Deep within Naruto Uzumaki's heart, he met the Nine-Tails.
Crouching within a massive dark-gold iron cage, the Tailed Beast laughed with malicious glee.
["So you've finally come here, Naruto Uzumaki."]
"...."
["Want to use my power? Destroy everything to your heart's content! Channel your inner rage and despair, unleash our power, and obliterate those you hate—this world you despise—in one fell swoop!"]
"...."
Naruto stared at the cursed seal on the dark-gold cage, his inner struggle lingering for a moment. Occasionally, fragments of memories flashed through his mind. The moment he learned of the Pervy Sage's death—for some reason, the image of the Fourth Hokage from that night appeared.
Though it seemed he could hear nothing but the Nine-Tails' voice, when that scene surfaced in his mind, he distinctly heard a crisp 'snap'. It was the sound of the Fourth breaking apart a double ice pop, offering him half.
"You'll bring Sasuke back, won't you? No matter what obstacles lie ahead."
"Yeah, of course."
"Actually, you could look at it this way: your father, mother, and Jiraiya-sensei are watching you from another world. They're hoping to see you grow, to see your dreams—and theirs—come true in the near future."
"The Pervy Sage and my parents' dreams?"
"They hope you become Hokage and lead this ninja world toward peace. Never forget—from the day you were born until you turned eighteen, they trusted you completely and protected you."
That conversation hung like a shackle, pulling tightly on Naruto Uzumaki's last shred of humanity. Just as on that day, had Iruka Umino, like Mizuki, grown to despise Naruto for being the Nine-Tails's Jinchūriki, Naruto might have left Konoha then and there to walk another path.
["Hmph, indecisive brat."]
The Nine-Tails had believed this was the moment to seize Naruto Uzumaki's body outright, never expecting he still possessed a psychological defense!
...
Though Naruto Uzumaki was now trapped within the depths of his own mind and the Nine-Tails', his chaotic self still fought a desperate battle against Pain! This time, Pain had truly met his match!
In utter despair, Naruto transformed into a muddy, pitch-black fox state—one that even feared not the Shinra Tensei!
Pain used the Shinra Tensei as a shield, while the rampaging demon fox tore it apart with biological chakra?!
The shredded Shinra Tensei became utterly useless. Naruto flung Pain across the riverbank like a stone skipping water!!
In this abnormal battle, those rock-hard stones seemed as fragile as cookies to them. They smashed them to smithereens at will!
Naruto Uzumaki, enveloped in pitch-black chakra, tilted his head back. Dark crimson and luminous blue energy molecules gathered before him...
"Wait! That's—"
The young Obito Uchiha had seen it once before, in the forest outside Konoha. It was...
"The Tailed Beast Bomb!!"
"Watch out!"
Minato Namikaze and the Senju brothers knew a Tailed Beast Bomb's power too well. They ordered the Konoha ninjas who had come to watch the battle to evacuate immediately!
Just then!
"Banshō Ten'in!!"
It was Pain! Pain used Banshō Ten'in to interrupt Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb!!
"Everyone! Use your chakra to anchor yourselves to the ground!"
Minato Namikaze shouted.
The moment his words ended...
"BOOM----!"
The entire sky and water surface were bathed in an orange-red glow!
The incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb exploded on Naruto Uzumaki's own body. The deafening roar was ear-splitting! The resulting shockwave sent flying many who hadn't managed to anchor themselves to the ground in time!
"Is this really safe?..."
Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju could distinctly sense Naruto Uzumaki's chakra growing ever larger! And increasingly corrupt, chaotic.
Minato Namikaze stared intently at the battlefield. Chaos reigned, dust everywhere. Analyzing the situation with his eyes alone caused a slight delay.
"Truly worthy of the Nine-Tails. But only such power meets my expectations." Pain stood before the Nine-Tails, taunting.
Then he changed tactics, leading Naruto—now transformed into a beast—away in another direction.
"Shifting the battlefield again?!"
"What exactly is Pain's goal?!!"
"We're getting farther and farther from Konoha!"
"Too fast! Don't lose sight of them!"
Minato left a Flying Thunder God kunai behind for the Konoha ninja who couldn't keep up with their speed and had to return to the village.
"Please preserve Kakashi's body for me. And the bodies of the ninja who died in this battle—preserve them as well. Don't dispose of them too quickly."
What if there really was a way to save everyone, but someone had already cremated them in haste?!
