Chapter 515: Obito Experiences a Father's Love
"Is what you said true, Kakashi?"
"It's true, Third Hokage-sama! Please help me! I can't let Father make such a terrible mistake!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked several times to make sure, and every answer he received was the same.
Finally, he took out the Crystal Ball, used the Telescope Technique, and handed it to "Kakashi."
Obito accepted the Crystal Ball with immense gratitude on the surface, but inwardly he couldn't help grumbling about the Third Hokage.
'If I had been the one saying something like this, they would've dismissed it as a joke or a prank.'
'Even if something like this were to actually happen, the Third Hokage would still have the ANBU investigate first. He'd never trust me outright.'
'That's the difference between people.'
"Third Hokage-sama, I'll return it to you tomorrow."
After leaving those words behind, Obito hurried home.
With this, he finally had a chance to fight back.
He located Hatake Sakumo through the Crystal Ball and carefully kept it hidden in a blind spot where Sakumo couldn't see it while he observed.
He remained on full alert, waiting for Sakumo's next Thousand Years of Death attack.
Simply dodging wasn't enough.
Putting aside whether his body could even keep up, even if it could, Sakumo's attacks weren't straightforward. He could easily change direction in the middle of the attack and continue pursuing him.
So there was only one way to complete the mission. He must stop Hatake Sakumo.
"He's coming!"
Obito's eyes sharpened.
Hatake Sakumo vanished from the Crystal Ball.
He immediately sprang into action.
However...
After waiting for quite a while, Sakumo still didn't appear.
Obito had worked himself up for nothing.
In the end, Sakumo reappeared inside the Crystal Ball.
"Did he notice?"
Obito wasn't surprised that the Konoha White Fang could detect someone using the Telescope Technique to spy on him.
But if White Fang was taking things this seriously, then how was he supposed to play this game?
How was he supposed to complete the mission?
Sure enough, Sakumo smiled and shook his head inside the Crystal Ball before disappearing once again.
'This time he's really coming!'
Obito immediately prepared himself again.
The next second, Hatake Sakumo appeared behind him, just about to attack.
If he had been an ordinary assassin, Obito would already have been stabbed.
But Sakumo was Kakashi's father.
His goal wasn't simply to poke Kakashi. It was to train him.
On top of that, Sakumo had already noticed that his son had been using something to spy on him.
That actually pleased him.
The importance of intelligence to a ninja needed no explanation.
Sakumo didn't think it was cheating. On the contrary, he thought Kakashi had finally started thinking like a proper ninja.
So, at the instant he launched his attack, his gaze also shifted toward the area in front of his son, the blind spot he hadn't been able to see before, to find out exactly what Kakashi was doing.
Especially since he could tell that Kakashi had already sensed his attack.
So why wasn't he dodging?
Or counterattacking?
Well, he wasn't completely motionless.
His hands were making tiny movements.
'Hand seals?'
Curious, Sakumo looked closer.
To his astonishment...
His son really was making hand seals.
And the "material" he was using for those hand seals was the Crystal Ball in front of him.
The Crystal Ball itself was empty now, but after thinking it through for a moment, Sakumo realized that his own image had been displayed on it just moments earlier.
What did this even mean?
His son was staring at him while "casting hand seals."
In an instant, Sakumo remembered some rather questionable books Jiraiya had once recommended to him.
'Could this be the legendary… "Father Refinement"?'
A chill ran down Sakumo's spine.
'Have I used Thousand Years of Death on Kakashi so many times that I've twisted his mind?'
"Father... I won."
Without stopping his hand seals, Obito turned around and proudly declared his victory to Sakumo.
Ever since the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, the Obito of the real world had permanently lost his "two bombs and one satellite." Yet, in this genjutsu world, he had unexpectedly regained them
Years of repression… finally burst free.
He couldn't stop himself.
"..."
Sakumo's expression immediately darkened.
Along with guilt, a trace of fear rose in his heart.
He had to correct Kakashi before it was too late.
Sakumo pulled the belt from his waist and reached out to pin Obito down.
"Huh?"
Once Obito was restrained, he finally came back to his senses.
Something about the atmosphere felt very wrong.
Smack!
"Ahhh!"
Obito finally experienced the mountain-like fatherly love he had never enjoyed growing up, a thorough beating.
Sakumo didn't stop until nightfall.
Only then did he take the Crystal Ball back to the Third Hokage.
After receiving it, Hiruzen looked puzzled.
"So Kakashi was discovered by you?"
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama. But I'd like to know... what excuse did Kakashi use to borrow this from you?"
"Hmm? Excuse?"
Hiruzen frowned.
"You mean... you aren't secretly in love with Granny Chiyo?"
"..."
"Kakashi said you killed Granny Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law because you couldn't bear to see the woman you loved having children with someone else."
"He also said he was worried you might betray the village for Granny Chiyo's sake, so he borrowed the Crystal Ball from me to keep an eye on you."
"..."
Hatake Sakumo suddenly felt that beating Kakashi all afternoon hadn't been nearly enough.
As for the truth, he was far too embarrassed to explain it to the Third Hokage.
After making up a few vague excuses, he hurried home...
Ready for Round Two.
Meanwhile, after the beating finally ended, Obito looked at his mission list.
The first mission, "A Father's Guidance," had already been marked as completed.
The second mission was "Uchiha's Best Friend."
Obito couldn't help feeling curious.
What kind of mission would this be?
Would another version of himself appear?
That would be way too strange.
Even though everyone currently saw him as Kakashi, his actual appearance hadn't changed.
It was as if he and Kakashi had simply switched identities.
Of course, their chakra affinities and ninjutsu had been swapped as well.
"Kakashi! What kind of nonsense did you tell Third Hokage-sama?!"
Hatake Sakumo strode into the room and slammed the door shut with a bang.
The overwhelming pressure made Obito shiver.
The fact that Sakumo had once taken his own life because of rumors showed just how much he cared about his reputation.
And now his own son had actually started spreading scandalous rumors about him.
That was going too far!
"W-Wait!"
Obito stumbled to the ground and hurriedly crawled backward, desperately begging for mercy.
He was already injured.
If he got beaten again, he probably wouldn't recover for at least ten days or half a month.
Then how was he supposed to complete the second mission?
After all, the mission description for "The Uchiha's Best Friend" was—Make an Uchiha clan ninja willingly entrust the power of the Uchiha clan to you.
It was obvious.
The mission was telling him to win over... himself.
That meant he absolutely had to go to the Ninja Academy.
If he just stayed home, would "Obito" really come to visit him?
Uh...
Actually...
That did seem entirely possible.
Obito's vision went dark.
Then the beating resumed.
The next day...
A white-haired "Uchiha Obito" wearing a face mask arrived at Kakashi's house together with Nohara Rin.
Rin was even carrying a fruit basket as a get-well gift.
(End of this chapter)