A Heart-to-Heart with the Nine-Tails

Perhaps Naruto's Heavenly Mouth had truly worked. The Nine-Tails, once known for its ferocity and brutality, sat down and listened to Naruto properly.

"Let's talk about something you're interested in. Later, the Fourth Great Ninja War will begin, and the one who starts it will be Uchiha Obito—the one who controlled you and attacked Konoha back then!"

The moment Naruto opened his mouth, he dropped a bombshell on Kurama.

"What? That person was Uchiha Obito? Not Uchiha Madara? Don't lie to me, kid. Wasn't Obito your father's student? How could he possibly have that kind of strength?"

Kurama immediately questioned Naruto's first statement. Reality was always that surreal.

"Yes, that person was Obito. He obtained information from inside Konoha that my mother, Uzumaki Kushina, was giving birth. In the end, he released the Nine-Tails with the goal of destroying Konoha."

"As for his motive? You might not believe it, though I don't really want to say it either. It was for a woman—Rin Nohara, the girl from my father's team!"

Well, that instantly made Kurama unable to sit still. It stared at Naruto in disbelief. "You're saying Obito went through all this, acting like he wanted revenge on the whole world, all because of a woman?"

It wasn't that the Nine-Tails didn't believe him. It was just that such a reason made it feel as if it were listening to Konoha Unofficial History—wild enough, and ridiculous enough.

"Yes, but the mastermind behind all of this was Uchiha Madara!" Naruto once again mentioned the name Kurama least wanted to remember.

"How is Uchiha Madara involved in this too? Wasn't he dead long ago?" Kurama interjected again.

"Don't rush me. I'll get to that." Naruto rolled his eyes at Kurama, signaling for it to let him finish.

"Fine, fine. Keep going, Naruto!" Kurama smiled awkwardly, telling Naruto to continue and promising not to interrupt again.

It had lived for so long, yet it had never heard gossip this exciting. It felt like it had wasted all those years alive, looking every bit like an eager spectator.

"Uchiha Madara was dead, but also not dead. During his battle with Hashirama Senju, he bit off a piece of Hashirama's flesh. In the end, he accidentally awakened the Rinnegan—the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths!" Naruto paused. He knew Kurama would be shocked.

Sure enough, Kurama said in astonishment, "What? The old man's eyes? Uchiha Madara actually awakened them?"

"Yes. Uchiha Madara deciphered the stone tablet in the Uchiha Clan's territory and learned that the Sharingan could gradually evolve all the way into the legendary Rinnegan. But that also required the Senju Clan's unique Power of All Creation—strictly speaking, the power unique to Hashirama Senju."

"After Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan evolved into the Rinnegan, he learned, with the help of a special being named Black Zetsu, that he could use the Ten-Tails to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, plunging everyone in the world into an illusion and achieving true peace in the ninja world. Ah, no—nuclear peace!"

"But after his battle with Hashirama Senju, his body was riddled with old injuries, and he did not have long to live. So he made preparations, choosing an outstanding Uchiha descendant to inherit his will and name."

"That person was Uchiha Obito!" As Naruto said this, the Nine-Tails could not help interrupting again.

"Wait, Naruto. But as far as I know, this Uchiha Obito was in Minato Namikaze's squad, and his strength was that of a Dead Last, right? That one called Kakashi Hatake seemed stronger than him. Could that really be called outstanding?"

"The Sharingan is also called the Eye That Reflects the Heart. The Uchiha Clan was both a cursed clan and a uniquely blessed one.

"Once members of the Uchiha Clan came to understand love, gained love, and then lost it, intense emotional stimulation caused their brains to secrete special Chakra that stimulated their eyes. That was the Sharingan, the Eye That Reflects the Heart.

"Emotional stimulation was a necessary condition for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, but the clan member receiving that stimulation also had to possess a certain level of innate ability.

"In other words, even if some Uchiha clan members were given a Mangekyō Sharingan, their physical constitution might not be able to withstand it.

"And Obito was the promising seed Uchiha Madara had carefully selected. Obito himself was a warmhearted and good person, but through Uchiha Madara's deliberate arrangements, Obito witnessed Kakashi kill Rin Nohara with his own eyes. Seeing the person he loved killed by his closest friend, the enraged Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Under Uchiha Madara's guidance, he chose to walk the same path as Madara. He wanted to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and create a world where Rin Nohara existed, allowing himself to reunite with Rin in the world of illusion."

"Oh, I see. Then what about Madara's Rinnegan? Did Madara give them to Obito when he died? But Obito's eyes seemed to still be Sharingan before, didn't they?"

Kurama could not only enjoy gossip—it could even raise questions.

"The Rinnegan possesses the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. When used, it summons the King of Hell, who rises and opens his massive mouth, releasing the souls of countless dead and returning those souls to the deceased, thereby reviving them.

"It can revive the dead within a certain range.

"The more people are revived, the more Chakra it consumes. It can even drain the user's Chakra completely and cause death.

"If the target is Reanimated, it automatically releases their Impure World Reincarnation state."

"Uchiha Madara's plan was to have Obito revive him using Impure World Reincarnation, then use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to truly revive him. After that, Madara would reclaim his Rinnegan, gather all the Tailed Beasts, combine them into the Ten-Tails, become its Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, and finally cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, ending all war in the ninja world!"

"Wait, Naruto. How did Uchiha Madara know he would definitely be revived? Did Uchiha Obito truly inherit Uchiha Madara's will? Was he really working wholeheartedly to revive Uchiha Madara?"

Kurama now seemed to have transformed into a machine of endless questions, with one question after another surfacing in its mind.

"Kurama, don't ask everything at once. Some things haven't happened yet, and since I know about them, I'll definitely stop them. If you know too much, it won't be interesting anymore, right?"

Naruto smiled faintly and stopped spoiling the future. This was also the art of keeping a person—no, a Tailed Beast—in suspense.

That was the charm of leaving things unfinished. The less you were allowed to know, the more interested you became, and the more desperately you wanted answers.

"Damn it, Naruto. You stopped halfway through." Kurama lay back down and turned its head away, refusing to look at Naruto as though it were angry.

"I'll give you one last spoiler, Kurama. In the future, we'll fight side by side. You and I will become inseparable comrades—and friends."

Naruto looked into Kurama's eyes and spoke sincerely.

"Hmph. Who knows whether what you're saying is true or false?" Kurama did not look at Naruto, but its tails swayed happily, clearly revealing its good mood.

"You should leave now. I'm tired today." Hearing Kurama's words, Naruto turned around and prepared to leave.

The instant Naruto turned away, Kurama opened its eyes and called out to him, "Hey, Naruto!"

"What is it, Kurama?" Naruto did not turn around, leaving Kurama only with a handsome silhouette from behind.

"If something happens, remember to ask me for help. Seeing how pitiful you are, it wouldn't be impossible for me to lend you a hand." Kurama spoke with arrogant embarrassment.

"Got it. I'll count it as your rent, my friend!" Naruto waved and vanished from before Kurama.

"Hmph! Rent? Who's your friend?" Though Kurama refused to admit it, it could not suppress the smile on its face.

"Uzumaki Naruto... what a fascinating man. I look forward to the day we become friends!"

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