"What exactly are they doing? This is utterly ridiculous..."
Uchiha Hikari watched the mirage projection with a look of pure unadulterated disgust.
She was deeply unamused by the holographic Hidden Mist ninjas' total refusal to just execute Kakashi and Rin, instead opting to obsessively pat their heads and throw small pink water balloons at them.
Before she could finish her thought, Orochimaru's earlier telepathic lecture flashed through her mind.
Orochimaru had theorized that the Shinobi World's twisted "Fate" exerted an overwhelming gravitational pull on its inhabitants, rendering them biologically unable to resist the Tailed Beasts.
Until the Tailed Beasts were fully eradicated, only the native women—who had slightly weaker karmic bonds to the beasts due to anatomical incompatibility—had a genuine chance to alter their destinies by transferring their "gravity's pull" onto an outsider like Makoto.
And, predictably, the Kage's attitudes had immediately shifted the second they made this tactical decision.
Hikari side-eyed Mei Terumi, who was currently standing way too close to Makoto.
Konan's loyalty was at least somewhat understandable, the Konan of this world had accompanied them in "slaughtering" the Tailed Beasts all day and had shared actual combat experience with them.
But Mei Terumi and the other Kage were completely different from their real-world counterparts.
They had zero prior connection to Makoto, yet now they were acting aggressively intimate and staking claims on him.
Thinking about it logically... Kirigakure's infamous "Blood Mist Policy"... the strict requirement for academy graduates to romantically "conquer" a classmate...
Zabuza's legendary graduation feat of "conquering" his entire class... and now, these Hidden Mist tracker ninjas frantically head-patting Kakashi and Rin in a desperate attempt to artificially raise their "favorability" stats...
Behind all these seemingly absurd and bizarre behaviors lay the horrifying application of the Shinobi World's hidden fundamental physics!
It was like a broken RPG video game mechanic.
By skillfully exploiting the "favorability" stat, one could condense romantic relationships that typically took half a year to develop into a mere half-day of aggressive, non-stop head-patting.
Kirigakure's "favor-grinding" combat strategy wasn't laughable, it was terrifying!
Due to the Limited Tsukuyomi's unique dating-sim physics, once Kakashi and Rin's favor levels reached a certain numerical threshold, they would truly become unable to resist the pull of Fate, making them completely vulnerable to being "conquered" by the enemy squad!
So, who exactly proposed this weaponized Blood Mist Policy in this timeline?
The Third Mizukage, a figure of little historical presence?
Or was it Madara, who orchestrated the entire sick game from the shadows?
'I feel like I've finally grasped the horrifying essence of this world,' Hikari thought, shuddering.
The Giant Clam's mirage projection persisted in the mist around them.
Holographic Kakashi and Rin fled through the trees for a while before hiding in a dense thicket, where they finally had a chance to catch their breath.
However, they knew the Hidden Mist tracker ninjas were completely surrounding the forest, actively encircling them without dealing any amage.
"Rin... I'm almost at my limit," Kakashi gasped, his face pale with exhaustion and a bizarre, flushed fever.
"Their goal is to completely seduce us, then use us as compromised pawns to attack Konoha!"
As previously established by the lore, the men in this Shinobi World were far more susceptible to the universe's degenerate influence, rendering them utterly defenseless against the power of the Tailed Beasts and weaponized seduction jutsu.
Kakashi was rapidly nearing his breaking point.
"No! Kakashi, I absolutely will not betray my comrades! There has to be another way! We can still escape!" Rin cried, shaking her head frantically.
"Rin, that's not what I meant," Kakashi said with a pained, awkward smile.
"Betraying the village would indeed be a worst-case scenario. But we still have one desperate hope..."
He revealed his newly transplanted, single Sharingan.
"I used Obito's Sharingan to perfectly copy the Hidden Mist ninja's seduction technique. Rin, I'll teach it to you right now. We'll aggressively seduce each other to completely counteract the enemy's influence!" Kakashi declared with unwavering, heroic resolve.
"Will that even work?!" Rin looked deeply worried.
"We're grasping at straws here. This is our only hope now. If it doesn't work... Rin, we'll have to do what you suggested earlier. We'll have to end it."
Kakashi pulled a sealed scroll from his pouch and pressed it firmly into Rin's hand.
"This scroll contains Obito's 'balls'. Give it to Orochimaru. He has the technology to save his bloodline."
Kakashi hesitated, remembering he hadn't yet secured the Hatake Clan's legacy either.
"Actually, if I die out here... take mine too, and give them to Orochimaru."
"Mm!" Rin sniffled, wiping away tears, and nodded firmly.
