Playing Yourself

Obito noticed the villagers' disgust for Rin and was very pleased.

That's exactly the effect he wanted.

Only if most people in Konoha despise Rin, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, can he gain the approval of the majority when he completes the kill, thus completing his mission and leaving this damned Genjutsu World.

Sigh, the difficulties persist; how much longer must this go on?

However, Obito overlooked one thing: the villagers only felt disgust, not fear.

This is what makes the Konoha different from the villagers of other ninja villages.

the next day.

Enraged, Kushina, along with Rin who was covered in rotten eggs and vegetable leaves, kicked open the door to the Hokage's office.

Inside the house, the Third Hokage was discussing with Danzo the issue of who would become the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Lord Third Hokage, aren't you going to do anything about them? Little Rin is so kind and lovely, she hasn't done anything wrong, and yet they're bullying her like this!"

Kushina ignored Danzo and went straight to the Third Hokage's table to complain.

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and having been bullied and harassed in her childhood, Kushina could very well understand Rin's current situation.

What angered Rin even more was that Kakashi and Obito, as her friends and teammates, did nothing to comfort or protect her; the two of them had disappeared without a trace.

--Obito goes without saying, he was the one who planned this. As for Kakashi's version of Obito, he's temporarily unable to face Rin because of the psychological trauma left by what happened with the old lady.

Most importantly, many of the people who bullied Lin were elderly women.

He was afraid that if he showed up, he wouldn't be able to control himself and publicly humiliate the old lady...

He had completely come to believe Danzo's claim that the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan was cursed with emotional fluctuations.

"What? Danzo, you didn't do this, did you?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage frowned and looked at Danzo.

Danzo was also wondering about it.

He was planning to wait until he finished arguing with the Third Hokage before going back and having his subordinates guide public opinion.

Why has it started earlier than planned?

Could it have been Kakashi?

Of course, even if Danzo did it, he would never admit it, let alone that he didn't do it.

"Hiruzen, don't try to pin this on me! I never gave that order!"

Danzo retorted sharply.

"Yes, Third Hokage Lord, stop overthinking things. Let's issue the order to rectify the situation as soon as possible."

Kushina surprisingly agreed with Danzo's point of view.

The reason is simple: she was a firsthand witness.

Kushina, who was bullied by villagers and classmates when she was a child, also briefly had conspiracy theories during her rebellious adolescence. She wondered if the people of Konoha deliberately sent people to bully her and then deliberately sent people to comfort her in order to gain her trust.

But Kushina soon discovered that this was not the case.

The Konoha truly treat bullying others as something that transcends base desires; she wasn't a special target.

Therefore, when the Third Hokage asked whether Danzo had sent people to instigate others to bully Rin, Kushina immediately stood up and denied it.

She knew those villagers who had bullied her all too well.

"This..."

The Third Hokage looked conflicted.

How could Konoha possibly solve a problem Konoha they couldn't even resolve in the Real Shinobi World, which was still in the Third Shinobi World War Genjutsu World?

Ultimately, the matter was dropped.

After leaving, Danzo found Obito and asked him if he was the one who did it.

Obito was also completely bewildered; he had thought it was Danzo who did it.

The two eventually accepted that the Konoha possessed a very strong sense of initiative and could complete the bullying task perfectly on their own without their guidance.

Obito told Danzo about his next plan: he wanted to find a way to make Rin go berserk and cause some damage in the village.

Only in this way can she be forced to abandon Konoha once again.

For Danzo, only in this way could he have a Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

Danzo agreed and indicated that he would cooperate.

What Obito did was simple: he approached Rin.

Rin and Kushina have just left the Hokage Tower. Kushina is indignant and wants to take Rin to find Kakashi and Obito to question the two boys about why they were nowhere to be seen when Rin was in trouble.

Rin stopped Kushina, saying that both of them must have their own reasons.

"Kakashi has been acting strange to me ever since last time, like he's become a completely different person."

As for Obito, he was alright before, but he started acting strangely recently.

Lin recounted the unusual things she had noticed.

The "Kakashi" anomaly refers to the time when Obito and Kakashi switched identities and came to this Genjutsu World.

Obito's unusual behavior occurred after the old lady incident.

Hearing Rin say this, Kushina, who was unaware of the situation, decided to find an opportunity to investigate secretly. Just then, Obito arrived.

"Kakashi, you've finally shown up..."

"Lin! I heard you were bullied by the villagers? How could they do that! It's too much! I'll go and beat them up for you!"

"?"

Kushina was about to denounce Kakashi when Kakashi's words left her completely bewildered.

"Are you really Kakashi? Or is it that Obito kid using his Transformation Jutsu to try and take advantage of Little Rin?"

Kushina stepped forward and pinched Obito's face hard, giving it a tug.

The feeling was even stranger after discovering that the Transformation Jutsu hadn't been reversed.

This is totally Obito's personality, how could it be Kakashi?

Did the two switch identities?

However, Kushina didn't dwell on these things too much; the most important thing right now was Rin's condition.

Rin has become Jinchuriki and desperately needs someone to fill the void in her heart. Kakashi's arrival is a good thing.

Kushina applied the lessons Mito had taught her from her past experiences to Rin.

However, Kushina was too naive. What she didn't expect was that hidden beneath Kakashi's identity was a dark and twisted person who would stop at nothing to escape the Genjutsu World.

And so, Obito played himself, no longer needing to pretend to be Kakashi, and directly used his own thoughts to play the role of someone who admired Rin.

Even the Third Hokage, who was secretly observing, was wondering if Jiraiya's Little Imperial Book had worked its magic, somehow managing to restore Kakashi's orientation to normal.

However, all the joy came to a standstill on this day.

Although Rin felt it was strange that Kakashi had become like Obito, she listened to Kushina's advice and had to continue contacting him to find something to fill the void in the Jinchuriki's heart.

So, on this day, Rin decided to approach "Kakashi" and talk about this matter.

Obito had been waiting for this moment.

Rin walked to Kakashi's house and was about to knock when she heard faint wails and screams coming from inside.