Uzumaki Naruto stared at Ōtsutsuki Toneri in distress, repeatedly raking his fingers through his hair as he wracked his brain for answers.
No matter how hard he tried to remember, he simply could not recall where he had seen this boy before.
And yet, he was absolutely certain of one thing—
with a face so refined and a presence so distinctive, if he had seen this boy even once, there was no way he would have forgotten him.
"Then why do you keep calling me Prince?" Naruto asked curiously, turning toward Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
Truth be told, with his usually thick nerves, he didn't really care about the title itself—but…
He really wanted to talk to someone.
He wanted it badly.
"You'll understand that question in the future, Naruto… Sasuke."
Toneri shook his head gently, then once again addressed the two of them in the same mild, composed tone.
Prince… Second Pillar…
The Rinnegan in his palm quietly opened, releasing an eerie crimson glow. Ōtsutsuki Toneri wanted to take a good look at Naruto and Sasuke.
These two—
They were the ones who had accompanied him through his youth.
They had deceived him into shedding countless tears.
There were times he hated Naruto for his stubborn refusal to grow, hated Sasuke for his arrogance and pride—but…
In the end, these two had been there throughout his youth.
When he once witnessed the final, desperate battle between these two kindred souls in the world of Naruto, the emotions in his heart had been impossibly complex.
"Eh? What is it?"
Hearing Toneri call his name, Naruto responded instinctively, then looked at the boy in confusion.
He could feel it—clearly.
This boy held no malice toward him.
Because of his upbringing, as long as he calmed his mind, Naruto had always been able to distinguish the emotions and attitudes people held toward him.
It was an intuition forged through years of enduring insults, scorn, and humiliation.
And so he cherished the person before him.
This boy bore him no ill will—just like Sasuke.
None at all.
That alone made Naruto deeply moved.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, seated below, silently observed Ōtsutsuki Toneri as well, waiting to hear what this pure, untainted boy intended to say to him.
"Become my opponents," Toneri said softly, a gentle smile on his face—yet his words landed firmly in both their ears.
"I want to fight you."
Yes.
Become my opponents, Prince… Second Pillar.
In this life, the ones I most wish to cross fists with—
will always be the two of you.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri smiled—a sincere, heartfelt smile.
Whether it was the peerless demon Uchiha Madara, or even Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki…
They were powerful.
Terrifyingly so.
Yet even they did not surpass Naruto and Sasuke at their absolute peak.
Their true peak.
Naruto—who had absorbed the overwhelming majority of the continent's natural energy, entering the Six Paths Nine-Tails Mode.
And Sasuke—using a Complete Susanoo as a vessel for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, absorbing the chakra of all nine tailed beasts to form his Ultimate Susanoo.
That—
Was when the two of them were truly at their strongest.
That was their pinnacle.
And the ones Ōtsutsuki Toneri most wanted to battle…
were precisely Naruto and Sasuke.
A small but deeply cherished wish.
Upon hearing this, both Naruto and Sasuke froze.
"Tch. Boring."
Sasuke turned his head away dismissively, lowering his gaze again.
Opponent? Rival?
He didn't need such things.
All he wanted now was to become stronger—and then find that man, to avenge his clan.
"Eh… you mean… you want to compete with me?"
Naruto snapped back to his senses, his eyes trembling slightly as his tear ducts burned.
A powerful emotion surged in his heart—
The emotion of being acknowledged.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri merely smiled, offering no answer. He slowly walked toward Naruto, the Rinnegan in his palm faintly flickering.
"You—"
Naruto was about to speak when he suddenly saw it.
An eye.
A crimson eye.
Within it spun mysterious black rings.
Using genjutsu, Ōtsutsuki Toneri ensnared Naruto's consciousness and descended into the depths of his mind.
In the darkened space, a colossal gate stood towering.
Behind it was imprisoned the strongest of the nine tailed beasts—
The Nine-Tails.
"Brat… who are you?"
The massive beast opened its vertical pupils. A hoarse, masculine voice rumbled from its maw as nine enormous fox tails thrashed violently.
Through the narrow gap of the gate, Kurama observed the suddenly appearing boy.
For reasons it could not explain, the aura surrounding him made the Nine-Tails uneasy.
"Ōtsutsuki Toneri," Toneri said with a soft smile, curiously examining the sealed beast.
"Nine-Tails—long have I heard of you."
Yes.
The strongest tailed beast.
Strictly speaking, the Ten-Tails was not a tailed beast at all—it was the incarnation of the God Tree and did not belong to the same category.
After Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, for the sake of the continent, sealed most of the Ten-Tails' chakra within himself—becoming the first Ten-Tails jinchūriki.
The shell of the Ten-Tails—the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—was then taken to the moon, where it was guarded by Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
Before his death, Hagoromo—who was not immortal—divided the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine parts, giving birth to the nine tailed beasts.
Thus, calling the Nine-Tails the strongest tailed beast was not incorrect.
"Ōtsutsuki?! What is your relationship with that old Sage of Six Paths?!"
Upon hearing the name, Kurama slammed violently against the gate, its vertical pupils locked onto Toneri.
Ōtsutsuki—
That was Hagoromo's surname.
And Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was, in a very real sense, the father of all nine tailed beasts.
Though Kurama often called him "that old man"…
Deep in its heart, it held immense respect for him.
"The Sage of Six Paths?"
Toneri thought for a moment, then replied calmly,
"If we're being precise… he would be my great-uncle."
The generational gap was honestly too large to bother calculating further.
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