Inside the Tsukuyomi space, the blood-red moon remained dim.
When Itachi Uchiha entered, he looked up to see a towering giant wearing a Hokage robe—the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. At the giant's feet, an enormous fox rested, letting out a bored yawn.
With the combined spiritual energy of two lifetimes, the Seventh Hokage had grown immensely powerful. Now, he could forcibly shatter the Tsukuyomi using his spiritual energy alone. Even though Itachi had witnessed it once before, seeing such a terrifying mass of power again still made him feel small.
Just how strong had the Seventh Hokage become after living for a hundred years? The pressure he felt from Pain or Obito was nothing compared to the presence of the giant before him.
"Naruto, meeting like this every time is too much trouble!" the Nine-Tails complained, baring its fangs. "You have no interest in training your taijutsu anymore. I'm working my tail off to help you activate Six Paths Sage Mode just so you can temporarily unseal your memories in the real world..."
"Hahaha..." The giant Naruto squatted down and casually stroked the Nine-Tails' head, praising him with a smile. "Thanks for your hard work, Kurama!"
"But you used all the Yang Power I accumulated for medical ninjutsu!" the Nine-Tails roared. "You fool, that was Yang Power!"
"...Ahaha..." The Seventh Hokage scratched his head in embarrassment. "My younger self is still just a kid. When he gets stronger, he'll understand how precious Yang Power is..."
"Hmph!" the Nine-Tails snorted. "We have to find a way to extract that wretched One-Tail's chakra. It would make things much easier for me..."
"Shukaku?" Naruto said wistfully. "I wonder how Gaara is doing. I hope he still becomes the Fifth Kazekage, just like in the original timeline..."
"The Sand Village must be destroyed," the Nine-Tails muttered under its breath before continuing, "When we get back to Konoha, maybe we can use Danzo to solve this problem. He's best at instigating things. Hmph, just think of it as recycling waste."
"I'm afraid he won't be able to do that," Itachi said in a deep voice, looking up at the colossal duo. "With the Third Hokage's death, Shimura Danzo might have become uncontrollable. I was worried for Sasuke's safety, so after you left Konoha, I killed him."
"That's fine, too." After a moment, the Nine-Tails nodded, its mood calming. "I was planning to find a chance for you to kill him anyway," it said with satisfaction. "This way, there's one less obstacle for Naruto to inherit the title of Fifth Hokage."
"Fifth Hokage?"
"That's right," the Nine-Tails grinned. "You can't find a single ninja in all of Konoha stronger than Naruto. Tsunade and Jiraiya have already decided to recommend him for the position. We're one step closer to our goal!"
"..." Itachi's expression was one of surprise. He had never heard of someone becoming Hokage so easily. It was a position that had always been out of reach for the Uchiha clan. And just like that, it was falling into the hands of a thirteen-year-old boy.
The current Naruto became Hokage at thirteen. At thirteen, Itachi himself had slaughtered his clan and become an S-rank rogue ninja. Fate truly played cruel tricks on people.
"I feel bad for taking Granny Tsunade's spot!" The giant Seventh Hokage scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "Honestly, whether I become Hokage or not doesn't make much difference to me... After being Hokage for a hundred years, I'm already sick of it!"
Being a Hokage in peacetime was just endless paperwork, and as a hands-on person, Naruto had found it suffocating.
Itachi looked at him, speechless. Can't you just talk like a normal person?
Naruto looked down at the finger-sized Itachi and chuckled. "Itachi, you didn't bring me here with Tsukuyomi just to say you killed Danzo, did you? Is there something more important?"
"Yes," Itachi said softly, lowering his head. "Besides killing Danzo, I also used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke..."
"Hmm, are you worried about his body?" Naruto instinctively wondered. In the original timeline, Itachi had used Tsukuyomi on both Kakashi and Sasuke, leaving them hospitalized for a month. In this new era, he had sent Danzo straight to the morgue. He hadn't expected Itachi to be so harsh with his own brother.
