"Huh?"
Makoto genuinely didn't expect the Limited Tsukuyomi version of Konan to just casually stroll through Konoha.
This was incredibly strange.
So far, Makoto hadn't seen a single familiar face on the streets.
Looking up at the Hokage Rock, he could only confirm that this Limited Tsukuyomi World must be set sometime after Tsunade succeeded as the Fifth Hokage, since her stone sculpture had already been fully carved.
Was Konan appearing here to scout?
Was she preparing to capture the Nine-Tails?
Makoto still had absolutely no clue what position the Akatsuki Organization held in this bizarre universe.
He couldn't just arbitrarily assume that the Akatsuki remained unchanged, or if they had become pure, legitimate mercenaries for hire like in that Road to Ninja movie timeline.
"Let's go, follow her."
Makoto watched the alternate [Konan] across the street leave the restaurant and head directly toward the village outskirts.
After signaling Hikari, the two of them quietly tailed her.
If the Akatsuki in this world still had goals related to the Tailed Beasts, then they should possess a massive amount of relevant intelligence.
As for why Makoto didn't just bring all the Jinchuriki into the "spectator seats" to help?
Wouldn't that allow them to directly act as living GPS trackers and "report locations" like Fuu and Yugito?
Honestly, that idea was a total logistical nightmare.
In truth, the only one who would actually willingly help report locations was Fuu.
Yugito's situation was still a total wildcard—even if she was willing to report her counterpart's location, it would only be out of sheer curiosity about what Makoto and the others were trying to do.
As for the others?
Rin? Whether this world even had a Three-Tails Jinchuriki was another question entirely.
Tailed Beasts couldn't just magically separate from their hosts to switch perspectives independently.
Gaara? Gaara, unaffected by his good friend Naruto's "Talk-No-Jutsu" in this timeline, might possibly help.
But Gaara was the one who needed the least help finding anyway.
The One-Tail was either sitting right inside him over in the Hidden Sand, or it had already been captured by the Akatsuki.
And then there was Naruto.
God forbid they bring Naruto in as a viewer.
What if that aggressively empathetic knucklehead started bonding with the illusions?
He'd instantly pull the "Life in the Tsukuyomi World is still life!" or "We can't sacrifice these alternate versions of people to save ourselves!" card.
Getting him to calmly report locations so they could harvest the Tailed Beasts? Not a damn chance.
The remaining Jinchuriki were all similar headaches.
That's exactly why this method was completely scrapped.
Makoto and the team weren't exactly short on time anyway, so there was zero need to involve those people and create unnecessary, dramatic complications.
"Who's there?!"
Right after leaving Konoha borders, [Konan] suddenly whipped around.
A violently spinning paper shuriken materialized, hovering lethally right in front of Makoto's throat.
....
"Clearly, the Akatsuki in this world doesn't recognize Makoto. Or rather, this Illusionary World simply doesn't include Makoto and Uchiha Hikari's existences at all."
From the concealed "audience seats" up in the real-world sky, Orochimaru immediately began his creepy running commentary on the situation below.
"This is actually quite normal," he continued. "We knew this before the Limited Tsukuyomi was activated: Makoto came from the future, while Uchiha Hikari came from the distant past. It makes perfect logical sense that their counterparts don't exist in this timeline."
"What should we do now?" the real Konan wondered as she watched her alternate self confronting Makoto.
Was Makoto going to pull the exact same manipulation trick again?
It seemed completely impossible this time.
After all, even Uchiha Hikari—the literal creator of this specific world—didn't know its past or future.
So Makoto couldn't just use his "prophet" act to casually gain her trust.
...
Down below.
Facing [Konan]'s interrogation, Makoto didn't miss a beat.
"I've heard of your organization's great deeds, and I deeply resonate with your ideals. My friend and I would like to join you." Makoto confidently pointed a finger right at [Konan]'s iconic black-and-red cloud cloak.
Since the Limited Tsukuyomi Konan was openly wearing the Akatsuki cloak right in the middle of Konoha and freely coming and going, it meant she clearly wasn't trying to hide her affiliation.
