Chapter 151: The Masked Man: Nightmare
"Kakashi, are you alright? Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Kushina asked worriedly.
"No need. Let's continue."
Kakashi glanced at Kushina and refused.
He hadn't expected even his sensei's wife, Kushina, to be revived through Impure World Reincarnation and appear here. When he arrived earlier, there were simply too many people around, so he hadn't noticed her.
But right now, Kakashi's mind was completely filled with the possibility that Obito might still be alive. He had no attention left for anything else.
He was impatient to know the result.
…..
At the same time, somewhere else, a certain masked man with an extremely healthy daily routine, who was taking a midday nap, suddenly jolted awake in his bedding within the Kamui space.
The masked man first looked around vigilantly. Only after confirming there was no danger did he slowly get up.
After getting up, he clutched his head, looking as if he had a headache.
Because he had just had a strange dream.
He dreamed of the day he was crushed and killed by falling rock.
If it were merely reliving the past, that would have been nothing unusual.
The problem was that this memory suddenly changed part of its plot.
Kakashi, who was naturally reserved and secretly perverted, actually took advantage of the moment when he was unable to resist, seized his balls, and even wanted to transplant it.
That alone was enough to scare him awake.
After calming himself down and taking a piss, the masked man decided to go back to sleep again.
Snore, snore.
The Kamui space was extremely quiet, and the masked man enjoyed a sleep as peaceful as a baby's.
….
On the other side.
Kakashi was once again dragged into Tsukuyomi's illusionary world.
This time, he was leading Rin as they fled from the relentless pursuit of Kirigakure ninjas.
Kakashi knew what was about to happen next, but at this moment his heart was already as hard as iron, because his thoughts were focused on something else.
If he used Chidori like in the original events, then Rin's heart would be directly vaporized by the powerful Lightning Release chakra.
At most, he would only be able to collect some blood.
Kakashi was not sure how much material Impure World Reincarnation required, but a mere bit of blood was definitely not enough.
Surely he couldn't kill Rin and then take more from her body afterward.
Leaving aside the fact that doing so would be a desecration of Rin's corpse and would be extremely difficult for Kakashi to accept, what if, like what happened with Obito earlier, he was controlled again by some unknown force?
So it had to be done in one move.
Kakashi kept repeating to himself, "This is an illusion," "The Rin here isn't real."
After finishing his mental preparation, Kakashi suddenly acted.
His White Fang short blade had already been broken by an Iwagakure ninja in the previous battle, and his hands were now empty.
But having no weapon didn't mean he couldn't take one from the enemy.
Kirigakure had the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and many ninjas aspired to become sword wielders, so naturally there were plenty who used blades.
Kakashi directly snatched a short blade from one of the Kirigakure ninja chasing them. He infused a small amount of Lightning Release chakra into it, increasing its sharpness, but not to the point where it would vaporize the struck area like Chidori.
"Rin, I'm sorry!"
After finishing all of this, Kakashi turned around and stabbed the short blade into Rin's chest.
The blade pierced straight through her chest.
Rin spat out a mouthful of blood: "Kakashi…"
Kakashi took a deep breath, gripped the hilt, and twisted it once.
Like scooping a watermelon with a spoon, he carved out a hollow in Rin's chest, then struck forward with his palm and sealed it into a scroll.
After completing everything, Kakashi immediately lost consciousness.
Kakashi passing out did align with what was supposed to happen next.
But this was not actually part of the script.
He simply could not hold on anymore.
In this process of turning illusion into reality, the one under the greatest pressure was not Hikari, who was responsible for transmitting chakra and releasing Tsukuyomi, nor Yakumo, who was responsible for receiving Hikari's chakra, strengthening herself, and realizing the illusion, nor Shiromo, who was responsible for reinforcing Hikari.
It was Kakashi, the target of Tsukuyomi, who had been continuously stimulated.
Most importantly, Kakashi's body had not fully recovered yet.
It had not been long since his last overuse of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Tsukuyomi space was released.
Kakashi lay peacefully on the ground. Beside him was a scroll overflowing with blood, wrapping something inside.
"He's fine. Shizune, take Kakashi to the medical department and let him rest for a few days."
Tsunade stepped forward to examine Kakashi. After confirming there was no serious problem, she turned and instructed Shizune.
"…Alright, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune sighed helplessly, stepped forward, lifted Kakashi onto her back, and carried him outside.
"Next is the most critical moment of verification."
Orochimaru walked over and looked at the blood-soaked scroll on the ground. Inside it were Nohara Rin's cells.
Still fresh.
Clap.
Orochimaru brought his hands together: "Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!"
Unlike before, this time there was a reaction.
Rin's cells fused with the White Zetsu. After a layer formed over them, Impure World Reincarnation Nohara Rin was successfully summoned.
This was not the Nohara Rin from the illusionary world. This was the real world.
This successfully proved that Shiromo's plan was feasible.
As long as the law of energy conservation was followed, once something from the illusionary world was turned into reality, the real world would automatically correct everything about it.
Even though Nohara Rin's true remains should currently be buried beneath Konoha's Memorial Stone cemetery.
Orochimaru could still use the cells converted from the illusion to perform Impure World Reincarnation.
This also solved another problem at the same time.
The repeatability of Impure World Reincarnation.
Originally, Impure World Reincarnation required a living sacrifice and a portion of the target's body, both of which were consumable.
The sacrifices had been replaced by White Zetsu, and with Shiromo able to reverse and repair White Zetsu, that part had effectively become sustainable.
Only the target's body remained an issue. This was something that truly diminished with each use and could not be regenerated.
Even cultivating cells would only produce new cells, which could not be used.
Unexpectedly, this roundabout solution made even this condition sustainable.
"Little Rin… sob, sob. So pitiful, dying on the battlefield at such a young age."
Kushina stepped forward, hugged Nohara Rin, whose consciousness had descended into her body, and began rubbing her affectionately.
"Kushina-sensei? Where is this?"
Rin looked at the unfamiliar people around her, feeling confused. Fortunately, seeing a familiar face like Kushina allowed her to feel at ease.
"This is Impure World Reincarnation. Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation summoned us from the Pure Land. They want to confirm something."
Kushina explained what had happened to Rin.
"So now it's confirmed, right? The identity of the masked man pretending to be Madara."
Senju Tobirama snorted coldly.
Now the evidence was conclusive.
Uchiha Obito could not be summoned via Impure World Reincarnation, while Nohara Rin could.
This meant that the naturally evil Uchiha was still alive.
"Um, everyone, you don't need Rin's help anymore, right? Can I take Rin to look around present-day Konoha?"
When Kushina heard the Second Hokage speak, her heart jumped to her throat.
She was afraid he might accidentally say that name.
After realizing that the masked man was very likely Obito, even Kushina found it hard to accept, let alone Rin.
So Kushina decided to hide it for now and wait for a more suitable time to tell her.
"No problem. You can go. We're basically finished here anyway. We just need to make a final summary."
Shiromo nodded.
"Alright."
After receiving approval, Kushina hurriedly grabbed Rin and ran out.
(End of this chapter)