[Mei Terumi: Wait, what kind of Ninjutsu is that? How did he take down the Three-Tails so easily?]
[Obito Uchiha: What an amazing Ninjutsu! He just molded a few little animals and defeated that big guy!]
Obito watched Deidara on the screen mold a few little animals and take down the giant monster with ease. He wished he could learn that Ninjutsu too.
"No, I'm going to awaken my Sharingan. How can I let myself be distracted by these Ninjutsu?"
After reaffirming his resolve to awaken his Sharingan, he found the flashy Ninjutsu on the screen no longer held any appeal. That giant bird looked pretty impressive, but it was nothing compared to his Sharingan giant.
[Ōnoki: Say, do you think that Ninjutsu looks cool? I don't think it compares to my Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.]
Ōnoki was furious at the sight of his student on the screen. Why wouldn't he learn the perfectly good Dust Release, and why did he insist on playing with clay? Still, his strength was decent, just barely meeting his standards for a student.
But he would have to be more careful when taking on a student in the future. He had to stop the boy from playing with clay and make him learn Dust Release instead. Disintegrating an enemy with a single release technique—that was what suited a Tsuchikage.
[Ōnoki: Still, he hasn't amounted to much. How could he just crush the Three-Tails so easily?]
Everyone else was speechless at Ōnoki's boastful tone. Hadn't the old man seen the slash across Deidara's headband? He was a missing-nin now, and besides, what he used had nothing to do with Ōnoki's Dust Release.
Ōnoki, however, paid no attention to the envious looks from the others. As for being a missing-nin, once he met Deidara and trained him properly, how could the boy possibly go off and become one?
[On the screen, after Deidara and Tobi finished capturing the Three-Tails, they used the giant bird to carry him as they prepared to leave.
At that moment, a bored Tobi lay motionless on the Three-Tails, looking as though he had fallen asleep.
"Listen up, Tobi. Don't get too cocky. The Three-Tails is weak because he isn't a Jinchūriki. There's no awareness in his mind to control his power." As Deidara spoke, he passed on his experience as a senior.
But Tobi was still lying motionless on the Three-Tails' belly and didn't respond to Deidara.
"Speaking of which, I think the Three-Tails' previous Jinchūriki was a Konoha Ninja named Rin," Deidara said casually.
Hearing that, Tobi rolled over to face the side, and there was no telling what he was thinking.
The people of Konoha on the screen found this even more unbelievable. What did Deidara's last remark mean? The Three-Tails' previous Jinchūriki was Rin?
Obito now understood what a Jinchūriki was, but why would Rin become the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki? The Three-Tails had always been Kirigakure's ultimate weapon, so why would he be inside Rin?
Minato also looked at Rin in disbelief. He knew a great deal about Jinchūriki: his own girlfriend, Kushina, was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, and there was also Killer B, the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki and the Fourth Raikage's brother, whom he had met last time.
Jinchūriki held a position much like nuclear bombs in modern society. They generally weren't brought out, and if they were, they would definitely be a trump card.
As luck would have it, the ranking system posed a question at that moment.
[Why did Rin Nohara become the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki?]
[A. Rin Nohara defected from Konoha and joined Kirigakure.
B. Konoha seized the Three-Tails and sealed him inside Rin Nohara.
C. Kirigakure wanted to seal the Tailed Beast inside Rin and release him in Konoha.
D. The Three-Tails willingly allowed himself to be sealed inside Rin.
Once the answers appeared, the answer was actually quite obvious. Kakashi gave Rin a rare look of concern. She was his teammate, after all, so it was understandable that he would react this way to what had happened, since he had already experienced misfortune.
Obito, meanwhile, looked utterly disbelieving. He couldn't believe he had failed to protect Rin when he had clearly promised to keep her safe, but... but... At that thought, tears began to flow.
Rin noticed that something was wrong with Obito. She slowly walked over, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the tears from his face.
"It's all right, Obito. We still don't really know what will happen in the future."
Obito quickly wiped away his tears and put on a brave face. "It's all right, Rin. Kakashi and I will protect you. We won't let you get hurt."
Rin smiled softly. "I believe in you."
Minato began to reason it out. Rin was his student, and he knew her well enough to be certain she could never betray Konoha. As for Konoha seizing the Three-Tails and sealing him inside her, that was impossible. Rin herself didn't have the powerful recovery ability and Chakra of the Uzumaki Clan,
so the second answer couldn't be right either. As for the Three-Tails willingly allowing himself to be sealed inside Rin, that also seemed unlikely. As far as Minato knew, the Three-Tails had never been easy to cooperate with to become a Perfect Jinchuriki.
That left only one answer: Kirigakure had some kind of scheme. Konoha had yet to go to war with Kirigakure, but anyone with eyes could see that after Kumogakure's Third Raikage died, Konoha had become the strongest ninja village. The other villages all seemed ready to join forces, and a situation where Konoha had to fight four villages at once was a real possibility.
[Minato Namikaze: I choose C. Kirigakure sealed the Three-Tails inside Rin.]
[Mei Terumi: Hey! Hey! Hey! Why are you pinning everything on Kirigakure? We're victims too—our Three-Tails got captured!]
Mei Terumi was not yet the older single woman she would be decades later. He wasn't even a Chunin yet. She had also made a decisive choice when answering a question earlier, and judging by things now, her strength was certainly at least Chunin level. She simply didn't know that Madara Uchiha had long had his eye on Kirigakure.
[Correct answer]
[Reward: Eight Trigrams Seal]
Minato Namikaze suddenly felt a great flood of knowledge appear in his mind. In an instant, he had mastered the Eight Trigrams Seal. The ranking system was truly incredible.
After learning the answer, Obito's eyes grew wet again. "Damn it, I said I wouldn't cry."
Rin knew Obito was grieving for her. Without calling him out on his stubbornness, she silently picked up her handkerchief and continued wiping away his tears.
"I'm sorry, Rin." Before Obito could finish, Rin suddenly screamed.
"What happened?" Minato hurried over.
Seeing Minato-sensei approach, Rin quickly pointed at Obito's eyes. "Sensei, look at Obito's eyes."
Kushina Uzumaki also hurried over and crouched down to examine Obito's eyes closely. Three Tomoe had appeared in them, and now Obito could see with exceptional clarity, making out even the smallest movements.
But then Obito fell over. Kushina took a look at him and said, "He probably exhausted himself awakening his Sharingan. Just take him to the infirmary in a bit."