Naruto suddenly felt as though he understood something.
The Sharingan.
But what did the Nine-Tails have to do with the Sharingan?
Right, the Sharingan could use Genjutsu?
Could even Tailed Beasts be controlled by Genjutsu?
"Were you controlled by the Sharingan?"
"Get lost!"
"Uwah!"
Naruto sprang up from the bed, sweating coldly.
Although he had been exhausted from traveling all day, Naruto recovered quickly. He woke up while it was still the early hours of the morning.
"Stop making noise, idiot."
Sasuke was still asleep in the other bed.
"..." Naruto obediently shut his mouth.
It was the darkness just before dawn.
"Hmm?"
There was someone on the roof.
After getting dressed, Naruto climbed out through the window.
"Sparkle."
The person sitting on the roof was Sparkle.
She sat on the eaves with her eyes closed.
"Good morning, Naruto."
Sparkle greeted Naruto.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Ah, training. At times like this, it's even more important to keep a calm mind," Sparkle said.
"I see." Naruto sat beside Sparkle and looked into the distance with her.
The horizon was pitch-black.
Naruto simply sat there in a daze, staring into the distance.
"Hey, Sparkle."
"Mm."
"What... exactly is the Nine-Tails?" Naruto asked.
"Chakra is the power that connects people to one another." Rather than speaking of the Tailed Beasts first, Sparkle began with Chakra.
"Chakra..." Naruto murmured.
"And Tailed Beasts are aggregates of Chakra. Tailed Beasts basically do not perish. Even if they die, they will be reborn somewhere else—but I don't know what changes might occur to their memories. After all, when a Tailed Beast dies, its Chakra disperses, and Chakra can carry memories. Whether a newly born Tailed Beast has memories is still uncertain," Sparkle said.
"..."
Naruto fell into thought.
"If you want to know