Cherreads

Chapter 227 - Chapter 227: Looking Down and Seeing Shoes!

The spectators had two choices: hang out in the main perspective near Makoto and Uchiha Hikari, or switch to their own alternate-self's perspective.

This wasn't Uchiha Hikari just being redundant; these were the only two safe zones where a [Spectator] could avoid making physical contact with the Illusionary World.

Otherwise, the second you touch something, boom—you're officially dragged into the Limited Tsukuyomi for real.

For the Amegakure crew, this was no big deal, since Orochimaru had already explained the mechanics until his throat was dry.

Everyone chilling in the "spectator seats" could easily see and talk to each other.

Hell, some of them had already busted out the snacks.

But over on Yugito's side, it was a totally different story.

Yugito tentatively tried to move around and immediately smacked right into an "Air Wall."

Thinking she was trapped, she completely panicked, screaming and launching violent attacks at the empty air.

"Stop messing around, didn't we literally just explain everything to you?" Uchiha Hikari's exasperated voice suddenly echoed around Yugito.

"Here, just stay put for a few days. If things go quickly, you might be able to leave soon. If you want to speed this shit up, remember to check your counterpart's perspective in this world later and tell us exactly where you are."

Along with Hikari's voice, a cheap box of instant noodles and two massive buckets of water unceremoniously dropped right in front of her.

"..." Yugito completely froze.

"What's wrong?" Samui stepped forward to check on her.

"Nothing. I just followed that girl's earlier hint and switched perspectives. I think I finally understand what this Limited Tsukuyomi World is actually like now," Yugito explained to Samui, her expression looking incredibly complicated as she snapped back to reality.

"Oh? How so?" Samui was genuinely curious.

"Like this..." Yugito began walking Samui through the steps.

"After you enter that perspective, don't freak out. You can't actually control the body, but you can feel absolutely everything it does."

With Yugito's warning in mind, Samui made her attempt.

It wasn't difficult at all.

Samui immediately dropped into a blank, "distracted" expression as her perspective abruptly shifted.

It felt exactly like being yanked through a Space-Time Ninjutsu.

'Huh?' Samui let out a highly confused sound in her mind.

From her new POV, she was currently sparring with Karui in kenjutsu, their blades violently clashing back and forth.

Thanks to Yugito's heads-up, she didn't panic over the weird sensation of totally losing control of her own limbs.

Instead, she just calmly observed and experienced this alternate Illusionary World.

But then, Samui noticed something extremely peculiar.

In this world, she actually seemed to be way more powerful than her original self.

Her speed in every single aspect was noticeably faster than her real-life capabilities.

Her movements were exceptionally swift, agile, and totally versatile.

Most importantly... her shoulders had literally never felt this relaxed before.

'Huh?' Samui seemed to have just discovered the horrifying reason.

Looking straight down from her alternate perspective, Samui finally saw this world's version of her own body.

She could actually see her own damn shoes when looking down!

'Why?! Why the hell was this alternate version of herself so... completely flat?!'

'Could it be...'

Samui instantly began to suspect that after their last meeting at Hozuki Castle, that Uchiha illusion user must have grown intensely jealous of her god-tier boobs and deliberately nerfed this world's version of her until she was flat as a goddamn board!

But honestly, Samui had to begrudgingly admit that feeling this "lighter" version of herself made her entire body feel remarkably at ease.

No wonder this world's version totally outclassed her real self in speed and agility.

This was basically like removing two massive, heavy training weights from her chest!

Samui's consciousness snapped back to her real body, where Yugito was watching her intently.

"So, how was it?"

"Well, this world is definitely strange. I can't figure out what the hell they're trying to achieve." Samui desperately needed to confirm her theory, so after giving a casual brush-off, she immediately interrogated Yugito.

"Did you notice anything... unusual on your end?"

"Unusual? No, my alternate self is just training alone in a valley, and I can't see anyone else." Yugito found Samui's intense focus on the word "unusual" pretty puzzling.

