"The Infinite Tsukuyomi's beta test— the Limited Tsukuyomi," Obito murmured to himself as he pondered his orb, the bead that had trapped Naruto and Sakura within the Spiritual Plane. "A world that almost perfectly mirrors this one, as though looking upon one's reflection in the calm surface of a pond…"
"Yes, I know, I was there when you made it using the captured Tailed Beasts' chakra," Black Zetsu pointed out coolly. "But… even though you're this world's creator, you don't seem capable of controlling what goes on within it?"
As an artificial lifeform, Black Zetsu couldn't understand Uchiha Obito's tendency to start monologuing out of nowhere. Perhaps he was feeling lonely, it rationalised, with three quarters of the Akatsuki either dead, captured or missing. Poor boy had nobody to talk to any more.
"She's a sharp one, that Sakura… no wonder she was chosen as the Sixth Hokage," Obito said, feeling oddly nostalgic as he pronounced those last words. "She correctly guessed that the Limited Tsukuyomi is a world in which one's deepest desires at the instant of its inception are realised… that is why even I, this world's creator, cannot directly interfere with it."
And yet, despite having been given everything they could have ever wanted, Naruto and Sakura were still resisting. They seemed to have no intention of sinking into the perfect world he had crafted for them… but Naruto was already wavering, Obito could sense it… and it was only a matter of time before Sakura succumbed as well.
After all, the Eye of the Moon Project was Obito's entire life… how could it possibly be wrong? To accept that people could reject a world perfectly tailored to them was to reject the entire meaning of his existence, and everything he had sacrificed to reach this point!
However… even though the Limited Tsukuyomi was a test run of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it also served a secondary purpose: to profoundly shock Naruto into weakening the Nine-Tails' seal, allowing Obito to capture it. Thus, this perfect world couldn't be perfect, so even if this plan failed and Naruto escaped, it would not weaken his determination.
"There's just one thing I don't understand. When I created this world, I also wove my will into it," Obito said to himself, as he peered into the twinkling depths of his pondering orb. "Naruto and Sakura have been inside the Limited Tsukuyomi for the equivalent of two days now, nearing three… so where is the disrupting factor? I have seen no sign of the enemy that will… oh my. Now I see, that is interesting… I'd better send them a little help."
…
"Sakura-chan!"
Naruto called Sakura's name again and again as he dashed along Naka River, each footfall sending up small splashes as he ran across the water's surface.
No matter what, he had to reach her before the others found her.
In all honesty, Naruto did not mind staying a little longer in this world. It was not as though they would find Madara in just a few days, after all. So, if he could only convince Sakura to stop hurting the people of this world, perhaps they would be more receptive to helping them return to their own… they were not bad people, only a little different, that was all. The warmth he had felt from his mother and father… that sort of thing could not be faked.
"Naruto!"
Suddenly, Sakura slipped out from behind a tree by the river and threw her arms around Naruto as he landed beside her, embracing him tightly and pressing her chest against his, marking him with her pheromones as a warning to other hussies. She rubbed her face against his neck and breathed in deeply.
"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto spluttered. "Wha-what are you doing!?"
"I'm memorising Naruto-kun's scent," she replied softly, looking down at him with moistened eyes. "This way, if we ever get separated again…"
Sakura suddenly stiffened, and without warning, she pushed Naruto down just as half a dozen shuriken buried themselves in the tree behind them, just above his head, with a series of heavy thunks. Naruto sprang up at once and drew a kunai, deflecting the next volley of shuriken in a shower of sparks.
In a flash, Chōji, Ino, Shikamaru, Asuma, Minato and Jiraiya flickered around Naruto and Sakura, surrounding them. Naruto ushered Sakura behind him and spread his arms wide to cover her.
"It's no use resisting, we know everything!" called Chōji. "Give yourself up!"
