Leaving the Village

To avoid any unexpected complications, the two set out quickly. Konoha had a general idea of where the Sannin were.

"Where is Lady Tsunade?"

Naruto asked.

"The Land of Hot Water."

The Land of Hot Water was a tourist destination, best known for its hot springs and casinos.

Back in Konoha, classes resumed the next day, but two students were missing.

One was Sasuke Uchiha, and the other was Naruto Uzumaki.

When Hinata noticed that Naruto wasn't there, she grew worried. After school, she went to his house and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

Getting anxious, she activated her Byakugan and looked inside.

"Naruto-kun isn't home?"

Meanwhile, Danzo was raging.

Everything had been going well. He'd only needed to push a little harder to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan.

But the two elders had opposed him, wanting to leave the matter to the next Fifth Hokage.

That only made Danzo angrier. He'd used his trump card to deal with the Uchiha Clan, after all.

It was Kagami Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.

He'd sacrificed both Mangekyō to kill Fugaku Uchiha.

After arguing with his two old friends, Danzo was still furious. But when he returned to Root, something even more infuriating awaited him.

The Mangekyō he'd collected were gone.

"Say that again." Danzo fixed his subordinates with a cold stare.

If he weren't short-handed, he would have killed every last one of them.

The people before him trembled.

"Lord Danzo, a one-eyed Uchiha wearing a mask broke in and stole the eyes we'd collected."

"A one-eyed Uchiha?"

Danzo was puzzled. One person came to mind: the Nine-Tails' rampage.

"Yes. He had the Mangekyō Sharingan and used Space-Time Ninjutsu. We couldn't even touch him."

The people below him spoke with their heads bowed, their voices trembling.

Of course, Naruto had arranged all of this.

Information was the most important thing in this world. With intel on an opponent, you could prepare a counter.

Danzo had seen the reports about the masked man, so he knew his subordinates weren't lying. But he couldn't accept that the Mangekyō he'd collected were simply gone.

The coldness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Those Uchiha all deserve to die."

Meanwhile, Naruto and Jiraiya had been traveling all day. That night, they sat beside a campfire in the forest.

Jiraiya held a pen and notebook, jotting down inspiration as it came to him.

Naruto closed his eyes and sent his consciousness into the Sealing Space.

The place had changed completely. In the golden space, a gigantic Nine-Tails lay sprawled lazily.

"Hey, brat. You're here."

When the Nine-Tails saw Naruto arrive, he opened his eyes. The violence was gone from them.

"Yeah. How are you doing?"

Naruto asked.

"Same as ever."

The Nine-Tails replied.

"You still need to recover as soon as possible."

"Don't worry. You should focus on how you're going to get stronger."

The Nine-Tails looked at Naruto as if he were an old friend.

Naruto was pleased to see him like this.

His original plan had been to erase the Nine-Tails' memories.

But when it came time to do it, a better idea suddenly occurred to him.

He could add some memories to the Nine-Tails instead.

He'd turned the events from the original story into memories and added them to the Nine-Tails' mind.

He'd also given the Nine-Tails a reason for those memories: they were both time travelers from the future, sent back after being defeated by the Otsutsuki Clan. They'd chosen to start over.

That was how things had come to be this way.

It made far more sense.

The Nine-Tails couldn't spot a single flaw.

"Don't worry. You should focus on yourself."

Naruto had planned things out carefully, so he wasn't worried at all.

Hearing Naruto's words, the Nine-Tails fell into thought.

Could the Nine-Tails become stronger? Of course.

He could become the Ten-Tails, but to do that, he'd have to devour the other Eight Tailed Beasts.

"Does it really have to be this way, Naruto?"

The Nine-Tails frowned.

"That depends on you. If you can get stronger on your own, that's fine too."

The Tailed Beasts were much stronger than they had been a thousand years ago. That was beyond doubt, and it proved they could continue to grow stronger.

But how could he get stronger? Even the Nine-Tails didn't know.

"Think it over and see what you can come up with."

Naruto had a way, of course, but this wasn't the time to reveal it.

His consciousness returned to his body.

Jiraiya was crouched right in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto jumped in fright.

"Heh. What are you doing?"

"Going into the Sealing Space."

"What's going on with the Nine-Tails?"

Jiraiya showed some interest at that.

"His soul was badly damaged, so he fell into a deep sleep. I can use some of his power now."

Naruto made it up on the spot.

"Show me."

Jiraiya was curious about Naruto's mode.

"Sure."

Naruto didn't hide it from him.

Nine-Tails Chakra Mode

In an instant, golden flames enveloped Naruto's body.

Naruto appeared before Jiraiya, gleaming gold.

Jiraiya's pupils contracted, and he instinctively took several steps back.

That chakra was even more powerful than what he had when he entered Sage Mode.

Naruto flexed his hands and looked himself over. He had to admit, this mode looked pretty cool.

Next, I just need to figure out how to get the other half of the Nine-Tails back.

Then I'll need the other Tailed Beasts' chakra.

There was only one way for others to enter Six Paths Mode: fuse every chakra nature. But that was practically impossible.

Ninja lifespans were short to begin with. Fusing every nature was nearly impossible, so ninja without the right bloodline had virtually no chance of entering Six Paths Mode.

For Naruto, though, it was simple: collect the chakra of every Tailed Beast, and he could enter Six Paths Mode.

Or he could become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

But the Ten-Tails was bound to Kaguya Otsutsuki. Becoming its Jinchuriki was too dangerous.

"Hey, brat. Can you control this power?"

Jiraiya asked curiously.

Naruto frowned and tried to take a step. The ground caved in at once.

He'd left a three-meter-wide crater beneath his foot.

Naruto furrowed his brows.

Jiraiya's eyelid twitched, and he immediately backed away.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Naruto a human-shaped Tailed Beast in this state.

"Brat, you should turn that mode off for now."

He hadn't thought much of it before, but now Jiraiya realized he was standing far too close to a Tailed Beast.

Naruto felt a headache coming on too.

If I activate Triple Inversion, I should be able to control this power.

No, it looks like I'll need more practice controlling it.

Naruto frowned and thought it over.

He considered how he could train his control.

"Alright, brat. I'll teach you a method."

Jiraiya spoke while Naruto was still thinking.

Naruto looked at him in confusion.

Jiraiya performed a jutsu. His hair grew long, and he used it to write on the ground.