Early the next morning, Naruto stood outside the door, looking like he wanted to knock but did not dare. Mainly, he was worried that Uzumaki Reikawa would kick him out again like yesterday.
But Sasuke had been beating him so badly lately that he had lost all his spirit. After scratching his head in frustration for a while, he could only squat outside the door dejectedly and wait. It was not like he was short on time.
Inside the room, Uzumaki Reikawa did not actually need sleep at all. He had not done much recently either, so he was full of energy. He only slept by sitting on the bed and spacing out, both to maintain a normal routine and conserve chakra.
He also watched Naruto struggle and eventually deflate with a bit of malicious amusement. As for the Nine-Tails, after discussing it with Tsunade, they had decided to take things slowly, so Yamato had not been summoned for this training session.
Uzumaki Reikawa's task was to help Naruto suppress the Nine-Tails, ensuring it would not cause trouble whenever it felt like it. As for completely controlling the Nine-Tails, after thinking it over, Uzumaki Reikawa felt that Tsunade had probably been more concerned with confirming his attitude.
After all, Tsunade truly doted on Naruto as if he were her own little brother. She probably understood his situation better than anyone.
Meanwhile, over on Akatsuki's side, "Uchiha Gen" was contemplating life. After a long period of slacking off, Akatsuki had assigned him a mission: capture that Uzumaki Clan fellow.
...Capture myself? For Pain, this did seem like a convenient way to prove his loyalty.
The main body was still on its way back after adapting to that Byakugan skin, though who knew when he would arrive. Why did they have to dump all this work on such a weak, pitiful, helpless clone?
Meanwhile, the Uchiha Gen the clone kept thinking about was looking at the new skills on his skill panel: Eight Trigrams Three Hundred Sixty-One Style and Rotation. Their power was not bad; the battered trees from his earlier tests were proof enough.
Still, no matter how long Uchiha Gen thought about it, he felt like these skills were not particularly useful to him. Adamantine Sealing Chains could attack and defend, and could Rotation really compare to Susanoo's defense?
His skins had refreshed again. Looking at the protruding bone spikes on one of them, Uchiha Gen guessed it belonged to someone from the Shikotsumyaku Clan. The person had short white hair, green eyes, and looked quite different from Uchiha Gen. Yet the price was still one Asuma head...
Elsewhere, after the White Zetsus tirelessly investigated Uchiha Gen, their findings ultimately pointed to Orochimaru. One White Zetsu was especially excited by this result: the one who had been with Obito that day and had guessed that Uchiha Gen might be a Reanimated Body.
Feeling that it had grasped the truth, that White Zetsu immediately told Black Zetsu its theory. Since White Zetsus were generally not very intelligent, the one that believed it had uncovered the truth felt especially proud of itself.
As for Obito, he had already said what he had to say before. He did not bring it up again, but he did pass along the information the White Zetsus had uncovered about Orochimaru.
Black Zetsu did not deny White Zetsu's theory. Like Uchiha Obito, he remained neutral. No matter how he sensed it, Uchiha Gen was a living, breathing person. But White Zetsu's guess was also the closest one to the truth.
And if that really was the case, it would fully explain why Uchiha Gen seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with no traceable background at all. A Reanimated Body would also be easier to control. If handled properly, they might even be able to make him their own. It was just that Orochimaru was not easy to capture.
Pain watched as Jiraiya seemed to have uncovered something and temporarily withdrew. He did not stop Jiraiya from leaving, merely fell into thought as he connected it with recent events.
After a moment of silence, Pain suddenly sent out a signal to gather everyone for a meeting. Only once they had all arrived did he slowly say, "The Tailed Beast capture operation will begin ahead of schedule. Work in teams of two. As for the distribution of Tailed Beasts, choose whichever one is closest to you and capture it. I will personally capture the strongest one, the Nine-Tails."
For a moment, some Akatsuki members were delighted, some confused, and some indifferent. But all of them wondered what had made their leader change his mind and advance the operation.
Itachi's expression was grave. Though he did not know why Akatsuki had moved ahead of schedule, he needed to find a way to send the news back to Konoha. Still, whether it was locating targets or sealing them, both would take time. There should still be enough time.
Black Zetsu frowned slightly. He did not know why, but this was not a bad development. He wanted to revive his mother as soon as possible too. But had Pain not wanted to accumulate a certain amount of financial strength first? And now, the Jinchuriki were mostly still in their villages. What had made Nagato change his mind?
The reason Nagato had issued this order was simply that he instinctively felt the longer they delayed, the worse things would become. If nothing unexpected happened, Jiraiya had already obtained some information. And he had an eerie intuition that, as time passed, more and more powerful figures would appear out of nowhere.
However, Uchiha Gen did not have a ring, so he knew nothing about Akatsuki's meeting.
"Naruto, relax. Next, I'll loosen a little of the seal on you. Remember, you must control yourself!"
"Mm-hmm!" Naruto's heart was pounding wildly. After Kakashi explained things to him, he completely understood what the fox inside him represented. Saying he was not afraid at all would have been a lie.
After learning about the situation on "Uchiha Gen's" side, Uzumaki Reikawa no longer had the patience to wait for Naruto to use talk-no-jutsu and slowly make the Nine-Tails open its heart.
If nothing unexpected happened, Uzumaki Reikawa might have to "die" once in a month or two. Akatsuki revered only the strong. If he could not even handle himself, his image as a strong man would collapse instantly, and getting signatures afterward would become even harder.
Besides, he now had an ambitious goal. He did not want to wait for them to bare their hearts in endless nested cycles anymore. Since he now had this kind of strength, perhaps he could break that cycle by catching them off guard. And kill Black Zetsu too!!
Every clone was at a disadvantage in terms of endurance, but that did not change the fact that when every clone had sufficient chakra, their initial strength was no weaker than the main body's.
Not to mention that wearing the skins provided by the system greatly enhanced their resistance to damage. And Akatsuki's plan would not begin for another two or three years. The more he thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.
Combined with Uzumaki Reikawa's foreknowledge from his previous life, he could strengthen the two Children of Destiny without taking any detours. That way, even if he failed, he would still have another safeguard. The only issue was that he needed to find a way to speed up the collection of signature cards on both sides.
Sensing an unfamiliar person enter the seal, the Nine-Tails slowly opened its half-closed eyes. Its beastlike vertical pupils locked onto Uzumaki Reikawa. The Nine-Tails sensed a threat from him, the same feeling it had once felt from Kushina Uzumaki.
Baring its enormous, ferocious fangs, it seemed to speak from deep within its belly. "Brat, who are you?!"
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