"So the real Fourth Kazekage was actually hiding here to release Shukaku… But who was the other person that flew off into the sky earlier? That terrifying lightning jutsu that pierced through Shukaku—was that his technique?"
"He probably isn't an enemy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have attacked Shukaku. And that technique wasn't just Lightning Release."
"By the way, Kakashi—before Shukaku collapsed, didn't it seem like it was yelling something about a fox? Did you hear that?"
"…Did it?"
Kakashi replied calmly. "I didn't hear anything."
Kakashi and Asuma stood amid the ruins, each gazing in a different direction. The ground around them was littered with glass-like fragments of vitrified debris. At that moment, two ninja hounds ran over from opposite sides of the rubble.
One was small, wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
The other was tall and slender, its head and neck wrapped in bandages.
"Kakashi—we've found Naruto and Shikamaru."
"Sasuke's been located as well."
The two hounds stopped in front of Kakashi and spoke clearly.
"Where are they?"
Asuma visibly relaxed. He knew these hounds well—if they had found them, it meant Naruto and Shikamaru were safe.
"Naruto and Shikamaru are in a standalone shelter inside the village. One of Jiraiya-sama's shadow clones has been with them the whole time."
"Sasuke is at the southernmost ravine in this forest. He's heading back toward the village now."
The hounds answered in turn.
A strange glint flashed through Kakashi's eyes.
"Sasuke isn't injured?"
"No,"
the hound wearing the Konoha headband shook its head, sounding slightly surprised.
"Not only is he unhurt—he also captured a Sand ninja."
"I see."
Kakashi nodded lightly. "Good work. You can return."
Kikyo Arena
The spectators in the stands stared in shock toward the thick smoke billowing beyond the outer wall. After a while, two ANBU burst through the smoke and leapt onto the arena wall, then vaulted onto the roof of the main stand.
"Report to Danzō-sama! The Barrier Team deployed the Regeneration Barrier in time. The explosion breached the eastern wall, but the aftershock was contained—no casualties!"
"Fighting elsewhere in the village has ended. The Sand and Sound ninja who invaded have all surrendered!"
"Maintain the barrier! Immediately contact the Search Unit and the Sealing Unit—come with me to subdue Shukaku. Everyone else stay here and protect the daimyo and civilians!"
Danzō leaned on his cane, issuing orders with a stern expression.
"Wait."
Jiraiya stepped forward, his face grave.
"As one of the village's advisors, Danzō-sama should remain here to stabilize the daimyo and the crowd. Subduing Shukaku can be handled by me and the combat units."
"That won't do."
Danzō turned sharply, his left eye opening.
"Jiraiya, you know better than anyone—your top priority right now is to personally ensure that child's safety! The Barrier Team cannot withstand two tailed beasts at once!"
"You said you brought that child to a shelter earlier—that alone makes me uneasy. Everyone here remembers exactly what kind of disaster the Nine-Tails Night was!"
The moment he finished speaking, everyone on the rooftop went pale, their gazes snapping toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya frowned.
"I checked Naruto's seal myself—and I even had Yamato—"
"There's no time for this!"
Danzō slammed his cane down and turned away.
"Move out!"
Jiraiya shook his head, watching as Danzō and two ANBU leapt off the roof. After a moment's thought, he turned and left in the direction he had come from, ignoring the tense looks around him.
"Sir! When the Tailed Beast Ball exploded, the Barrier Team detected another extremely terrifying chakra signature at Shukaku's location! Several patrol units also reported seeing a ferocious giant in the sky firing a lightning arrow that pierced straight through Shukaku!"
"Hatake Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma were also seen at the location where Shukaku disappeared. In addition, the Tactical Analysis Unit discovered traces of the Fourth Kazekage—"
"You're saying the Fourth Kazekage isn't dead?"
Danzō stopped abruptly, his expression darkening.
"Is that information confirmed?"
"Not yet,"
the ANBU shook his head.
"The Barrier Team said the Fourth Kazekage's chakra appeared suddenly, without warning. And before that, they detected another unfamiliar chakra fluctuating rapidly at the scene. Because the Hyūga clan was reassigned, they couldn't identify the individual."
"This suggests someone deliberately used espionage tactics to mislead the sensory units. Whether it was Kabuto or Orochimaru is unclear—but based on Kakashi and Asuma's movement direction, the One-Tail's jinchūriki has likely already been taken away."
"A suddenly reappearing Fourth Kazekage…"
Danzō looked over the scarred terrain, his eyes gleaming coldly.
"Orochimaru really did have another plan. No matter—despite some deviations, the situation is still developing in my favor."
A few minutes later, Kakashi and Asuma regrouped with Danzō and the Sealing and Search Units.
