At this moment, Kurama could clearly sense another force inside Naruto that didn't belong to him.
It wasn't weak, but it wasn't all that strong either—definitely nowhere near the level of power Kurama had felt from Shanks. At most, this force could hold Kurama down, but not destroy him.
That's right. To Kurama, this kind of power was just "not strong." Being able to suppress him was one thing—being able to kill him was another.
"What is this now? Those Konohagakure guys still haven't given up?"
Kurama looked at the force drifting outside the seal, his eyes gleaming with intelligence.
He didn't really know what was going on inside Naruto's body, but from eavesdropping on the outside now and then, he knew the people of Konohagakure were trying to use his power to make those things called "White Zetsu."
So Kurama reinforced his own seal.
Normally, tailed beasts can't do that. There's no record of any tailed beast being able to use ninjutsu.
But Kurama made it happen—he had no other choice.
Back in the day, even when Kurama got beaten up, it wasn't a big deal. Even someone as powerful as Hashirama could only suppress him.
But Shanks was different. That slash, which broke through limits, triggered Kurama's survival instincts.
Sometimes you don't know your limits until you're pushed.
That's exactly what happened with Kurama—he actually figured out sealing techniques on his own… just to seal himself.
It might sound pointless, but in reality, it made a huge difference. Naruto was still within the Land of Fire, but Konohagakure was basically in a state like they had no jinchuriki at all.
There wasn't a trace of tailed beast chakra on Naruto.
"If this thing keeps growing, it won't be long before it breaks the seal.
And it's been getting stronger lately too."
Kurama was deep in thought.
The power inside Naruto was strange—it had a Sage-like aura.
So Kurama had to take it seriously.
After thinking it over for a while, he finally made a decision. While Naruto was asleep, Kurama quietly opened his own seal.
A giant fox paw reached through the bars of the seal, and a wave of power flowed out from Kurama's body.
The next moment, the strange power inside Naruto seemed to feel something and started heading toward Kurama.
At the same time, far away in the real world, Nagato was holding a report in his hand. The confusion on his face suddenly disappeared.
"Nagato, what's wrong?"
Konan noticed something was off about him.
"We found them—the traitors in our group."
Nagato said calmly.
Chiriku's intel had arrived.
And in it, Chiriku had directly pointed out the identities of Obito and Black Zetsu—they were the traitors hiding within the Akatsuki.
He couldn't figure out exactly who they were, but it was clear now: Obito and Black Zetsu were definitely up to something.
"Tobi and Zetsu?"
Konan looked down at the report in her hand.
It was long—and it involved a lot of things.
"These past years, the Akatsuki have been collecting the power of the Tailed Beasts. I've had a feeling something was off for a while... I didn't expect Tobi to be one of them too."
"Should we act now?"
Konan asked. With the current strength of the Revolutionary Army, they could easily take out Obito and Black Zetsu. Chiriku's side was also ready a long time ago.
"Let's wait a little longer. There might be other forces behind them.
The intel from that side made it very clear: the World Government has already figured out who I am. The biggest threat to their Land of the Immortal Plan is Shanks—and after that, it's us, the Revolutionary Army."
"The Immortals building the Land of the Immortal already goes against the agreement they made with the Sage of Six Paths thousands of years ago.
Nobody knows if the Sage is really dead, but the reincarnations of Asura and Indra have already been confirmed by the Immortals."
"That's exactly why they're even more wary of the reincarnations of Asura and Indra."
Nagato stared at his reflection in the water. He still didn't really understand what was going on with his Rinnegan.
All he knew was that something changed with his eyes during an event when he was a kid.
But it was obvious—whether it was Shanks, Karin, or Naruto—none of them had this kind of power.
So that basically confirmed his identity.
Nagato had no doubts about who he really was.
There was no room for doubt. The evidence was already too strong.
Say what you will, but when it comes to evidence and facts, the World Government is very serious.
Take Shanks being a World Noble, or the Uzumaki clan having noble status—who would've thought that under normal circumstances? But once the World Government brought out the proof...
Well, turns out they really are World Nobles.
And now? Nagato is the only one with the Rinnegan, and he's standing against the World Government.
To the Immortals in the World Government, that basically means Asura's reincarnation has appeared to stop their Land of the Immortal plan, under the will of something greater.
And to be honest, Chiriku hyping up "Nagato" really gave him some influence.
Before, everyone only paid attention to Shanks. But after Chiriku called out all the major clans in Konohagakure, Nagato officially entered the spotlight.
That's when the Immortals of the World Government started getting cautious. Nagato's light had been hidden behind Shanks all this time.
But looking at it now, if Shanks is out of the picture, then the biggest threat to the Land of the Immortal plan is the Revolutionary Army.
They're the only ones who might actually take down the World Government.
And Nagato's power and presence—honestly, even if one of the Immortals stepped up, there's no guarantee they could stop him.
The strength of the Revolutionary Army is something the Immortals have to take seriously. But at the same time, they're not so strong that it's out of control.
That fits pretty well with how the Immortals imagined the Sage of Six Paths' son would be—very strong overall, not something a couple of Immortals could handle, but still not as extreme as Shanks.
No need to look into it anymore. It's Uzumaki Nagato, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
The World Government locked onto him right away and started clearing out Revolutionary spies in the ninja world.
What, you think we're gonna let Asura rise up again in our Land of the Immortal? We even fought your old man, the Sage of Six Paths—dealing with you is just a bonus.
"So... Tobi, Zetsu, and the force behind them were planning to use us to fight against the Sages from the start?"
Konan understood everything in that moment.
Thinking about it this way, everything made perfect sense. No holes in it.
The changes in the Akatsuki—even Yahiko and the others' deaths back then—could very well have been part of those guys' plan for revenge.
"It's very likely. Otherwise, I can't figure out why they chose us."
Nagato nodded. Now, the truth was finally clear.
"Konan, call everyone back!"
"Yahiko's death... we can put that aside for now. They'll pay for it eventually. But if they want to make up for using us, they'd better show some real sincerity first."
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