"Brat, who are you?"
The Nine-Tails lay lazily on the ground, its eyes filled with scrutiny as it looked at Simu.
Simu had no objection to the Nine-Tails calling him a 'brat.' After all, this was a legendary old monster that had lived for over a thousand years. Calling him a brat was perfectly reasonable.
With a burning gaze, Simu spoke calmly, holding his ground. "Let me introduce myself. I am Simu Kamizuki, the worldly walker of the great Lord Jashin."
"Jashin?"
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes slightly, seemingly having heard the name before.
Simu pushed up his glasses and asked, "Has Mr. Nine-Tails heard the honorable name of Lord Jashin, which is enough to make the entire Shinobi World tremble?"
The Nine-Tails glanced at him with a hint of disdain. "I've tentatively heard that name from the Old Man Six Paths, but as for making the Shinobi World tremble..."
Unsurprised, Simu nodded. As expected, the Sage of Six Paths had indeed participated in the Age of Gods.
However, what kind of role did he play in all that?
"Kid, what are you doing here?"
This time it was the Nine-Tails' turn to question him. It was equally interested in this fellow who could easily infiltrate Konoha and enter Naruto's mental space.
Although it disliked the people of Konoha, the Nine-Tails had to admit that these people who shouted about the Will of Fire all day did possess some strength.
Of course, this evaluation specifically referred to certain individuals in the Hidden Leaf Village.
For example, the First Hokage and that man with the Sharingan...
As well as the various Hokage and the Jinchuriki of the Uzumaki Clan.
It had to be said that Konoha possessed a natural advantage when it came to sealing the Nine-Tails.
Wood Style, Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu, and the Sharingan all had a suppressive effect on the Nine-Tails.
One could say that you could find almost every clan and secret technique that countered Tailed Beasts within Konoha.
This also proved from a different perspective just how powerful the Nine-Tails' deterrence was. At the very least, this kind of lineup was something other Tailed Beasts would never experience in their lifetimes.
If it weren't for this, the Nine-Tails wouldn't exactly stay in Konoha obediently.
Well, it wasn't exactly obedient either...
Facing the Nine-Tails' question, Simu made no attempt to hide his intentions. "I'm looking for a suitable opportunity to take you out of Konoha, or perhaps undo the seal on the Jinchuriki to stage another Night of the Nine-Tails."
"Heh, you're surprisingly honest."
The Nine-Tails' eyes, which were enough to strike fear into anyone, looked at Simu with surprise.
Other people would only talk about things like passion or love.
Someone as candid as Simu was indeed rare.
Simu smiled. "After all, lying about such things seems rather meaningless."
"Hmph. Wanting to use me? With your strength, I'm afraid you're not qualified."
The Nine-Tails sized up the Simu in front of it and gave a blunt evaluation.
Simu accepted this assessment gracefully.
"True, now is not the time to break the seal. Then, until we meet again, Mr. Nine-Tails."
After saying that, Simu's will rose rapidly, returning to Kimura who was currently interacting with Naruto.
While his exchange with the Nine-Tails seemed to have lasted a while, only five or six seconds had actually passed in reality.
Specifically, Kimura patted Naruto's head, offered a few words of encouragement, and then the two said their goodbyes.
This interaction appeared completely normal, and the Anbu ninjas lurking in the shadows breathed a sigh of relief.
However, even if everything seemed fine, Kimura—as an outsider—abruptly contacting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was still something noteworthy.
Especially since the village was currently in an extremely sensitive period, and the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce represented by Kimura had been conducting a large number of private transactions with the Uchiha Clan.
"Could the Uchiha be trying to target the Nine-Tails again?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his pipe, his expression grim.
Why say 'again'?
Because on the night the Fourth Hokage died, the Mangekyo Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes had been clearly displayed before everyone.
That was a Kekkek Genkai possessed only by the Uchiha. Claiming it had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan was a bit of a stretch.
Furthermore, the Uchiha had now lost Shisui. If they could control the Nine-Tails, a coup would become much more likely...
As the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly had to guard against such things.
After contacting the Nine-Tails, Kimura returned to the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce.
He had originally wanted to test the Nine-Tails, but the number of Anbu monitoring Naruto was somewhat unexpected. If he forced his hand, it would be difficult to avoid discovery.
The ripples caused by Simu quickly settled into stillness under the shroud of the heavy night.
Over the next few days, Simu devoted himself entirely to the analysis of Shisui Uchiha.
However, samples from the Uchiha Clan were still somewhat scarce, causing the progress of the analysis to be relatively slow.
This might be resolved once the Uchiha officially launched their coup.
In a stronghold thousands of miles away from Konoha, a body slowly emerged from a blood pool.
Under Simu's control, this body slowly opened its eyes.
A Mangekyo Sharingan with an intricate pattern was revealed, and a terrifyingly powerful aura filled the entire stronghold.
This was the latest Uchiha clone created by Simu.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about directly controlling Shisui's body, but unfortunately, Shisui's body and Simu's soul were not a perfect match, making a proper fusion impossible.
Therefore, Simu had to recreate a body specifically to transplant Shisui's Mangekyo.
Transplanting a Mangekyo didn't require much technical skill, but activating the Mangekyo remained a significant hurdle for Simu.
After all, his analysis of Shisui's body wasn't complete. Being able to activate the Mangekyo now was already quite good; as for using Susanoo or similar techniques, that would likely take quite a bit more time.
Simu gently touched his eye, feeling the terrifying power contained within.
When chakra passed through this eye, it would automatically condense into so-called ocular power.
This ocular power could directly affect the soul, greatly enhancing the power of Simu's Genjutsu.
If I could replace that big eyeball of the Apostle of Fear with a Sharingan...
Tsk...
As he was thinking, a voice came from outside.
"Master."
The voice was very soft—so soft that one could imagine the delicate appearance of the speaker without even seeing her.
At Simu's signal, Rie Uzumaki appeared before him.
"What is it?"
Rie Uzumaki knelt respectfully before Simu, her hands resting between her legs. Her white and red miko outfit hung somewhat loosely, allowing her exquisite, jade-like skin to be exposed to the air.
"Reporting to Master, the Divine Kingdom located within the Land of Steam has begun its first round of sacrifices. A total of fifty thousand believers are participating."