Forcing Rin toward Kakashi had only completed half of their encounter.
The other half was who had sent Kakashi there.
The master mission file from that year recorded that Kakashi had first received a call for help from the east, then detected Rin's chakra while following the trail.
But the Eastern Liaison Squad had never sent a call for help.
Their Messenger Hawk had been injured the night before and had never left camp.
The signal Kakashi had heard came from a Standard-Issue Bamboo Whistle.
Its notes, intervals, and the code for that day had all been correct.
Only someone who knew Konoha's temporary communication protocols could have diverted him from his assigned route toward the eastern valley.
The Records Team retrieved the bamboo whistle distribution list.
One had been missing after the mission.
The receipt bore a Medical Ninja's name, but the handwriting did not match his.
That Medical Ninja had been treating the wounded in the rear at the time, and seven people could confirm that he had not collected it.
Someone had taken the bamboo whistle using a forged signature.
The first diversion had only drawn Kakashi off the main road.
What had truly sent him toward Rin's location was a Wounded Mist Ninja lying in the woods.
Kakashi remembered a blade wound in the man's abdomen, a broken Forehead Protector, and chakra that had nearly faded away.
The man had not asked for treatment.
He had only said that Kirigakure was moving a female Konoha ninja through the southern river valley.
After confirming the direction, Kakashi had rushed there immediately.
When he looked back, the wounded man was already gone.
At the time, he had assumed the man had escaped with the last of his strength, or perhaps died at the hands of his pursuers.
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