Truth Behind the Nine-Tails Attack

Senya's single sentence directly exposed Jiraiya's reason for coming, making Jiraiya realize just how extraordinary the young man before him was.

He had only returned to the village yesterday afternoon, and only decided on tonight's test after the old man entrusted him with it last night. Yet Senya had seen through it at a glance.

It seemed tonight's test was doomed to yield nothing. He did not even know how he would explain it to the old man afterward.

Jiraiya walked into the courtyard and looked around. The entire backyard appeared newly built, save for an ancient tree rooted in the middle of the yard, looking somewhat out of place among everything else. Its leaves had withered away, its trunk covered in scars left by flames. The remaining dead branches and fallen leaves were gray-white, battered and broken.

The two walked beneath the dead tree and sat on two stone stools.

Jiraiya spoke first.

"I didn't expect you to already know why I came. But I'm curious—how did you know? Couldn't I simply have come on a whim, wanting to see this Uchiha genius for myself?"

Senya silently shook his head.

"Lord Jiraiya, you have spent years traveling outside the village. Now, at such a critical time, you suddenly return to Konoha. Other than the Hokage, who is also your teacher, no one else should have the authority to summon you back."

Only then did Jiraiya realize that as long as the one who came was him, his purpose had already been exposed.

Since Senya had answered the question in his heart, Jiraiya no longer wanted to beat around the bush and decided to speak plainly.

"Since you already know why I came to visit tonight, how do you plan to handle this? Will you tell me Uchiha's true intentions, or just brush me off?"

"But if you intend to brush me off, I'm afraid your Uchiha clan won't be able to get past the old man."

Jiraiya stared fixedly at Senya, trying to find even the slightest flaw in his expression.

"Our Uchiha clan's intentions? What intentions could we possibly have? We simply want to live peacefully in the village. Could it be that we plan to betray Konoha?"

Senya said it with a smile.

But Jiraiya was not buying it.

"Although on the surface, your Uchiha clan does seem much improved compared to before, the old man is still concerned about your movements. After all, during the Nine-Tails Attack six years ago, the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes was clearly visible."

As he said this, the atmosphere gradually froze, and displeasure appeared on Senya's face.

"The Nine-Tails Attack was not carried out by Konoha's Uchiha. You weren't in the village that night, so perhaps you don't know. We were watched closely by Root, sent by none other than the Hokage's Assistant. We could not even take part in the rescue effort."

"Wait, Root?"

Jiraiya knew nothing about this. The old man had never told him about it, nor had he said what the Uchiha had done that night. He had only said that an Uchiha controlled the Nine-Tails that night.

But why had Root not joined the battle against the Nine-Tails at such a time? Why had they instead surrounded the Uchiha clan?

For a moment, Jiraiya could not see the truth behind it. He only felt as though he had been swept into a massive, swirling mystery.

"The old man never told me about Root. Please tell me the truth. If this matter has nothing to do with the Uchiha clan, I will certainly clear your name before him."

The air, which had seemed to solidify, appeared to thaw again, and the atmosphere eased.

Senya pointed at the dead tree beside him.

"Do you see this dead tree?"

"What about it?"

Senya reached out and touched the gray-black scars on its bark.

"Compared to this courtyard, don't you think this tree has failed to keep up with the changes? Hasn't it reached the point where it should leave this courtyard?"

Hearing Senya's words, Jiraiya began to ponder. Then his brow suddenly furrowed.

"You want the old man to step down? Why? He may be somewhat wary of your Uchiha clan, but it hasn't reached the point where you Uchiha need to force him from office!"

Jiraiya grew somewhat emotional. No matter what, Hiruzen Sarutobi was his teacher. Though he had not done everything well, he could still be considered a qualified Hokage.

If the Uchiha forced him to step down, it would mean this piece of history would be remembered by the future shinobi world. After all, since the balance among the five great villages had been established, no Kage had ever been forced from office.

Senya pointed again at the ground beneath the tree trunk.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi is fairly competent as Hokage. But what about Danzo? What about Root?"

Jiraiya was becoming impatient. He only felt that Senya was answering beside the point, constantly changing the subject and speaking in riddles.

"I'm asking about the information your Uchiha knew during the Nine-Tails Attack. Stop changing the subject, Senya. My patience is limited!"

Senya looked utterly helpless.

"I'm not passing the buck. But since you can't understand it when I put it that way, I'll say it directly. Whether you believe it or not will depend on your own judgment."

"That night, the Nine-Tails suddenly appeared in the village. Clan Head Fugaku led the Uchiha clan to provide support, but Danzo suddenly brought Root and ordered the Uchiha to remain within the clan compound, forbidden from leaving."

