"Rin! Hang in there!"
Deep in the forest, Kakashi sprinted wildly with Rin Nohara on his back.
But the sound of wind behind them grew ever closer as dozens of Mist Village ninja began closing in.
"Kakashi... kill me..."
Rin Nohara lay draped over his back, looking terribly weak.
"Listen to me... they left a mark on my heart... to control me... I can't escape it..."
"And the Three-Tails has been sealed inside me..."
"Absolutely... absolutely don't go back to the village..."
"Otherwise, they'll immediately undo my seal..."
She struggled to open her eyes, struggling to make out Kakashi's blurred profile.
"Kakashi... let me die... together with the Three-Tails..." she murmured.
Overwhelming despair washed over Kakashi, chilling him to the bone.
Obito's death had already dealt him a crushing blow. He could not imagine whether he would still have the courage to live if he lost Rin too—the one he had promised Obito he would protect...
"Kakashi..."
"If I really have to die..."
"I want to die by your hand..."
Every word from Rin Nohara sliced into Kakashi's heart.
"Grant me this..."
Kakashi ran as if he had gone mad.
"Rin! Hang in there! We're almost there! We'll reach the village soon!" he said urgently.
"We can't go back!"
Rin Nohara suddenly pulled a kunai from her ninja tool pouch with her right hand. "I... I don't want to drag the village down with me..."
"Stop!"
A flash of inspiration struck Kakashi, and he cried out, "He, he said that as long as you can bear the consequences of your choice, you can do what you want! We're going back to the village!"
"This is when we need the village's help! We have to believe in the village!"
"Even if we fail, at least we fought with everything we had