Naruto Must Be Under a Lot of Pressure, Right?

Minato, Kushina, Naruto, Kakashi, Zuo Zhu, Shisui, and Itachi stood in a line in a forest seven or eight kilometers east of the command post, waiting for their "guests" to arrive.

Minato had temporarily handed command over to Nara Shikaku and Mabui of the Hidden Cloud Village. Then again, if they could settle things right here, they could put Tonton in charge of the command post for all it mattered.

Before long, a person clad in a blue robe and wearing a white mask appeared before them.

The white mask bore black circular patterns and three tomoe. Two of the tomoe had holes, revealing a Rinnegan in the left eye and a Sharingan in the right.

At the same time, six people with Rinnegan in their left eyes and Sharingan in their right stepped in front of him.

Before he could speak to Obito, Minato named each of them one by one so his subordinates could prepare themselves mentally. "Bunbuku Monk of the Sand Village, Rōshi of the Hidden Stone Village with Lava Release, Han the Steam Ninja, Yugito Nii of the Hidden Cloud Village, the previous Eight Tails Jinchuriki Burabi, and..."

"Grandma Mito..." Kushina spoke the last name, her voice trembling.

Though she had grown old, Kushina still felt that this was the most beautiful face in the world. She had been the kindest person to her when she first arrived in Konoha, the only elder in a foreign land who had made her feel at home, and an important family member who had guided her when she had been terrified of becoming a Jinchuriki.

Because of Kushina's loss of composure, everyone's attention was drawn to the old woman, except Kakashi, who stared fiercely at Obito's Sharingan.

Following Kushina's gaze, they saw an elderly woman in white standing opposite them. Her wrinkled face looked kind and gentle, while her once-beautiful red hair had long since lost its luster. A diamond-shaped mark like Tsunade's sat on her forehead. She was the First Hokage's wife, the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki.

In truth, Mito Uzumaki could have maintained a youthful appearance with the power of the Yin Seal, just as Tsunade did. But after Hashirama's death, she had stopped caring about such things.

Shisui touched the ninja sword on his back. "So that's the First Hokage's wife?"

"They say she was an incredible powerhouse too. Judging by her Chakra, that seems to be true." Itachi carefully examined her with his Three Tomoe Sharingan activated.

She should count as one of Naruto's clan elders too, right? Zuo Zhu glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye but saw nothing unusual.

Naruto was also observing the old woman. These six had clearly been remade into the New Six Paths of Pain after undergoing Impure World Reincarnation. Could Mito Uzumaki not Get Rid Of the control of Impure World Reincarnation? Or had Orochimaru planted a sealing talisman in her and taken complete control before she could break free?

Inside the Sealing Space, the Nine Tails was restlessly scraping his claws against the ground. "Naruto, that woman isn't easy to deal with."

"Is she... stronger than my mom?" Naruto noticed that he had even changed the way he addressed himself. Just how deep was that psychological trauma?

"Who knows." The Nine Tails was a little annoyed. This topic was not very friendly to him.

"Obito! Why did you have to go this far?!" Kushina's red hair floated upward. Seeing the grandmother she revered most dug up after death and controlled by someone else, she wanted to smash that guy's Dog Head.

Obito was surprised that Konoha already knew his identity, but he did not care. He merely shook his head disdainfully and said in a mocking tone, "Obito? Wasn't that Konoha's war hero? That guy died more than a decade ago."

Minato frowned. "You're even denying your own existence now, Obito?"

"If you want to call me by that name, go ahead. Whether Obito is alive or exists is completely irrelevant. All I need to do now is take the Nine Tails. That is all." His gaze swept back and forth between Naruto and Kushina, as though choosing which target to strike first.

"Obito!" Kakashi knew that at this point, persuasion alone would probably be useless. Still, there was something he wanted to say. "About Rin..."

"Don't make that face, Kakashi." Obito interrupted him, his tone surprisingly calm.

"You don't blame me?" Kakashi stared at him, sweat beading on his forehead.

"What use is blaming you in such a boring real world? I have no interest in a world that is about to disappear."

"Even if your plan succeeds, what meaning would it have? In a few decades, everyone would die in their dreams. By then, even that false world would cease to exist, wouldn't it? Are you going to kill everyone for your own delusion?" Minato asked the question he could not understand no matter what.

Obito was full of confidence. "No, it won't disappear. By then, the God Tree will nourish everyone, and everyone's wishes will come true. Even immortality will be possible, and peace will be within reach. In that world, everything will develop as you wish. That world will continue forever!"

Naruto pointed at the fool who looked ready to throw his head back and laugh. "I think this guy needs a beating before he'll listen to anyone properly."

"Naruto!" Obito suddenly shouted. "You're suffering, aren't you?!"

"Huh?" Naruto was utterly confused. What nonsense was this guy spouting?

In Obito's eyes, there had to be a reason Naruto's many Shadow Clones sang, danced, rapped, and generally went wild in the Kamui Dimension. And with only a little inquiry, he had learned that Naruto enjoyed making his Shadow Clones kill themselves in all sorts of creative ways!

According to common knowledge in the ninja world, Shadow Clones and their original body should possess identical memories, emotions, and ways of thinking. To a certain extent, a Shadow Clone's behavior represented its creator's thoughts.

Therefore, Obito concluded that although Naruto usually seemed carefree and cheerful, he had to be under enormous pressure inside!

That pressure either came from being the Son of Hokage or from the Nine Tails. There was no third possibility!

And Asuma, who was also the Son of Hokage, had once Run Away From Home before eventually coming to terms with it. Naruto probably would not be unable to accept something like that, so only one possibility remained!

"You became a Jinchuriki the moment you were born. Ever since you knew nothing of the world, you have lived alongside a monster. No matter how your parents tried to comfort you, such an experience would have been useless. They sealed the Tailed Beast inside you entirely on their own. You have tasted despair to the fullest, haven't you?!"

Seeing no reaction from the people opposite him, while Naruto wore an especially astonished expression, Obito felt certain he had guessed correctly and became more excited as he spoke. "A world filled with such despair has no value in existing. I think you can understand this despair to some extent. But it's fine. Everything will end soon. Give me the Nine Tails! I will give you the life you desire most!"

When Obito finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Most of them looked at him with pity. Is there something wrong with his brain?

Only Zuo Zhu instinctively began to think. So Naruto is this desperate?

When he looked up and saw Naruto's disdainful gaze toward Obito, Zuo Zhu blushed at his own naivety. Was this guy poisoned or something? Naruto, desperate? Why not say Gan, Wen, and Cui were desperate too?