An underrated element of the Kakashi-Rin-Obito dynamic is how Obito displays more resentment towards Rin than Kakashi does. Kakashi (rather self-flagellatingly) sees her death as his own failure. He repeatedly apologises for being unable to keep his promise to Obito. After said failure, Obito—for all his idealisation of Rin—is actually the one who explicitly frames her death as suicide, stating that she “took advantage of the lightening blade [Kakashi] aimed.”
After Rin makes this “deliberate choice”, Obito affords her a certain degree of autonomy and initiative that he previously did not. During Kannabi bridge, Rin takes on a passive role, only causing friction between Obito and Kakashi on account of her absence, her helplessness: being captured and in need of rescue. She’s still the focal point of their tension, but not by any fault of her own. As Obito dies, he implores Kakashi, “look after Rin for me.” This is ultimately dismissive of her: it’s an underestimation of her potential. We see the same issue with Sakura, who decides she’s had enough of “walking behind” her teammates & must become strong on her own. After honing her medical ninjutsu, she finally feels like she can stand beside them.
However, unlike Sakura, Rin had no real reason to be relegated this way: she already was a specialty ninja. She wasn’t the weakest link on their team: Obito was. We know that med-nin are typically targeted first by enemies, so it’s not all benevolent sexism, but the ultimate goal of any medic is still to become masterful enough to fight on the frontlines. Tsunade is the one who devised the system, and she certainly didn’t intend her peers to be burdens on their teammates.
Madara clearly understood their dynamic, as he manipulated the Kiri ninja to capture Rin, “leaving Kakashi so he would come after her.” He wanted Kakashi to be present for Rin’s death, in one way or another, so that Obito would sever ties with his entire team. He understood that Obito would implicitly blame Minato for being absent, but needed Kakashi’s failure to be explicit. However, he didn’t anticipate that Rin would kill herself using Kakashi (he also uses the same phrase as Obito: “She took advantage of” Kakashi’s move), calling it “too good to be true.” He would have killed her either way, but the fact of it being suicide forced Obito to reconsider how he views her.
Before he arrives on the scene, he thinks to himself, “Kakashi, you promised me, please… please protect Rin.” As I previously said, this chauvinist worldview previously shaped his concept of her. She is a precious damsel in distress, someone who ultimately needs to be saved and protected by the men in her life. After witnessing her suicide, though, he has to acknowledge her agency, and thus, her culpability. He still doesn’t blame her, just as he doesn’t blame Kakashi, but he rages at a decision she made, yelling “I will not accept any of this.” He later rants, “To me, Rin is someone not meant to die. Rin is only Rin alive,” an unequivocal indictment of that “imposter’s” audacity to kill herself.
By inciting the 9-Tails rampage, he spits on her sacrifice. She died to prevent that exact situation: a tailed beast wreaking havoc on her village. This is made rather obvious by the scene of him literally tossing flowers from her grave. He hates Konoha—he never respected the ninja order—but Rin was loyal enough to die for it. For possibly the first time ever, her worldview contrasted with his, and he couldn’t accept it.
As Naruto said, “Rin wouldn’t even give time of day to the current you. The one Rin wanted to watch over was Uchiha Obito.” This very well could be true: perhaps she stuck by him so long in spirit because she had unwavering faith that he would return to himself. Had he continued down his path of darkness, who’s to say she would be so forgiving once they reunited? He replaced his memory of her—and the most heroic, brave, active choice she ever made—with delusions.
Obito’s disrespect of Rin’s true self is so egregious that it moves Kakashi (Kakashi!) to call him out. For once, he shifts the blame off himself, instead praising Rin for her courage: “Don’t erase your memory of the real Rin, Rin sacrificed herself in order to protect the village!”. He turns Obito’s nindo against him, declaring that “Those who don’t cherish their comrades’ memory are exponentially lower than [the worst of scum].” Later, once Naruto has moved Obito to accept the truth of Rin’s death and embrace reality, his own behaviour disgusts him. Because he didn’t want to honor the real Rin (though that may have been his original intent as a teenager), he wanted to “Rid [himself of] the memories of his comrades”, including her. I think his regretful speech (“Rin was my sole light and hope”) as well as his declaration in the immediate aftermath of her death (“Let’s create a world where you can exist again”) sort of muddies the water, and people tend to forget how viciously—and childishly—he framed her death: “In this world, things don’t always go the way you want them to.” In context, that doesn’t simply apply to events outside of one’s control (as he was presently unaware of Madara’s plot). Instead, it translates to a sentiment that you can’t always control what people do.
romaincrisis
origamiaround
gummygunk
jbbartram-illu
theartofmadeline
2087
