"Whether they cooperate in good faith isn't important," Naruto said calmly.
"I can tell they already know I left a mark on that stone pillar. That means they've seen the future where I return to Mount Myōboku. In other words, a cooperative relationship is inevitable."
After speaking, he formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone.
"If I openly ask them for the method to cultivate senjutsu," Naruto continued, "do you think they'll give it to me?"
"They definitely will," the clone replied, clenching its fist. When it raised its head, its eyes had turned into vertical crimson slits.
"But what they give you will probably be no different from what you already know. As for the future, Naruto, you should use Shadow Clones every day—"
"Enough!"
Kurama suddenly roared mid-sentence.
The Shadow Clone's eyes instantly returned to Naruto's original clear blue.
"They're telling you to create four more Shadow Clones," the clone said simply.
With that, it used Flying Thunder God and vanished.
Naruto's expression shifted slightly. In truth, even before the clone spoke, he had already received similar requests from the other tailed beasts. He formed seals again and split into four more Shadow Clones.
Each clone's pupils immediately changed into different shapes.
"Hmph! Three annoying bastards!"
One clone shot a vicious glare at the other three, then strode toward the exit.
The remaining three exchanged strange smiles.
"Isobu, you should open your other eye. You look weird like that."
"So… what should we do now? I've never controlled a human body like this before."
"I want to see the ice fields."
"What's so interesting about that? Let's find that kid Gen'yoshi and have him take us to the Firefly ship. Keijirō's been inventing all kinds of fun gadgets again."
"Heh—human toys are boring. But… taking a look wouldn't hurt."
"Should we ask Kurama first?"
"…"
The three clones chatted nonstop as they followed the first clone out. Just before reaching the doorway, one of them suddenly sprouted insect-like wings and flew straight out.
"They went to the Mirror World?"
After all four clones disappeared, Naruto shifted his consciousness into the mental world.
There, only his mother walked toward him with a smile. The four tailed beasts lay sprawled out, completely motionless.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Kushina said warmly, "I'd never believe humans and tailed beasts could get along like this. It's incredible that you managed to do something like this, Naruto."
As she spoke, she held Naruto's hand and tapped it lightly.
Naruto immediately felt his seal respond. A brilliant red torii gate descended from above and landed in front of them.
"Mom, you can control it too?"
Naruto's heart stirred.
"Does that mean you've already figured out the secret of this seal?"
"No," Kushina replied seriously.
"I carefully examined your seal just now, and discovered that this layer existed before you ever became a jinchūriki."
"But that's impossible," Naruto frowned.
"Before I became a jinchūriki, there were only Aunt Biwako and that mysterious person pres—hm?"
Naruto suddenly smiled.
"Sasuke's contacting me again."
Naruto already knew that the chakra his mother left behind functioned differently from his father's. Minato had used sealing techniques to bind Kushina's residual chakra directly to Naruto's spiritual world.
Although Kushina claimed she didn't know what Naruto usually thought about, strangely enough—even signals Sasuke sent through the Phantom Transmission Technique could be received by her.
"…Mom isn't lying to me, is she?"
Naruto shook his head, withdrew from the mental world, and accepted Sasuke's signal.
"I thought you'd be the one to contact me first."
Sasuke's projection stared directly into Naruto's eyes. Something about his demeanor felt off.
"I'll contact you when it's necessary," Naruto replied evenly, while secretly diverting part of his consciousness to the Mirror World.
"So what now?" Sasuke asked, light flashing in his eyes.
"Do I handle this myself, or have you already made arrangements?"
"Kakashi won't become a problem for you," Naruto said calmly, smiling slightly.
"And he won't become a problem for me either."
"Your acting is terrible, and your genjutsu is sloppy," Naruto continued, unfazed.
"But showing Kakashi your most tragic past was a very smart move."
"I'm glad you learned how to exploit others' sympathy to buy yourself time. You turned a complicated situation into a simple one."
"Damn it!"
Sasuke felt irritated. He had thought he was close to probing Naruto's secrets—only to be mocked again.
"Why couldn't Kakashi see through this bastard's disguise?!"
"That's because someone testified for me."
Sasuke's pupils shrank.
"What did you say?!"
"How many years has it been?" Naruto said with a hint of disappointment.
"Compared to your brother—who can control his emotions freely—you're still far behind."
"Being seen through by Kakashi was inevitable."
"You—!"
Sasuke was about to snap back.
"Relax. I'm not finished," Naruto waved him off.
"Do you know why Kakashi never suspected me?"
"…You said someone testified for you," Sasuke said slowly.
Then he froze.
A possibility dawned on him, and he stared at Naruto in disbelief.
"…Has Konoha always—"
"Since you've figured it out, don't look so shocked," Naruto chuckled.
"I was raised under the Third Hokage's watchful eye. Even if Kakashi suspected me, he'd still have to get past the old man first."
Sasuke fell silent.
After a while, he asked a question he had asked before.
"What exactly… are you?"
"You'll know soon enough," Naruto replied.
With that, he cut off the Phantom Transmission.
Mount Myōboku
A few minutes earlier—
Naruto sat atop the central stone pillar in the great hall. His pupils were slit vertically, golden flame-like chakra enveloping his body, and his expression was unreadable.
