"So, what's your plan?"
Kurama tilted his head slightly, chuckling with teasing amusement.
"You've become quite the bootlicker in Konoha lately. Certain people seem very interested in you."
"You mean Hinata?"
Naruto smiled knowingly.
"You guys peeked into her memories again?"
"Not me,"
Kurama shrugged, his tails swaying behind him.
"That was Isobu. He told me and Matatabi. That little girl was even arguing with her sister and teammates today—defending your reputation."
"Heh... reputation, huh?"
Naruto shook his head, the smile still on his lips.
"Reputation is useless. It's just a hollow advantage people chase—something only losers care about."
"Now that's interesting."
Kurama grinned wide.
"That Nara kid—Shikamaru—thinks just like you. He told that chubby friend of his the same thing earlier."
"And because of his father's warning, he's been overanalyzing your every move. Since that time years ago when he figured out you already knew about your parentage, he's been constantly doubting whether you'll betray Konoha."
"But at the same time, he's completely convinced you never will. It's… fascinating how contradictory the human mind can be."
"He's smart."
Naruto's eyes flickered with something deeper. He turned and pressed his hand against the iron gate of the seal.
"I mean, I'm a part of Konoha. Why would I ever want to leave home?"
Kurama's eyes lit up, an eager grin spreading across his face.
"So you're saying… after the Chūnin Exams, you're staying in Konoha?"
"Relax."
Naruto turned with a smirk.
"As long as everything goes according to plan… after the Chūnin Exams, you'll be free, Kurama."
"But 'Uzumaki Naruto', the jinchūriki, will remain in Konoha… fulfilling his purpose."
"I believe you'll pull it off."
Kurama lowered his head close to Naruto's, smiling.
"What I do want to know is—what exactly is Uzumaki Naruto's purpose? If it's just revenge against the village, wouldn't vanishing be more effective?"
"If the other villages realize Konoha no longer has a jinchūriki, the balance between the Five Great Nations would collapse instantly. And then…"
"It's not that simple."
Naruto's voice turned calm and measured.
"You know how things work in Konoha. Take the Third Hokage, for example—he only ever saw your power as a trump card to control and deploy if absolutely necessary. But at the end of the day, the upper echelons of Konoha never truly valued jinchūriki. To them, we're more like precious assets than irreplaceable weapons."
"You've already guessed what I'm aiming for. Let's be honest—even without Tailed Beasts, the shinobi nations would keep fighting the same old wars. They're always about resources and power. No matter how brutal, the Five Great Nations will never fall. Just look at Kirigakure."
"The reason I'm keeping 'Uzumaki Naruto' in Konoha is simple—he's bait. A lure for certain people I'd rather not deal with directly. I'm not afraid of them anymore, but if I can get others to clean up my mess, why not?"
"Knew it."
Kurama's ears perked up.
"You're planning to let Konoha deal with those people for you… or better yet, let those people deal with Konoha. Or maybe…"
A wicked grin spread across his face.
"…let them take care of Uzumaki Naruto for you. Am I right?"
"Caught me."
Naruto chuckled softly.
"Good thing there's no data clone of me in the Mirror World."
"Heh!"
Kurama sat upright.
"And no data clones of us Tailed Beasts either, thank the Sage."
Naruto shook his head, about to speak—when suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He waved his hand and exited the seal space, immediately activating the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Scene Shift — Cloning Lab
Naruto appeared in his underground cloning facility. Six of his Shadow Clones were still working inside.
He looked around, then approached a large, transparent incubation chamber.
"In one more hour, Clone Unit No. 5 will begin its natural awakening phase."
A Shadow Clone emerged from behind the chamber, holding a rectangular device—not unlike a tablet from Naruto's past life—wires extending from its side.
"Excellent,"
Naruto nodded.
"Looks like we're ready to begin the Byakugan fusion experiment."
He turned toward the clone.
"How long until the three-tomoe Sharingan from Sasuke is fully cloned?"
"Another month, roughly."
The clone swiped the device a few times.
"If we had higher-grade nutrient fluid, the cloning would go faster."
"I see."
Naruto thought for a moment.
"Let's hope this clone has Yin-natured chakra. The previous failures couldn't master Mind Transfer Jutsu. But this time, we're using the genetic engineering breakthroughs from Kitajirō's team—it should work."
"Can't say for sure yet."
The clone's tone was flat as he gestured at Clone No. 5.
"Snow Country's bio-tech is still decades behind Orochimaru's. This subject has already shown multiple rejection reactions. We'll only know once it awakens. Otherwise, it's just another failed product to dispose of."
Naruto nodded lightly.
"In the original timeline, Kabuto mastered genetic engineering too—but it's unclear when he learned it. According to the Mirror World's current memory logs, we've seen no experiments of that kind from him yet."
"Seems he only picked it up after Orochimaru lost the use of his arms…"
Two Hours Later
Clone No. 5 sat upright in a chair, eyes open—revealing a pair of white, featureless Byakugan.
He curiously examined the dense array of devices above his head, then looked back and forth at Naruto and his identical clones.
Naruto nodded.
This one was clearly better than the prior failed attempts.
He reached out and pressed a hand to the clone's head. The clone yawned and instantly fell asleep.
Suddenly, Naruto sensed something.
He formed a Phantom Light Body Jutsu seal—an ethereal image of Sasuke, his Sharingan flickering faintly, appeared beside him.
"Done with the maze already?"
Naruto asked with a smile.
"Pretty sure you only cleared the first layer."
Sasuke didn't answer immediately.
He glanced at the sleeping clone in the chair.
"It's pointless. Any further would've been a waste of time. I want to study Water Release under you—I need to complete Storm Release as soon as possible."
"You were slow to realize it, but at least you did."
Naruto grinned.
"Actually, I was just about to perform a Sharingan-related operation. Since you reached out, why don't you drop by?"
"Operation?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you already clone my Sharingan? Can't you just implant it yourself?"
"That would be a bit… inconvenient."
Naruto ended the call.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Sasuke and grabbed his shoulder—teleporting him directly to the lab.
Sasuke's eye twitched, but he said nothing.
Moments later, he stood where his phantom form had been moments before.
"What kind of surgery are we doing?"
He eyed the clone in the chair warily.
"I don't have any experience operating on a living subject."
Last time Naruto had him dissect a clone, it had already been terminated.
"Relax. Just a minor procedure."
Naruto handed him the tablet-like device from one of the clones.
"All you have to do is upload this data into his brain."
Sasuke's expression sharpened.
He glanced at the data… then frowned, visibly troubled.
"This… this would completely overwrite his mind. You're basically killing him—replacing him with someone else!"
"So what?"
Naruto gave a carefree smile.
"To me, this is giving him a new life. And even if you're right—so what? He's just an experimental product I created."
"Besides… you already killed your own clone. Why hesitate over someone else's?"
"A new life… an experiment…"
Sasuke's gaze dimmed. He murmured to himself in a low, conflicted voice.
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