What Exactly Is the Truth?

After saying this, Orochimaru strode to the other side of the laboratory and took out a stack of papers and a pen.

Naruto quickly followed him.

"Very interesting. Extremely interesting."

In a hoarse voice that was almost delighted, Orochimaru began, "Naruto-kun, let's sort things out. Starting with your first life—that is... the point of reference for every cycle."

For the rest of the time, the laboratory was filled with Orochimaru's questions and Naruto's answers.

Naruto recalled every pivotal moment from his first life once more.

From his graduation all the way to the Battle of the Valley of the End after the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Orochimaru acted like the strictest record keeper, relentlessly probing for details, especially those parts that had changed in later cycles.

Someone's life or death, the outcome of a battle, the moment a decision was made.

He recorded everything in detail on the paper.

Then the two of them went over the pages together, checking each item and event, comparing them one by one against Naruto's countless memories of the cycles.

Every attempt, every failure, every cycle.

Orochimaru paid particular attention to the events that had caused an "immediate cycle restart," carefully comparing them with those that had "normally progressed to October 11, 68."

As their analysis deepened, many of the underlying rules came clearly to light.

Naruto had known these things before, but he had never systematically organized them.

First: the tolerance for change.

Using the first life as an absolute point of reference, between the year 63 and October 10, 68 in Konoha, no matter what Naruto did—

For example, saving people who were supposed to die, such as the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Chiyo, and Neji.

Killing people ahead of time who were supposed to survive or cause disasters, such as Obito, Nagato, and Madara.

Even using Impure World Reincarnation and Life Reincarnation to bring the dead back to life, including Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

Or trying to stop wars, such as the Fourth Shinobi World War or the Konoha Crush Plan.

None of these changes "immediately" triggered the cycle mechanism. Time continued to flow until that fated date.

October 11, 68 in Konoha.

The world seemed to tolerate these changes, yet they ultimately led to the same endpoint.

Second: the boundaries of "existence."

Naruto's own survival was an absolute taboo.

If he died during a cycle, whether in battle, by suicide, or in an accident, the cycle immediately restarted.

Likewise, if the Nine-Tails, his core power, was removed, then regardless of whether he later used a Forbidden Jutsu such as Life Reincarnation to survive...

The act of removing the Nine-Tails itself, or the near-death state it caused, was immediately regarded as the end of his "existence," forcibly initiating a new cycle.

Naruto's life and his coexistence with the Nine-Tails were the foundation that kept the current cycle running.

Third: the power of space-time.

The Dragon Vein in the Rōran Ruins of the Land of Wind had the power to travel through time and space.

However, once Naruto used it to travel through time and did something that could change the "established history" of his first life or the future, that action itself immediately became a trigger for restarting the cycle.

Taken together, these three points.

The cycles Naruto kept experiencing seemed to be guiding him to discover and change something of his own accord.

Orochimaru clearly recited these conclusions, his voice especially excited in the spacious laboratory.

He set down his pen and turned to gaze at Naruto, who was leaning against the laboratory table. His golden eyes seemed to peer into the confusion deep within Naruto's soul.

"Considering these three rules, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said, his voice tinged with curiosity. "After experiencing so many cycles and trying so many variables, have you... learned anything more useful about the true nature of this cycle?"

Confusion still showed in Naruto's azure eyes.

He searched his mind, but the chaotic memories from countless attempts felt unbearably heavy.

Killing Obito? Useless.

Saving the Pervy Sage? Useless.

Bringing my parents back to life? Even after a brief period of happiness, the cycle still wouldn't stop.

The Dragon Vein? That was an even more untouchable taboo.

He had tried different paths, different identities, and different emotional attachments, but there was always only one endpoint.

Then he would start another cycle from the year 63 in Konoha.

Orochimaru wasn't the first to learn about the cycles. In earlier ones, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and even his parents had known about them, but none of them had offered useful advice.

In the end, faced with Orochimaru's questions, Naruto could only shake his head heavily and say in a voice full of frustration:

"I don't know what this inexplicable cycle wants me to do!"

Naruto felt like someone trapped in a vast maze. No matter which direction he ran, he would eventually hit an invisible wall.

Orochimaru looked at the dejection in Naruto's eyes and sighed softly.

There was little sympathy or regret in that sigh. It held more of the cool deliberation of someone confronted with a phenomenon unheard of before.

After a long pause,

Orochimaru suddenly said, "Naruto-kun, you haven't come away with nothing."

"On the contrary, the three rules we just summarized have already revealed the cycle's most crucial secret."

"What?"

Naruto looked at Orochimaru.

"It's simple." Orochimaru stepped forward and gripped Naruto's shoulders tightly, speaking in a low voice. "First of all, you, Naruto Uzumaki, are unquestionably the 'protagonist' of this infinite cycle."

"Your existence is the foundation that allows the cycle to continue. That is no coincidence."

Orochimaru paused, then continued in a probing tone, "This world—or the span of time you've experienced—is like a carefully designed... stage play? Or a constantly repeated experimental setting?"

"The true purpose is certainly not to have you simply change someone's life or death, or stop a war."

Those changes were permitted, yet they couldn't change the ending of the cycle. That meant they weren't the key.

Naruto frowned as he considered Orochimaru's answer.

Indeed, Orochimaru had offered a different line of thought from the Pervy Sage and his father.

So Naruto pressed him, "Then what is the key?"

"The key must be for you, Naruto Uzumaki, to 'discover' something extremely important during these five years that keep repeating—some 'truth' that was overlooked or concealed in your first life!"

"This truth may be connected to someone or something you've never suspected, or even... closely linked to a secret about your own existence."

"It has to be found or changed between the year 63 and October 11, 68 in Konoha to break the cycle."

"Otherwise, no matter how many lives you save, how powerful you become, or how momentous the historical events you change, it will all be in vain. You'll only slide helplessly along the established path toward the restart point."

Naruto's heart pounded. The hope that had just gone out flickered back to life. "Discover what? Change what?"

Orochimaru slowly shook his head. The expression in his eyes shifted to an unfathomably calm one.

"That, I don't know. My intelligence and research can help you deduce the rules and pinpoint the core question, but the specific 'answer' belongs to you alone."

Orochimaru's voice held a trace of candid helplessness.