"Danzo, Koharu, Homura… I'll leave it to you to find out what sensei's real intentions are."
From a distance, Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed at Naruto's house. His eyes flickered as he murmured to himself: "I know… You've always had a rebellious streak. You never quite agree with what I say as Hokage…"
"So in that case, even if I tell you not to disturb sensei, chances are, you'll end up provoking him anyway. I really can't judge how much control sensei has over the Nine-Tails, or what exactly he's planning…"
"If that's the case, then I'll continue being the obedient student—I'll follow sensei's arrangements for me and the Uchiha…"
"And you lot… go ahead and make some trouble."
Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted his sleeves and, carrying a complex mix of emotions, made his way toward the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, within Naruto's mental space—
Kazuki cleanly and decisively returned control of the body to Naruto. Smiling, he looked at the one boy and one fox before him, both filled with awe, and slowly said: "Well? Did you manage to learn something?"
The Nine-Tails let out a long breath and nodded seriously.
"Kazuki-sama, you're truly incredible… Just by relying on a single volume of the Chronicles of Konohagakure and scraps of intelligence Naruto gathered, without using anything beyond what's within our capabilities, you fabricated a lie convincing enough to fool the Third Hokage completely..."
"Kazuki-nii, you're amazing!"
Naruto, far simpler in thought, looked at Kazuki with sparkling eyes. "So you can do so much just by having information!"
Kazuki said nothing, only smiled and nodded. "As long as you understand, Naruto."
In truth, if it had been anyone else, it wouldn't have worked.
Even with complete intelligence, a solid understanding of shinobi history, and a logically sound argument, that still wouldn't have been enough to deceive Sarutobi Hiruzen.
No matter how many times Naruto and the Nine-Tails practiced beforehand, had they done it alone, the plan would have almost certainly failed.
Only Kazuki could do it.
Because Kazuki's understanding of Senju Tobirama had already reached a level equal to the man himself—
In fact, one could even say:
In a performance like this, even if the real Senju Tobirama had acted the role, he might not have been as natural as Kazuki.
This was a portrayal even more convincing than the original.
"Naruto, Nine-Tails… I'm this good at lying, so you'd better be careful not to get tricked by me too."
Kazuki smiled warmly as he patted the shoulders of the boy and the fox. His tone grew more serious, as if he weren't joking at all: "Always remember the kind of life you want to live. Don't let me sway you. I've been subtly trying to change both of you all this time..."
The Nine-Tails and Naruto exchanged a glance—and then both burst into laughter.
"Kazuki-nii, you're so weird. You're scared that Kurama and I will think you've been too kind to us, huh?"
Naruto made a face and teased him.
"Don't worry, Kazuki-nii—we want to be influenced by you!"
"Kazuki-sama, you're truly gentle…"
The Nine-Tails flicked his massive head and said sincerely, "I honestly don't even know how to respond to that..."
Kazuki glanced at them both and let out a snort.
These days, tell the truth and no one believes you anymore…
How bizarre.
'With this, after the little display of power and my dramatic exchange with Sarutobi Hiruzen, I've earned Naruto and the Nine-Tails' trust to a nearly complete degree…'
Kazuki reflected inwardly.
'Next comes getting Naruto to actively crave power… He must come to understand just how pitiful the outcome is for those who have none.'
The Nine-Tails already knew this well.
But Naruto was still a child. He needed a powerful shock to shape that awareness—
And right at this moment in time, there just happened to be a ready-made, textbook case on the cost and meaning of power…
Planned entirely by Uchiha Itachi—the Night of the Uchiha Massacre!
...
"I can help you take revenge on the Uchiha clan... but I have one condition: you must not use this chance to target the village—or my little brother."
Somewhere deep within the forests of the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Itachi, clad in black, held in his hands a patrol schedule and a deployment map of the Konoha Military Police, which he had obtained from Uchiha Fugaku. His Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed with blood-red light as he spoke in a low voice to Uchiha Obito, who stood across from him wearing his signature mask.
"Eliminating that filthy clan is enough."
Obito studied Itachi closely, his mind stirred.
"You managed to contact me through the black market… and you even knew about my hatred for the Uchiha clan. That certainly makes things easier. But how did you know about me?"
The black market was one of the few places where Obito was relatively active.
It was through a secret coded message left with a black market merchant that Itachi had managed to make contact with the elusive, ghost-like Uchiha Obito.
Even so, Obito was surprised.
With the power of Kamui, he had believed that no one in the shinobi world could possibly track his movements.
"I have the same eyes as you," Itachi said, pointing to his own. The intricate patterns of his Mangekyō spun with power—filled with hatred, and pride.
"Your dōjutsu is indeed formidable. You bypassed Konoha's barrier techniques, even infiltrated the Naka Shrine to read the Uchiha Stone Tablet..."
"But what you probably didn't expect is that even among the degenerate and corrupt Uchiha clan, there would be someone like me who could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Ever since I noticed your presence, I've been investigating you—building a psychological profile, guessing your origins, your motives, your beliefs..."
Itachi's voice was steady and grim.
Obito nodded thoughtfully. As he listened to the tone in Itachi's voice—that familiar arrogance and pride—a sense of déjà vu swept over him.
Just like...
