Matatabi tilted her head, puzzled.
"How does this tie back to the Sharingan again? We haven't even confirmed whether the Fourth Mizukage is really under a genjutsu. And even if he is, how could someone control both the Jinchūriki and the Tailed Beast inside him at the same time?"
Kurama turned his blood-red eyes toward Naruto. After a moment of silence, his voice dropped with gravity:
"It's not that complicated. I've been there. Both I and my previous Jinchūriki were once controlled by someone with the Sharingan—through genjutsu."
Matatabi froze.
No wonder Kurama disliked Uchiha Sasuke. No wonder he always seemed so eager to fight opponents with the Sharingan. Now it all made sense.
She wanted to ask more, but in the end, she kept silent.
At that moment, Naruto was focused on the newly unlocked Authority Distribution system. According to the system's description, he could now assign two roles to others: World Guardian and World Subordinate.
The meaning of "World Guardian" was self-explanatory.
But the role of "World Subordinate" seemed less benevolent—more like a chain of servitude.
In either case, one condition was required:
Their spirits had to be linked to his spiritual world.
That made things interesting.
Because forming a connection with his mental world… wasn't always a good thing.
Still, he could start by assigning the first role to the two Tailed Beasts inside him.
With that, Naruto turned and looked up. Kurama was already staring at him intensely.
He raised a fist.
Kurama grinned and bumped it with his own.
Then he turned to Matatabi, who nodded and pressed her paw forward with a small smile.
Just as Kurama finished sharing the memory of being controlled by the Sharingan, a mechanical voice echoed in the Mirror World.
'Status Update: Kurama – Current Role: World Guardian.'
'Status Update: Matatabi – Current Role: World Guardian.'
'Authority Description follows...'
The two Tailed Beasts blinked.
From now on, they could freely enter and exit the Mirror World without relying on Naruto.
Half a Month Later — Forests of the Land of Waves
Sasuke stood amidst the trees, Sharingan spinning in his eyes, watching as hundreds of Naruto's Shadow Clones exploded into puffs of smoke.
A deep crease formed on his forehead.
He walked over to one Naruto who was practicing Water Release: Water Whip Technique and asked,
"Where's your real body?"
Naruto glanced at him blankly.
"Out at sea."
Sasuke blinked.
"The ocean? What's he doing?"
Naruto flicked his wrist. The water whip in his hand stretched thinner and longer, circling mid-air. After a moment, his tone turned indifferent:
"He's blowing himself up."
Sasuke twitched.
"Blowing himself up? And what are you all doing here? Looks similar to what you were doing in the cave back in the Forest of Death."
Naruto snapped his fingers. The water whip wrapped tightly around his arm.
"If you already know, why bother asking?"
Sasuke's face flashed with embarrassment. These clones always gave off an odd vibe.
Glancing at a group of other clones sparking with unstable lightning chakra, he muttered:
"With how they're doing it, there's no way they'll ever coat their whole bodies with Chidori properly."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? You sure?"
Sasuke nodded firmly.
"I'm sure. They're running their chakra wrong. That's why the Lightning Release chakra won't stabilize."
Naruto's eyes stayed calm as he nodded.
A strange feeling crept up inside Sasuke. He took a few steps back. Under Naruto's gaze, sparks began to crackle across his body.
The high-pitched screeching of Chidori intensified. The lightning around him grew brighter and brighter—until it expanded into a blinding aura nearly two meters wide.
Meanwhile — Offshore, in the Land of Waves' Southwestern Sea
Naruto's real body was cloaked in a translucent red chakra shroud.
Behind him, five fox-like tails swayed slowly.
He clenched his fists.
"I've been blowing myself up with Giant Rasengan Barrages for nearly a year now.
And this is all I can draw out?
Why is this sealing technique so damned restrictive?"
"Kurama, Matatabi… didn't you say this was a sealing method passed down by the Sage of Six Paths?
Because it sure feels like it was designed to specifically suppress you Tailed Beasts."
Even as he spoke, he continued molding the crimson chakra. It was incredibly hard to control.
After a long time, he managed to form basic constructs—claws, swords, weapons—barely functional shapes.
"Hm?"
No response from either beast.
Naruto withdrew the chakra and shifted into his Inner World—the seal.
Inside, something was clearly wrong.
Both Tailed Beasts stood frozen inside their sections of the seal, staring blankly like statues. Lifeless.
Naruto frowned and smacked each of them with a palm.
Instantly, they snapped back to life.
Kurama twitched an ear and closed his eyes.
"How's the chakra control going?
Matatabi and I were just checking the data Zabuza synced from the Mirror World.
He's almost located that Byakugan user you were interested in."
Matatabi's eyes lit up.
"Also, Naruto—you should check in on that Ice Release puppet. That kid's more interesting than he looks."
Naruto watched Kurama carefully, then chuckled at Matatabi's suggestion.
"His Ice Release jutsu is solid, I'll give you that.
But it's not like your Jinchūriki's Boil Release. It's been half a month and all I've picked up are a few Water Release techniques.
I doubt I'll ever unlock a Kekkei Genkai like that without a bloodline."
Matatabi raised her head.
"Then how come I just received a reward for unlocking Ice Release?"
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"What?
You mean—you can use Ice Release now?"
Matatabi nodded, lifting a paw.
"Sort of. It's strange. Look for yourself."
Naruto bumped her paw with his fist, sharing the memory.
Then he understood why she found it strange.
After finishing a battle against Haku's puppet clone, a system prompt appeared, stating that she had unlocked the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
But there was a parenthetical note:
(Data Error: Reward cannot be claimed. Currently under analysis.)
Naruto immediately entered the Mirror World to investigate.
A moment later, he returned—frowning.
He couldn't tell if this was because the Ice Release was a special case…
…or because Matatabi was a Tailed Beast.
He fell into deep thought.
Kurama, eyes still closed, finally spoke:
"Naruto, it's about time you went back."
Naruto nodded.
He vanished from the sea.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he returned to the forest where his Shadow Clones were still training.
Just as he was about to dispel the clones, the version of Naruto who had been talking with Sasuke earlier stepped forward.
"He said we're training wrong.
I think you should take a look through his eyes first."
(End of Chapter)
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