c25: New Playing Method
"Well~ this is really strange. I'll just call you Bo Feng Shui Men for now since you're the one playing him now."
As Ryan Wong, Ryan could understand exactly what his clone was feeling.
"That's fine." Hafeng Mizumon nodded. "By the way, aren't you going to try Uchiha Obito? I want to see what timeline this version of Obito is from."
"Still worth looking at? That mysterious masked guy? He's obviously the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Rebellion, the one who manipulated the Akatsuki, and even controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura!" Ryan Wong complained disdainfully to Hafeng Mizumon then quickly checked himself.
That's me!
Grumbling about myself again. I really need help...
"Don't sweat the details just check it out!" Bo Feng Shui Men urged.
He clearly understood Ryan's embarrassment in the moment.
It was always weird being asked to help yourself out.
Pushing aside the awkwardness, Ryan said silently, "System, load the mysterious masked man!"
Woosh~
With a blink, Ryan vanished. Now standing in the open was the masked figure: tall and shadowed, a mysterious man cloaked in a black robe. He was 1.75 meters tall, with black hair and a single eye peering through a goose-yellow mask marked with black concentric spirals.
Ryan, now wearing the form, shifted uncomfortably under the one-eyed gaze but he could tell his left eye was still there behind the mask.
He felt like Taskmaster borrowing Batman's gadgets familiar powers with unfamiliar weight.
Raising his hand to take off the mask, Ryan Wong looked into the mirror and saw the familiar face of Obito Uchiha. His left eye gleamed with a three-tomoe Sharingan, clearly transplanted from another member of the Uchiha clan.
"Obviously, both eyes work why the dramatic one-eye reveal?" Ryan couldn't help but grumble, sounding more like Peter Parker mid-quip.
At that moment, Hafeng Shuimen approached and studied Ryan now in the likeness of Uchiha Obito with a mix of nostalgia and unease. "Even with the scars, I think the guy's still got a strong presence. Like a disfigured Bruce Wayne trying to do cosplay."
"Yeah, I guess I think he looks cool too," Ryan admitted, glancing at his reflection. "But looks aside this is still Obito we're talking about. Can't let ourselves get infected by his ideology. That whole 'make a dream world to escape pain' nonsense? Classic villain overcorrection."
"Too extreme, and way too divorced from reality..." Shuimen murmured.
"If you're trying not to fall into his mindset," Shuimen continued, "how are you planning to portray Obito authentically?"
Ryan paused for a few seconds, thinking carefully, then responded, "Forget it. I'll use Obito's experiences and goals as the base. That'll make it easier to channel the character without getting mentally dragged into the abyss like a brooding Frank Castle."
"Hah~ should I say, 'Welcome to the dark side'?" Bo Feng Shuimen smirked. "Just now you were resisting the influence now you're going full method actor. Real 'Scarlet Witch switching realities' moment."
"Ahem~ You're technically me. Should you really be throwing shade like that?" Ryan frowned, then added, "Alright. Step one: collect the nine tailed beasts. Step two: launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi Moon's Eye Plan. Step three: build a world where Rin still exists. Simple enough."
"As long as I stick to those operational goals, it won't be too hard to 'play Obito,'" Ryan muttered, but then he hesitated. "Maybe... maybe this isn't just about completing a mission. Maybe these character assignments are also about embodying their philosophy. Like a twisted version of Batman trying to understand Lex Luthor."
"What's the motivation for Bo Feng Shuimen, then?" Shuimen asked, narrowing his eyes. "What's his core directive?"
Ryan shook his head. "Right now, Bo Feng Shuimen's goal to 'protect Konoha' doesn't function. Konoha doesn't even exist in this realm. So for now, he earns progression by completing system-assigned quests. It's the only path forward."
"In other words, using Obito is just a test run to understand the system's mechanics?" Shuimen asked.
Ryan nodded. "Exactly. If my play progress increases while I act according to Obito's doctrine, then it confirms the hypothesis."
"Alright. I'll continue completing tasks with Natasha," Shuimen said, referring to his team-up with Marvel's Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. "You the original get to role-play as Obito. Move fast."
With that, Bo Feng Shuimen activated the Flying Thunder God technique like teleporting with a boom tube and blinked out of Ryan's room.
Though he technically clocked out early, Ryan had already accepted a mission. He'd just passed it off to Natasha, citing a schedule conflict. Now Shuimen would finish it instead, advancing the simulation's role-play metric.
Wait a sec...
Does this mean the clone gets progression points, and I get to sit back?
Ryan's eyes lit up—briefly. Then he remembered how the Shadow Clone Technique worked.
All pain, fatigue, memories, and experience gained by the clone would return to him the moment it dispersed.
Every benefit... and every drawback... came back to the source.
Forget it. No lazy tricks. Clone and original would work together like Nightwing and Batman on a tough night patrol.
Shaking off the temptation to slack off, Ryan turned his focus inward and accessed the system panel. He wanted to check his compatibility level with Obito.
---
[Host: Ryan Wong]
[Current Character: Uchiha Obito – The Mysterious Masked Man]
[Current Play Progress: 10%]
[Owned Characters: The Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze (50%), Mysterious Masked Man – Uchiha Obito (10%)]
[Times Played Character: 0]
[Character Selection Ability: Fourth Hokage – Bo Feng Shuimen (0)]
[Mall: Locked – Tap to Open]
---
As expected, there was no significant progress in Shuimen's role the Fourth Hokage. Only 10% alignment for Obito, and that was just from surface-level imitation. Ryan hadn't emotionally connected to Obito's trauma-driven ideals. He didn't resonate with the villain's rationale no more than Captain America would buy into Magneto's world domination plan.
But what was this unexpected "Mall" option?
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
Was this going to be like a S.H.I.E.L.D. gear store, or something sketchier like one of those multiverse black markets Deadpool casually references?
---