Chapter 48: Brutal Methods, Undeniable Results
After being beaten so badly for seemingly no reason, Kakashi could only assume Obito was somehow behind this.
However, his suffering was far from over.
That damned Uchiha Kazuki was casually strolling toward him with an arrogant swagger. "Is this really all the son of the White Fang amounts to?"
"Shut up!"
Kakashi swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the Uchiha. "You don't know anything about what happened!"
WHAM!
A powerful punch slammed squarely into Kakashi's abdomen.
Breaking at least seven or eight ribs, Kakashi coughed up another mouthful of blood. Uchiha Kazuki grabbed him by his silver hair, spun around, and hurled him across the room.
The completely disheveled Kakashi rolled across the ground a dozen times before finally stopping. A boot stomped down on his head, grinding his face into the floor until half of it was buried in the dirt.
"Kakashi, your father died protecting his comrades."
Uchiha Kazuki pressed his boot down harder on Kakashi's head, looking down condescendingly at the boy twisted with rage. He spoke each word with deliberate, cutting force. "If the White Fang could see you now—just hiding at home, wallowing in self-pity and displaying this pathetic, impotent rage—he'd probably be even more disappointed in you, wouldn't he?"
"Don't you dare mention my father's name!"
Kakashi ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, his eyes blazing with intense hatred. "You don't understand anything! He broke the most fundamental rule of being a shinobi—he deserved what he got!"
Through his spiritual vision, Uchiha Kazuki observed that Kakashi's mental state was completely chaotic and fragmented. Perfect. Using the power of carefully chosen words, he began implanting psychological suggestions. "The so-called 'rules' only exist for those too weak to survive without them."
"Big talk coming from you!"
Kakashi retorted through gritted teeth. "Don't you live by following those exact same rules?"
He couldn't help but recall his father's forlorn and disappointed expression that day in the room, and the pool of blood on the floor when he'd finally worked up the courage to open the door.
"Your father was one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, wasn't he?" Kakashi suddenly roared, forcefully breaking free and rolling to the side. He grabbed his father's short sword with his left hand. "If that's really true, then why did he die? Tell me!"
"In the shinobi world, the rules are absolute!"
"Ninja who can't complete their missions are trash and should... should... be abandoned!"
He swung his father's short sword wildly and blindly, tears streaming down his face like a desperate, helpless hedgehog covered in sharp quills.
Such haphazard swordplay posed absolutely no threat to Uchiha Kazuki. He clenched his fist and slammed it hard into Kakashi's face.
BOOM!
Kakashi was sent flying by the punch, crashing through the wall.
The short sword clattered to the ground as he slid down helplessly, his eyes vacant and empty, as if completely devoid of emotion.
Uchiha Kazuki slowly approached and crouched down, looking at him levelly. "Are you calm now?"
"They all say... my father was worthless trash who caused the village immense losses."
Kakashi lowered his head as tears continued streaming down his face. The emotions he'd suppressed deep within for so long finally erupted, and he sobbed openly. "Tell me—did my father really do something wrong? Are they actually right? Are shinobi who can't complete missions really just trash?"
"Ignore them. Those are the words of weaklings and losers."
Uchiha Kazuki gently stroked Kakashi's hair, his voice softening considerably. "The strong never accept the world as it is. They reshape it into what it should be."
"The strong... reshape the world..."
Kakashi's previously vacant eyes seemed to gain a small spark of light, and he repeatedly murmured those words under his breath.
Suddenly, those words seemed to strike something deep within his heart.
It was as if a ray of brilliant sunlight had suddenly pierced through the thick gray fog shrouding his mind, directly illuminating his gloomy inner world.
"The White Fang died simply because he wasn't strong enough."
Deep within Uchiha Kazuki's pupils, the tomoe of his Sharingan swirled like shadows rising from an abyss.
"My father... wasn't strong enough?"
Suddenly, Kakashi's mind went completely blank, his mental defenses crumbling entirely. His eyes became vacant and unfocused, falling into a deeply suggestible hypnotic state.
Through careful step-by-step psychological manipulation, Uchiha Kazuki had successfully induced a hypnotic trance. His voice was now being etched deeply into the boy's subconscious like a burning brand.
Although the method was troublesome and time-consuming, it was extremely stable and reliable.
In this state, the hypnotized target would act according to his will without ever realizing they'd been manipulated.
