Chapter 277: Special Circumstances

The corridor was quiet. Several ANBU carrying scrolls hurried past.

When they saw Kitahara Kaede leading the group, they instinctively pressed close to the wall and cleared a path.

Kaede stopped before the door to the Hokage's Office and turned around.

"You three wait here for a moment."

His gaze swept across Rin and Obito.

"Kakashi and I will go in first."

Obito had kept his head lowered ever since they entered the building.

Only after hearing those words did he move his neck and look at Kaede's hand resting on the doorknob.

In truth, relief loosened some of the tension inside him.

He still hadn't decided how he was supposed to face Minato.

Kaede said nothing more. He turned his wrist, pushing the door open a crack.

The gap slowly widened.

Obito happened to be standing directly opposite the doorway.

His gaze passed through the opening and entered the office.

Behind the desk, a familiar blond figure was bent over a stack of documents, pen moving steadily across the paper.

Obito's eyes widened slightly.

Kaede entered with Kakashi and pulled the door shut behind them.

It closed with a soft click.

To Obito, that faint sound seemed to separate everything on the other side from him.

Only the three of them remained in the corridor.

Obito stood motionless.

Without realizing it, his palms had become drenched in sweat.

His mind frantically searched for words.

What was he supposed to say when he finally went inside?

"Minato-sensei, it's been a long time"?

Or should he immediately confess every terrible thing he had done over the years?

The more he thought, the more chaotic his mind became. He couldn't even hear the faint conversation behind the door.

Rin stood beside him.

She understood that Obito had begun overthinking again.

She shifted half a step closer.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered.

Obito didn't respond.

Rin lowered her gaze toward the hand hanging beside him.

His fingers were unconsciously curling into his palm.

She reached out and first brushed the edge of his hand.

Obito's arm visibly flinched.

Rin gave him no chance to pull away.

She turned her wrist and pressed her palm directly against his, intertwining their hands.

Obito's entire body went rigid.

He didn't even dare turn his neck. Beneath the mask, the heat in his cheeks soared all the way to the tips of his ears.

He awkwardly moved his wrist, trying to pull his hand free.

Rin noticed and tightened her grip, holding him firmly with no intention of letting go.

As she studied his helpless reaction, the corners of her lips lifted despite herself.

She leaned a little closer.

"After all these years, why do you still look exactly like you did whenever the teachers scolded you at the Academy?"

Her tone was completely casual, as though she were teasing him for being late beside the training grounds again.

Obito's ears turned bright red.

"Th-That's not true."

He muttered under his breath and awkwardly turned his head half an inch away.

But he made no further attempt to withdraw his hand.

He couldn't bear to let go of the warmth spreading into his palm.

Rin's shoulders trembled twice as she forcibly suppressed her laughter.

The Six-Tails Jinchuriki, leaning against the wall nearby, saw everything clearly.

He watched them with cold eyes.

Remembering how Obito had treated him throughout the journey made jealousy and resentment bubble in his chest.

In the forest, the bastard had dragged him around by the back of his collar and cursed whenever he slowed down.

Yet now, in front of a pretty girl, the same man was acting bashful?

The Jinchuriki rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to face the wall.

Better not to look at all.

At the same time, inside the office, Minato stopped writing when he heard the door.

His gaze shifted over and found Kaede and Kakashi standing before his desk, one slightly ahead of the other.

After confirming that both had returned unharmed, the deep crease between his brows finally eased.

His eyes moved between them.

Kakashi stood half a step behind Kaede.

Minato noticed something different.

Kakashi still carried his usual quiet, closed-off demeanor, but much of the deathly heaviness surrounding him had disappeared.

Before the two left Konoha, Minato remembered clearly that Kakashi hadn't treated Kaede this way.

Now he was willingly following half a step behind him.

Minato didn't ask about it.

Both of them had returned in one piece. That mattered more than anything.

"You're back." Minato's expression turned serious. "What's the situation in Kirigakure?"

Kaede stepped forward.

"The Three-Tails Jinchuriki, Yagura, was taken from inside the village."

He delivered the report concisely.

"All his guards were incapacitated and covered in a layer of white spores. His current whereabouts are unknown."

Minato leaned back in his chair.

The Seven-Tails was gone, and now they had failed to protect even the Three-Tails.

"The enemy's abilities are extremely unusual." Minato interlaced his fingers on the desk. "To silently remove a perfect Jinchuriki from inside Kirigakure requires infiltration abilities possessed by almost no one in the entire Shinobi World."

Kaede nodded in agreement.

Minato continued,

"Did you gain anything else from this trip?"

"I prepared an ambush in the forest outside Kirigakure and intercepted the person sent to capture the Six-Tails."

"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki is safe."

Kaede paused.

"I brought him back to Konoha with us."

Minato's interlaced hands instantly separated.

He leaned forward, his gaze locking onto Kaede.

What did that mean?

A Jinchuriki belonging to another Ninja Village had returned to Konoha alongside Konoha shinobi.

In any era, such a thing would have been considered absolutely impossible.

"Kirigakure's High Command agreed?" Minato asked directly, obvious doubt in his voice. "Elder Genji agreed to hand over a Tailed Beast?"

"He objected, but eventually he agreed."

Kaede explained the entire arrangement.

"The plan I offered him was joint defense."

"Kirigakure will send its most elite ANBU squad, led by one of its senior officials, to remain stationed in Konoha."

"Officially, they'll be guarding their own Jinchuriki. In practice, they'll defend him together with Konoha. Ownership of the Tailed Beast remains with Kirigakure. They're simply placing him somewhere safer."

Minato lifted the teacup from his desk toward his lips, reconsidered, then set it back down.

He rapidly weighed the advantages and risks.

Kaede's move had been extraordinarily dangerous, but also brilliantly executed.

It had effectively dragged control of the battlefield back into Konoha's hands.

"You've worked hard."

Minato's praise was sincere.

He pulled over a blank scroll and prepared to record the arrangements.

"Housing the Six-Tails will be a major problem. We can't simply place him anywhere in the village. There's an unused training ground in the southeast with relatively complete barrier facilities. Tomorrow, I'll have someone—"

"Hokage-sama, put the housing arrangements aside for now," Kaede interrupted.

Minato stopped writing and looked up in confusion.

Kaede's expression was grave.

"The Six-Tails isn't the only thing I brought back."

"This trip to Kirigakure also produced a far more unusual situation."

Minato raised his brows, his confusion completely visible.

Something more unusual than the Six-Tails Jinchuriki?

At this moment, what matter in the entire Shinobi World could be more significant than the transfer of a living Tailed Beast?

"What situation?" Minato asked.

Kaede didn't answer.

He turned around, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

"All of you, come in."