Kakashi Wavered: Such Powerful Talk no Jutsu!

Under the moonlight, Empire Bridge seemed exceptionally quiet.

The sky was dotted with stars, like gems embedded in a black curtain, giving off faint yet glittering light.

These stars seemed like the eyes of the universe, silently watching over everything in the world.

Yet even though the stars filled the sky with such brilliance, not one of them could illuminate the confusion in Kakashi's heart at that moment.

He sat quietly on the ground, staring at the distant bonfire without saying a word.

Tazuna and the other civilians had tactfully withdrawn, leaving this place to the ninja present.

Looking at the silent Kakashi, Kakashi continued speaking:

"Think about it! Your father saved his comrades. That should have been a good thing. And the mission's failure didn't cause any serious consequences, yet they kept harping on the fact that your father abandoned the mission to save his comrades. The village didn't punish him, but public opinion drove your father into a trap of mental self-destruction."

"When the mission failed, couldn't they have just sent another team to complete it? But they didn't. That meant that, aside from someone like your father, there was no one else who could do it!"

"They didn't punish your father because they were afraid that someone with his strength would become estranged from them over this matter. They were the ones who preached bonds and the Will of Fire. If they blamed him now, wouldn't that be slapping themselves in the face?"

"But they were unwilling to let a powerful man like your father remain beyond their control. They used public opinion to hurt him, trying to make him understand that the mission was above all else!"

"They smugly believed they had your father firmly in their grasp, but unfortunately!"

"He couldn't accept the conflict between his beliefs and reality, so he chose to run away!"

"He killed himself!"

Kakashi's words struck Kakashi's heart like a heavy hammer, making his head feel as though it were about to explode, buzzing incessantly.

He had never considered these questions before, but after Kakashi's analysis, he actually felt the urge to return to Konoha Village and confront the Third Hokage.

When he recalled how the Uchiha Clan had suffered years of hatred and exclusion from the villagers before its destruction, a chill rose in his heart.

Then there was Naruto. His identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should have been a secret, yet his status as the "Demon Fox" had long spread throughout the entire village. All of this seemed inextricably connected to the Third Hokage.

After all, without the Third Hokage's tacit approval, how could these things have happened? How could no one have stopped them?

Wait! No, that wasn't right!

What was I questioning?

I was actually questioning the Will of Fire!!

These people's Brainwashing Technique was truly terrifying!

Kakashi! You were even an Anbu captain, yet you were so easily hit by someone else's Talk no Jutsu!

Kakashi shook his head, tossing those thoughts out of his mind.

Changing things now would not bring his father back. Obito would not come back. Rin would not come back. Minato-sensei would not come back either.

What he needed to do now was cherish what he had—cherish the current peace, however fleeting it might be, and cherish the people and everything he still possessed!

Kakashi cast a frightened glance at the two of them, leaving them dumbfounded.

"Damn, you don't think we're trying to smear your Hidden Leaf Village, do you?"

Obito jumped to his feet.

Kakashi nodded, then shook his head.

"Sigh, your world is already a ruin. Do you even need anyone to smear it?"

"Looks like it's not just Hidden Mist Village that has plenty of foolishly loyal idiots. Hidden Leaf Village has them too."

"Knowing that crows are black everywhere makes me feel more balanced."

Zabuza joked from the side.

All these years, if Hidden Leaf Village had not crippled itself, the other ninja villages would never have had such easy days.

"If I ever get the chance to meet your Hidden Leaf Village's higher-ups, I'll thank them on behalf of every ninja village."

Zabuza's added jab made Kakashi feel even worse.

"Luckily, I've already joined the Empire!"

Sasuke patted his chest with lingering fear.

That only provoked Kakashi further.

Once the seed of doubt was planted, all it needed was time to take root and sprout.

Inside Naruto's body, the sealing space.

Ever since their consciousness entered this place, all five of their senses had been immersed within it.

Tap... tap...

The two of them walked through the dim, wet space, sometimes taking a step, sometimes not.

Naruto looked at Nagato with confusion on his face.

"Big brother, where is this? How did we suddenly come here?"

"This place... why does it feel strangely familiar?"

Facing Naruto's questions, Nagato patiently explained.

"This is the space of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style—the seal on your stomach. More precisely, we are inside the sealing space within your consciousness."

"This... is this the space where my body is used as a container that they mentioned earlier?"

Naruto was both stunned and unable to accept it.

"That's right. You can understand it that way."

"Then... where is the Demon Fox?"

"Hehe, you can't call it the Demon Fox here. It's a very cute little fox named Kurama."

Nagato spoke with a gentle smile.

"Kurama?"

Naruto was puzzled. Why did the Demon Fox, infamous for its brutality, have such a strange name?

Seeing the doubt in Naruto's eyes, Nagato rubbed his blond hair.

"Naruto, they are actually quite innocent too. They originally lived far away from humans, but humans coveted their power. So they used Genjutsu, Sealing Technique, and other methods to control them and use them for themselves, even at the cost of hurting their dignity and taking away their freedom."

"So, little by little, they came to hate humans as well."

Deep within the consciousness space, the Nine-Tails slightly raised an eyelid upon hearing Nagato's words. He cast a disdainful glance in their direction, then let it droop again.

Though he was quite tsundere, he was clearly not as calm as he appeared.

After listening to Nagato's explanation, Naruto understood.

"They do sound pretty innocent, but... no matter what, they shouldn't have hurt so many humans, right?"

"At first, they also wanted to coexist peacefully with humans, but humans kept using every possible method to imprison them. As time passed, the conflict only grew more intense."

Nagato had inferred this from the information sent by the Emperor.

"Then where is he now?"

"Hehe, follow me."

Feeling the Nine-Tails' presence, Nagato slowly approached him step by step.

Naruto's heartbeat grew faster and faster as they drew nearer to the Nine-Tails.

After a turn in the path, Naruto's heartbeat reached its peak when enormous, sky-piercing iron bars came into view.

Behind them, he could only vaguely make out the outline of a colossal figure. Its body was like a mountain, towering like a peak. Its nine tails were like nine enormous dragons, dancing irregularly through the air and blotting out the sky.

What frightened Naruto even more were its eyes, like two gigantic lanterns. They glowed blood-red, sending chills down his spine.

The Nine-Tails merely lay there without saying a word, yet he gave Naruto immense pressure!

"You... are Kurama?"

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