The limited tsukuyomi completely dissipated, and everyone found themselves standing exactly where they had started in the pouring rain outside the Hidden Rain Village.
The two kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud Village also blinked, finding themselves back in the muddy outskirts.
After a long moment of staring blankly into the distance, Yugito broke the silence.
"Let's continue our journey to the village. At least we confirmed they are genuinely friendly."
The final moments of the illusion had shown Makoto casually confessing to Mei Terumi and Konan that their entire purpose for diving into that cursed nightmare was just to transfer the Tailed Beasts into the real world safely.
Yugito and Samui had witnessed this firsthand.
The Akatsuki had gone to such elaborate mind-bending lengths, walking a bizarre and convoluted path, all just to avoid harming the actual Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts in the real world.
Was that not definitive proof of their sincerity?
Even if the Raikage had ordered them to sever ties and maintain a safe distance from them, Yugito would refuse to obey now.
Specially since his original orders had been to forge an alliance anyway.
"Should we send a hawk to report this to Lord Raikage?" Samui nodded in agreement before asking the dreadful question.
"...Let's just form the alliance first. We can figure out what to tell him later."
"Since they didn't hide anything from us, they probably expect us to relay the intel back to the village. But..." Yugito hesitated, her face pale. "The events in that illusion were so thoroughly depraved. If we tell Lord Raikage the truth, he will assume we went mad from reading forbidden smut novels."
"..."
That was a fair point.
Samui briefly imagined what would happen if she tried to stand in the Raikage's office and explain the chronological events of the illusion.
Even if she bypassed the Raikage and told Karui or her brother Atsui, they would likely assume she was testing them.
Testing what? The implication was obvious.
'Hey, so we spent the afternoon watching alternate-universe versions of ourselves try to groom each other in a freaky genjutsu cave. So, how do you guys feel about us being together?'
Samui shuddered violently.
She did not know how she could ever look her team in the eye again!
As expected, she decided to follow Yugito's advice and bury the trauma for later.
The two resumed their trek toward the Hidden Rain Village, hoping the Akatsuki would offer some sane insights to wash their brains clean.
...
Outside the Hidden Rain Village, Tsunade was happily organizing her messy stack of manuscript notes.
She had gained a wealth of lucrative, highly cursed knowledge this time!
Meanwhile, the Edo Tensei version of Nohara Rin was sitting on a rock, rubbing her temples as she tried to digest the dense information her alternate self had forced into her brain.
In this world, Rin had only ever learned basic battlefield knowledge.
She lacked any advanced scientific background. Though she could read the formulas flashing in her mind, she could not understand a single concept.
To grasp the mechanics, she had to recite the formulas aloud so Orochimaru and Senju Tobirama could translate the physics.
"So that is how it works," Orochimaru hissed, his eyes gleaming with immediate understanding.
Makoto had vaguely mentioned the Baryon Mode to him in the past.
However, ethical and unethical scientific research could not be rushed, it required a gradual prioritized approach.
Thus, Orochimaru had only briefly familiarized himself with the concept before setting it aside to focus on cloning.
"Well? Can we actually use it?" Tsunade asked, looking up from her notes.
Upon returning to reality, Makoto had re-explained the terrifying concept of Baryon Mode to the rest of the group.
Most of the spectators remained blissfully unaware of the full, horrifying context of what had just transpired in the illusion.
All they could sense was the sudden shift in Makoto's demeanor during the final moments.
Previously, against the illusionary Minato, Makoto had merely circled behind him, delivered a clean punch through the heart to stop the Flying Thunder God, and moved on.
But this time was excessive.
He had reduced the illusionary Nohara Rin into a bruised, pulverized meatball.
However, after understanding the sheer threat of Baryon Mode from Makoto's explanation, they realized his overkill was completely justified.
If he had underestimated that final opponent, she would have wiped the floor with all of them.
The revelation that the illusionary Rin had managed to securely transfer her knowledge filled everyone with immense joy.
With this, the Shinobi World had gained a massive tactical advantage against the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"It is usable, but there are strict prerequisites," Orochimaru stated, his pale face serious.
"What prerequisites? If the Rin from that messed-up world could master it, surely we can too?" Kushina asked eagerly.
She was already plotting to master Baryon Mode first, purely so she could flex on Naruto and teach it to him later.
"Step one: Reconcile with your Tailed Beast and become a Perfect Jinchūriki," Orochimaru replied flatly, side-eyeing the redhead.
As a former candidate for the Fourth Hokage position, Orochimaru knew firsthand that Kushina's relationship with the Nine-Tails was not exactly a harmonious friendship.
It was more akin to mutually assured destruction.
As expected, Kushina's enthusiastic face immediately fell.
"Can there not be a workaround? The Rin in the illusion was clearly forcing the beasts to do it!"
"She was not forcing them," Orochimaru countered, shaking his head. "The Tailed Beasts in that illusion were the complete opposite of the ones in our reality. Our beasts hate shinobi. Those beasts were unapologetic degenerates who welcomed physical intimacy from anyone. The 'reconciliation' step was fundamentally trivial for them."
"Ah?" Kushina winced. "No wonder Menma told the Nine-Tails it was no longer a 'wild fox spirit.' So that is what they were doing in there."
"And the second step?" Tsunade asked, moving the conversation along.
The first step was difficult but not impossible.
After all, if the alien Ōtsutsuki Clan descended to harvest the planet, they would seek to drain the Tailed Beasts anyway.
By appealing to the beasts' sense of self-preservation, a truce could be achieved.
"The second step is for the Tailed Beast to go to school," Orochimaru said.
"The Tailed Beasts?"
"Go to school?"
The group stared at him.
How could those concepts possibly exist in the same sentence?
"Yes, because the most crucial aspect of Baryon Mode is not the human host. It is the Tailed Beast actively burning its own mass as the primary fuel source."
Orochimaru glanced at Makoto. "Makoto-kun mentioned that in the original future timeline, Uzumaki Naruto coasted for over twenty years without developing a single new jutsu, perfectly content to punch things hard. In stark contrast, the giant fox secretly learned the Baryon mode."
"That is why they were able to activate the mode on the fly to confront the Ōtsutsuki."
"Therefore, the key is for the beast itself to understand the math. The human host learning the principles is functionally useless. Even the fabled chakra reserves of the Uzumaki Clan pale in comparison to a creature made of pure energy."
"If a human used their own meager chakra as fuel for the fusion process, they would burn out and die in three seconds. Moreover, humans do not possess a Tailed Beast's automatic energy regeneration. It is a suicide tactic for anyone else."
As Orochimaru spoke, his brow suddenly furrowed.
He stopped mid-sentence, as if struck by a profound realization.
Senju Tobirama also let out a slow, questioning "Hmm?"
Everyone in the clearing slowly turned their heads to look at Hashirama Senju.
There was, in fact, someone standing right there with a chakra pool comparable to a Tailed Beast.
Moreover, due to the nature of the Edo Tensei, his body would automatically regenerate his chakra even if he burned it away in a fusion reaction.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Hashirama froze, sweat beading on his forehead. He took a panicked step back.
"Wait, you guys are not thinking of treating me like a giant fox and sealing me inside a teenager's stomach, are you?!"
"Forget it," Tobirama sighed, rubbing his temples and waving his hand dismissively.
"My brother is way too stupid to learn this. We would all just explode."