Premature Action

Early the next morning, Naruto stood outside the door, looking as if he wanted to knock but didn't dare, mostly worried about being kicked out by Uzumaki Reikawa just like yesterday.

However, having been thoroughly crushed by Sasuke lately, he had no temper left. After scratching his head and ears for a while, he could only squat outside the door in defeat, thinking he might as well wait; it wasn't like he was short on time anyway.

Inside the room, Uzumaki Reikawa didn't actually need to sleep. He hadn't done much lately and was feeling quite energetic. His "sleeping" was merely sitting on the bed in a daze, just to maintain a regular schedule and conserve chakra.

He also took a perverse pleasure in watching Naruto struggle and eventually deflate. Regarding the Nine-Tails, he and Tsunade had decided after their discussion to take things slowly, which was why Yamato hadn't been called in for this intensive training.

Uzumaki Reikawa's task was to help Naruto suppress the Nine-Tails, ensuring the beast wouldn't cause trouble when it had nothing better to do. As for the complete control mentioned earlier, upon reflection, Uzumaki Reikawa felt that Tsunade was likely just testing his attitude.

After all, Tsunade truly doted on Naruto as if he were her own younger brother, so she must have been perfectly clear about his situation.

Meanwhile, within the Akatsuki, "Uchiha Gen" was contemplating life. After a long period of slacking off, the Akatsuki had assigned him the task of capturing that member of the Uzumaki Clan.

...I have to capture myself? To Pain, this seemed like a convenient way to verify his own loyalty.

His main body was still on the way back after adapting to that Byakugan skin, and he had no idea when it would arrive. Why did he have to leave these matters to his own weak, pathetic, and helpless clone?

The Uchiha Gen being fretted over by the clone was currently looking at the new skills on his interface: Eight Trigrams Three Hundred Sixty-One Style and Rotation. They were quite powerful, as evidenced by the trees he had ravaged while testing their strength.

However, Uchiha Gen had thought about it for a long time and felt these skills were of no real use to him. Adamantine Sealing Chains were both offensive and defensive, and could Rotation really be stronger than the defense of a Susanoo?

His skin had refreshed again. Uchiha Gen saw the prominent bone spurs on the new skin; this must belong to the Shikotsumyaku clan. However, this guy had short white hair and green eyes, looking quite different from Uchiha Gen, and the price was still the head of Asuma...

On the other side, after the White Zetsu's tireless investigation into Uchiha Gen, the final results pointed directly to Orochimaru. One White Zetsu seemed exceptionally excited by this result—it was the same one that had been with Obito that day, the one who speculated that Uchiha Gen might be an Edo Tensei summon.

Feeling as though he had grasped the truth, this White Zetsu immediately reported his conjecture to Black Zetsu. Given the generally low intelligence of the White Zetsu, the one who believed he had found the truth felt a sense of pride.

As for Obito, he had already been told previously, so the Zetsu didn't mention it again, though he did pass on the information about Orochimaru that the White Zetsu had gathered.

Black Zetsu did not deny the White Zetsu's speculation. Like Uchiha Obito, he remained neutral, because no matter how he sensed it, Uchiha Gen was a living, breathing human. Yet, this speculation was the one that most closely resembled the truth.

Moreover, if this were the case, it would perfectly explain why Uchiha Gen appeared so suddenly without any traceable roots. Furthermore, an Edo Tensei body would be the easiest to control; if handled well, he could even be turned into an asset. It was just that this guy Orochimaru wasn't easy to capture.

Over here, Pain saw that Jiraiya had finished his investigation and was retreating for the time being. He didn't stop Jiraiya's departure, but instead fell into deep thought, connecting it to recent events.

After a moment of silence, Pain suddenly signaled for a full meeting. Only when everyone had arrived did he slowly begin to speak: "The Tailed Beast capture operation will begin ahead of schedule. Work in pairs. As for the distribution, choose the beast closest to you. I will personally capture the strongest, the Nine-Tails."

For a moment, the members of the Akatsuki reacted with a mix of joy, confusion, and indifference. But all were wondering what had caused their leader to change his mind and accelerate the plan.

Itachi's expression was grave. Although he didn't know the reason, the Akatsuki's operations had been moved up. He had to find a way to send word back to Konoha, though whether it was tracking or sealing, it would take time, so there should still be a chance.

Black Zetsu frowned slightly. He didn't know why, but this situation wasn't necessarily bad; he also wanted to resurrect his mother as soon as possible. But hadn't he wanted to accumulate more financial resources? With the Jinchuriki mostly inside their villages, what had made Nagato change his mind?

The reason Nagato issued this order was simply an instinctive feeling that the longer things dragged on, the worse the situation would become. If nothing went wrong, Jiraiya had already gathered some information, and he had a strange intuition that as time passed, more and more inexplicable powerhouses would appear.

However, Uchiha Gen did not have a ring for the Akatsuki meetings, so he remained unaware of this development.

"Naruto, relax. I am going to loosen the seal on you a little. Remember, you must keep yourself under control!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto's heart was pounding. After Kakashi's explanation, he fully understood what the fox inside him represented; to say he wasn't afraid would be a lie.

Uzumaki Reikawa, having learned of the situation on "Uchiha Gen's" side, had no patience to wait for Naruto to use his "Talk-no-Jutsu" to slowly open the Nine-Tails' heart.

If all went well, Uzumaki Reikawa might have to "die" once in a month or two. The Akatsuki only respected the strong; if he couldn't even handle himself, his image as a powerhouse would crumble, making it even harder to get autographs later.

Moreover, he now had a grand goal. He didn't want to wait for them to go through their repetitive emotional cycles. Since he had this level of strength, he wondered if he could disrupt the loop by catching them off guard and take out Black Zetsu!

While each clone was at a disadvantage in terms of endurance, one couldn't deny that as long as each clone had sufficient chakra, their initial strength was not inferior to the main body.

Not to mention that the skin provided by the system greatly enhanced his resistance to damage, and the more he thought about the Akatsuki's plan in two or three years, the more feasible it seemed.

Coupled with Uzumaki Reikawa's foresight from his previous life, he could guide the two children of destiny to reach their full potential without taking any detours. Even if he failed, there would be a layer of insurance. However, if he wanted to do this, he had to find a way to speed up the collection of signature cards on both sides.

Sensing an intruder in the seal, the Nine-Tails slowly opened its half-closed eyes. A pair of vertical, beastly pupils stared fixedly at Uzumaki Reikawa. The Nine-Tails felt a threat from him—it was the same feeling it had felt from Kushina Uzumaki all those years ago.

Baring its massive, hideous fangs, it seemed to speak from the depths of its belly: "Brat, who are you?!"