In the Hokage's Office, Kakashi Hatake heard Jiraiya's theory and instantly recalled the moment he had driven his Lightning Cutter through Rin's chest.
His body gave an almost imperceptible shudder.
Tsunade noticed. "Kakashi, is there something you want to say?"
Every eye turned to the white-haired Jonin who had remained silent until now.
Kakashi stepped slowly out of the shadows. His visible eye was filled with pain beyond words.
He took a deep breath and began to recount the mission his team had carried out in Kirigakure after Obito Uchiha's supposed death.
"What did you say?" Tsunade was the first to speak, her voice trembling with disbelief. "Kirigakure sealed the Three-Tails inside Rin, and she deliberately ran into your Lightning Cutter?"
Kakashi lowered his head, his silver hair hiding his expression. Only his clenched fists betrayed his turmoil. "She did it to protect Konoha."
"Kirigakure planned to send her into the village as a Jinchuriki. Once she was inside, the Three-Tails would run wild. She chose to die by my hand to stop it."
Utatane Koharu drew a sharp breath. "That explains why Kirigakure suddenly withdrew. We destroyed their greatest weapon."
Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses, his gaze troubled behind the lenses. "So Obito Uchiha may have witnessed it? He saw Kakashi kill Rin with his own hands?"
Jiraiya slammed a fist into the wall with a dull thud. "Damn Kirigakure! They toyed with a young girl's life and forced her and her comrades to endure that tragedy!"
Tsunade picked up the thread. "According to Medical Ninjutsu records, severe psychological trauma can indeed cause a complete change in personality."
"But even then, his hatred of Konoha seems too obsessive and enduring. It's more like someone deliberately planted those ideas in his mind."
Shimura Danzō gave a cold laugh, cutting off