Chapter 431: Tobi Appears
Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi, the two brothers, were currently using genjutsu to steal their ancestor Uchiha Madara's experience with the Rinnegan.
Sasuke thoughtfully made notes on the usage techniques for Madara's special Rinnegan ability, Limbo. Once everything was over, he could report it back to the leader of the Akatsuki.
After all, everyone had helped him so much. He had to repay the favor somehow.
Just because Sasuke and Itachi could now easily control Madara with genjutsu didn't mean Madara had simply fallen from grace and become powerless prey.
That was only one part of the reason.
Power determined whether Madara could break free from the genjutsu, but whether he could detect it depended on something else entirely.
If genjutsu was meant to deceive, then it was no different from a Transformation Jutsu. The target couldn't be allowed to notice any inconsistencies.
Transformation Jutsu was usually exposed because the transformed person imitated someone close to the target. People who knew each other well could spot even the slightest unnatural behavior.
The same principle applied to genjutsu.
If they wanted to deceive Madara with genjutsu, they had to thoroughly understand every detail of the resurrection process.
If he revived and automatically possessed the Rinnegan, Madara would definitely become suspicious.
Then there was the matter of giving Madara a certain level of authority within the illusion itself, allowing him a small degree of freedom to shape the genjutsu. Only then could he naturally use the Rinnegan inside the illusion.
Too much freedom wouldn't work. Too little wouldn't work either.
Only this precise level of control could delay Madara from noticing anything abnormal for as long as possible.
So aside from giving Madara limited authority over the Rinnegan, everything else had to be constructed by Sasuke and Itachi themselves, including the opponents prepared for Madara.
Whether it was the Tailed Beasts, the jinchūriki, or Senju Hashirama, everything had to resemble reality as closely as possible. All that intelligence had been provided by Amegakure.
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Outside Amegakure.
The NaruSasu Cabin.
After washing his hands, the masked man returned to the cabin, preparing to leave with something valuable rather than empty-handed by taking Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Sasuke had conveniently immobilized Naruto with genjutsu for him already. There was no reason not to take advantage of it.
"Hm?!"
The masked man suddenly noticed something strange.
Why was there another presence inside this room?
Could it be...
Without hesitation, the masked man headed straight for the other bedroom.
Judging from the nameplate outside, this had originally been Naruto's room.
But when he opened the door, he saw Sasuke lying sideways on the bed, asleep.
So that was it.
The masked man sneered inwardly.
He had nearly been tricked.
It wasn't that Sasuke had anticipated his arrival, left Naruto behind, and escaped alone.
Sasuke and Naruto had merely switched rooms as a precaution.
That was all.
As for why they did it?
Probably because they were worried someone might take advantage of Naruto being under genjutsu and sneak in to steal his virginity.
That had to be it.
He had simply been too nervous earlier. Combined with realizing he had gouged out the wrong eye, he hadn't thought things through carefully.
The masked man reassured himself internally before walking toward the sleeping Sasuke.
'This time, you won't escape!'
At that moment, the masked man felt both excited and exhilarated. The hand he reached toward Sasuke resembled the one he had once used to reach for Namikaze Minato.
He even wanted to recreate the line: "The Flash fallen into darkness, you have nowhere left to run."
Pfft.
The masked man's expression froze once again.
Why?
Why was it still—Wait!
A sudden sharp pain shot through his fingers.
He quickly pulled his hand back.
Four fingers on that arm had already been severed, and the wounds were charred black at the edges.
The masked man kicked the figure on the bed, only to discover it was another Naruto disguise lying face-down.
But unlike the previous one, when the masked man examined it carefully, he discovered a strange jutsu formula on this Naruto's body!
That's right.
The first Naruto hadn't actually been Naruto at all, nor had it been a Shadow Clone.
It was merely a dummy created by Konan using her Paper Person of God Technique.
Sasuke cared about Naruto far too much. How could he possibly allow Naruto to disguise himself as bait?
And how could he not leave some sort of defensive ninjutsu on Naruto?
The second one was the real Naruto.
Back then, Orochimaru had placed a Protective Seal Curse Mark on Jiraiya. To prevent Jiraiya from being forced into using his "rear headquarters", Orochimaru had sealed it as well and left Wind Release formulas on it.
It was an excellent method to guard against Uchiha Madara.
No matter which of the two "Uchiha Madaras" it might be, to stop them from stealing Naruto's milk or doing anything else inappropriate, Sasuke once again sought guidance from Orochimaru-sensei and learned this technique.
Just as Orochimaru had done to Jiraiya, Sasuke used the Protective Seal Curse Mark to shut Naruto's "valve."
As for the "headquarters", Sasuke specialized in Lightning Release and Fire Release. He didn't possess Wind-nature chakra, so he couldn't create clean wind blades.
So instead, he settled for the next best option and left a miniature Lightning-Flame Sword inside Naruto's body,
A sword created through shape transformation using combined Lightning Release and Fire Release ninjutsu.
The moment an intruder appeared, it would activate automatically.
The Lightning-Flame Sword would release countless tiny lightning blades, cutting like wind blades while also carrying fiery sword energy.
Of course, the technique was terrifyingly powerful. It injured enemies, but it could also injure Naruto himself.
To ensure Naruto's safety, Sasuke had carefully controlled the power so Naruto wouldn't suffer severe harm. At the very least, his recovery abilities would allow him to heal quickly.
Even so, it had instantly mangled the masked man's arm.
And because the wound had already been carbonized, even with a White Zetsu arm as replacement material, the masked man couldn't regenerate it immediately.
"Damn it... this time you'd better really be the Nine-Tails jinchūriki!"
Grinding his teeth, the masked man grabbed Naruto with his one remaining intact hand and pulled him toward himself.
After suffering this much, he had to accomplish something.
No matter what, he was taking Naruto away.
"Hey, Naruto and Sasuke, are you guys home? I came to help clean the place!"
Their enthusiastic neighbor Senju Hashirama had returned. He pushed open the front door and walked right in.
The moment he sensed an outsider inside, Hashirama immediately became alert and rushed toward the bedroom where the masked man was.
"Who are you?!"
"I..."
Faced with Senju Hashirama's questioning, the masked man was momentarily speechless.
He could put on an act in front of other people, but if he claimed to be Uchiha Madara in front of Hashirama, wouldn't he be exposed instantly?
"My name is Tobi. I'm a shy senior hopelessly in love with underclassman Uzumaki Naruto."
"I'm sorry, First Hokage-sama. I just couldn't suppress the love in my heart anymore. I know Naruto-kun and Sasuke are meant to be together, but I... but I... wuuu..."
Thinking quickly, the masked man suddenly changed his tone and began crying in an effeminate, pitiful voice.
Hashirama froze.
His gaze drifted elsewhere for a moment, and he noticed Naruto's waistband seemed slightly loose, as though just moments earlier…
(End of this chapter)