I've got it!
Obito suddenly realized that he could pass intelligence about the Imperial Court to his master, Minato, while posing as Rin.
Even if his master didn't trust him, surely he would trust Rin?
The only problem with this approach was that he couldn't let Rin actually get in touch with his master.
That could be either difficult or simple.
It was difficult because Obito no longer had Madara backing him. He had no way to influence anything in the Inner Palace, let alone send someone to keep watch.
It was simple because, as far as Obito knew, Rin was imprisoned and couldn't contact the outside world anyway.
After agonizing over it for a while, Obito decided to take the gamble.
He imitated Rin's handwriting, wrote a secret letter, and sent it over by pigeon.
The next day.
Minato Namikaze had just woken up when he spotted a pigeon beside his bed. He took the letter off its leg, but before he could open it, his door was pushed open and Ay rushed in.
"You got a secret letter too? Forget reading it. We have to go! Any later and it'll be too late! The Imperial Court's men are after us!"
Ay grabbed Minato Namikaze and jumped straight out the window.
The two began sprinting across the rooftops.
Minato Namikaze didn't understand what was happening, but he chose to trust Ay.
Even in their short time together, he had already discovered that Ay was a knight-errant who valued loyalty and friendship above all else, a man worthy of his respect.
"Stop looking. That woman Mei Terumi already ran. She was the one who noticed first and told me. She asked me to get you, then took off herself. We've already agreed on a place to meet up again."
"Oh,