Entering the dreams of others, probing their minds, and extracting hidden information was what people called Inception.
Going further than that was a more advanced technique: altering memories themselves.
This was known as Dream Implantation, the act of embedding concepts directly into a target's mind.
For a concept to truly take root, it required time and the target's subconscious acceptance. Only when a person gradually convinced themselves that the idea was their own could it become permanent.
Ordinary genjutsu users could forcibly rewrite memories, but such methods were crude. They often left flaws behind, and as time passed, the effects would weaken and eventually collapse.
But Kotoamatsukami was different.
As the ultimate dōjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan, it was hailed as the strongest genjutsu.
It could silently alter a person's will without their awareness, permanently rewriting their intentions while leaving no trace of manipulation.
After integrating the system's attributes, Hayashi had already mastered Kotoamatsukami.
However, even this technique had its limits. It could only be applied to one ninja at a time. It was impossible to influence the entire world through it alone.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi, however, was different.
It used the God Tree to link all shinobi into a single collective illusion, affecting the entire world at once.
In essence, its genjutsu structure was not especially complex. Its true strength lay in its scale, its ability to envelop all life simultaneously.
That was precisely why Hayashi needed it.
Once the entire ninja world fell under the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Kotoamatsukami could then be deployed through the God Tree to implant a unified concept into every mind.
A concept of peace.
The ninja world had never been unified. Such an idea had never truly existed within it.
Yet under Kotoamatsukami, even the Kage of the major villages would not notice anything unusual. Bloodshed during unification would be reduced to a minimum.
There would still be deaths, of course, but hatred would be suppressed as much as possible.
However, in the end, Konoha would still take the leading position.
As for how long such a system could last, Hayashi did not concern himself with it.
Even Konoha itself, with only a few decades of history, was already showing signs of internal decay. No nation lasted forever.
He was not concerned with centuries in the future.
Only the present mattered.
The endless cycle of war every decade, the slaughter between shinobi, it was all becoming tedious.
If he could stretch peace across several centuries, it would be worth it.
And if he himself lived that long, repeating the Infinite Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami cycle periodically would not be out of the question.
After all, a single application would only influence a few generations before its effects naturally faded.
At that thought, Hayashi suddenly understood something about the Sage of Six Paths.
Why allow Indra and Asura to reincarnate endlessly?
What was he truly guarding against?
Kaguya.
No seal was permanent. Even the Chibaku Tensei that imprisoned Kaguya would weaken over time.
Yet the ninja world itself lacked the power to resist her return. If she broke free, she could easily manipulate the Ten-Tails and turn all life into White Zetsu.
That outcome was unacceptable.
So the Sage of Six Paths remained in a special state beyond the ninja world, guiding his sons through reincarnation so that, when needed, he could grant them power again to reinforce the seal.
Forcing reincarnations to fight each other might seem cruel, but it maximized the chance of preventing Kaguya's return.
In that sense, the Sage of Six Paths was far more ruthless toward his own mother than anyone would expect.
And Kaguya herself was, in a way, truly tragic.
A young woman who arrived on Earth alone, planted the God Tree fruit, and tried to survive in a foreign world.
She was abandoned, betrayed, and eventually sealed away by her own children, after being influenced by the so-called Sage.
Setting aside the complicated family history of the Sage of Six Paths, Hayashi, Minato, and Nawaki soon shifted their attention back to the present.
The plan moving forward was simple: allow Akatsuki to collect the Tailed Beasts.
Right now, Konoha had no awareness of Akatsuki's existence, and the ninja world was not yet wary of the organization.
With the Five Great Nations all weakened, this was the perfect opportunity for Akatsuki to act.
Hayashi also needed to find a chance to release the Three-Tails. If it remained in Konoha, Akatsuki would never be able to complete its collection.
Unless Konoha wanted another full-scale invasion.
That option was dismissed immediately.
After finalizing their discussion, the three left Naka Shrine and walked back toward the village.
From a distance, the Hokage Rock had already been repaired. The damaged section caused by Fugaku's attack had been replaced with stone taken from elsewhere, restoring the Third Hokage's face.
Nawaki stretched as they walked down a quiet road.
"Let's go eat barbecue," he suggested casually. "It's getting colder at night anyway."
Hayashi patted the scroll in his ninja pouch.
"I actually have some good alcohol," he said. "It was left behind by Fugaku."
He had never touched it before, but it was clearly high quality. It would be a waste to leave it unused.
Just as they were about to head toward the commercial district, a distant explosion suddenly echoed through the village.
A pillar of flame shot into the sky.
Minato's eyes sharpened slightly.
"That direction… it's the Hyuga Clan."
Even from this distance, the source was unmistakable.
Hayashi's expression shifted faintly as he recalled recent events involving the Hidden Cloud Village's envoy.
"I see," he said quietly. "Change of plans. Barbecue will have to wait."
Minato and Nawaki both nodded without hesitation.
When they arrived near the Hyuga district, the area was already surrounded.
Crowds had gathered in layers, far denser than expected.
Since when had Konoha become so full of people eager to watch chaos unfold?
The answer could be traced back to Fugaku's earlier attack.
After decades without major incidents, the village had grown restless. Any disturbance now triggered immediate suspicion.
On top of that, after the Chunin Exams, the Third Hokage had reorganized forces, drawing ninjas from major clans and civilians into a new Military Police Force.
The newly formed unit was eager to prove itself.
So when the explosion occurred, everyone assumed it was another attack and rushed in simultaneously.
Now over twenty jonin were present, along with an uncountable number of chunin.
After pushing through the crowd with difficulty, Hayashi, Minato, and Nawaki finally entered the inner perimeter.
There they saw Hiashi Hyuga sitting on the ground in a loose night robe, his expression dark and deeply resentful.
Anyone seeing the scene without context would have assumed something entirely inappropriate had just happened, and he had been caught in the middle of it.