Chapter 261: The World Dissolves
The emergence of Baryon Mode in the Limited Tsukuyomi world had nothing to do with the three individuals at its core. It was purely the result of the world's own autonomous development.
In the final scene of the earlier illusion, [Nohara Rin] severed (physically) her worldly entanglements. Combined with Kakashi's repeated mentions of Orochimaru, this indirectly led [Nohara Rin] to transform into a calm, rational scientist.
Baryon Mode was modeled after nuclear fusion.
And fusion could be controlled.
Tailed beasts, as aggregates of chakra, could revive even after death.
If they did not die, their recovery was even faster.
By using the Six-Tails or Three-Tails as fuel for a fusion-like reaction, as long as their chakra was not completely drained at once and combat duration was properly limited, Baryon Mode could be activated infinitely and sustainably.
Given that [Nohara Rin] could use Baryon Mode, it was hardly surprising that this world's masked man had been killed.
As analyzed earlier, Kamui's intangibility, its "automatic phasing", was ultimately a state that required conscious activation.
Which meant…
If Namikaze Minato had survived the Night of the Nine-Tails and wished to kill the masked man, all he would have needed was to pick any random time of day, teleport over with Flying Thunder God, and land a Rasengan.
Unless the masked man remained on constant high alert, he would inevitably be struck.
The same logic applied here.
During the Fourth War, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode Naruto's speed had already led both the Raikage and Mangekyō-weakened Kakashi to conclude that, at close range, Naruto rivaled Minato's Flying Thunder God.
Isshiki's speed vastly surpassed that Naruto.
And Baryon Mode's speed vastly surpassed Isshiki.
At such speeds, did space-time ninjutsu even retain any practical meaning?
As long as this [Nohara Rin] maintained sufficient mental resolve, killing became trivial.
No matter how powerful a dōjutsu was, it still required time to activate.
More importantly, Shiromo did not even know whether Rin had taken Kakashi's Sharingan at some point.
If she had…
Then they would have been facing a Baryon Mode-enhanced anomaly with dual Kamui—freely phasing to nullify damage and escaping at will.
Against such an existence, Shiromo could not afford to leave even the slightest opening.
Even if this [Nohara Rin] possessed invaluable knowledge regarding controlled Baryon Mode, Shiromo did not indulge in the mentality of "where others fear, I profit."
He made his decision without hesitation.
Such things could always be researched later.
Time resumed.
Pfft.
"…Hm?"
Uchiha Hikari stared as the figure grasped by one of her Susanoo's arms suddenly disintegrated into fragments, Shiromo standing calmly beside it.
She immediately understood what had occurred.
With [Nohara Rin]'s death, the crimson chains binding [Terumi Mei] and [Konan] shattered as well.
Fortunately, Rin of this world had not stacked too many enhancements.
Although Orochimaru's influence had steered her toward ninjutsu research, she had never truly apprenticed under him nor collaborated with him.
No curse mark.
No resurrection.
Death here meant true death.
Yet neither [Terumi Mei] nor [Konan] felt any relief at being freed.
Because Rin's earlier words, along with Shiromo and Hikari's reactions, had made something clear.
"…What she said just now… that was true, wasn't it?"
[Konan] spoke slowly.
As Shiromo's long-standing source of intelligence and stories, Konan possessed deep knowledge of the ninja world.
She understood all too well how disturbingly reasonable Rin's claims had sounded.
"That's right."
Shiromo no longer concealed anything.
"This world is a Limited Tsukuyomi construct, created through Hikari's Mangekyō Sharingan combined with the immense chakra of the Gedō Statue."
"Our purpose here was to obtain the tailed beasts' special chakra sequences and convert the statue's ordinary chakra into tailed beast chakra."
Now that everything had reached its conclusion, there was little reason to hide the truth.
More importantly, neither Konan nor Terumi Mei possessed strength anywhere near Rin's monstrous level. And according to the visions seen through Epitaph, they posed no further threat.
"You're collecting tailed beasts? Does that mean the real world is also filled with twisted, fetishistic furry fanatics?"
Konan's expression shifted slightly.
Upon learning that she herself was "false," she had initially felt a trace of sadness.
But Shiromo's explanation made reality sound… less comforting.
"Well… not exactly."
"Though, in the real world, certain bonds between male shinobi are perhaps… excessively profound."
"Oh. Then it still sounds rather wonderful."
"..."
After that, the two women seemed to fall into something like conversational lag.
Long stretches of silence.
Then a single question.
Konan asked about the Akatsuki.
Terumi Mei asked about Kirigakure.
Through Shiromo's descriptions, they gradually realized that the real world did indeed appear more coherent than their own.
"It's done. Now what?"
After converting the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, Uchiha Hikari returned to Shiromo's side, glancing at Konan and Terumi Mei.
"Release it."
Shiromo spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Even though remaining in this world would have allowed him to become a god of a new reality—perhaps even indulging in pleasures akin to Zeus himself.
Still…
He felt no attachment.
"Alright."
Hikari took a deep breath.
A ripple spread outward from her.
Everything around them began to turn translucent, glowing faintly with soft white light.
Simultaneously, the veil surrounding the spectators in the sky vanished.
As [Konan] observed the dissolving world, she noticed the figures above.
"So they were watching all along…"
"And… so in the real world, I've known him for quite some time already."
"…Why am I not up there?"
Konan sounded reflective.
Terumi Mei sounded resentful.
As the Limited Tsukuyomi world approached its end, all barriers sustaining it collapsed.
Including…
The barrier between life and death.
The Rin who had just been instantly annihilated by Shiromo slowly drifted upward.
Then suddenly…
Her gaze met that of the reanimated Rin.
"So that's how it is… This is the real world?"
At the moment their eyes met, the two Rins appeared within a shared consciousness space.
With the reanimated Rin's consent, [Nohara Rin] witnessed the life experiences of her real-world counterpart.
"…What a beautiful world."
"Kakashi and Obito must absolutely end up together."
"…?"
The reanimated Rin froze.
Then She immediately understood.
Rin of the Limited Tsukuyomi world had clearly seen certain scenes from the medical division.
The masked man feeding Kakashi Hashirama cells…
"…Well."
"False things are destined to fade. But knowledge…"
"…Knowledge should not disappear, right?"
Even as she spoke, Rin sounded uncertain.
After all, based on Shiromo's explanation and what she herself had seen, the two worlds differed fundamentally.
Still…
It was the only thing she could do.
Realizing that her real-world self was the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, [Nohara Rin] transmitted her knowledge of controlled Baryon Mode across the dissolving boundary.
(End of this chapter)