Chapter 609: Sage Mode Returns!

"You're Kakashi-sensei's old teammate, Uchiha Obito, right? Great, I finally found you!"

Naruto's first priority after regaining his composure was to explain the situation clearly.

"Also, there's something you need to know. I got hit with this weird curse that permanently leaves part of me phased into this space… so what you saw earlier really was mine. Please don't swing a sword at it again."

After all, this was Obito's dimension.

He could enter whenever he wanted.

Stopping him once wouldn't solve anything if Naruto didn't explain the problem.

"There's actually a curse that evil?!"

Obito immediately looked outraged on Naruto's behalf.

"Was it that bastard Kakashi who did this to you? That's outrageous!"

Internally, however, Obito had already made a decision.

His starting position in this world was almost perfect.

And precisely because it was perfect, he absolutely could not waste the opportunity.

He had to maintain this world's persona.

Here, he was a naturally kindhearted Uchiha.

A good man who had abandoned evil and returned to the righteous path.

"Uh… yeah."

Naruto thought about it.

Kakashi really was the most reasonable explanation for the curse.

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why part of his body had somehow become permanently intangible through Kamui.

"Naruto, whatever Kakashi told you about me, there are probably some misunderstandings. The truth is, I've already—"

Obito wanted to explain his current situation first.

From his perspective, Konoha probably had no idea that after being rescued by Madara, he had later been "corrected" into a positive and righteous shinobi.

As far as the villagers were concerned, the Obito who died back then had died a perfectly welcome death.

It would be like if the Naruto who had never saved Konoha and spent his days throwing filth around suddenly died on a mission.

Most villagers would probably celebrate.

"No need, Obito!"

Naruto grinned and thumped his chest.

"I was actually following you and Tsunade-baachan earlier. I heard most of your story."

"I understand you."

"…"

Obito was speechless toward this world's version of himself.

He had been followed and hadn't even noticed.

And during an important conversation, no less.

Was this the legendary phenomenon where getting redeemed automatically made you three-tenths weaker?

"Speaking of Tsunade-baachan, where is she?"

Naruto scratched his head, then pulled the Daimyō's blood-written edict from his clothes.

"I still have something I'm supposed to give her."

Obito looked at the silk.

"What's that?"

"The Daimyō gave it to me."

Naruto answered without hesitation.

"He told me to hand it to Tsunade-baachan so she could become Hokage and overthrow my mom Kushina."

"He said once I gave it to her, she'd tell me what to do next."

Maybe Obito's earlier praise had put Naruto in an especially good mood.

Or maybe Naruto simply felt an instinctive sense of familiarity with him.

After all, Obito had held Naruto shortly after he was born. Perhaps some vague impression of his chakra had remained, causing Naruto's instincts to mistake him for someone almost maternal.

Either way, Naruto casually revealed something the Daimyō had explicitly told him to keep secret.

Obito took the edict and read it.

Then froze.

He had been thinking that even with this world's many advantages, he would still need to maneuver carefully.

Instead, someone had just handed him this.

For a moment, Obito wondered whether he had entered the wrong game.

Was this really Engraved Tsukuyomi?

Or had he somehow fallen into Infinite Tsukuyomi?

He had never experienced such an absurdly favorable opening.

'Cheer for me.'

'Applaud for me.'

Before Obito had been punished and imprisoned outside, he had already learned the truth behind everything in the real world.

He knew that not only had he been Madara's pawn—

Madara himself had been Black Zetsu's pawn.

In some ways, Madara had been even more pitiful than Obito.

At least Obito had known he was being used by Madara and had even planned to resist him.

Madara, on the other hand, had remained completely naive until the very end.

Even after learning the truth, he had struggled to believe it.

And the reason Black Zetsu eventually changed sides had everything to do with Makoto, the adviser who had appeared within Akatsuki.

Makoto had suddenly made Black Zetsu realize that saving his mother, Kaguya, didn't require making an enemy of the entire world.

He could do the exact opposite.

He could get the whole world to help him.

Now, inside this Engraved Tsukuyomi world, Obito felt almost exactly like real-world Black Zetsu.

He didn't need to fight the entire world.

He could make the world itself help him accomplish his objective.

When Obito entered this world, no mission had appeared on his interface.

But he felt he already knew what the mission had to be.

Become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki.

Cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.

That was the intended ending of the real shinobi world.

Surely it would also serve as the ending of this Engraved Tsukuyomi world.

"Naruto, our first priority should be gathering all the Tailed Beasts."

Obito folded the edict away.

"That means opposing your mother, Kushina, is inevitable. The Daimyō has nothing to worry about."

"I know."

Naruto nodded seriously.

"Then we create a furry shinobi world and stop the Sage of Six Paths' mother from being resurrected."

"?"

Obito's words died in his throat.

Then he reconsidered.

Naruto was merely a native of this Engraved Tsukuyomi world.

A fake existence.

It wasn't surprising that his worldview sounded ridiculous.

What Obito did find strange was that, according to this world's setting, the Uchiha were supposed to be the furry enthusiasts.

Why had Naruto become one too?

"Let's start with my dad."

Naruto immediately proposed the next step.

"Extract the Nine-Tails from him and give him another life."

"I'm worried Mom might actually beat him to death one of these days."

"Sure."

Obito agreed readily.

"Of course."

He gave Naruto an approving nod.

"You really are a filial son."

According to the memories Obito had inherited in this world, his local counterpart had always felt guilty toward Minato.

To extend Minato's lifespan, the masked man had done something permanent to him during the Night of the Nine-Tails.

Minato, unaware of the supposed reasoning, had hated the masked man ever since.

Unfortunately, that kindhearted masked man was gone now.

The one standing here was the real Uchiha Obito.

And he couldn't care less about any of that.

After some discussion, the two finalized their plan.

Naruto would lure Minato to the movie theater by inviting him out to watch a film.

Then Kakashi would cooperate and pull Minato into Kamui.

As a bonus, this would also leave Kushina and Makoto alone together at home.

One plan.

Multiple benefits.

Naruto was practically amazed by his own brilliance.

Obito also considered the scheme nearly flawless.

All he could do was sincerely repeat the same conclusion:

Naruto was truly an exceptionally filial son.

And so the two geniuses completed their master plan.

Obito activated Kamui, preparing to send Naruto back out.

"Wait."

Naruto suddenly raised a hand.

Then his face lit up with the same expression Thor might make after traveling through time and discovering he could still summon Mjolnir.

Right there in front of Obito, Naruto began entering Sage Mode.

That was right.

The curse had permanently phased part of Naruto into Kamui.

But inside the Kamui dimension itself—

The curse effectively ceased to matter.

Which meant Naruto could still use his beloved Sage Mode!

Naruto successfully entered Sage Mode.

Obito stared at him with the numb expression of someone who had simply seen too much, then warped him back outside.

Naruto immediately sprinted toward Konoha.

He needed to get home before dinner.

"NARUTO!"

Just after he entered the village and started heading toward his house, another unexpected problem appeared.

A voice Naruto knew better than almost any other shouted his name—

But the tone was so unfamiliar that Naruto barely recognized it.

Then something slammed into him.

Naruto went flying.

He crashed straight into Konoha's main gate so hard that he became embedded in it.

"…I-Ichiraku old man?"

When Naruto finally saw who had punched him away, he went completely blank.

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