What? She had thought Naruto only faced one of them, because Tamako hadn't provided any exact details—just that Naruto had survived. But he had actually fought both Sasuke and Itachi at the same time!
"I don't know what happened to them afterward because I got knocked back and fell into a coma, but someone told me they were taken away. I also discovered who had taken them—Madara Uchiha."
Naruto immediately noticed Lady Tsunade's eyes widen.
"I guess you know who he is, huh?"
"He's long gone, Naruto," Tsunade replied, trying to reassure him. At least in her mind, Madara had been dead for ages.
Her grandfather had defeated Madara long before she was even born.
"No, he's alive," Naruto countered. "I have a lot to tell you, Grandma Tsunade. Will you listen? This might take some time."
Tsunade furrowed her brow and exhaled deeply.
She could've insisted Madara was dead, but from the tone of Naruto's voice, he clearly had solid evidence. Besides, Madara's body had never been found in The Valley's End. So deep down, they'd always believed… just maybe… Madara had survived after all.
"Alright then, kid. I'm listening."
***
Kumogakure - Raikage Office
"That's all the intel I've got right now," Naruto said, standing before the Raikage and addressing everyone present.
Maki and Sai already knew most of this, so they didn't seem surprised.
But Jiraiya, Yugito, and A gaped at him, eyes wide.
Jiraiya was the first to recover. "You're joking, right? Madara Uchiha?"
"I'm serious," Naruto said firmly. "It was Madara himself—I heard it directly from Itachi."
Mariko planted her fists on her hips, flipping her ponytail as she turned to face their Kage.
"So what do we plan to do now?" she asked. "Naruto-kun has already defeated more than half of Akatsuki. Are we really going to sit back and wait for them to strike first? Iwagakure has Jinchuriki, and so does Kirigakure—and don't forget, Kirigakure's Jinchuriki were captured before any other village even realized it."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Right now, only me, Gaara, Yugito, and B are still free."
"We have no idea where they're hiding. Unless they come after us themselves, there's no way we can find them. That's exactly their advantage—they're experts at staying hidden," A added.
Sai continued, "In fact, I personally fought him during our last mission. But he didn't even take me seriously. All my attacks missed completely—as if I never even touched him."
Sai narrowed his eyes, recalling further details. "He also seemed capable of manipulating space freely—he vanished using that technique."
Jiraiya fixed his gaze on Naruto. "So what's your plan?" he asked.
Naruto gave a bitter smile. "What else am I supposed to do? I'll keep pushing ahead."
I have to train harder and take down both him and Pain. Do you really think your battered body can handle them?
Naruto grinned at everyone and said, "Leave it all to me. When I get serious, no one can beat me!"
As he spoke, he stuck his hands behind his head and swaggered out of the room. "I'm going to meditate for a bit and talk to the Nine-Tails. Maybe it has some insight into this."
With that, he left the office and closed the door behind him.
Tamako frowned as she watched Naruto walk away.
After he was gone, she sighed and shook her head.
"You all saw it too, right? His smile looked forced when he said he'd take on Madara and Pain. Naruto… he's just pretending to be happy."
Yugito blinked in surprise. "Is he scared *again*?"
"He's not scared," Maki replied. "Naruto-senpai isn't afraid of anyone. He just needs time to sort things out in his head."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and stared at her hands. "Everything has become too complicated. Too much has happened."
***
# Naruto's Spiritual World #
Naruto once again arrived at the familiar sewer-like labyrinth—the place where he had first met the Nine-Tails, the Demon Fox.
As he stepped into the ankle-deep filthy water, an image of his father came to mind. "If Dad knew my current situation, he'd surely be proud of me. I must defeat Madara and give him a real reason to be proud."
But how exactly could he defeat Madara Uchiha? According to Sai, he couldn't even lay a hand on Madara, who could instantly teleport away whenever Naruto gained an advantage.
In addition, he also had to find a way to deal with Pain.
Only after defeating them both would he find peace. But before that, he needed to adjust his mindset, beginning with confronting his inner world.
Naruto reached the giant cage imprisoning the Nine-Tails and stood firm before it, saying:
"I know you're in there. Where else could you possibly go?"
However, he received no response.
"You aren't sleeping either. Ever since I woke up in Kiri, you haven't slept once. I can feel your presence; you're just choosing not to speak to me. So don't hide anymore—talk to me."
Silence washed over the sewers like a tide. Naruto gave the Nine-Tails plenty of time, yet it still refused to speak.
He was about to provoke it with a string of sharp, sarcastic questions.
Right then, however, he suddenly froze as he received memories from one of his Shadow Clones.
Naruto's mouth dropped open as he stared blankly at the Nine-Tails inside the cage.
"You kept your word, didn't you?" Finally, the Nine-Tails spoke. Its massive eyes glowed faintly in the darkness. "I underestimated you. You managed to release my control in merely… five hours. Not bad, brat."
"It wasn't on purpose," Naruto stepped forward. "If you'd given me your strength back then, I wouldn't have done that. And what I did actually worked!"
"I managed to control your strength, and we both survived, right?"
"You've defied my will again and enslaved me!" the Nine-Tails roared. Its deafening roar almost knocked Naruto off his feet. "I refused to lend you my strength because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to control it! You'd turn into a full-fledged monster, completely losing your mind!"
"I know! As soon as I survived, I released my hold on you!"
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