Young Obito Uchiha: "You absolutely must preserve them! If that jerk Kakashi really is dead, my counterpart in this world is going to lose it. He might ditch the Infinite Tsukuyomi and unleash Infinite Amaterasu instead—that would be terrifying too!"
Seeing the Konoha ninja nod solemnly, the three Edo Tensei Hokage and Young Obito activated their Kamui and pursued relentlessly.
"Pain must be guiding Naruto toward his true body!"
"That Uzumaki clan member, Nagato?!"
"Yes!"
Just as the three Hokage had suspected, within the dark, paper-lined tree hollow, the emaciated Nagato—unable to move his legs—prepared to unleash the Rinnegan's most powerful sealing technique...
"Chibaku Tensei."
"Nagato!" Konan frowned deeply. "This technique is too taxing for your body! You don't need to push yourself this far!"
"No..."
Nagato pressed his palms together, his voice trembling. "I must obtain the Nine-Tails quickly and fulfill our long-held wish."
Who would have thought that Madara Uchiha was actually Obito Uchiha from Konoha? This betrayal, striking at the very foundation, had caught Nagato off guard!
The Fourth Hokage was so cunning—he had his student fake his death all those years ago to infiltrate Akatsuki as a double agent!
Nagato, misunderstanding the Fourth Hokage's intentions, feared that if he died, Konan would fall into Obito's hands, or worse, Konoha's. He had to leave the tailed beast weapon to Konan before his death, giving her the means to survive and stand against Konoha and the other ninja villages.
"Nagato..."
"Quiet, Konan. I need to concentrate."
Outside the tree hollow...
When the three Hokage and Young Obito arrived, they saw the earth defying gravity—trees and rocks were being sucked skyward by a powerful gravitational pull!
Gradually, a massive rock sphere began to form in the sky.
"What is he doing?!"
Young Obito exclaimed in shock.
Remembering the "masked man" who had bolted without so much as a goodbye, Young Obito couldn't help but grumble. "At a time like this, the other me isn't staying put to help stop Pain! What the hell is he doing, meeting his counterpart in this world and Black Zetsu?!"
Complaints aside, what made them more nervous now was the sphere growing larger and larger!
Even Naruto, standing on the ground, was sucked skyward, along with the very earth beneath his feet!
"It's Fūinjutsu!"
Tobirama Senju: "Pain intends to seal Naruto inside that colossal sphere!"
"Seal the Nine-Tails into stone?! Is that even possible?!"
"Don't forget what that man, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, said. Think carefully about how the moon came to be!"
Tobirama Senju wasn't exaggerating. Ōtsutsuki Hamura had indeed mentioned that the moon was created when he and his brother, the Rikudō Sennin, sealed their mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!
Minato swallowed hard. That shape gradually forming—wasn't that just a low-grade version of the moon?!
Hashirama Senju: "What astonishing chakra reserves!"
"Indeed," Tobirama nodded. "Apart from Senjutsu and the Uzumaki Clan, I can't think of anyone else who could possess such enormous chakra reserves!"
Witnessing this firsthand, they couldn't deny their shock at the Rinnegan's power.
"Minato-sensei! Shouldn't we really intervene now?!!" The young Obito Uchiha asked again.
Minato gazed at the object streaking across the sky like a meteorite and said in a deep voice, "Wait a little longer... Naruto still holds the final trump card I left behind."
"The last card I left?" After a moment's thought, the others understood. The Edo Tensei Minato Namikaze was referring to the Fourth Hokage of this world!
"Before I died, I sealed my own chakra and Kushina's into Naruto's body."
Minato Namikaze finally revealed the reason he had suppressed himself from rescuing Naruto all this time. It wasn't merely because Naruto bore a destiny he must fulfill alone. More crucially, Minato knew that if the truly critical moment ever arrived, the trump card he had planted sixteen years ago would finally be revealed!
...
["Enough, Naruto Uzumaki."]
["Leave it to me. I'll handle the rest."]
["Or do you still believe there's something in this world worth holding onto?"]
["Face reality. Even if you briefly possess it, the future is destined to take it away."]
"Shut up, Nine Tails!" Deep within his psyche, Naruto Uzumaki raged at the Nine-Tails.
The usually haughty Nine Tails showed no anger this time. Living within Naruto's body, it understood his thoughts perfectly. A wicked smile curled its lips.
Using its own chakra, Nine-Tails slowly lifted Naruto Uzumaki.
["Tear it off."]
["That damn cursed seal..."]
["Tear it off!!"]