High Above the Clouds
Ten thousand meters up, the silver-white Firefly airship streaked past the coast of the Land of Fire, heading steadily toward the Land of Spring.
Inside a corridor aboard the Firefly, three Narutos followed behind another Naruto.
The one in front had crimson, slit pupils and an excited expression. The other three looked utterly resigned.
"Kurama, Shukaku's Tailed Beast Ball didn't work. Disappointed?"
"Tch. Why would I be disappointed in an idiot who can't even beat a brat with a three-tomoe Sharingan?"
"Well… Shukaku was provoked by you and fired the Tailed Beast Ball without preparation. He didn't have time to deal with Sasuke's forbidden technique. If—"
"If what?!"
Kurama snapped.
"Didn't that stupid tanuki always brag about having 'absolute defense'? Later, you'd better ask him properly—how did that so-called defense fail against an Uchiha brat's Storm Release?"
"…Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Hm? Isobu, what exactly is wrong with it?"
"..."
In another part of the ship, Naruto stood by a window with Hyūga Hiashi, in the same room where they had spoken for the first time.
"Hinata and the others are having a hard time accepting it,"
Hiashi said quietly, gazing out at the clouds.
"That's understandable,"
Naruto smiled faintly.
"They were the last to learn the truth."
"But are they struggling to accept that Konoha drove their uncle to death… or the fact that they'll soon be leaving Konoha behind?"
"…Both,"
Hiashi sighed, then turned and handed Naruto a wrist guard.
"You should keep the money and use it to resettle your clan. Shinobi of the Land of Spring don't take missions."
Naruto's smile deepened meaningfully.
"Besides—the Hyūga have already given me what I needed."
Mount Myōboku
"To be honest, I'm a little surprised."
Naruto looked at the three founders of the Great Sage Lands and smiled.
"Seeing the three of you acting in such unity—did you already foresee my arrival here, or have the three lands effectively merged?"
"We can no longer foresee your actions,"
the Great Toad Sage replied sincerely.
"We waited together today because we had already seen this meeting itself."
"I see."
Naruto nodded, then sighed regretfully.
"What a pity. If the three great sage lands truly merged, it would be fascinating."
"Since you've already foreseen this meeting, you must know why I came today."
The Great Toad Sage nodded.
"The Six-Tails' jinchūriki is being protected by the shrine maiden. He is currently the next shrine maiden's teacher."
"With two prophets nearby, no wonder Kirigakure's search teams never found him."
Naruto blinked, then asked curiously,
"Sage-sama—are there any prophecies you could tell me, but chose not to?"
"There are none,"
the Great Toad Sage replied calmly.
"As long as you wish to know, we can tell you."
"But you are not Jiraiya. If we were to reveal future fragments without being asked, you would doubt our intentions."
Naruto broke into a bright grin—blue eyes, blond hair, radiating warmth.
"You're absolutely right. Honestly, I enjoy working with the three of you very much. With sages who can see the future, I barely need to say anything at all."
Poof.
Naruto vanished in smoke, leaving behind two kunai on the stone seat.
"Toad Sage,"
the White Snake Sage said slowly,
"I only saw that he would send Kabuto to Ryūchi Cave to train in senjutsu—but I didn't see myself teaching him any specific method or technique."
With a slap of her hand, a tentacle shot out from the seat, wrapped the kunai, and flicked them toward her before retracting.
"I saw myself teaching all of Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu to that red-haired girl,"
the Slug Sage said softly.
A small slug slid from her body, scurried over, picked up the other kunai, and returned to merge with her.
"You heard them,"
the Great Toad Sage said, turning to the White Snake Sage.
"Don't repeat the mistake you made back then. We have no other options now."
Land of Spring – Nightfall
Sasuke stepped into Naruto's laboratory.
"My right eye has evolved into a three-tomoe Sharingan as well!"
He stared at Naruto with blazing crimson eyes.
Naruto smiled lightly.
"Are you sure those are your eyes? You didn't secretly clone the three-tomoe Sharingan I gave you earlier just to fool me, did you?"
Sasuke's face darkened instantly. He stepped forward until he was less than a meter away.
"You know these are my eyes."
"Calm down."
Naruto waved helplessly.
"I'm just a shadow clone. I can't give you what you want—but today, I did recover some Uchiha property for you."
"Uchiha property?"
Sasuke froze.
"What property? Where's your real body? What is he doing right now?"
"My real body is in Konoha,"
Naruto replied casually.
"As for what he's doing—I don't know. But come to the cultivation room and you'll understand."
Naruto walked past Sasuke toward the exit.
Sasuke hesitated, his expression shifting several times—then clenched his teeth and followed.
Moments later, an enraged howl echoed from the cultivation chamber.