"What's wrong? Did some crazy shit happen on your side?"

"Not about other people, I mean about this world's version of yourself. Hasn't anything changed physically?"

As she spoke, Samui blatantly scrutinized Yugito's current figure.

To be honest, she wasn't even sure what kind of "nerfs" might occur to Yugito if she had been altered too.

"No? Why?" Yugito was totally confused.

"...Alright then."

Samui was 100% certain now.

That flat-chested Uchiha brat must have been violently jealous of her figure!

Otherwise, why the hell would Yugito remain totally unchanged while she ended up losing all her assets?!

...

Meanwhile...

Makoto and Uchiha Hikari physically entered the Limited Tsukuyomi World, spawning right at the front gates of Konoha.

Actually, Samui had completely misunderstood Uchiha Hikari.

Yugito indeed remained unchanged physically because she was acting as one of the fundamental "cores" of this Limited Tsukuyomi.

As long as she didn't physically enter the Illusionary World, this universe's Yugito would essentially just be a 1:1 clone of the real world's Yugito, completely immune to any random changes or corruption.

On the other hand, for everyone else...

Whether characters inside the Limited Tsukuyomi undergo weird changes, and the actual direction of those changes, is completely, stupidly random.

It could be a physical reversal, a total personality reversal, or even a straight-up moral alignment reversal. In short, absolute bullshit is possible.

"Did we come to the wrong place?" Makoto spoke up while staring blankly at Konoha gates.

"We literally can't control the spawn points," Uchiha Hikari pouted defensively.

According to their original master plan, they were supposed to start collecting the Tailed Beasts starting from the One-Tail.

But since they had already spawned here, they might as well just go in.

Even if they ended up capturing the Nine-Tails first, it wouldn't really matter.

Capturing it in here didn't necessarily mean immediate conversion or instantly sealing it into the Gedo Statue back in the real world anyway.

"I wonder if the Naruto in this world is Namikaze Menma, Uzumaki Menma, or just his usual loudmouth self," Makoto mused.

Makoto and Uchiha Hikari strolled casually through the bustling night market of Konoha, eventually arriving at the absolute most classic location possible: Ichiraku Ramen.

Since they had decided to just capture the Nine-Tails first, they naturally needed to track down its Jinchuriki.

And Ichiraku Ramen was basically the guaranteed daily spawn point for that blonde knucklehead.

However...

Following his memories of having visited Konoha before, Makoto arrived right at the iconic spot.

But instead of the legendary Ichiraku Ramen, he was staring at a bright sign for Ichiraku Curry Beef Bowl.

Could it be that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in this twisted universe had become that weird, mysterious Masked Man who was absolutely obsessed with curry rice?

"Should we just blow some shit up and cause a commotion?" Hikari suggested to Makoto, seeing absolutely no sign of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki at his usual spawn point.

"Causing a massive commotion might not actually draw him out. What if the Naruto in this universe is a total edgy villain who would be absolutely thrilled to see Konoha get destroyed? If we blow it up for him, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger, and he might not even bother showing up at all." Makoto shook his head, instantly dismissing the destructive idea.

"Then what should we do?"

"Let's just gather some intel first." Makoto looked up at the distant Hokage Rock looming over the village.

The Fourth Hokage's carved face belonged to a complete stranger, which heavily suggested that Namikaze Minato might actually still be alive and kicking in this timeline.

And a Naruto who actually had parents waiting at home probably wouldn't eat out at a curry shop every night.

"Wait." Hikari suddenly grabbed Makoto's hand just as he was about to leave.

"We already have intel."

"From who?"

"Konan."

"Huh? What kind of intel is she sending right now? Don't tell me the Akatsuki Organization has already infiltrated Konoha in this world?" Makoto frowned.

"Mm-hm." Hikari pointed a finger directly toward a small sushi shop right across the street from Ichiraku Curry.

"She said from her alternate perspective, she's sitting right in there... and she literally just saw our asses standing out here on the street."

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