"Wait... You mean Naruto is actually the Fourth Hokage's son, and his mother was once the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki too? But how is that possible? Naruto had only just been born back then. How could he have been able to withstand the Nine-Tails' chakra?" Sasuke's voice was complicated. He felt he understood Konoha less and less.
He could understand the Uchiha Clan's annihilation. The struggle for power, the competition for the Hokage's seat, and the way they had used the clan as a tool had made Konoha's leadership afraid.
They had used Itachi Uchiha's feelings for peace and for Sasuke to put an end to everything. But Naruto... He was the Hokage's child, and he still had to bear all this? What were Konoha's leaders doing?
"His mother's clan, the Uzumaki Clan, originally lived in the Land of Whirlpools. Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's wife, was also from the Land of Whirlpools. She was the first Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, too. Their special constitution let them contain far greater amounts of chakra, making them the best vessels for Jinchuriki. His mother came to Konoha back then to inherit the Nine-Tails."
Nanfeng picked up his chopsticks and turned over the cooked lamb in the pot, urging the other two to start eating. Only then did they remember they still had to keep up their act in Konoha.
"But I heard Itachi mention what happened back then. The disaster affected the whole village. How could anyone not know Naruto's identity?" Sasuke asked as he ate the lamb. What should have been delicious tasted like sawdust.
"The leadership hid everything about Naruto. Part of it was to protect him, since an infant Jinchuriki is the easiest to kill. But... they may also have wanted to raise a tool for killing. You know a Jinchuriki's fate as well as I do." Nanfeng sighed, then picked up the mug of barley tea beside him and took a sip, pretending the hot pot had scalded him.
"The Elder Council?" Naruto's expression was complicated, and his voice carried an indescribable bitterness.
The village he loved would really treat him like a thing without feelings, all for the sake of some so-called tool or deterrent? They had even kept his past from him. Whenever he asked about his parents, he had only ever gotten vague answers.
"Not just them. Danzo and Root were involved too. The Hokage's authority isn't as great as you think. But if that old man hadn't agreed, things wouldn't have turned out this way. It was the same with the Uchiha. Power really can corrupt people. Even the Ninja Hero was willing to give up a lot for the village's future."
The Uchiha and the Senju had both been forced off the stage of history by the actions of Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I'm telling you all this because I want to hear what you think. Do you want to let the shinobi world stay the way we've seen it, or do you want to find a way to turn the whole thing upside down?" Nanfeng asked.
Naruto and Sasuke's eyes had been dim, but after hearing this, they looked at Nanfeng as if they'd found something to hold on to. Hope flared in their eyes again.
"What do we do?" Naruto asked bluntly and directly. Even he hadn't noticed the determination in his own voice.
Sasuke didn't speak, but he looked at Nanfeng the same way. They were both unfortunate victims of the shinobi world, willing to risk everything to change it instead of letting it change them.
"Get stronger. Gain overwhelming power!" Nanfeng clapped his hands. "Zabuza and Yuki Haku are still alive."
"What?" Sasuke and Naruto stared at Nanfeng in shock. Those two hadn't died in front of them? Naruto and Sasuke had even buried their bodies themselves.
After Nanfeng briefly explained what had happened, Sasuke and Naruto looked at him with complicated expressions.
Why could someone their age think of all this, then pull off a trick that fooled everyone without them knowing?
"Things were urgent at the time. I had no choice but to do it that way. I managed to fool all of you with Genjutsu partly because you really let your guard down around me—I have to thank you for trusting me—and partly because of my special ability. It's an ability I've never told anyone about..."
Nanfeng opened his eyes. Only now did they truly get a good look at them. Two-thirds of his irises were pale purple, and Sasuke felt something familiar about them... It was like seeing another Sharingan, though the feeling they gave him wasn't quite the same. There was something unusual about them.
"This is my special ability. I awakened it not long ago. Some of its abilities are similar to the Sharingan, but I'm not very good at copying Ninjutsu. I can also create Genjutsu, but for now I can't make it too powerful, or it puts a huge strain on my mind," Nanfeng explained.
Only then did they understand why Nanfeng had looked so unwell during the battle. He'd overexerted himself mentally.
Even if it was only a simple Genjutsu, using it on so many people at once took a great deal out of him.
Naruto and Sasuke had been somewhat displeased at first, but after hearing this secret Nanfeng had never told anyone else, their resentment vanished. The fewer people who knew about a special ability like this, the better. Nanfeng's willingness to tell them meant he trusted them completely.
"What about getting stronger? If we just train slowly, who knows how long it'll take us to truly grow..." Sasuke sighed. He wanted power just as badly, but following Kakashi's guidance, the best they could hope for was to become Elite Jonin. Meanwhile, judging by what they'd heard, all their enemies were old monsters at Kage Level!
"Sometimes, the path to power can be evil. The Chunin Ninja Exams are about to begin. According to the information Zabuza sent over, Otogakure seems to be making some big moves. Its leader is one of the legendary Sannin: Orochimaru."
"You want us to follow Orochimaru?" Sasuke and Naruto asked, confused.
"Not you and Naruto. Just you. As for Naruto, there's a teacher who suits him even better: Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, who once taught his father. He's the best teacher for Naruto, and he understands how to use the Rasengan better than anyone else among the shinobi," Nanfeng said.
Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and agreed with Nanfeng's plan. But if Sasuke went with Orochimaru, it meant he might have to leave Konoha for a long time.
"Don't worry. I'm sending you there to kill Orochimaru. His body is on the verge of collapsing."
Before you continue