Chapter 577: Asking Kushina for Help
It took Kakashi quite a while before he finally understood what Guy meant.
He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, gave up.
He knew Guy's personality well. In some ways, it was similar to Naruto's. Arguing with Guy would only make things harder for himself.
Better to forget it.
Holding the shopping list everyone had prepared, Kakashi left with a speechless expression.
He planned to take care of the important matter first, then buy everything on the way back.
He needed to find a few helpers to assist them in changing Naruto.
First, they needed a Genjutsu expert.
Without Itachi's Tsukuyomi, if they still needed to give Naruto the same treatment Sasuke had once received, then they absolutely needed someone skilled in Genjutsu.
The first person Kakashi thought of was Yūhi Kurenai.
But after another thought, compared to Itachi's Tsukuyomi, Kurenai's Genjutsu was simply too weak. It was probably not even as effective as her student, Kurama Yakumo's.
As for Kurama Yakumo...
Kakashi had already witnessed her abilities before. She could turn illusions into reality, even materializing part of Nohara Rin's body after killing her inside a Genjutsu.
The problem was that there was no need for such an advanced ability when using Genjutsu on Naruto.
What mattered was the sense of time and realism.
Tsukuyomi had been the perfect choice.
Unfortunately, it was gone now.
Kakashi then thought of Uchiha Hikari, who also possessed Tsukuyomi.
But after thinking about it, he knew she had neither the reason nor the time to help them change Naruto.
She even disliked Naruto.
Uchiha Hikari hated both the Senju and the Uchiha. She hated Ashura and Indra alike. As Ashura's reincarnation, Naruto naturally fell within the range of people she disliked.
However, that thought suddenly gave Kakashi another idea.
While Uchiha Hikari wouldn't personally come to help, something she had created could still be used.
That's right.
Kakashi thought of Obito, whom he had been monitoring these past few days.
Obito had been thrown into the 'Engraved Tsukuyomi' world as a test subject.
Kakashi had also seen the Engraved Tsukuyomi world himself. It was almost indistinguishable from reality, and he acknowledged how realistic it was.
Compared to ordinary Tsukuyomi, Engraved Tsukuyomi lasted much longer and didn't require the caster to continuously supply ocular power.
Rather than comparing it to ordinary Tsukuyomi, it was more similar to Limited Tsukuyomi or Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Engraved Tsukuyomi could absorb the target's chakra to maintain the illusion.
And Naruto's greatest asset was his nearly endless chakra.
...
"Wait... what about the Nine-Tails?"
Kakashi immediately frowned.
He had been planning to visit Amegakure to request another set of equipment, but suddenly remembered the issue he had overlooked.
Killer B had once explained it to everyone.
A Perfect Jinchūriki was immune to Genjutsu.
The principle of Genjutsu was disrupting a person's chakra.
The principle of breaking Genjutsu was for another person to restore that disrupted chakra—or disturb it even further—making it impossible for the illusion to continue.
That was why Genjutsu specialists had to isolate the battlefield after successfully casting an illusion.
If the target's teammate simply touched them and injected chakra, the Genjutsu would be broken.
Unless the Genjutsu cast from the beginning affected multiple targets.
Since a Tailed Beast resided inside its Jinchūriki, under normal circumstances, no one could place the Tailed Beast inside the sealed space under Genjutsu as well.
So the situation would become: The Jinchūriki would be trapped inside the illusion, but they would always have a teammate inside their body who could instantly break them out.
"Looks like I'll have to think of a way to talk to the Nine-Tails."
In Kakashi's opinion, as an overpowered ancestor of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Hikari should have a way to control both Naruto and the Nine-Tails at the same time.
But as always, she would never volunteer to help.
Rather than begging Uchiha Hikari, it would be easier to ask the Nine-Tails.
In Kakashi's eyes, the Nine-Tails was easier to reason with.
Maybe it was because the Nine-Tails had been controlled by the Sharingan too many times, but Kakashi felt that even its personality had developed a bit of that classic Uchiha tsundere attitude.
After realizing this, Kakashi became even more certain about the helper he absolutely had to invite—Kushina.
That's right.
In Kakashi's opinion, if they wanted to change Naruto, then as Naruto's mother, Kushina had the greatest right to be involved.
At the same time, since they were planning to change Naruto, they should also inform his guardian and obtain her consent.
After all, the process might involve doing things that would hurt Naruto.
If they kept Kushina in the dark and she later found out, then came charging over to beat him up, that would be a disaster.
Having decided on his goal, Kakashi immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Amegakure.
He first went to Orochimaru to request another set of equipment.
During the process, Kakashi also explained his intentions.
Orochimaru showed great interest in Kakashi's plan to change Naruto.
To Orochimaru, changing Naruto was like asking him to change Jiraiya.
So Orochimaru voluntarily adjusted the device's parameters, saving Kakashi a lot of trouble.
After all, the beginner-area settings in the testing environment had originally been designed specifically for Obito.
If they simply copied those settings onto Naruto, Kakashi might be the one who mentally collapsed while monitoring him from outside before Naruto ever did.
'Damn it... Why would I have to keep reliving the Night Rin Died over and over again?'
Not only did Orochimaru adjust the parameters, he also gave Kakashi a small parameter-editing tool along with a detailed instruction manual.
If more adjustments were needed later, Kakashi could simply study it and make the changes himself.
The only problem was that modifying the settings consumed a considerable amount of chakra.
But since Impure World Reincarnation ninja were everywhere these days, he could just grab one to help.
That wasn't an issue.
After completing the first step, Kakashi nervously went to find Kushina.
In his opinion, this second step was the hardest.
Convincing Kushina and convincing the Nine-Tails felt equally difficult.
Before actually speaking with Kushina, Kakashi rehearsed the conversation countless times in his mind.
He knew Kushina's personality well.
Trying to persuade her with lofty ideals like 'for Konoha's future' or 'to change Konoha's culture' wouldn't work.
It might even backfire.
She might think Kakashi and the others were trying to sacrifice Naruto for some so-called greater good and immediately stand against them.
So he needed to make her see that this plan had value beyond just serving the greater good...
'I got it!'
Kakashi's eyes lit up.
He had to thank Shiromo once again.
Without the information Shiromo had brought back, he never would have thought of this approach.
Because...
"Kushina-san, you should already know about the future, right? During the era known as Boruto, both Naruto's son and daughter were bullied by the villagers."
"Looking at it that way, perhaps we really can't blame the Third Hokage for hiding Naruto's identity as Sensei's son."
"Because even the children of a living Hokage are still bullied."
"Not to mention the child of a Hokage who had already passed away."
"Besides Naruto's son and daughter, Sasuke's daughter was also bullied."
"This is a widespread problem."
"If we want to stop things like this from happening in the future, then we have to solve the bullying problem in our own generation."
"This is the mission the Second Hokage entrusted to me.'
"It is also my responsibility."
"Kushina-san, I sincerely invite you to join us."
"Please help us change Naruto…"
"And change the world."
Kakashi finished speaking with complete sincerity.
He deliberately addressed her as '"Kushina-san."'
Don't ask why he didn't call her his teacher's wife.
First, there wasn't really a standard Japanese form of address equivalent to "teacher's wife." That was something created during translation.
Second, with the tangled teacher-student relationships between Naruto, Jiraiya, Minato, and Kakashi at this point, it was better not to sort out seniority based on discipleship at all.
(End of this chapter)