Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Rin shook her head.

"My body... feels fine."

Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with confusion as she stared closely at Kitahara Kaede.

"But what exactly is happening? Tsunade-sama said you could explain everything."

Kaede met her gaze, his expression calm.

"I know you have many questions. Don’t rush. I’ll explain them one at a time."

He pulled over a chair and sat, then motioned for Rin to do the same.

"When I attacked you on the battlefield, I calculated the angle in advance. The strike avoided your heart perfectly."

Rin stared at him in stunned silence.

He had calculated it?

Why would he do that?

Kaede gave her little time to process the revelation before continuing.

"Your ’death’ was staged to protect you from a conspiracy being carried out by someone hiding behind the scenes. You survived because Tsunade secretly treated you. Throughout the entire process, only she and I knew the truth."

"Someone behind the scenes?"

Rin immediately caught the key phrase, tension entering her voice. "Who?"

Kaede shook his head.

"I can’t tell you yet."

"You only need to know that this person is extremely dangerous. He intended to use your death to trigger a war that would engulf the entire Shinobi World."

"The Three-Tails inside you has already been dealt with. As far as his plan is concerned, you’re dead."

Rin lowered her head after listening.

More than ten seconds later, she suddenly looked up and asked the question she cared about most.

"Does Kakashi... know?"

"No."

Kaede answered without the slightest hesitation.

He looked directly into her eyes and spoke each word clearly.

"If Kakashi learns that you’re alive, the situation will become extremely troublesome. So for the time being, absolutely no third person can know you’re alive."

Rin’s gaze visibly dimmed, but only for an instant.

She quickly pulled herself together and looked at Kaede again.

"You saved me to stop that person’s conspiracy, right?"

Kaede was surprised she had understood so quickly, but nodded.

"Yes."

"Then I’ll cooperate."

Rin answered decisively, without the slightest reluctance.

"If my ’death’ can contribute to resolving something this serious, then I’m honored. Tell me what you need me to do."

Kaede relaxed inwardly.

"You don’t need to do anything. Continue hiding for now. The time hasn’t come yet. But don’t worry—it won’t be much longer before this matter is resolved completely. When that happens, you won’t have to live this way anymore."

Rin nodded again and asked nothing further.

Tsunade stood nearby throughout the exchange with her arms folded, saying nothing.

But with every sentence Kaede spoke, her eyes became increasingly sharp.

Calculated at the last moment?

Hah.

That bastard was lying again.

Rin didn’t know the truth, but Tsunade certainly did. Before the mission, Kaede had specifically asked her to wait in secret and receive them.

Still, she didn’t expose him in front of Rin.

Tsunade approached the girl.

"In that case, you’ll continue staying in Shikkotsu Forest. It blocks all outside detection and is the safest location."

Rin nodded obediently.

"Thank you for the trouble, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade formed seals. A dense cloud of white smoke rose in the center of the office with a bang.

Rin’s figure gradually faded within it. Before disappearing, she bowed solemnly toward Kaede.

"Kitahara-senpai, thank you for saving me."

Her voice faded as the smoke dispersed completely.

Only Kaede and Tsunade remained in the office.

Kaede was looking at the spot where Rin had vanished, thinking the matter had finally reached a temporary conclusion, when a click sounded behind him.

Tsunade had walked to the door and locked it.

Kaede’s heart jumped.

Tsunade turned around and approached him step by step.

"You lied to her just now."

Kaede froze, then instinctively asked, "What did I lie about?"

The corner of Tsunade’s mouth lifted slightly.

"When Rin was abducted by Kirigakure, Minato and Kakashi departed on an emergency mission. You suddenly insisted on going with them."

She took another step toward him.

"You also instructed me in advance to wait secretly at the border."

"So this wasn’t some ’spur-of-the-moment decision’ on the battlefield."

Tsunade stared at him, enunciating each word as though she intended to see through him entirely.

"You knew the future."

Her deduction left Kaede speechless.

So that was what she meant.

Tsunade gave him no room to recover and pressed aggressively.

"Why did you know Rin would be in danger?!"

Kaede’s thoughts raced.

Compared with other matters, this was relatively simple to explain to Tsunade.

"I really did know in advance."

Tsunade was about to continue, but Kaede immediately spoke again, his voice carrying a heaviness she had never heard before.

"The source of the information was that set of memories."

"Not the memories involving you. The memories... involving those two women."

Tsunade’s entire body stiffened.

Kaede continued without stopping.

"The memories I have doesn’t only involve those two. They also contain fragments concerning major events that will occur in the future of the Shinobi World."

"The instant I heard Rin was in danger, the situation matched something from those memories. That was why I had to go."

Looking at Tsunade’s shocked face, Kaede delivered the most important truth.

"Because in that ’future,’ Rin’s death directly causes a war that brings the entire Shinobi World to ruin. I had to prevent it."

After he finished, deathly silence filled the office.

Tsunade stood motionless, her thoughts in chaos.

She had assumed those additional memories were nothing more than Kaede’s romantic debts.

But now...

Those memories also carried something this heavy?

She recalled how he had rushed from place to place time after time.

To Kirigakure. To Amegakure. Each time he returned, exhaustion clung to him so deeply he couldn’t conceal it.

Back then, she had assumed he was meeting those two women in secret and had grown jealous and furious.

But now that she reconsidered it...

Tsunade’s throat felt dry.

"So... you weren’t running around before because you wanted to see them?"

Kaede shook his head, his gaze completely serious.

"No. They merely happened to be in those places. The matters I handled weren’t directly related to them."

Tsunade stared at him and finally understood several things.

How had an orphaned civilian risen to Jonin so quickly?

How had he achieved so many accomplishments others couldn’t even imagine?

How had he proposed so many plans capable of transforming entire villages?

So... this was the reason.

Tsunade slowly lowered her eyes, long lashes concealing the emotions churning beneath them.

At the very least, he had been willing to tell her today.

In the past, he had carried everything alone and never mentioned a word before her.

Did his willingness to confess now mean...

Tsunade hurriedly suppressed the dangerous thought, refusing to let her feelings show too clearly.

She pursed her lips. When she raised her head again, her face had returned to its previous calmness.

"I see."

Kaede was momentarily confused by how rapidly her expression changed.

Tsunade walked around him, returned behind the desk, and sat down. She picked up her pen and casually opened a medical chart.

"You don’t have any other business now, do you?"

Kaede instinctively shook his head.

"Then if there’s nothing else, you can leave."

Kaede stood there in stunned silence for several seconds.

Her attitude had changed far too quickly.

But he couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he answered gloomily.

"All right."

As he turned toward the door, his mind continued working.

The fact that she was still willing to question him meant he had a chance.

But if he simply left without saying anything, how would he see her again next time?

No. He needed an excuse.

When he reached the door and placed his hand on the handle, Kaede stopped and looked back.

"About Rin’s condition... can I come here often to ask for updates?"

The fingers holding Tsunade’s pen paused slightly.

She instantly understood what this bastard meant.

If he wanted an excuse to approach her, he could simply say so. Why drag Rin into it?

Her gaze remained on the medical chart, her tone unreadable.

"She’s a ’patient’ you assigned to me. Of course you can come ask about her whenever you wish."

A great weight lifted from Kaede’s heart, and he nodded.

"All right. Then you... should remember to rest."

Tsunade didn’t raise her head. She merely gave a soft hum through her nose.