So Makoto just went all in.
Endorsing the Akatsuki's ideals—even if he had absolutely no clue what the hell those ideals even were in this universe—was the best play.
He'd blindly approve first and ask questions later.
He could slowly extract the juicy details afterward.
"Really?" [Konan] seemed genuinely surprised by Makoto's bold declaration.
Even the paper shuriken hovering at his throat stopped its lethal spinning.
"Absolutely true. In fact, the reason we came to Konoha today was actually to track down the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki." Makoto confirmed it, directly dropping the "Tailed Beast" keyword as bait.
If the Akatsuki Organization in this timeline had intel on the Tailed Beasts, this would be the perfect segue into the topic.
If not, then Makoto had guessed completely wrong, meaning this Akatsuki had nothing to do with Tailed Beasts, and there'd be no need to waste any more time—they could just leave.
Coincidentally, Makoto guessed right. Sort of.
"The Nine-Tails? You plan to act directly inside Konoha? I never expected your resolve to be even stronger than ours... to be so wonderfully impulsive." [Konan] slowly walked up to Makoto, plucked the paper shuriken out of the air, and smoothly transformed it into a beautiful white paper rose, which she elegantly pinned to his clothing.
Then, [Konan] stepped right past Makoto, walked a few paces away, tilted her head dramatically toward the night sky, and let out a deep, melancholic sigh.
She then began passionately explaining the grand, noble ideals of the Akatsuki Organization in this Limited Tsukuyomi World—
"Yes... our Akatsuki's ultimate ideal is to eradicate all furries in this world. And our most crucial targets are the absolute root of all evil—the nine Tailed Beasts. The nine Tailed Beasts are the origin of the Five Great Nations and the source of all sin in the ninja world! What our Akatsuki must do is capture all nine Tailed Beasts, slaughter them collectively, and completely eliminate these nine furry abominations from existence!"
The Limited Tsukuyomi Konan sighed deeply at the moon, delivering this utterly deranged speech with the utmost, dead-serious sincerity.
...
Up in the spectator seats, the real Konan was absolutely mortified, her face burning with shame.
"THAT'S NOT ME! That is absolutely, 100% not me at all!" the normally ice-cold Konan frantically explained, desperately waving her hands as the rest of the crew gave her incredibly weird, judgmental stares.
"Actually, I'm way more curious about how Makoto is managing to keep a straight face down there without laughing," Fuu expressed her confusion, staring at Makoto, who somehow still maintained a completely serious grim expression.
...
Back below.
Makoto walked right up to Konan's side, wearing an expression of deep, solemn understanding.
"You are so right. Actually, Hikari and I are also extreme anti-furry activists. Although she comes from the prestigious Uchiha clan, what she hates more than anything is Uchiha Madara, who used his Sharingan to control that giant furry Nine-Tails, just to burn shit down back in the day."
"It's precisely because of this deep-seated hatred that we decided to come to Konoha first to execute the Nine-Tails."
"The Uchiha clan?!" [Konan] was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
She quickly turned her gaze to Uchiha Hikari.
"I heard that when an Uchiha's Sharingan reaches a certain pinnacle of power, they can actually control the Tailed Beasts?!"
"Uh... yes." Uchiha Hikari, who still hadn't completely mentally recovered from the shocking, stupid anti-furry setting of this world's Akatsuki, just nodded subconsciously.
"That's absolutely fantastic! I was wondering how you two dared to take on the Nine-Tails all by yourselves. If you have the Sharingan, then this will be so much easier!" [Konan] clapped her hands together.
"In that case, I'll lure out the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Then you two can control the Nine-Tails with your eyes and make it directly..."
"Commit suicide?" Hikari blinked.
"Exactly!"
"..."
Makoto's mouth violently twitched as a massive, glaring plot hole suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait a second... doesn't your organization have a guy named Uchiha Itachi working for you? He also has the Mangekyo Sharingan! Why the hell did you only think of this suicide plan after meeting Hikari?!"
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