"Ahem... Makoto-san? We were sent by Lady Tsunade to give you a massage."
Ino and Sakura sheepishly entered the private hot spring room, carrying fresh towels and a small wooden portable bed for massaging.
"Oh."
Makoto climbed out of the steaming water, wrapped a towel around his waist, and lay down on the wooden bed.
"Please continue, you two."
"Um... thank you so much for recommending us to Lady Tsunade!"
"Mhmm."
As they began kneading his shoulders, Sakura and Ino suddenly expressed their gratitude. T
heir voices were gentle, soft, and completely out of character—almost making Makoto hallucinate.
Ino's personality hadn't changed much since childhood; she had just matured a bit.
But Sakura's case was a miraculous anomaly.
She had always maintained a violent, short-tempered image in the academy, yet by the Boruto era, she somehow instantly swapped personality traits with Hinata.
She transformed into someone who would blush, stutter, and even faint at the sight of the guy she liked.
Shizune even told Sarada, "Your mother used to be like this often," which really makes one wonder if Shizune's memories had been altered by Divine Will or Kotoamatsukami.
Their current shy, girlish attitudes instantly gave Makoto the feeling that both their personalities had been swapped by a glitch in the matrix.
Of course, this was just Makoto's random internal monologue.
Their attitudes weren't actually that surprising.
After all, both were young girls who had barely interacted with the opposite sex in a romantic setting.
Moreover, emotions in the ninja world were generally repressed.
Especially in this village founded by Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara, where "masculine bonds" were the mainstream and romance was an afterthought.
"Uh, I wasn't talking to you two. I meant the two beside us." Makoto reminded them casually, eyes closed.
"Ah! Sorry! We'll shut up now."
Ino and Sakura nervously glanced at the chairs beside the pool.
They were occupied by Kushina and Rin, who had the distinctive black sclera eyes of the Impure World Reincarnation.
Lady Tsunade had warned them about these "walking corpse," telling them not to panic because they were Konoha allies, including legends like the Third Hokage.
Though, honestly, Ino and Sakura didn't recognize these two women specifically.
"It's fine. We were also wondering how to start the conversation." Kushina waved her hand dismissively.
After saying this, Kushina felt a bit conflicted internally.
Ino and Sakura didn't know her, yet she already knew them.
Kushina had just witnessed these two abandoning her injured son halfway through treatment to chase after Tsunade.
She originally thought their personalities were quite similar to hers—both rather fiery and aggressive.
So why did they become completely different people like gentle little lambs when facing Makoto?
Was it because of what they mentioned earlier? That Makoto had recommended them to Tsunade? That would indeed make him their benefactor.
Still, Kushina felt the disparity in treatment between her son and Makoto was far too obvious.
Shaking off these petty thoughts, Kushina consulted Makoto about her current predicament.
Kushina spoke at length, clearly showing her inner turmoil, but it all boiled down to one sentence.
She didn't know how to handle her "first meeting" with Naruto.
Ino and Sakura, who were listening nearby, were shocked by the one-sided conversation.
This beautiful MILF is actually Naruto's mother?!
"Oh, that's simple."
Makoto hadn't expected Kushina's question to be this straightforward.
"You left a portion of your chakra inside Naruto's seal, right? Activate that chakra imprint and let her make initial contact with Naruto first. Then you can appear in person afterward. That way, you won't have to worry about it being awkward or not knowing what to say. Let your clone break the ice."
"That won't work. That chakra is part of the barrier to contain the Nine-Tailed Beast, I..."
Kushina stopped mid-sentence.
She remembered.
Back at Tsunade's place, Makoto had told the First Hokage, "I've been thinking about those Tailed Beasts—each has emotions and principles," indicating they'd been misunderstood by the world, creating a vicious cycle of hatred.
In other words, the Nine-Tails could coexist harmoniously with Naruto.
The barrier wasn't as critical as she thought.
Moreover, now that she'd been revived through the Impure World Reincarnation, even if that chakra imprint was used up, she could always just seal another portion of herself into him later.
"That's a good idea. Thank you." Kushina was satisfied with Makoto's solution.
Passing the trouble to another version of herself, since the chakra inside Naruto was basically like a Shadow Clone.
Letting that "other self" handle the awkward crying and hugging first would definitely be the best approach.
She felt completely at ease!
"Now it's Rin's turn. You wanted to talk about Obito, right?"
Kushina didn't immediately leave to activate the chakra inside Naruto.
She remained seated, intending to help Rin resolve her issue first.
After all, she cared quite deeply about what was troubling her student.
"Yes." Rin nodded, looking seriously at Makoto.
"If there's a way to save him, please tell me. If not... then I beg you to stop him, kill him i"
Though both possessed "saintly" qualities, Rin gave Makoto a much better impression than Naruto did.
Her kindness extended not only to Kakashi and Obito but to the entire Konoha and the ninja world.
This was why she'd willingly sacrificed herself by impaling her own heart on Kakashi's Chidori to avoid endangering the village.
Therefore, in this situation, Rin understood perfectly what Obito was doing and the threat he posed.
She wouldn't plead with Makoto to "spare Obito's life" or cry about how he's "still a good person deep down."
She proactively requested that if there was no solution, they should put him down like a rabid dog.
The mental fortitude behind Rin's words slightly surpassed even Kakashi's during the war. When Kakashi first saw the Masked Man's true face, he fell into a prolonged state of depression and hesitation.
It was only later that Kakashi declared, "I won't abandon the memories I shared with you, even if the one denying them is the current you," separating the past Obito from the present terrorist.
Rin's words were music to Makoto's ears.
In a ninja world overrun with psychopaths—especially in the psychopath-concentrated Konoha—finding someone normal and rational to talk to was truly rare.
Since that was the case, he might as well offer some help and share a genuinely diabolical idea.
"There is a way."
"First, you need to come back to life."
"Huh?" Rin blinked.
"Don't make that face. Resurrection isn't particularly difficult. The only issue right now is that all forbidden techniques capable of true revival demand an equivalent price."
"Crossing the boundary between life and death inherently requires an enormous amount of chakra or a life force exchange."
Makoto began to explain the mechanics.
Using the Rinne Rebirth technique to revive one person costs the user's life.
Reviving a group of people also costs the user's life.
It's like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—sealing a Tailed Beast costs your life, and sealing a bridge builder would still cost your life.
The price is fixed: Life for Life.
The key lies in breaking through the boundary between the Pure Land and the Impure World.
Makoto's earlier plan for Turning Illusion into Reality only targeted Tailed Beast Chakra and biological matter, with the test subjects being partial cells rather than actual living souls.
Once a full human life and will are involved, the required chakra inevitably skyrockets.
However, there are exceptions.
That would be Orochimaru's research projects.
"In short, achieving resurrection isn't difficult—it just requires some time and the right 'fuel.'"
"Next is the second step, which is also the final step: I need you to become the Three-Tails Jinchuriki again."
"Eh? Why would that work?"
Tilting her head in confusion, Rin looked puzzled at Makoto's words.
"If he wants to achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he must collect all the Tailed Beasts. Rather than figuring out how to persuade him or use 'Talk-No-Jutsu' to fix his brain damage, it's better to hand the choice back to him."
Makoto smiled faintly.
He had said before that Obito couldn't be turned—he couldn't resonate with a psychopath and find their weakness through words.
Since that was the case, why should he torment himself trying to fix Obito?
"If you are resurrected and become the Three-Tails Jinchuriki... then if he wants to complete his plan, he has to extract the beast."
"He has to kill you..... Personally."
"Let's see if he has the stomach for it."
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