When the Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power reaches a certain level, it can control tailed beasts. And beyond the Mangekyō lies the Eternal Mangekyō, with an even stronger ability to dominate them—able to forcibly establish contracts…
Nagato recounted everything he had read from the stone tablet, word for word.
Kyoichi's expression grew heavier and heavier. His acting was flawless—at least he thought so.
Only after Nagato finished did he finally nod gravely.
"Now it makes sense… Good thing you didn't say this back there. This intel is critical—it concerns the life and death of a friend of mine."
"The Nine-Tails?" Nagato asked.
Though he didn't know much about Konoha, he did know a little about Kushina. After all, from the Uzumaki clan, only she had been rescued before the war broke out.
But…
her fate was hardly enviable. After arriving in Konoha, she succeeded the previous jinchūriki, becoming the next Nine-Tails' host, bound in shackles of duty, never to know freedom again.
Everything had its price.
And so, Nagato didn't harbor resentment toward Kushina.
They were all victims—people whose nations had been destroyed, whose homes had been burned away.
Kyoichi nodded.
"Yes. Back then, when Uchiha Madara left Konoha and later returned, he fought the First Hokage at the Valley of the End. It was the Nine-Tails he brought to that battle… Oh, at that time, that place wasn't yet the canyon it is today."
He didn't go into detail.
But Nagato could easily imagine how fierce that battle had been—terrain reshaped, a river carved into a valley. The sheer power of Hashirama Senju was awe-inspiring.
Uchiha Madara, armed with the Mangekyō and the Nine-Tails…
and yet, he still lost at the Valley of the End.
Only after that defeat did he gain the Rinnegan. Which could only mean—
Hashirama's strength exceeded Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Unimaginable!
Nagato's heart filled with awe and respect.
Then he understood Kyoichi's concerns.
Since the Nine-Tails had once been controlled by Madara, it must have been bound with the beast-contract described on the tablet. Otherwise, how could a creature as prideful and untamable as the Nine-Tails have submitted?
But… such a contract would not vanish with time.
Now that it was sealed inside Kushina, Madara couldn't directly control it. But if the Nine-Tails were ever released, anyone with the Mangekyō Sharingan and the knowledge of that control technique could seize it again.
An enormous danger!
Nagato asked, "So what now?"
"I've sent a clone to contact Minato. After all, about what we encountered today—we should let them know, so they can be prepared in advance."
"Huh? I thought you were just bluffing Uchiha Fugaku… so it was real?" Nagato looked blankly at him.
He had convinced himself Kyoichi was lying. But it turned out—
it was true.
"Of course it's real. The Uchiha today aren't what they once were. Their revered ancestor, Madara, doesn't want to save them—he wants to destroy them. Why would I need to lie to Fugaku?"
Kyoichi shook his head lightly.
Fugaku probably thought the same, but Kyoichi couldn't be bothered to explain further.
Those who understood would understand.
Those who didn't—it was pointless anyway.
Nagato nodded quietly.
Then he saw Kyoichi weave hand seals and create a shadow clone.
In an instant, the clone disappeared.
Nagato frowned.
"At this hour… what if you disturb them? Wouldn't that be awkward?"
"…Ah."
Kyoichi smacked his forehead.
He had been so busy lately, and this matter was urgent, that he completely forgot it was nighttime. If he barged in while the couple was… well… together…
Hmm.
Probably not.
Besides, he hadn't warped straight into Minato's house—he'd marked a seal in the courtyard.
And indeed—
Under Madara's looming threat, no one lived comfortably. Especially with the information they now carried, Minato and Kushina had no leisure for intimacy.
The moment Kyoichi arrived, they sensed him and came to open the door.
"Kyoichi, did something happen?"
"Let's talk inside. It concerns Kushina."
"Me?" Kushina blinked in surprise, pointing to herself.
Her?
Nagato?
She knew of him—Minato had mentioned the red-haired descendant of Uzumaki, but Nagato had no warmth for her or Konoha. So she had never sought him out.
What was going on?
Puzzled, Kushina led Kyoichi inside.
He explained the situation from start to finish.
By the time he finished, Minato's lips were twitching uncontrollably.
This was…
enough to kill anyone from sheer pressure.
Madara was alive, cultivating Mangekyō Sharingan, and not only that—he had advanced them into the Rinnegan.
Too monstrous!
Minato drew a deep breath, steadying himself.
"So in other words… those Rinnegan really were Madara's eyes. But right now, Madara himself doesn't have them… That's probably the only good news I've heard in a while."
"Exactly." Kyoichi nodded.
Then he explained about the eye's ability to control tailed beasts, and also described Black Zetsu—adding in some of his own conjectures.
When he finished, Minato and Kushina exchanged a long look.
"Madara hasn't wasted his years. The schemes he's woven are almost impossible to guard against. Good thing your sensory abilities have improved lately, Kyoichi—or we'd never have known someone like that was watching us."
Minato's face was grim.
No body. Nearly impossible to detect. Intelligent.
A terrifying enemy.
Kyoichi wouldn't have raised it without reason.
Kushina focused on something else.
"Seal techniques can't bind it? No… it must be that the sealing arts we have aren't strong enough to restrain it."
She furrowed her brow, recalling her clan's sealing techniques.
But…
Kyoichi already knew the Four Symbols Seal, which was high-level. Above that was the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—a forbidden art, claiming the caster's life.
And against a bodiless foe that could melt into the earth itself, pinning it down in the first place would be near impossible.
Troublesome.
Madara's subordinates were fiendishly difficult to deal with.
She drew a long breath, then shifted focus.
"As for the Nine-Tails… that's less of a problem. The Uzumaki clan has a Contract Seal. It can sever the binding between Madara and the beast."
"I want to meet the Nine-Tails. Speak with it. If the Rinnegan can dominate it, I suspect the tailed beasts may share some deeper connection with the Sage of Six Paths."
"This…"
Minato met Kushina's eyes. Then he nodded.
"If you have a way, opening part of the outer seal won't be an issue."
"Good."
Kyoichi pressed his palm to the sealing formula on Kushina's stomach, channeling his spirit.
In an instant, his consciousness slipped inside.
A dark, waterlogged prison.
There lay the colossal beast, crouched low in its cage. Fierce, terrifying—
and yet, in that moment, pitiful.
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