Obito vanished into the night.
So what exactly is this "truth"?
It seems to be more than just a darker version of myself.
Lin Nan stared into the distance, lost in thought.
"Senior, enjoying the breeze up there? Come down and continue. My teacher has also arrived, I'll introduce you!"
The voice of Obito from this world echoed from beneath the eaves.
Minato is here?
Why is he here instead of at home with his wife and child by a warm stove?
Lin Nan leaped down from the rooftop, only to see a flicker of panic in Minato's eyes, eyes that usually remained so calm.
Something that could make Minato lose his composure?
Lin Nan suddenly felt a bad premonition.
"Little Lin, Menma is missing. I heard you went to the hot springs with him this evening, and according to Shikamaru, you accompanied him back. So, I wanted to ask if you know his whereabouts?" Minato began as soon as he spoke.
Lin Nan was taken aback. "Yes, I was with him last, but afterward, I went directly to the Hokage's office! Did Menma go out to play by himself?"
With his parents not home, and being alone, it's possible he went out on a date with a girl, after all, this is the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Looking at Minato's demeanor, he must have waited at home for a while before coming out to search, and eventually found him.
Minato glanced at Lin Nan's eyes, a subtle suspicion showing through, before speaking again, "Is Little Lin's wife with you?"
"Sister-in-law? Where's sister-in-law?" Obito was clearly a bit tipsy.
Lin Nan frowned. "She's not with me. What are you trying to say?"
"After I received the news, I went to your home, but no one was there. Your wife was not at home!" Minato's expression was calm. "It's this late, I imagine if she wasn't with Little Lin, you wouldn't be at ease with her going out alone, would you?"
Lin Nan's gaze sharpened.
What did he mean by that?
If he didn't know Minato's character, Lin Nan might have thought he was threatening him.
But clearly, the highly intelligent Minato had discovered something and was probing him indirectly.
Ajisai isn't home?
How could this be possible?
Lin Nan suddenly thought of Obito and the dark silhouette, and his body shot forward, heading straight for the "home" he rarely entered.
Minato followed closely.
Obito, now slightly more sober, scratched his head and asked Kakashi, "What does he mean, Senior's wife is in Konoha?"
Kakashi glanced at Obito, said nothing, and followed.
Rin, however, patted Obito's head and said irritably, "This isn't the time to worry about that. You shouldn't go, you've had too much to drink!"
"No, both Teacher and Senior are going, I have to go and see what's happening..." Obito was still quite confused.
...
Lin Nan moved with extreme speed. His home wasn't far from here, only a dozen seconds to reach, so there was no need for space-time ninjutsu.
However, what Lin Nan didn't expect was that although Minato wasn't using the Flying Thunder God Technique, his speed was no less than Lin Nan's, and he even seemed to have reserves.
As expected of the fastest man in the ninja world.
"Little Lin, if your wife has gone missing, could it be related to Menma?" Minato asked during the short journey.
Lin Nan wasn't in the mood to talk much. Upon reaching his doorstep, he saw the dim interior and walked in directly.
Minato looked quite surprised, but said nothing, evidently having seen this move before.
After entering the room, Lin Nan did not turn on the lights. He scanned the surroundings, then retreated from the house.
Seeing Lin Nan's solemn expression, Minato took a deep breath and said, "Little Lin, have you learned something?"
Lin Nan did not answer. He merely crouched down, and a small white snake slithered out from the grass.
Minato frowned slightly. "Orochimaru?"
"No, it's my snake clone!" Lin Nan replied.
The next moment, the small snake opened its mouth, and a figure emerged from it, identical to Orochimaru.
This was a ninjutsu Lin Nan had copied from Yakushi Kabuto in Sage Mode. Leaving other clones here would only alert the enemy, so Lin Nan chose this most discreet method.
Unfortunately, Lin Nan didn't possess that so-called "Invisible Jutsu"!
Lin Nan looked at the blank pupils of the snake clone and waved his hand, causing the clone to dissipate.
"What is it?" Minato asked.
Lin Nan said grimly, "My clone was caught in a genjutsu, and even the chakra transmission was obstructed!"
"A genjutsu like that? The Sharingan?" Minato asked, puzzled.
Lin Nan asked, "Konoha has a village protection formation, right? Doesn't it record everyone who enters or leaves?"
Minato nodded. "That's right. I asked the Konoha gatekeepers. The formation was not affected in any way, so either Menma or your wife should still be in the village. I've already sent Kushina to check the formation's operation. If anything happens, she'll notify me immediately!"
"That's not right!" Lin Nan shook his head.
"What is it?"
Whether it was the dark silhouette from earlier in the day or Obito tonight, they clearly hadn't triggered Konoha's formation to enter.
Although this so-called Konoha Guard Formation was no joke, remember that during the Pain invasion, he had avoided the formation and chosen to enter Konoha directly from above.
But those two entities were peculiar. It was possible to take Menma and Ajisai out without damaging the formation.
It was just too strange.
The Obito in reality was a spiritual entity. While his words might not be trustworthy, in the original plot, he couldn't affect people or events in this world with his current body.
And that dark silhouette, if Lin Nan's guess was correct, was his corrupted self in this world.
Although he didn't understand why he had become like a ghost, the fact that he could put Lin Nan's clone under genjutsu clearly indicated it could only be him, not even Obito.
But if he was already a ghost, shouldn't he be the same existence as Obito?
How did they manage to abduct Menma and Ajisai?
Lin Nan looked at Minato, who also seemed bewildered.
It wasn't surprising. Minato, despite his exceptional combat intelligence, lacked sufficient information.
"Menma, is he the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?" Lin Nan suddenly asked, a spark of realization in his eyes.
Minato's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?"
"As I thought!"
Lin Nan clasped his hands together, and a golden light appeared around his body.
"This is... Nine-Tails chakra?" Minato was even more shocked.
As the golden aura enveloped Lin Nan's body, he looked at his hands, marveling, "There's a difference between having the Nine-Tails and not having it. Even though the appearance is stolen, the essence is vastly different!"
But this was clearly enough for now.
"Hah!"
With a grunt from Lin Nan, a giant fox head shrouded in golden light appeared around him.
Minato nodded slightly, finally understanding!