As the light faded, Lin Nan rubbed his eyes.
Without any other senses, it meant Lin Nan was in his original body, and the other wood clones had disappeared.
What exactly happened?
Was he defeated?
As the stinging in his eyes gradually subsided, Lin Nan slowly opened his eyes, only to squint them shut again.
This bright sunlight!
That’s not right; wasn’t it just deep night?
Lin Nan shielded his eyes and looked around.
He froze on the spot the moment he looked.
Blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, and lush grass. Was this the ninja war battlefield?
An illusion?
Lin Nan widened his eyes, his Sharingan spinning rapidly, but he felt no chakra disturbance. His Sharingan detected nothing.
Tsukuyomi?
If his Sharingan couldn’t detect it, it could only be Tsukuyomi. But only Itachi and he could use Tsukuyomi. Itachi had ascended to heaven; could it be Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Had he lost his memory?
A gentle breeze brushed past, and Lin Nan felt a coolness on his face. He reached out to touch it.
The warmth of his touch.
He looked at his hands again; they were flesh and blood.
He was alive?
Not Edo Tensei?
"System?"
Lin Nan quickly opened his system. Being able to open the system gave him some relief.
He checked his skill library; all skills remained in their previous state. The Nine-Tails Mode he had just copied was still lying there.
Wait, was he wearing the Akatsuki uniform from his previous life?
Had he transmigrated again?
"Alas! That person..."
A loud shout drew Lin Nan's attention.
Lin Nan turned his head and his pupils contracted. Green vest, a Leaf ninja.
As an Akatsuki member, Lin Nan, with his long years of experience hiding and surviving, would normally have slipped away without even turning his head in such a situation.
But currently, lost in doubt, Lin Nan forcefully overcame his instincts, wanting to understand what was happening.
He saw the two Leaf ninjas approaching, their faces stern as they looked at Lin Nan.
Just as Lin Nan swallowed, wondering if he should silence them, the Leaf ninjas suddenly spoke, "You're from the Akatsuki, aren't you?"
"Uh..." Lin Nan looked at his signature red cloud black coat. Wasn't that obvious enough?
"Uh... could you two give us your autographs?"
The other ninja's words shocked Lin Nan for an entire year.
What had he just said?
Was he hallucinating?
What kind of bizarre turn of events was this?
Lin Nan stood there dumbfounded. The two Leaf ninjas exchanged glances and said, "I'm sorry, if it's not possible, there will be other opportunities next time!"
Seeing their awkward smiles, Lin Nan finally reacted and extended his hand, "Do you have a pen?"
As the two Leaf ninjas joyfully left with the autographs, Lin Nan remained frozen in place.
What was going on?
Was he dreaming?
Lin Nan pinched his cheek.
"Senpai..."
Suddenly, a sharp and comical voice rang out, startling Lin Nan.
Damn it, you dare show up again!
Lin Nan immediately became alert, and blue flames erupted all over his body, followed by the appearance of a massive skeletal structure.
"Is this the Susano'o?" Tobi's comical voice became slightly more serious.
Lin Nan finally saw Tobi's true face, and he gasped in shock.
Tobi was not wearing his bizarre swirling orange mask. Only the right half of his face was wrapped in bandages, while the other half was a scarred, wrinkled surface exposed to the air.
This was a Tobi Lin Nan had never seen before.
Did that mean this Tobi was not the Tobi he knew?
"Tobi, you?" Lin Nan tentatively asked.
"Tobi" replied with a strange expression, "What Tobi? Who is Tobi? I'm Obito! Senpai, have you gone mad?"
What the heck?
Lin Nan was truly dumbfounded.
What in the world was this?
"Stop, can you tell me what time it is? Who is the Hokage of the Leaf Village now?" Lin Nan asked, rubbing his forehead.
Obito was also confused, "The current Hokage is Tsunade-hime! No wonder after you went missing, you didn't know what happened. Did you really go mad?"
"I went missing before?" Lin Nan successfully latched onto a crucial point.
Obito's expression darkened, "Alright, let me explain it to you properly!"
Lin Nan gave the current Obito a deep look, ready to listen intently.
This was too insane.
...
As all the dust settled, the Allied Shinobi Forces moved forward to investigate.
Apart from a large chunk of earth being burned by peculiar black flames, there was no other entity to be found.
It was as if the shadowy figure and the "Little Lin" that Shikamaru had mentioned had vanished.
"The chakra fluctuations have also disappeared!" Temari sensed and said.
Shikamaru frowned, also completely bewildered by what had happened.
However, since the battle was over and the path was clear, they should hurry and move on.
"Attention everyone, we are about to arrive at the battlefield. Make preparations!"
As the order was given, the army of ten thousand marched towards the main battlefield.
...
Obito and Madara, who were confronting Naruto on the battlefield, stood atop the Ten-Tails.
Suddenly, a strange shadow appeared behind them.
"Did you return?" Obito asked first.
A hoarse, low voice replied, "The mission has been successfully completed!"
"Very good!"
"Hmm?" Uchiha Madara asked with a hint of confusion, "Do you have any further plans regarding Lin Nan?"
Obito sneered, "Long before this, I created a 'Limited Tsukuyomi' by gathering the energy of the Seven Tails!"
"Limited Tsukuyomi?" Uchiha Madara expressed unfamiliarity with the term.
Obito explained, "Limited Tsukuyomi is equivalent to an Infinite Tsukuyomi targeting a single person. Although it has many restrictions, it can easily control a person's freedom!"
"Useless!" Uchiha Madara snorted with his arms crossed.
Obito ignored him and continued, "I originally wanted to control the Nine-Tails, but Lin Nan, this unknown variable, forced me to use it on him. However, this thing can only be used on the original body, almost a waste! Good thing you controlled his original body earlier!"
"Can it control his thoughts like Infinite Tsukuyomi?" Uchiha Madara asked with interest.
Obito replied, "It doesn't directly change a person's thoughts like a dream like Infinite Tsukuyomi. Instead, it can make them sink into a relatively more realistic mirror world!"
"Sink?" Uchiha Madara sneered dismissively.
Obito merely said, "But being able to pull him away from this battle has already achieved the objective, hasn't it?"
"You have the Ten-Tails, are you still afraid of a mere youngster like him?" Uchiha Madara looked deeply at Obito.
Obito coldly retorted, "You only fought him once. I spent seven or eight years with him. His growth under Edo Tensei is limitless. You don't want to see any changes in this war with a predetermined outcome, do you?"
"Let us hope so!" Madara said calmly, looking at the vast army of ninjas gathering in the distance.