Just like himself back then, when after undergoing Madara's training and possessing only one eye of Kamui, he still thought he was invincible.
Barely a teenager, he had stormed into Konoha alone, attempting to seize the Nine-Tails with just his own power, never giving a second thought to the strength of the village's Kage-level shinobi.
The arrogance and self-confidence in Itachi's words reminded him of a shadow of his past self.
'...But still far inferior to me,' Obito scoffed inwardly. "If I hadn't been too lazy to retrieve that eye I gave to that useless brat, I'd have torn Konoha apart with that beast years ago.'
'This kid has both Mangekyō eyes, yet he's still being this cautious just to deal with the Uchiha clan. Clearly, his dōjutsu isn't all that troublesome...'
'Still... his hatred toward the Uchiha clan is interesting. The Sharingan left behind by Madara is far too ancient—gathering fresh eyes from those worthless clansmen as spares actually makes some sense.'
'Even though the Uchiha are just a bunch of small-time weaklings now, their bloodline is still troublesome... If one of them awakens a powerful dōjutsu, even I would have to be cautious.'
'Better to kill them all. Just to be safe.'
Uchiha Obito calculated swiftly in his mind. Now that a kid had come knocking, volunteering to do the dirty work, it was time to stir up some more chaos in Konoha.
And after hearing Itachi's demand to wipe out the Uchiha while sparing the village...
Obito only grew more resolute in his desire to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi and reboot this filthy, hellish shinobi world altogether.
There really isn't a single decent person left in this damned place.
And they're all completely broken in the head…
Through White Zetsu, Obito had already learned everything about Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. What he hadn't expected was that Itachi had actually caught a glimpse of his movements.
All for some so-called 'Will of Fire'—two Mangekyō Sharingan users: one took his own life, and the other was now preparing to raise his blade against his own clan. And on top of that, he'd gone to all this trouble just to track down Obito, seeking an outside ally to carry out the massacre…
Desperate to make sure not a single Uchiha survived...
Obito could hardly keep it together.
Those were two Mangekyō Sharingan!
Back in the day, he had only one eye—and even then, he'd dared to take on the entire Hidden Leaf by himself!
But now? This generation's Uchiha felt like they'd been brainwashed by the higher-ups of Konoha. All for that ridiculous 'Will of Fire', they threw themselves into the flames, each one more eager than the last to offer their lives to the enemy. All of them had this deep-rooted instinct to betray their own kind.
Even though Obito wanted nothing more than to see the Uchiha clan wiped out, he couldn't help but feel sick at heart. That blood ran in his own veins, after all—and seeing the stupidity of Itachi and Shisui made his whole body uncomfortable, as if their shame rubbed off on him.
Utterly idiotic and rotten.
'I've been too merciful… These so-called shinobi born from this world, every last one of them deserves to rot in hell—not live a blissful life in the perfect world I'll create for Rin...'
Spitting at Itachi in his heart, Obito shifted his tone and spoke with a casual air: "Fine then. Just as you said—three nights from now, you and I will begin the night of the Uchiha clan's extermination."
Itachi gave a slow nod. "Then it's settled."
Obito waved his hand and turned to glance at Itachi one last time. His figure warped in the swirl of space-time and vanished into the other dimension without a trace.
He truly couldn't figure it out…
Just what was going on inside Uchiha Itachi's head?
Even if he was doing it all for Konoha, shouldn't the goal have been to eliminate only the radical elements of the Uchiha clan? At the very least, he should've preserved some bearers of the Sharingan—kept a few embers alive so this powerful kekkei genkai could continue within the village.
Leaving behind only his little brother? What kind of plan was that?
The Sharingan isn't like the Byakugan. Even among the Uchiha, awakening the Sharingan is a rare event. With only one surviving heir, it would almost guarantee the extinction of the Sharingan within Konoha.
'Could it be… that Uchiha Itachi is only pretending to be brainwashed by the village? And what he actually wants is to plant hatred in his little brother's heart—to push him into awakening the Mangekyō...'
'And then... seize the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan for himself?'
In the Kamui dimension, Uchiha Obito considered this possibility, then shook his head.
He couldn't tell—he really couldn't.
Was Itachi a foolish madman blinded by the Will of Fire, or a terrifying schemer who would stop at nothing in his pursuit of power?
'Doesn't matter anymore... When the time comes, I'll just keep an eye on the younger one. Poor kid—watching his big brother slaughter their entire clan, he might awaken a three-tomoe Sharingan all at once.'
Obito recalled the moment he himself had awakened his Sharingan during the Third Great Ninja War. He had stepped in to protect Kakashi from an Iwa jonin with stealth abilities and took a blade to the back—only then did his two-tomoe Sharingan emerge.
Considering his own experience... Uchiha Sasuke may be young, but if the trauma of the massacre is intense enough, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan in a single night wasn't entirely out of the question.
'If that happens… then I'll have to take those eyes for myself. The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan is a troublesome power to leave unchecked.'
"Ugh... now I'm thinking about that useless loser again." Obito waved a hand dismissively, as if swatting a fly, trying to scatter the lingering image of Kakashi from his mind.
The Kamui space rippled, and Uchiha Obito phased into Konoha.
Though he told himself he was only scouting…
…the first place he arrived at was the village cemetery.
Might as well see you first, Rin… and the rest of the family.
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