"Don't hurt Sakura-chan!" cried Naruto. "She didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
"Not her, you!" Chōji shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Naruto. "Namikaze Menma, or should I say… imposter! You're the real ringleader behind these attacks!"
Naruto and Sakura gasped in surprise. They'd both been certain the hunting party was after her!
"It's true what they say… the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime," Chōji went on. "I knew at once that something was off about you when you showed up at the crime scene earlier."
Chōji smiled knowingly.
"Firstly, your haircut was wrong; secondly, you seemed awfully twitchy; and thirdly, you did not remember what we had discussed in the baths the previous evening," he explained. "Once you had aroused my suspicion, I decided to set a small trap for you, to confirm you were indeed an imposter."
Naruto could only stare at him wordlessly.
"Inuzuka Hana claimed her attacker was female, so I immediately deduced you must have had a helper… an unwitting accomplice, someone inoffensive who could approach her victims without arousing suspicion," Chōji went on. "Seeing as you had taken Menma's form, I reasoned it would have to be someone foolish and hopelessly in love with him… someone like Haruno Sakura, for instance!"
Chōji scoffed.
"I knew at once that you must have fooled the poor, lovesick idiot into going along with your sinister plot, so I deliberately shared my deductions with you, knowing you would follow her to eliminate her and erase any trace of your involvement before we could find her," Chōji concluded. "Once you were gone, I quickly asked Lord Fourth about your whereabouts over the past few days for confirmation… and sure enough, your movements did not perfectly match the real Menma's. Using this discrepancy to convince him, I gathered this small force to give chase before you could murder Sakura!"
And now, here 'Menma' was, exactly where Chōji had predicted he would be, with poor, foolish little Sakura at his mercy… Of course, Chōji's deduction was wildly off, but so long as he had the right answer, even if his reasoning was entirely wrong…
"Step away from Sakura, nice and easy…" Minato called. "You'll only be making things worse for yourself if you try to resist…"
A rustling sound came from the branches above Naruto's and Sakura's heads.
"Watch out!" Sakura screamed. She and Naruto jumped out of the way as a yellow and white blur fell out of the tree, landing between them. "Wait, what the…"
Chōji stomped his foot in frustration.
"Damn it, stupid woman! Didn't you listen to a word I just said? That's not the real Menma!" he shouted. "You ruined my ambush! Do you want to get rescued or not!?"
The crouching figure that had dropped out of the tree spun around, his leg sweeping out to knock Naruto off his feet as his hand shot out to push Sakura, but Naruto leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding being knocked onto his back.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock as his mysterious assailant's arm shot towards him, a brilliant sphere of rotating, compressed yellow chakra rapidly forming in his palm. There was no way to avoid the attack; he shouldn't have leapt into the air, where he could no longer dodge! He crossed his fingers, hoping to summon a Shadow Clone to push him out of the way, but it was too late…
!!!
Chakra strings suddenly snaked around Naruto's torso and pulled him to safety, just as his yellow-haired, white-cloaked assailant was about to strike him with his own signature move. The Rasengan tore harmlessly through the tree trunk behind where he had just been, reducing it to wood shavings.
"I've got you," an unfamiliar man's voice said, as he continued reeling in Naruto like a fish, flinging him clear of Konoha's encirclement. "Quit wriggling."
The mysterious man tore off his pure white hooded cloak, revealing himself to be… another Naruto, dressed in identical orange clothes.
"No, no, no!" Naruto screamed, desperately trying to struggle free as the other Naruto embraced a stunned Sakura. "Let me go! I have to save her!"
Before long, Naruto broke through the canopy of leaves as his unknown saviour finished reeling him in. His face went pale as he found himself face to face with the full roster of the Akatsuki, standing upon the treetops, each of them restored to full life… but if Pain and the villagers were alive, and the village was in ruins… then who was responsible for the gigantic blast crater in the centre of town!?
"Go, Sasori," Tendō Pain (?) said simply. "Take him away, we'll cover your escape."