The mirage shifted to the next scene.
Obito reappeared on the projection, having finally completed his physical therapy in Madara's cave.
Now able to move freely, he ran joyfully through the rain, desperate to find Kakashi and Rin.
Meanwhile, back in the forest, Kakashi and Rin seemed to have endured several more days of relentless, non-lethal pursuit.
Their exhaustion was palpable.
Due to the enemy's aggressive favor-grinding tactics, the tops of their heads had literally been rubbed completely bald from all the head-pats.
"Rin, it seems our counter-seduction plan has failed. These Hidden Mist ninjas are just too damn persistent," Kakashi panted.
"Fortunately, I've devised a new, final strategy during this time."
"Based on my Sharingan's observations, besides the constant head-patting, the small pink bottles they keep throwing at us are likely filled with pheromones. They only use a very small drop of the liquid after about twenty successful head-pats to lock in the stats."
"The liquid can significantly increase favorability, but if my math is correct, severe overuse or a massive overdose will actually crash the system and decrease it to zero."
"So..." Kakashi whispered, outlining his desperate suicide plan.
"Alright, Kakashi. I'm counting on you!" Rin nodded solemnly.
"Got it!" Kakashi prepared himself.
As the Hidden Mist tracker squad approached the clearing once again, raising their hands ready to deliver more head-pats...
"CHIDORI!"
Kakashi violently activated his Sharingan, using his enhanced kinetic vision to lock onto the small, glass bottles carried on the belts of every single Hidden Mist ninja in the squad.
Transforming into a blinding bolt of lightning, he dashed through the crowd and shattered every single bottle in an instant.
In that exact moment, the surrounding forest clearing was completely engulfed in a massive, dense cloud of pink pheromone mist.
It was so thick and concentrated that it turned a dark, violent crimson.
'Now I finally understand the true origin of the name 'Blood Mist',' Kakashi thought grimly as he inhaled the toxic fumes.
"NO!"
"AH! IT'S TOO MUCH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
The Hidden Mist ninjas instantly began to scream in pure agony as their internal favorability stats violently crashed and overflowed!
Kakashi and Rin, standing at ground zero of the pink explosion, were also fully caught in the crossfire.
"Kakashi... I..." Rin gasped, collapsing to her knees, overwhelmed by the mist.
"Stop. I can't do it," Kakashi grunted, backing away from her.
"?" Makoto and the other spectators stared blankly at the hologram.
This cryptic, dramatic exchange left everyone feeling deeply puzzled.
But upon closer reflection of the mechanics, it made horrifying sense.
In this specific Shinobi World, where high affection stats invariably lead to willing, biological submission, it followed the strict logic that without sufficient "goodwill" points, performing the act would be systemically impossible.
Rin's natural, childhood affection for Kakashi was already incredibly high, but Kakashi's feelings for Rin hadn't yet crossed the necessary numerical threshold to trigger the event.
In other words, the world literally wouldn't let Kakashi do it.
"Summoning Technique!"
Feeling like his chakra network was about to violently explode from the pheromone overdose, Kakashi desperately slammed his hands on the ground and summoned his pack of ninja hounds to physically drag him away.
Seeing Kakashi's rejection and immediate retreat, Rin understood instantly that his affection stat for her hadn't reached the necessary level to save her.
Two streams of tears trickled down her cheeks as she lay in the pink mist.
Yet she couldn't control herself any longer.
The pheromones were completely overriding her system!
The Hidden Mist ninjas, having already been strictly required to "conquer" a classmate as part of their Genin graduation, possessed a much higher base resistance to the mist and remained largely unaffected.
They had already scattered to fight off the ninja hounds.
Only Rin stood there in the clearing, utterly alone, heavily debuffed, and completely unable to do anything to defend herself.
At that exact moment, Obito finally arrived at the clearing.
He froze dead in his tracks, completely stunned by the hellish, pink-misted scene unfolding before him.
Crucially, the White Zetsu clone attached to his body rapidly relayed the entire sequence of events that had just occurred.
Obito knew exactly what Rin needed most right now to survive the debuff.
But... Kakashi had already surgically removed his "balls" under the boulder!
He literally lacked the required equipment to save her!
Obito now felt like a Pokémon trainer whose starter Pokémon was a Fire-type Torchic.
Knowing he would face Water-type gyms, he had carefully gone out and caught an Electric-type Mareep to specifically counter them.
Then, he woke up one morning to find that his Torchic had thoughtfully cooked breakfast for him... and had completely fed his Mareep to the grinder to do it!
In short, Obito's chicken had completely screwed over his sheep!
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