However, at his current Sequence 6 level as a Hypnotist, he couldn't perform deep, invasive hypnosis—such as forcing the target to do something dangerous or something that fundamentally contradicted their core beliefs and survival instincts.
"The White Fang's death made you angry. You've begun to hate the rules and ironclad laws you once believed in so absolutely."
Uchiha Kazuki's voice was gentle and soothing. "Deep down, you're starting to doubt whether your father's actions were truly wrong. You're beginning to question whether everything he sacrificed his life to protect was actually worthwhile. You even suspect that someone deliberately spread those vicious rumors, that your father's teammates might have betrayed him, or that his death was part of an intentional conspiracy."
"But you know you're still weak. Even if you discovered the truth or confirmed your suspicions, you couldn't change anything. You couldn't avenge your father."
"So you've decided to suppress all your hatred and rage for now."
"You believe Uchiha Kazuki is right. The weak have no right to discuss how the world should be, much less change it. Therefore, you must become stronger."
"It was Uchiha Kazuki who helped you see the true nature of this world and showed you the correct path forward. He is your guide and your ultimate goal."
"You will trust him without reservation, Kakashi."
That gentle, hypnotic voice seemed to resonate perfectly with Kakashi's innermost thoughts and desires.
Like being immersed in a warm, comforting ocean, he unconsciously agreed with that voice and accepted it as his own truest belief.
"Remember these words. They reflect your genuine subconscious desires. After you regain full consciousness, you'll forget what I've said to you. You'll forget any unusual behavior you exhibited during this conversation. But simultaneously, deep within your heart, you'll develop an unconscious dependence on Uchiha Kazuki and naturally identify with his ideals and worldview."
He snapped his fingers sharply.
Snap!
Kakashi's unfocused eyes suddenly snapped back to clarity and awareness.
Looking at Uchiha Kazuki before him, a powerful sense of identification and trust welled up within him, while simultaneously filling him with cold, burning rage toward whoever was truly responsible for his father's death.
"You're right. My father wasn't wrong—it's this corrupt world that's wrong! I won't let his sacrifice be meaningless! I will become stronger, just like you said!"
Kakashi suppressed the raging anger within him, maintaining an unusually calm and determined expression. "Uchiha Kazuki, thank you. Your words have helped me see this world for what it truly is!"
"No need to thank me. It's my duty."
After carefully observing Kakashi's reactions and confirming the successful implantation of the psychological suggestions, Uchiha Kazuki smiled with satisfaction. "Now that the treatment is complete, I should take my leave."
"Thank you for everything, Kazuki-san."
Kakashi spoke politely and respectfully. "I look forward to seeing you again soon."
"The treatment fee is 100,000 ryō. Thank you for your patronage."
Uchiha Kazuki smiled pleasantly and extended his hand. Hypnosis was hypnosis, but payment for his hard work and professional services was absolutely non-negotiable.
The next day, after learning that Kakashi had seemingly recovered, Minato's team immediately came to visit him.
However, when Rin and Obito opened the door, they were completely startled by what they saw.
What the—who is this guy?!
The person in front of them had his face swollen up like a balloon, purple and bruised beyond recognition, with his entire body wrapped in medical bandages. Could this really be Kakashi?
Even Minato, known throughout Konoha for his calm composure, couldn't help but let a slight, bemused smile crack across his face.
After careful observation, the signature spiky silver hair and those distinctively cold eyes confirmed Obito's suspicion: this swollen, pig-headed guy was definitely Kakashi!
"Uh... Kakashi?" Obito asked tentatively, barely suppressing his laughter.
"Yeah."
Kakashi's response was as cold and clipped as ever.
"Kakashi, who beat you up this badly?"
Although Obito's face showed appropriate concern, the upturned corners of his lips completely betrayed his true thoughts. He was clearly struggling not to burst out laughing.
Looking at Kakashi's condition, Minato suddenly recalled yesterday's conversation with Kazuki.
"Well, it took some effort, but the results speak for themselves."
Uchiha Kazuki had smiled confidently and given him a cheerful thumbs up. "Kakashi has successfully overcome his psychological trauma. Don't worry about him anymore!"
Wait a minute...
A psychologist uses THIS method to help people overcome trauma?!
Although the method was undeniably brutal and unorthodox, the effectiveness was impossible to deny.
Minato felt a deep, profound sense of cognitive dissonance about the entire situation.
[End of Chapter 48]
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