Chapter 516: I Can't Wait Ten Years! Every Moment Counts!
The moment he saw Kakashi, Obito instinctively tensed up.
But he quickly came to his senses.
This was an illusionary world. This Kakashi was only a fake created by the genjutsu.
No...
He should be called "Uchiha Obito" now.
He himself was Kakashi.
Having never played an online game before, Obito accepted the situation surprisingly smoothly, treating this "Kakashi" as just another NPC created by the illusion.
And, in a sense, this "Kakashi" really was an NPC.
After all, Obito was still in the test server, and it was even the beginner's area. Whether it was the test server or the beginner village, he was the only real player inside.
So there was nothing wrong with thinking that way.
"Kakashi, are you okay? Uncle said your infiltration mission failed, and after the guards discovered you, they beat you up pretty badly."
Rin walked over and placed a fruit basket beside the bed.
"Uchiha Obito," wearing Kakashi's face, swaggered over with a smug look.
"Kakashi, you're seriously weak. You actually failed an infiltration mission. You're making Uncle White Fang look bad."
After mocking "Kakashi," "Obito" took out a bottle of ointment.
"Here. This is a special medicine made by the Uchiha Clan."
Obito quietly lowered his head without saying a word, taking in the strange yet oddly familiar atmosphere around him.
His current behavior happened to fit Kakashi's usual personality perfectly.
Seeing him looking so depressed, "Obito" stopped teasing him. He peeled an apple, handed it over, and said, "Kakashi, don't let yourself sink like this. Don't make me look down on you!"
Those words...
Were something Kakashi had once said.
And something Obito himself had once believed.
The sentence instantly snapped Obito back to reality.
That's right.
How could he immerse himself in this fake illusion?
He needed to find a way to complete the mission immediately.
Unfortunately, he was badly injured and couldn't move around.
To finish the mission, he had to stay in contact with "Obito."
"Um... I can't move right now. Rin, if you're free tonight, could you stay and take care of me?"
Obito finally spoke.
But instead of asking "Obito," he directed the request toward Rin.
"What?! Kakashi, you beast! What are you planning to do to Rin? You want her to stay here and take care of you? You... you..."
"Obito" immediately panicked.
"Obito, Kakashi's right. He really can't move right now. Uncle White Fang has gone out on another mission, and as Kakashi's friends, it's our responsibility to take care of him."
Rin spoke with complete seriousness.
"Our? Oh, right! Us! Hehe... I'll stay too and take care of you, Kakashi!"
"Obito" scratched the back of his head with a goofy grin.
Since he would be staying too, there was no need to worry about Kakashi trying anything with Rin.
Besides, Kakashi was badly injured. That actually gave him a better chance to spend time with Rin.
Just as expected.
Looking at Kakashi's face grinning foolishly while scratching his head, Obito sneered inwardly.
No one knew him better than he knew himself.
Only Kakashi's identity and chakra affinity had been swapped with his.
Aside from looking like Kakashi, the original "Uchiha Obito" was still the exact same Uchiha Obito.
Easy to manipulate.
Several days passed like that.
During those days, Obito tried to build a closer relationship with "Obito."
At the same time, he shamelessly tried to use Kakashi's identity to get closer to Rin.
From his perspective, the real Rin had always liked Kakashi.
However, Obito gradually noticed something.
Although Rin cared deeply about his injuries, every time he tried to act more intimately toward her, she rejected him.
What was that supposed to mean?
Did Rin actually like... him?
That couldn't be right.
When he had been himself, he'd never noticed anything like that.
After puzzling over it for a while, Obito concluded that this was only a fake Rin created by the illusion.
There was no point thinking about it.
He shifted his attention back to the mission.
Several more days passed.
Once his injuries had recovered enough for him to move around a little, Obito suddenly realized something terrifying.
Time.
The mission required him to make an Uchiha willingly entrust the power of the Uchiha Clan to him.
Judging from what had happened in the real world, he'd have to wait several more years before he had any chance of obtaining the Sharingan from "Obito."
Before then, no matter how close he became to "Obito," he would simply be preparing for that future day.
Advance the process?
How?
First he'd have to blind one of his own eyes.
Then he'd somehow have to make "Obito" awaken the Sharingan.
After that, he'd have to immediately push him to the brink of death before receiving the Sharingan as a gift.
Originally, all of those events had happened during the Third Great Ninja War.
Now?
With these little everyday events, how was he supposed to trigger so many crucial moments?
Obito finally understood.
This was exactly how the illusion trapped him.
If he wanted to complete the mission, he had to wait several years.
And if his guess was correct...
The third mission, "Defeat Your Greatest Rival," probably referred to Kakashi defeating him—in other words, defeating "Uchiha Obito."
But according to reality, Kakashi had never truly defeated him.
Which meant...
Completing that mission might require waiting even longer.
More than ten years!
How was he supposed to wait that long?
Driven into despair, a wicked thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Obito came up with an idea.
He knew that Sasuke had awakened the Rinnegan because Indra obtained Asura's power.
In reality, that had been accomplished by obtaining Naruto's cells.
In other words, obtaining someone's cells could also be understood as obtaining their power.
Then...
Obito knew exactly what he had to do.
Late that night...
"Obito" and Rin were each asleep in their own rooms.
Obito, lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
He sat up and stretched his body.
After spending so many days recovering, he could finally move again, even if only barely.
Moving as quietly as possible, Obito crept into "Obito's" room.
Looking at Kakashi's face, sleeping soundly and snoring like a log, a smile appeared on Obito's face.
His advantage as "Kakashi" was still intact.
At the moment, only his father, Hatake Sakumo, had started treating him differently.
Everyone else still believed he was the same old Kakashi.
So after dinner, Obito had secretly prepared some drugged black tea for both "Obito" and Rin.
While drinking it, the two of them had even praised "Kakashi" for being so talented.
Not long afterward, both of them became overwhelmingly sleepy.
Once they fell asleep, they slept like the dead.
So far...
Everything had gone perfectly according to plan.
Obito slowly reached his hand toward Kakashi's face.
Back in the real world, he had once secretly given Kakashi his Hashirama cells while Kakashi was unconscious, just so Kakashi wouldn't lose his eyesight.
Now that they were in the illusionary world...
It was Kakashi's turn to repay the favor.
It was time for Kakashi to give him his power.
Kakashi was currently fast asleep.
He wasn't resisting.
That should count as giving it willingly...
Right?
Obito immediately got to work.
At the same time, inside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, still curious about Kakashi because of what Hatake Sakumo had mentioned previously, happened to be observing him with the Telescope Technique.
And he witnessed the entire scene.
(End of this chapter)