The remaining half of the Nine-Tails, or rather Kurama, revealed its location without resistance during the extraction. Though the process left everyone utterly exhausted, the ninth eye of the Gedo Statue finally opened. After resting for two days, the group set out for the Moon, including Karin as a backup member and Naruto Uzumaki following closely beside Jiraiya.
Neither Naruto nor Karin had ever been to the Moon before. Shion, well-prepared for the journey, was the first to speak upon seeing the two peers. His tone was unusually enthusiastic.
"Hey, you're from the Uzumaki clan, right? We're distant relatives, you know?"
Even Naruto found himself distracted by Shion's words. Obito sighed and rubbed the silver curls of the half-grown boy, muttering, "Stop with the 'distant relative' talk. Are you ready?"
Shion stuck out his tongue and clutched Nagato's arm, dodging Obito's fingers. "All ready!" Then, swinging Nagato's arm with a pleading tone, he added, "Nagato-kun, let me see the Gedo Statue! I've never seen a real one in my life~"
"Finally." A slightly hoarse voice echoed from behind. Everyone turned around, including Jiraiya, utterly surprised to see Orochimaru here. Nagato frowned slightly. Looking at this former traitor, all he felt was irritation, amplified by the radical changes in Orochimaru's appearance.
"You are… Orochimaru?" Didara spoke first. He had met Orochimaru years ago, and back then, Orochimaru had looked nothing like the youthful figure before them now. From hairstyle to attire—a plain-colored kimono—it almost gave him the air of a refined young gentleman.
"Long time no see, Pain," Orochimaru said, ignoring Didara, focusing his greeting solely on the former leader.
"You dare show your face here." Nagato's words were merely a symbolic warning. Orochimaru had once coveted his Rinnegan and was beaten down, then set his sights on the Sharingan and was stopped again, eventually fleeing the organization. Any of these acts alone would make Nagato disdain him, let alone working alongside him—but because of Konan…
—This guy had been receiving treatment from Orochimaru all these years.
Obito remarked.
"Well, don't get so worked up. I didn't expect Pain's true form to be a war orphan. Honestly, you should have been killed back then," Orochimaru said with a smirk, glancing at Jiraiya, whose expression darkened. He deliberately provoked him. "So, Jiraiya, regrets now? Should've done as I said back then."
If Jiraiya didn't respond, the situation could get dangerous—but his words weren't just for that reason. Even without it, he would fiercely retort to Orochimaru.
"Don't compare me to you, Orochimaru."
It seemed mild, but in that room, Jiraiya's words carried a ruthless weight.
Shion tugged at Nagato's arm and innocently asked his distant relative, "Nagato-kun, you don't like Orochimaru-sama?"
Naïve and untainted, Shion asked without understanding the complex history. He hadn't seen much of the world, let alone wars, and couldn't grasp the tangled chain linking Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Akatsuki. So Nagato simply nodded lightly, answering with a soft "Hmm."
Shion looked from his relative to the unrelated Orochimaru and nodded too.
"Then I don't like him either."
A childlike declaration, pure as a five-year-old's, despite Shion being over fifteen—a reflection of innocence and naivety, like those white eyes that didn't belong to him.
"I say, we didn't come here to chat, right?" Obito tried steering the conversation back on track. The final step was almost done; he just wanted to finish this and eliminate the world's potential threat.
"Let's go." Nagato lifted his foot, moving toward the artificial sun. The group followed. Obito added, in a tone unnecessary to the explanation, "Orochimaru is here because I called him. Just in case."
Orochimaru's presence had no other reason than Konan requesting him. The Akatsuki members weren't pleased, and neither was Itachi. Nagato wasn't naive—Obito could fool others, but not him.
"This is serious. Let past grudges wait; we'll address them later," Nagato stated. Konan gave him a skeptical glance but remained silent.
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, stepping onto the floating stone platform as if it were second nature.
"Exactly," he said, looking back at everyone. "Though I don't wish to team up with you, I won't refuse someone asking for help. To the point: activating the Gedo Statue is not like becoming a Jinchuriki. Any mistake could ruin all the preparations. I won't tell you how much effort I've spent achieving this state, but if anyone fails now, my… experiment site is doomed."
He deliberately referred to the world as his "experiment site."
Nagato stopped Hidan from interrupting and said, "We don't need a lecture on how important this mission is. Get to the point."
"The point is, if any of your wills are devoured by the statue, everything we've prepared could be destroyed."
"My will?" Jiraiya frowned. "What? The statue has a will?"
By now, they had reached the edge of the artificial sun, stepping down from the floating stairway. Orochimaru pushed open the locked door, abandoning all jest.
"Exactly. To put it simply: Kaguya was merely the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. Each of the nine tailed beasts within her retained their own will. Counting the statue itself, there are ten wills. The Ten-Tails has been sealed for years, and this is the first time they're fully united. Naturally, their wills resist strongly. Activating the statue triggers this resistance—it's far more complex than being a Jinchuriki. So if—"
"Wow!!!!"
Naruto's exclamation cut him off, wide-eyed at the sight he had never seen before.
Everyone looked back in confusion. Seeing their gaze, Naruto froze, then apologized sheepishly. "S-Sorry… I just… thought it was amazing." He pointed at the massive fissure, innocence written all over his expression.
Orochimaru sneered, mocking the little Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"'Amazing,' huh? Naruto-kun, every time you use the tailed beast's power, this place expands. Eventually, it could swallow the entire world. You'd still think it's amazing then?"
Though spoken gently, the words were impossible for Naruto to answer. Jiraiya scowled, glaring at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, enough! Naruto has nothing to do with this!"
His protective instincts were obvious. Orochimaru merely shrugged, calmly facing his old companion.
"All shinobi are involved, Jiraiya. You have no idea who really caused this world to become like this."
"Hmph. Don't act like you suddenly care about the world. You're the one who started wars, attacked villages. Don't pretend, Orochimaru. You're just as guilty."
"What, are you here to dodge responsibility?"
The tension was palpable. The rumored poor relationship between the legendary Sannin was indeed true. Nagato pinched the bridge of his nose; he had never witnessed such a verbal battle between his teacher and another shinobi.
"Wait! Orochimaru, can you hold your tongue? Jiraiya, you too! Finish this first, then argue!"
Obito, a disciple of the Fourth Hokage, spoke.
Jiraiya froze, saying nothing further. Orochimaru snorted, turning away, appearing entirely indifferent—an almost tsundere-like air.
Obito breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the interrupted topic.
"I brought him just in case. Activating the statue requires a massive chakra link between us and the statue, needing ten people. The nine of us plus Jiraiya make ten. While exiling the Ten-Tails, Shion can open a small gap using the Reanimation Eye, maintaining spatial curvature, but can't assist directly. This process is extremely dangerous—if anyone falters, we switch immediately. Now is not the time for stubborn pride."
"I don't trust him."
He spoke first, glaring at Orochimaru with utter disdain. Orochimaru shrugged, innocent as ever.
"I don't trust you either. Coincidentally, our goals align, and I arrived here first. If anyone shouldn't be trusted, it's you."
"It's too late to talk about trust now," Nagato said, his voice unreadable.
"Our goals are the same. After this, do as you please."
A simple statement, yet uncharacteristic of Nagato. Even Konan was taken aback. Everyone knew he disliked Orochimaru, so nobody expected him to trust him in a moment like this.