Konoha – Naruto's House
On the second-floor balcony, Jiraiya leaned against the railing, staring into the distance with a heavy expression.
After a long while, two figures appeared.
"Jiraiya-sama, Yamato said you wanted to see me?"
Kakashi and Yamato stood below.
"The door's open. Come up,"
Jiraiya said gravely.
"There are things about Naruto I need to explain to you."
Kakashi and Yamato exchanged a glance and entered. Through the window, they saw Naruto lying on his side on the bed, apparently asleep. They didn't stop and continued to the room where Jiraiya waited.
At the doorway, Kakashi suddenly stopped.
"…Senpai?" Yamato asked.
Kakashi shook his head and stepped inside. Yamato relaxed slightly and followed.
Mirror World
Naruto watched as Kakashi and Yamato stood before Jiraiya—then he dissolved into light.
The next instant, Kakashi and Yamato found their bodies covered in black curse markings. Someone tapped their lower backs, and the world spun—
They now stood inside a laboratory.
They froze.
Five Narutos wearing white lab coats stood before them.
"That's impossible—!"
"That was the Flying Thunder God… Sensei Minato's jutsu! The 'fox' Shukaku screamed about—it was you!"
"Oh?"
Naruto smiled.
"You pieced all that together instantly? Impressive, Kakashi-senpai. But didn't you tell Asuma earlier that you didn't hear anything?"
Before Kakashi could answer, another Naruto—wearing a gray combat outfit—stepped out from behind them.
"Naruto, you—!"
Yamato barely started speaking before his vision went black.
"Yamato!"
Kakashi's right eye narrowed sharply. Chakra surged beneath his left eye-patch.
"Hm?"
Naruto appeared behind him, pressing a palm against his back.
A black sealing formula flashed—Kakashi's chakra flow cut off instantly.
Green chakra flared.
Thud.
Kakashi collapsed.
"Naruto~"
Kushina's voice echoed softly.
"Don't worry, Mom,"
Naruto replied calmly.
"I'm just changing Kakashi-senpai's eye. He did babysit us for ten months, after all."
He placed Kakashi onto an operating table. Yamato was carried downstairs to the cultivation room by a shadow clone.
Warning: Unknown will detected.
Erase immediately?
Erasure complete. Data analysis initiated.
Analysis complete.
Foreign energy detected. Absorb into host?
Foreign energy detected. Absorb into host?
"…Hm?"
Naruto paused in front of a mirror, about to test Kamui, when the Mirror World produced further prompts—different from anything before.
Inside the seal, the four tailed beasts stirred silently, exchanging glances with Kushina.
"Naruto… that voice is getting annoying," Kushina said.
"I know."
Naruto thought carefully.
So far, the Mirror World had mentioned "energy" only three times—once when it first activated, once when he used Idu's ability earlier that day… and now.
He ignored the prompts, created two shadow clones, and sat down.
He would test it later—using cloned bodies first.
Whoosh!
Naruto returned Kakashi to his house and used the Mind Body Switch Technique to send him back safely. The moment Naruto re-entered his own body, Sasuke sent a communication request.
Naruto didn't respond immediately.
He had just reviewed Sasuke's memories—and discovered something fascinating.
After blowing Shukaku apart with his forbidden technique, Sasuke had imagined killing Uchiha Itachi. That fantasy caused an extreme emotional surge—and his right eye evolved into a three-tomoe Sharingan.
Sasuke immediately withdrew the chakra he had woven into Root's surveillance barrier monitoring Gaara. If Yamanaka Fū hadn't already been one of Naruto's world subordinates, Sasuke would have been exposed on the spot.
At the time, Naruto had been busy controlling Jiraiya to separate Yamato from Danzō, while his main body was performing Edo Tensei experiments using captured Sound ninja and forbidden vault guards.
After learning this, Naruto could only sigh.
The Sharingan really can't be explained by common sense.
Even imagination alone could trigger evolution.
Shaking his head, Naruto used Flying Thunder God to appear beside Sasuke.
"You finally came!"
Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse.
Naruto looked indifferent.
"What's the rush? Once the Fifth Hokage is decided, I'll let you see the truth behind the Uchiha massacre with your own eyes."
"Why?"
Sasuke's face twisted.
"Both my eyes are already three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"So what?"
Naruto sneered.
"Is three-tomoe really that impressive?"
"You—!"
Sasuke clenched his fists, fury, hatred, and madness flashing across his face.
Naruto expected him to erupt.
Instead, Sasuke took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and spoke a single word.
"…Fine."
Nara Clan Grounds
Shikamaru lay on a stone marker on a slope, a piece of dry grass in his mouth.
Tap.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
"You're here?"
"Yeah,"
Naruto replied calmly.
"I'm here to give my friend a chance."
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