"Three Great Sages," Naruto said calmly,
"Have you still not decided how to answer me?"
"I came here sincerely to discuss cooperation. Logically speaking, you should have already seen a future where we reach an agreement."
"But what's happening now doesn't match what I expected at all."
On the three stone pillars opposite him, the White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage both turned their gazes toward the Great Toad Sage.
"I did not see you cultivate the senjutsu of our Three Great Sage Regions," the Great Toad Sage said slowly.
"But since you've asked, we can naturally provide senjutsu."
"As for the other power within you… I believe one of your companions inside you understands it far better than I do."
As he spoke, the Great Toad Sage removed his doctoral cap and produced a scroll from within it.
The White Snake Sage removed a bead from her neck, while the Slug Sage shed a palm-sized slug from her body.
At that moment, Naruto was communicating with the four tailed beasts inside him.
"Do you really not sense that power at all?"
"No sensation whatsoever. Is it referring to the additional seal inside Naruto?"
"We all recognize that thing. It doesn't seem special."
"Can we trust what it said?"
"So far, nothing suspicious. It even told us the identity of the mastermind hidden in the shinobi world."
"To think that guy was a contingency Kaguya left behind before being sealed… no wonder he could alter the Sage's stone tablet."
"…"
After a moment, Naruto looked back at the Great Toad Sage.
"Sage, which 'friend' were you referring to just now?"
"Of course—the one with the most tails," the Great Toad Sage said, staring straight at Naruto.
"A thousand years ago, it assisted the owner of that power—and his brother—more than once."
"Asura!"
Inside the mental world, Kurama's expression shook with disbelief. The other three tailed beasts were equally stunned.
At the same time, just as Naruto was about to return to Konoha, Isobu emerged from the Mirror World with good news.
"Kakuzu has already captured Hyakuzō and brought him to the bounty exchange?"
Naruto immediately altered his appearance and used Flying Thunder God, arriving in an upstairs room of an inn he had purchased in the Land of Waterfall.
After dispelling the Shadow Clone stationed there, Naruto stepped onto the balcony and waited quietly for word from the exchange.
The inn was close by. News would come soon.
Half an hour later—
"Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you curious how this guy's still alive in this condition?!"
"As long as he's alive, that's enough."
"Damn it! Kakuzu, are you done counting yet?! Can I hand him over already? Or at least let the exchange watch him?!"
"Not yet. There's still eighty million ryō that needs to be verified."
"Bastard! You've only counted ten million in all this time!"
Inside a sealed chamber at the exchange, Hidan paced around a table nonstop, cursing loudly. Even his iconic triple-bladed scythe was embedded in the floor, its rope tied to a transparent glass container over a meter tall.
The container was filled with nutrient solution.
Inside it floated Hyakuzō—limbless, reduced to only his upper torso.
Hyakuzō truly had terrible luck.
After barely escaping the Immortal Duo once, he had resolved to fully convert himself into a human puppet. But just as he sealed himself inside this container, his subordinates returned—bringing Kakuzu straight into his lair.
And so, he was delivered here as a bounty.
Naruto stared at the container, wondering whether the Shadow Clone at Mount Myōboku had asked about the Dragon Vein.
He seriously doubted whether a Hyakuzō in this state could still become the historical An Lushan.
"…That clone should be sending back information soon."
Mount Myōboku
The golden chakra around Naruto had vanished.
He now stared calmly at a massive crystal ball floating in the great hall, scene after vivid scene flickering within.
"So he truly was Asura's reincarnation—and not just once."
"More accurately, Asura and Indra's chakra attached itself to these individuals."
"Why didn't the old man tell us?"
"He didn't have time. By then, we had already separated from his body. Even his departure to that world was only conveyed to us through Asura."
"If Asura's chakra is on Naruto, then where is Indra's?"
"What?! Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were the previous incarnations of Asura and Indra?!"
"…Uh. Except for Shukaku, we were all captured by those two."
"Kurama… do you think Naruto might—"
"No!" Kurama snapped.
"We all know Naruto's capabilities. And if he had known this earlier, why wouldn't he have exploited it from the start?"
"Why would he plan to free me after the Konoha Crush?"
"And don't forget—he even asked whether we wanted to leave his body someday!"
"…I'm not saying I believe it. I'm just saying—doesn't this sound exactly like something Asura would do?"
"Hmph! You know what you're thinking—but don't forget, we tailed beasts aren't human!"
"…"
The crystal ball's images faded away. The last scene Naruto saw was Uchiha Madara's death at the Valley of the End.
The Great Toad Sage raised a hand, and the crystal ball shrank and flew back to him.
"We've told you everything you wished to know," he said solemnly.
"We've also agreed to your request—you may freely enter any of the Three Great Sage Regions to cultivate senjutsu."
"You may also summon our highest combat forces to the shinobi world at any time."
"Thank you."
Naruto stood up from the stone seat and smiled.
"I'm very satisfied with this fair transaction."
Poof!
Naruto dispersed into smoke.
All that remained on the seat were a bead, a scroll, and a small slug swaying its tentacles.
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