"I don't know how Danzo managed it, but in such a short time, he gathered nearly all of Root's shinobi and directly surrounded the Uchiha clan. At that time, our clan head had only organized a few dozen shinobi."

"Everything was as if it had been arranged in advance. The Nine-Tails and Root moved almost simultaneously."

"This! Was the Uchiha clan's situation that night!"

Senya's words echoed in Jiraiya's ears like a murmur.

Naruto's birth. The tiger-striped Masked Man controlling the Nine-Tails' rampage. The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' pupils. Root's actions. The Uchiha clan trapped within their compound. Minato and his wife's sacrifice. The old man being severely injured.

The message Minato had left him through the ninja toads, the old man's account, and what Senya had just said—these events seemed unrelated, yet each one appeared connected. Everything became increasingly plausible.

So plausible that it seemed like a coincidence.

As his thoughts advanced step by step, Jiraiya finally deduced the answer. But that answer was even more terrifying than the Nine-Tails Attack itself, so terrifying that Jiraiya did not dare believe it.

Seeing the trembling of Jiraiya's pupils and the terror on his face, Senya's purpose was gradually being fulfilled. His earlier back-and-forth had merely been meant to stir Jiraiya's emotions, guiding him to deduce the answer step by step, just as Kakashi had done before.

Seeing that the time was about right, Senya decided it was time to reveal the final, most crucial piece of information. It would be the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing Jiraiya to collapse completely.

"Oh, right. A few days ago, Kakashi also visited me at night, but an uninvited guest interrupted us."

Jiraiya shook his head, still immersed in his thoughts. He had already guessed the mastermind behind it all, but he still lacked crucial evidence.

He wanted to know the truth of that night, yet feared the truth itself.

"This has nothing to do with Kakashi."

"Of course it has nothing to do with Kakashi. I'm talking about that uninvited guest."

Only then did Jiraiya begin paying attention to Senya's words again.

"Who was that uninvited guest?"

"Him? Your student Minato's student. His name was Uchiha Obito."

"Wait? Uchiha Obito? Didn't he die during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge in the Third Shinobi World War? Wasn't Kakashi's Sharingan a gift from Obito?"

Senya raised a hand, signaling Jiraiya not to interrupt and to keep listening.

"What you remember is correct, but Obito didn't die. That night, he appeared wearing a tiger-striped mask and tried to attack Kakashi and me. We discovered his identity, but he ultimately escaped using a space-time ocular technique."

"A space-time ocular technique!"

This time, Jiraiya seized on the key information, because it matched the intelligence Minato had left him back then.

The tiger-striped Masked Man, possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan and capable of space-time ninjutsu—every piece of information matched perfectly.

But why would Obito become the culprit behind the Nine-Tails Attack? He could not think of a reason. This was different from the answer he had originally deduced. He did not know the specific reason, but if Obito alone was the culprit, then the situation was not as terrifying as what he had initially guessed. It was still acceptable.

Only then did Jiraiya let out a breath of relief.

"At this point, Obito not only possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, but had also learned Wood Release."

!!!

Jiraiya's defenses shattered. Successfully replicated Mount Myōboku Sage Mode.

A faint, imperceptible curve once again formed at the corner of Senya's lips. Just as expected, the thing that could be replicated from Jiraiya was definitely Sage Mode.

Wood Release!

This keyword struck deep into Jiraiya's mind like thunder from a clear sky. His previously fearful speculation had become reality—and something even more terrifying.

Jiraiya later learned that Root and Orochimaru had jointly overseen the human experiments involving Wood Release. Only one infant had succeeded, and he was now in the Hokage's direct Anbu, codenamed "Kinoe."

"I understand now. Danzo used the powerful vitality of Wood Release to save Obito and gave him command of Wood Release, even allowing him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Then he staged the Nine-Tails Attack himself in order to kill Minato and the old man, while also suppressing the Uchiha clan, so Danzo himself could become Hokage!"

Jiraiya directly voiced the answer in his mind.

Listening to him, Senya was somewhat impressed by Jiraiya's imagination. Still, there was nothing wrong with understanding it that way. However, some matters still needed to be clarified.

So he told Jiraiya about how Obito had wanted to take revenge on Konoha because of Rin's death.

Only then did Jiraiya understand the truth.

"Senya, you're right. Obito may not have been saved by Danzo, but he must have colluded with Danzo during the Nine-Tails Attack. Danzo absolutely cannot escape responsibility!"