Naruto spoke casually, as if chatting with an old friend.
But to the Nine-Tails, the way these secret names and hidden truths rolled so easily off Naruto's tongue was utterly unbelievable.
The names of the tailed beasts had all been given by the Sage of Six Paths himself.
After the Sage departed, only a very few jinchūriki recognized by their own tailed beasts would ever learn such things.
And even then, a jinchūriki usually only knew the name of the beast sealed inside them.
After the Sage left, the relationships between the tailed beasts were far from harmonious. They seldom mentioned one another, and some were even sworn enemies—like the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail.
The Nine-Tails often mocked the One-Tail for having fewer tails and less chakra.
The One-Tail, in turn, would furiously curse back, calling the Nine-Tails a "dead fox" and a "stinking tanuki."
Here and now, after hearing Naruto out, the Nine-Tails fell silent. A flicker of doubt and belief had begun to stir within it, but not enough to convince it completely.
With a cold snort, the Nine-Tails said,
"Those words don't prove anything. They're just bits of hidden history—still possible to dig up if someone tries hard enough."
Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Well then… what now? You want something no one can find out, huh? Let me think…"
This time, the Nine-Tails didn't snap back. It seemed to be waiting for Naruto's answer.
"Ah, I've got it!"
Naruto's eyes lit up suddenly. He looked straight at the Nine-Tails.
"Do you still remember the Sage of Six Paths' final prophecy?"
The Nine-Tails' eyes narrowed; its heart trembled.
Naruto grinned at it.
"The blue-eyed boy calling out to the names of nine beasts at play…"
The Nine-Tails' gaze locked on Naruto, surprise flashing across its feral pupils. That harmless smile on the boy's face—
For the first time, it made the Nine-Tails feel a hint of unease.
Why unease?
It was the Nine-Tails—the strongest, most malevolent existence in the world!
Yet here was this boy, so casually speaking the prophecy left behind by its very creator. The Nine-Tails could hardly accept it.
"No… this isn't real. You're not Naruto! Get out! Leave this place—now!"
It turned abruptly and began walking toward the depths beyond the great sealing gate, as though to ignore him completely.
"Hey, hey, hey! Kurama—don't walk away!" Naruto shouted anxiously. "If you don't believe me, I can tell you more—we can verify it together!"
But the Nine-Tails ignored him, continuing deeper into the sealed space.
"Oi! Kurama, you're wasting time! If you keep this up, before long you'll end up dragged back into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, swallowed by the ten-Tails—and then even I'll die!"
The Nine-Tails' steps faltered.
Hearing Naruto speak of the Demonic Statue, the ten-Tails—these forbidden names—its heart shook even more violently.
By now, it was already seventy, maybe eighty percent convinced. But it needed time to digest this.
As the Nine-Tails vanished from view, Naruto chuckled softly. He moved to tear off the sealing tag on the gate and open the seal on his own belly, planning to rush in and offer the Nine-Tails some dumplings.
But just then, he felt someone calling to him, his mind growing unstable.
"Naruto! Naruto! Wake up—wake up! Naruto!"
Naruto forced his eyes open.
The first thing he saw was Jiraiya-sensei, his hands slapping Naruto's cheeks over and over.
"Ah… it's Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto muttered, sitting up, rubbing his eyes, and yawning.
Jiraiya sighed.
"Let me guess—you went to see the Nine-Tails, didn't you?"
Naruto scratched his head with a sheepish laugh.
"Heh… how'd you know, sensei?"
Jiraiya shot him a glare.
"How do you think I knew? The Nine-Tails' chakra was practically soaring into the sky. If I hadn't come, the whole village would've known already!"
Naruto winced. That must've been when the Nine-Tails erupted in anger and leaked chakra through the Eight Trigrams Seal.
Only now did he notice the figures standing around his house. Judging by their chakra, they were some of the strongest in the village.
"Looks like I really did cause a stir," Naruto murmured.
Jiraiya, understanding his meaning, pulled back the curtain and looked outside.
"It's fine now. You can all stand down."
At the word of one of the Legendary Sannin, the masked shinobi under the moonlight scattered and departed.
Closing the window and drawing the curtain again, Jiraiya looked back at Naruto.
"You're way too impatient. You just got the key and already went to see the Nine-Tails alone. We agreed you'd do it under my supervision. If I hadn't had the foresight to follow you home and stay nearby, it wouldn't have been me barging in tonight."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, hearing the unspoken meaning in his teacher's words.
"Other than Granny Tsunade's ANBU and the village sealing squad… who else?"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Among the ones who came just now—Root. And not just a few. Their numbers and strength weren't small either."
Naruto's smile turned cold.
"Ah, so it's Danzō."
Standing at the door, Jiraiya twisted the knob and said before leaving,
"Be careful. Danzō and his Root have always seen you as Konoha's weapon. They want to control you. I don't know what methods he's holding back, but with my arm still gone I can't recover my full strength. If things come to blows, we could take a loss."
Naruto's heart warmed.
His teacher always thought of him first, no matter the situation.
Jiraiya didn't fear Naruto going berserk.
He feared that after Naruto did, Danzō and Root would seize the opportunity to use him.
With Jiraiya's power crippled and Tsunade serving as Hokage, it wasn't easy for him to interfere.
On the surface, Danzō didn't dare make a move. But if things turned ugly in the shadows, Jiraiya's side would suffer.
After Jiraiya left, a flash of cold light flickered in Naruto's eyes.
Just as Danzō and Root coveted him as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto, too, had his eyes on Danzō.
From Sasuke's memories and accounts, Naruto knew every detail of that man's battle with Danzō.
The old fox was holding plenty of treasures.
He had restrained himself this whole time out of wariness for Danzō's hidden cards, choosing not to act within Konoha.
But now, Danzō was already testing the waters and making his move.
Naruto recalled the conversation he'd had drinking with Gaara. Gaara had spoken of the Five Kage Summit—how Danzō used the eye stolen from Uchiha Shisui to cast a genjutsu on Mifune of the Land of Iron, making him recommend Danzō as commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces. And Mifune had never realized he'd been placed under a spell.
Naruto had already reached his conclusion.
Jiraiya wondered aloud where Danzō got such confidence.
Surely, it was because of Shisui's genjutsu. With a technique like that, Danzō dared to plot against him.
After all, Shisui's genjutsu was terrifying precisely because even if you were caught in it, you wouldn't know. You'd act entirely according to the caster's will.
Kotoamatsukami wasn't a visual genjutsu at all. It didn't require eye contact—only for the caster to activate it.
Naruto snorted softly.
The eye Itachi had left him—using it against Danzō would be risky.
Danzō's right eye was also Shisui's eye. Genjutsu from the same source might alert him prematurely.
With a sigh, Naruto leaned back.
Home was a harbor.
But his ship was about to set sail.
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