Because He Was Smart and Talented, He Was Hard to Fool

"Achoo!"

Huayue lounged lazily on the sofa, Otaku Happy Water in his left hand and fries and potato chips in his right, as he looked around.

"Caught a cold? No, it feels more like I'm being watched by a snake—and one obsessed with science at that."

In the vibrant Inner world, where grass and trees flourished, Black Nine-Tails stretched comfortably. Glancing at the snack pile that was nearly depleted, he could not help shouting.

"Hey, brat, the snacks are almost gone. Hurry up and make some more for This Lord."

"Shut up. All you do is eat all day. Don't call yourself Kurama anymore—change your name to Orange Kurama. You do nothing but eat and sleep anyway, so you might as well change species from a fox to a pig..."

Before he could finish, Black Nine-Tails' tail shot upright. His blood-red fox eyes could not help glaring red-eyed at Huayue before him.

"Didn't This Lord lend you chakra? If This Lord hadn't worked so hard converting chakra for you, could you use Fire Release: Great Spiraling Ring with your own chakra?"

"Didn't I pay you six months' worth of snacks in advance? You ate all of it within ten days, and you still feel wronged when I call you a pig!"

Half the Forest Garden was piled with wrappers and empty bottles, soaking in the pale blue lake of the mind as they gradually broke down into chakra.

The once-gentle breeze was now laced with all kinds of potato chip scents. At a faint sniff, Huayue's expression changed slightly.

"Tomato flavor? I didn't expect you to have such taste."

"Tch. Anyone who eats tomato-flavored potato chips is a heretic."

"Are you picking a fight, Orange pig?"

After a brief silence, countless wrappers and empty bottles suddenly vanished. Clumps of pale blue chakra floated in the air, while those scarlet eyes, which had held back their restraint, now turned inexplicably chilling.

At that moment, Black Nine-Tails also put away his playful attitude. As if he had seen through Huayue's mood, he leaned against a tree taller than himself, smiling.

"What is it? In a bad mood?"

"I merely met a ninja worthy of respect on the battlefield. It left me feeling somewhat reflective."

"Compared to her, those old fools who only know how to sit back and consume what they have, who watch helplessly as children who should be playing are sent to the battlefield, who never stop talking about the Will of Fire while clutching power tightly in their hands... the more I look at them, the more disgusting they become."

His lips curled upward, his gleaming fangs becoming increasingly prominent before he finally threw back his head and laughed wildly.

"Hahahaha! Is that why you spared that old woman? This Lord had been wondering why you let an enemy live. So you were moved by sentiment."

"Hey, Uchiha brat, why endure it? With your Mangekyō Sharingan and This Lord's chakra, what can the two of us not accomplish together?"

An inexplicable temptation filled the blood-red vertical pupils of the fox. He truly could not imagine why Huayue, who clearly possessed the power to overturn the entire Ninja World in a short time, still chose to hide in the shadows.

"Idiot. What meaning is there in short-lived rule? Only the power to withstand the erosion of time, to carve one's own mark into the wheels of history and control its course, is true strength."

"You, the strongest among the Tailed Beasts, and I, who stand above the Sharingan—the power formed by combining the two is certainly formidable, but it does not mean we have no natural enemies."

"Don't tell me you haven't sensed that dense malice hidden within the forest. That is what a natural enemy looks like."

A cold glint flickered in his intricate crimson eyes. The source of that malice lay in the direction of Uchiha Obito's home.

Already impatient to observe your successor, Uchiha Madara...?

As the flowers bloomed on two branches, each told its own tale.

At the border of the Land of Wind, pure moonlight spilled across the dazzling Gold Dust, while the endless fog was blocked by fierce winds and poisonous smoke.

"Rasa and Chiyo. The Third Kazekage's disappearance and Sunagakure's successive defeats have greatly weakened Sunagakure. Even its only remaining fighting force has no choice but to guard the borders of the Land of Wind."

"After spreading the flames of war across the entire Ninja World and indirectly provoking the bloody mist of the Third Great Ninja War, do you still have moments of reflection?"

Within the dense fog, having failed to gain any advantage, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen handpicked by Kirigakure of the Land of Water for this Great Ninja War all withdrew, leaving behind only several Sunagakure and Kirigakure corpses.

"A pack of bloodthirsty sharks. Wherever there is an opening, they will not hesitate to tear off a mouthful of flesh."

Worry covered his aged face. With the Third Kazekage missing for so long, he could probably be declared dead. The leaderless Sand Ninja also needed to choose a new Kazekage capable of stabilizing the situation.

"Compared with the other great nations, Sunagakure simply has too few people. Even if puppet dolls make up for the shortage in numbers, there are far too few top-tier fighters capable of making the other great nations back down."

Standing atop the fortress, Rasa turned back with a face full of gloom. The Sunagakure that had raised him seemed to sway in the breeze, on the verge of collapse.

"Top-tier strength? If we want to protect the village, there is only one option left—activate that monster. The One-Tail, Shukaku of the Sand."

Pakura remained silent. Ever since Sunagakure's previous Jinchūriki had died, that demon containing immense chakra had been sealed within the Wind Temple of the Land of Wind.

"A Jinchūriki? If poor Sunagakure is to gain the ability to resist foreign enemies, this may be the only way. But finding someone suitable for Shukaku will not be so simple."

Rasa muttered to himself, while Chiyo raised her head toward the sky. In the darkened heavens, only a few stars twinkled.

"The deeper and quieter the night, the more I can feel my own age. What comes next will be your era. This old bag of bones has only one wish left—to see my grandson."

"Where exactly are you, Sasori?"

Meanwhile, far beyond the Five Great Nations, on an overseas peninsula, Mountain Graveyard.

Inside the enormous cavern buried deep underground, the white-haired elder with blood-red eyes scrutinized everything before finally making his decision.

"This child, Uchiha Obito? Good eyes. His eyes are filled with love. When that love is lost, the power gained from it will undoubtedly make him a proxy for my will."

"Eh? I thought you would pay more attention to that brat. He can skillfully use Flying Thunder God at the age of ten. He is a talented Uchiha prodigy."

White Zetsu was thoroughly confused as he pointed at Uchiha Huayue, whose name stood near the top of the Uchiha member list.

"He does not have Uchiha eyes, nor does he possess the love Uchiha obsess over. The Uchiha who inherits my will does not need talent, but hatred born from that obsessive love."

White Zetsu nodded slightly. So that was it. Because he seemed smart and talented, he was hard to fool?