Chapter 524: The Tailed Beasts' Fear
"Obito... I thought that no matter how far you fell into darkness, you'd still have at least a shred of basic humanity. I never imagined you'd become this completely insane."
Kakashi let out a long sigh as he looked up at the sky.
In reality, however, Obito's moral bottom line was even lower than Kakashi had imagined.
On the screen, after seeing that Rin had begun transforming into a Tailed Beast outside, Obito knew he had achieved his current objective.
The next step was to let Rin rampage through Konoha without restraint.
So Obito formed a hand seal.
With two puffs of smoke, Pakkun and Bull disappeared.
Some people might wonder—hadn't Obito just ordered the two dogs to notify Danzo? Why did he suddenly dismiss the summoning?
First of all, everything Obito had just said was an act.
Those lines had been deliberately spoken for Rin to hear outside.
Secondly...
That wasn't the Summoning Technique being released.
It was the Shadow Clone Technique!
As Konoha's famous technician and the true master of the eight ninja hounds, Kakashi recognized it immediately from outside.
His pupils shrank.
His earlier comment, "I thought Obito would still have at least a little humanity no matter how dark he'd become", had been spoken far too soon.
He hadn't expected something even more unbelievable.
To avoid leaving any flaws in his act, Obito hadn't even trusted his own ninja dogs.
He had used Shadow Clones to impersonate them instead!
One had to remember...
When a Shadow Clone is dispelled, all of its memories return to the original body.
Could this be the legendary...
Doing it to himself?
There was no need to keep watching.
The Three-Tails' chakra had already burst out from Rin's body, and she had transformed into a Tailed Beast, beginning a violent rampage.
Unlike the Rin from the real ninja world, who was a perfect jinchūriki capable of even entering Baryon Mode, the Rin inside this illusion was a traditional jinchūriki like those of the past.
The kind who lost control at the slightest trigger, hurting the enemy a thousand points while suffering eight hundred herself.
So what was Kakashi doing now?
Right.
He turned toward Naruto and Konohamaru, who were still trying to persuade Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki.
Sometimes...
Kind words alone didn't work.
People needed to see the real advantages and disadvantages.
So Kakashi called Han over and played back everything Obito had just done.
While the footage played, Kakashi also explained Obito's identities in both the real ninja world and the illusion world.
"Kakashi... wh-what the hell am I looking at?"
Even Han, a cold and stoic tough guy, broke into a cold sweat after watching it.
"Han-san, why is your face turning red?"
Kakashi deliberately played dumb and asked the question with a straight face.
"...That's because I'm full of spirit. Kakashi, I think you're right. It's too dangerous outside the village. I'll go back to the village... and I'll leave you my contact information as well."
Both Han and the Five-Tails Kokuō inside him had become terrified of Obito after what they had just witnessed.
Even the unattractive Three-Tails had become the target of that pervert.
Needless to say, the snow-white, fluffy Kokuō would be even more desirable.
There was no doubt.
That furry-loving maniac would definitely set his sights on both Han and the Five-Tails.
Watching Han and Kokuō give in together, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto wore a triumphant grin.
Out of fear of the furry-obsessed Obito, this jinchūriki and Tailed Beast had decided to return to the Iwagakure Village and hand over part of their chakra to Naruto.
Wasn't that just escaping the wolf's den only to walk straight into a tiger's mouth?
Obito might be a furry enthusiast, but his abilities were limited. He was destined to fail.
Only Naruto was the ultimate furry enthusiast foretold by the Great Toad Sage's prophecy—the one destined to gather all nine Tailed Beasts.
With that, Han transferred a portion of Kokuō's power to Naruto before hurriedly leaving.
The three from Konoha weren't worried that Han might lie to them and continue hiding somewhere instead of returning to the Iwagakure Village.
Considering how terrified he now was of the furry-loving Obito, Han would probably still feel unsafe even after returning to the village.
He'd likely sleep with one eye open, constantly afraid someone would come after him.
Meanwhile, the Tailed Beasts inside Naruto had also watched the recording.
Like the Nine-Tails, they weren't afraid of Obito himself.
What frightened them was what he had done.
Because of the prophecy, they naturally imagined Naruto in Obito's place.
If they failed to break the prophecy...
Naruto would end up doing all those things to them.
Even more terrifying was another discovery.
While watching the recording, Han, the very image of a hardened warrior, had become visibly frightened.
Naruto, on the other hand, watched as though nothing was wrong.
He even looked pleasantly surprised.
What did that mean?
It meant Naruto and the furry-loving Obito were the same kind of person.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with Obito's actions.
He might even think that Obito was the coolest person ever.
Was that frightening?
Yes.
Very frightening.
The Tailed Beasts became even more desperate to find a solution as quickly as possible.
They urged Shukaku, who still hadn't taken any action, to have his jinchūriki, Gaara, get close to Naruto.
Shukaku replied that, judging by Naruto's route while promoting Sage Mode, he would reach the Sunagakure Village before long anyway.
There was no need for Shukaku to do anything proactively.
Naruto knew nothing about the Tailed Beasts' discussion.
Their mission in the Iwagakure Village was complete, and Naruto began discussing their next destination with Kakashi.
If they chose the Kirigakure Village, they would first have to return to the Iwagakure Village and then use the Flying Thunder Formation to teleport there.
If they chose the Sunagakure Village instead, they could simply set out immediately.
Although it was a little farther than teleporting directly to the Kirigakure Village, they would pass through several small countries and minor ninja villages along the way.
They could spread Sage Mode there as well.
Besides, the standards for the smaller villages weren't as strict as those for the Five Great Ninja Villages.
They didn't need to stay until someone mastered Sage Mode before leaving.
As long as one village among a group of nearby small villages learned it, that was enough.
And so, the Konoha group set off toward the Sunagakure Village.
Inside the engraved Tsukuyomi test version, events continued unfolding.
Obito watched with satisfaction as the Three-Tails rampaged through Konoha like a massive armored wrecking ball.
But he had overlooked one problem.
Back on the Night of the Nine-Tails, when he controlled the Nine-Tails, the beast had continued attacking Konoha even after breaking free from the Mangekyō Sharingan's control.
That was because the Nine-Tails already held a deep grudge against Konoha.
But what about the Three-Tails?
Now that the Three-Tails had almost completely taken over Rin's body, it was clearly in control.
So why was it so eager to attack Konoha?
To answer that, it was necessary to go back to something strange that had happened earlier.
When Rin was first overwhelmed by negative emotions, nothing happened immediately.
Only after a considerable delay did the Three-Tails' chakra finally erupt.
The reason was simple.
Inside Rin, the Three-Tails, Isobu, had witnessed Obito shouting its name while carrying out those incredibly creepy acts.
Even the Three-Tails had been stunned.
For the first time...
It felt fear.
Only after snapping out of it did it remember that it was a Tailed Beast.
Why was it afraid?
It should kill that disgusting pervert.
That was why, even though Rin had already been consumed by negative emotions, the Three-Tails' chakra hadn't emerged right away.
So, at its core, the Three-Tails' furious assault on Konoha had only one true goal—To kill Obito, that grotesque furry-obsessed maniac.
(End of this chapter)