Chapter 508: Fooling Naruto Completely
"Don't panic, Naruto. I'm checking on Rōshi and the Four-Tails right now."
That was what the Nine-Tails said.
In reality, it wasn't doing anything at all. It was lying in the mindscape, yawning lazily.
It had already figured out how to fool Naruto back when it decided not to tell the Four-Tails about the prophecy.
The only reason it didn't answer immediately now was because responding too quickly would seem fake.
Though, judging by Naruto's intelligence, the Nine-Tails doubted he would notice anyway.
Still, Kakashi was standing beside him.
If Naruto repeated everything to Kakashi later and Kakashi saw through the lie, things would get troublesome.
So the Nine-Tails chose to be cautious.
The time it deliberately left for "sensing" and "thinking" was actually spent taking a nap.
Once it felt enough time had passed, the Nine-Tails finally prepared to speak.
Before opening its mouth, it adjusted its emotions, put on a tone of astonishment, and began spinning its story.
"Naruto, I know what's going on now! So the Four-Tails was actually the old Sage of Six Paths' favorite all along!"
"Huh?"
Naruto's expression shifted from shock to complete confusion.
"Naruto, promise me one thing first. You absolutely cannot tell anyone about this—especially not the Four-Tails. It would ruin the relationship between us Tailed Beasts."
The Nine-Tails shamelessly reused the exact same secrecy tactic it had once used with the other Tailed Beasts.
After Rōshi met Naruto, the Four-Tails had given Naruto a tuft of its fur as the part of its power that would remain inside him.
However, Naruto still couldn't bring himself to consciously shove that clump of fur into his body while fully awake.
The Nine-Tails had thoughtfully "understood" his hesitation and suggested that he wait until he obtained the Five-Tails' power, then put both in at once. That way, he'd only have to suffer once.
In reality, the Nine-Tails was simply preventing the Four-Tails from entering Naruto.
If the Four-Tails were already inside him, the Nine-Tails wouldn't be able to make up stories about it without immediately being exposed.
As long as the Four-Tails wasn't there yet, every Tailed Beast inside Naruto had already agreed to the arrangement with the Nine-Tails, so there was nothing to worry about.
"I promise. Hurry up and tell me. What's going on?"
Naruto scratched his head anxiously.
"Naruto, have you ever seen a book in Amegakure called 'Journey to the West'?"
"Uh... no. What's that? A travel guide to the Land of Wind?"
Naruto looked embarrassed.
"You can ask Kakashi to confirm it."
To make the lie more convincing, the Nine-Tails deliberately gave Naruto a chance to verify the information.
"Okay."
"Kakashi-sensei, do you know a book called 'Journey to the West'?"
Naruto poked Kakashi beside him.
"'Journey to the West'? Of course."
"Shiromo published it. When he released it, he said it was an ancient book recovered through archaeology, and that he had identified, translated, and adapted it."
"Why do you ask?"
Kakashi looked puzzled.
He had no idea why Naruto had suddenly asked about it.
Naruto didn't answer.
Because he didn't know either.
The Nine-Tails had simply told him to ask.
Now that it had been confirmed, Naruto waited for the Nine-Tails to continue.
"That's right. It's an ancient book from antiquity. The old Sage of Six Paths had read it himself."
"Even the names of the Sage of Six Paths' treasured ninja tools now kept by Kumogakure—the Seven-Star Sword, Banana Fan, Golden Rope, and Amber Purifying Bottle—all come from that ancient classic."
"The names of us nine Tailed Beasts were all given by the old mon Sage of Six Paths."
"But only the Four-Tails is special."
"Its name came directly from that ancient book—and it was even the protagonist."
"So don't be fooled just because I have the most chakra. The old Sage of Six Paths actually loved the Four-Tails the most!"
"If you don't believe me, ask Kakashi again!"
The Nine-Tails' explanation left Naruto completely dumbfounded.
All he could do was quietly pull Kakashi aside to verify everything.
Naruto hadn't forgotten the Nine-Tails' warning that neither the Four-Tails nor Rōshi could find out.
"That's right."
Kakashi confirmed every one of Naruto's questions.
"The protagonist of that story was born from a stone."
"Naruto, think back to what happens at Mount Myōboku when someone absorbs natural energy but can't control it."
"That's right—they turn into stone."
"So that book probably isn't fictional. It most likely records events from ancient times before the Ōtsutsuki arrived."
"Back then, the whole world still used natural energy."
The Nine-Tails immediately picked up where Kakashi's explanation left off.
"When the old Sage of Six Paths named us, he must have deliberately given the Four-Tails a special talent for controlling natural energy so it would match that name!"
"That's why Rōshi and the Four-Tails are the only exception and can cultivate Sage Art!"
"That's so unfair, old Sage of Six Paths!"
As it spoke, the Nine-Tails gradually became more agitated, sounding genuinely resentful over the Sage of Six Paths' unfair favoritism.
As for how the Nine-Tails knew all this despite Naruto never having read the book...
That was thanks to the Tailed Beasts sharing information.
As long as another jinchūriki had read it, the Tailed Beast inside them could simply tell the others inside Naruto.
"So that's what happened..."
At last, Naruto finally heard the answer he'd been looking for.
He felt a little speechless.
Why had the Nine-Tails told such a long story?
Couldn't it have just given him the conclusion from the start?
"So, Kurama, since the rest of you Tailed Beasts weren't named after characters from that book, none of you have that talent?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"I'm not completely sure."
"The Two-Tails told me after its jinchūriki read the book."
"But... that's probably how it is."
The Nine-Tails intentionally avoided speaking too definitively.
After all, the Five-Tails hadn't joined Naruto yet.
If the Five-Tails' jinchūriki also learned Sage Art later and Naruto noticed, the Nine-Tails would still have room to invent another excuse.
"Then... why can't we tell the Four-Tails?"
Naruto found himself confused again.
According to the Nine-Tails, the Two-Tails had already told it about the book.
Wouldn't that mean all the Tailed Beasts already knew?
Even if some of them had been asleep back then, now that the Nine-Tails was talking about it inside the shared mindscape, wouldn't they hear it anyway?
So why specifically keep it from the Four-Tails?
"There are two reasons."
The Nine-Tails smoothly continued its deception.
"First, if the Four-Tails finds out it's the Sage of Six Paths' favorite, and that even its name is uniquely special, how arrogant do you think it'll become?"
"Naruto, think back to your school days. How did you feel about those classmates who got a perfect score or won a competition, then immediately started showing off and acting full of themselves?"
"..."
As the Nine-Tails guided him into imagining the situation, Naruto instantly empathized with the other Tailed Beasts.
Yeah...
Watching a companion become smug like that really was irritating.
"Second, if the Four-Tails was truly the old Sage of Six Paths' favorite, why did he leave behind nothing except its name?"
"Based on my thousand years of experience, I can make a reasonable guess."
"The old Sage of Six Paths probably thought the Four-Tails got uglier and uglier as it grew up... so he gave up on it."
"Huh?"
"So, Naruto, do you understand now?"
"If we tell the Four-Tails, it'll either become unbearably arrogant... or it'll develop an inferiority complex."
"Neither outcome is good."
"So let's just keep this from it."
"It's a white lie, told for its own good."
(End of this chapter)