato couldn't help but protest. "Rin is our friend. Can we really do something like this?"
"This is despicable," Kakashi muttered.
Obito's face flushed bright red. After a long struggle, he exploded. "What kind of lousy idea is this? I—"
"You don't like Rin?" Kai cut him off, eyebrows raised.
Obito instantly deflated.
He didn't dare deny it.
Because in his heart, he knew full well that he did like Rin.
But how could he admit something that embarrassing out loud?
Minato fell silent.
At last he sighed. "Kai… isn't this a bit much?"
"It's very necessary. Extremely necessary," Kai replied with a shrug. "You all know Rin's personality."
"Do you have another plan?"
"Other than forging bonds so strong she can't bring herself to die?"
"Otherwise, unless you guard her every second of every day, no one can talk her out of it."
The others said nothing.
Because deep down, they knew he was right.
Rin was too kind.
She would never let her teacher and friends fight the entire village for her sake.
She would never let war break out again, causing countless more deaths, just because of her.
So if Nara Shikaku came forward and spoke of the village's greater good, nothing could stop her.
That was the nature of a "transparent scheme"—an open conspiracy.
It couldn't be stopped.
Even now, the only reason Shikaku hadn't moved was to avoid openly tearing apart his relationship with Minato.
But if cornered, he could easily say those words to Rin right to her face.
And no one could refute it.
A transparent scheme… was unsolvable.
At that moment, Kai spoke again.
"Yes, it's underhanded. But this is about saving Rin's life."
"Other matters can be debated. But life is only given once. If it's gone, there's no going back."
"If Obito really can't do it, then let Kakashi."
"Between the two of you, either one works."
"Of course, I'm only suggesting."
"After all, you're the ones closest to Rin. How you handle it is up to you."
"What I can tell you is this—that's the power of a transparent scheme. There's no way to break it."
"To smash through it, you need something equally extreme. Only then can you succeed."
Yes.
Kai really did his best.
To him, Rin wasn't even truly a friend. At best, she was slightly more than a stranger.
The fact that he was willing to step in and help save her life was already a courtesy — partly because of some small bond, partly because her kindness made it hard to dislike her.
If someone wasn't his enemy, lending a hand wasn't an issue.
But if she couldn't be saved, then that was simply fate.
At least he would have tried.
Minato, Kakashi, and Obito exchanged looks.
They too fell silent.
They weren't fools. Kai had made it perfectly clear, and they understood.
At the root of it, this wasn't about fighting an enemy. It was Rin's own heart.
An enemy could be defeated.
But a heart demon? That was another matter.
In this sense, Kai was the strongest among them.
At least he had thought of something.
While they—her friends, her teacher—looked utterly foolish by comparison.
What to do?
Their minds were in chaos.
Do you agree? The plan was repulsive.
Refuse? Then what—watch Rin kill herself?
And just as their thoughts tangled, Kushina returned with Rin, carrying large bundles.
Kushina looked fine.
But Rin's eyes were vacant, her face pale.
On any other day, they might have brushed it off.
But now, after Kai's warning, everyone was watching her closely.
And instantly, they all saw it—
Something was wrong.
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