Chapter 520: The Third Hokage's Lingering Fear
Obito hurried off, desperate to stop things from happening.
It wasn't because he actually cared about the innocence of the "Kakashi version" of himself.
It was because he had now figured out the truth. His real target was Rin.
From this point on, all of his attention would be focused on finding a reasonable way to kill Rin. He wouldn't have time to keep an eye on the Kakashi-version of himself anymore.
That meant this incident would become a hidden time bomb.
Originally, if his rival had been the Kakashi-version of Obito, then by keeping a close watch on him the whole time, he could have everything under control and prevent any accidents. Danzo would also be there to help.
But now his target had become Rin.
If the Kakashi-version of Obito ever accidentally discovered that Obito was the one behind all of this, his reputation would be completely ruined.
At that point, no matter what he did, completing the third mission would become almost impossible.
After all, the third mission required him to kill his rival while earning the approval of eighty percent of Konoha's population.
If his reputation became as infamous as Uchiha Itachi's in the real world before he completed the mission, then it wouldn't matter how reasonably he killed Rin.
"Obito, are you okay—"
Obito didn't have time to be cautious.
The moment he arrived, he smashed the door open and rushed inside.
Bang!
The scene before him caused the words he had been about to say to get stuck in his throat.
The Kakashi-version of Obito was curled up in a corner, clutching a pillow in his arms in the classic "Rin Tohsaka pose." His crimson Sharingan streamed with tears.
"Kakashi?"
"...Kakashi, it's not what it looks like! I'm innocent!"
The Kakashi-version of Obito quickly tried to explain after snapping out of his daze.
Unfortunately, he was terrible with words. And since there wasn't really any good explanation to give, he stopped halfway through.
"..."
Seeing Kakashi's face wearing such a miserable expression filled Obito with indescribable joy.
To keep himself from laughing out loud, Obito secretly pinched himself hard enough to force out a tear. Then he walked over and patted "Obito" on the shoulder.
"Obito, I believe you. Don't worry. I won't tell Rin about what happened today."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Thank you so much, Kakashi... sob..."
Just as the two of them were acting all affectionate and polite toward each other, Danzo arrived at the doorway with the Third Hokage and witnessed the scene.
It was obvious that this was part of Obito's earlier plan.
Danzo had deliberately led the Third Hokage here in order to damage the Uchiha clan's reputation.
What Danzo didn't know was that the Third Hokage knew far more about "Kakashi" than he did.
So after seeing the scene inside, while shocked, the Third Hokage immediately concluded that "Kakashi" was the real culprit.
In his eyes, Kakashi must have realized that Obito's orientation was perfectly normal and that Obito would never accept him.
So he had come up with this evil scheme.
He wanted Obito to lose his innocence, shatter his spirit, and then take advantage of his emotional vulnerability to win both his body and his heart.
The Third Hokage looked closely at "Kakashi's" eyes.
There were tears in them.
But not even a trace of sadness.
Instead...
There was the faintest hint of pleasure.
That completely confirmed the Third Hokage's suspicions.
Terrifying.
Kakashi had once been such a kind child.
The original Kakashi had clearly inherited the Will of Fire.
So how had he become like this?
How could he resort to such underhanded schemes just to obtain Obito?
If this continued unchecked, how many more unforgivable things would Kakashi do?
"Hiruzen, do you finally understand now? The Uchiha clan has already become this arrogant. If you still refuse to restrain them, the next victim might even be Biwako."
Danzo seized the opportunity to pressure the Third Hokage into taking action against the Uchiha. A smug look appeared in his eyes.
"This matter requires careful consideration."
The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo and ignored him.
In his opinion, Danzo was a complete idiot.
How could Danzo even bring up Sarutobi Biwako?
He himself had already been violated by Kakashi and was still being manipulated by him. He was hopelessly stupid and unworthy of leading Root.
"Third Hokage-sama, I'm innocent! I didn't really want to... I-I-I suddenly felt like I couldn't control myself, so I..."
The Kakashi-version of Obito tearfully tried to explain, only to be interrupted by Danzo's stern voice.
"Couldn't control yourself? An emotional outburst? Isn't that exactly how the Uchiha clan's Sharingan awakens and evolves?
"Innocent? What's so innocent about you? This is the Uchiha clan's curse!"
The Kakashi-version of Obito was left speechless.
Because... he had indeed heard that members of the clan usually awakened the Sharingan during intense emotional moments.
The problem was...
He had always thought emotional upheaval caused the Sharingan to awaken.
No one had ever said awakening the Sharingan could cause emotional upheaval!
"Enough. We'll leave this matter here for now."
"Kakashi, I don't think you're suited for Root's work environment anymore. Once you've finished your current mission, come back. I'll arrange something else for you."
The Third Hokage felt as though he was worrying himself sick over Kakashi.
And so, the matter ended without any further investigation.
From that day onward, however, the Kakashi-version of Obito never again used "helping an old lady cross the street" as an excuse for being late.
He had practically developed PTSD toward old ladies.
Whenever he saw one on Konoha's streets, he instinctively avoided them.
Meanwhile, over the following days, Obito racked his brain and eventually managed to persuade Danzo to change the direction of the plan.
His target wasn't the Kakashi-version of himself anymore.
It was Rin.
So Obito secretly revealed the location of the wild Three-Tails, Isobu, to Danzo.
He claimed there was no need to rush matters involving the Uchiha clan—they could deal with that slowly.
Capturing the Three-Tails, however, was the top priority.
The more Tailed Beasts Konoha possessed, the stronger the village would become.
As for who should become the jinchūriki...
Obito recommended Rin.
Not just anyone could become a jinchūriki.
In the neighboring Sunagakue Village, Rasa had practically worked his wife to death just to produce a child qualified to become one.
Rin, however, naturally possessed the talent required to become a jinchūriki.
Danzo was surprised by Kakashi's willingness to sacrifice those close to him for the greater good.
He had originally assumed Kakashi wanted to get rid of Uchiha Obito because of the girl on their team.
Instead, Kakashi was even willing to offer that same girl as the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
Could it be that, just like him, Kakashi's true love was Konoha itself?
In any case, Danzo was completely convinced.
He began cooperating with Obito, changing the plan so that Rin would become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
In Obito's opinion, Rin was simply too kind.
Even though she was only a fake Rin created by the genjutsu, she was still the same.
No matter what he tried, he couldn't make Rin fall into darkness.
At the same time, he was reluctant to ruin Rin's reputation.
Besides, the sort of reputation-destroying trick he had used on the Kakashi-version of Obito, having him "dance" with an old lady, would only hurt Rin if used on her. It wouldn't really damage her reputation at all.
So there was only one option left.
A Tailed Beast.
Only a Tailed Beast could make someone lose control.
Only a Tailed Beast could make the people of Konoha fear and hate her.
(End of this chapter)