Having a brother like that... was it Sasuke's good fortune or his greatest misfortune?
Itachi frowned, seeming a bit embarrassed. "I previously left a few ninjutsu scrolls and some information about the Tsukuyomi at Granny Cat's ninja tool shop..."
After killing Danzo, Itachi had encountered Sasuke and wanted to test how much his brother had improved. He had thought that with the scrolls and information, Sasuke would at least have a chance of defeating him. Unexpectedly, his brother still had a very long way to go.
Naruto was suddenly stunned. "So that time we met..."
"Yes." Itachi didn't dwell on it and continued softly, "I want to talk about Tsukuyomi. It can cause a mental breakdown, but it can also greatly increase one's visual prowess and even awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan after being stimulated. However, Sasuke didn't awaken it. I'm worried he might lose heart. Since we have a deal, I hope you can tell him how to break Tsukuyomi."
Itachi chose his words carefully. He couldn't just say that his younger brother seemed to lose his mind every time they met. Forget breaking Tsukuyomi, Sasuke was losing easily even in taijutsu.
"Wait, Sasuke is only thirteen, right?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. "I remember that awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan too early puts a great strain on the body. Won't that be harmful to him?"
"..." Itachi was silent for a moment before replying, "I was eleven when I awakened mine. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Forget it," Naruto smiled, reassuring him. "Don't worry, Sasuke will find a way to break Tsukuyomi on his own sooner or later. He'll pull himself together. You have to believe in your little brother... Sasuke is very strong!"
In the original timeline, Sasuke had indeed broken the Tsukuyomi and had even been a victor in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Itachi touched his eye. "If it were before, that would be possible. But ever since I received your Yang Power, I feel my own visual prowess has been slowly increasing..."
"..." The Seventh Hokage was suddenly speechless.
"Alright, we've talked about unimportant matters long enough!" the Nine-Tails bared its teeth. It didn't have a good impression of Sasuke, but it looked at Itachi and said, "After you leave this space, Naruto's memories will be sealed again. I'll find a way to get your brother to pull himself together."
If you knew this would happen, why did you use Tsukuyomi in the first place? Kurama thought.
The Nine-Tails then looked down at the thumb-sized Uchiha and said in a booming voice, "Itachi Uchiha, it just so happens I have a job for you, too. You must find a way to bring Orochimaru to our side!"
"Orochimaru?"
"That's right!" the Nine-Tails said with a cold smile. "With Naruto's current identity, it isn't right for him to contact Orochimaru. So you'll have to handle it... No matter what, you have to get him to join us. Even if you have to use that crow of yours!"
"..." Itachi's head snapped up, meeting the Nine-Tails' fierce gaze. This creature, who knew the entire truth of history, surely knew about his crow—and that it was implanted with Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami.
Itachi thought for a moment, then lowered his head. "Alright. I will handle this matter after I find Orochimaru's whereabouts."
"First, have him research a way to break the Reaper Death Seal!" the Nine-Tails commanded, crossing its claws like a general. "You can hint at the location: the Uzumaki Clan's ancestral shrine, and the Reaper's mask."
"Kurama, why break the Reaper Death Seal?" Naruto asked.
"To get back the other half of my body!" the Nine-Tails growled, glancing at the giant Naruto.
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Bonus:
Nine-Tails: I know you have a crow.
A certain Itachi Uchiha: And you still dare to be so arrogant?
Nine-Tails: It's just Kotoamatsukami... You want to use it on me?
A certain Itachi Uchiha: What's Kotoamatsukami?
Nine-Tails: Playing dumb? I've seen it. Your crow has Kotoamatsukami.
A certain Itachi Uchiha: No, not that. It's Beiyuan.
Nine-Tails: Beiyuan? You even gave it a name...
Beiyuan: Caw! (Nine-Tails, do you know who I am?)
Nine-Tails: ...I do not.
Beiyuan: Then I'll make you know me!
Nine-Tails: My mistake, my mistake, my mistake