The Nine-Tails noticed Tōshirō's eyes. Blood vessels burst in the whites of his eyes.
This powerful ocular power, and the chakra that was even more ominous than its own, reminded it of Uchiha Madara, who had controlled it in the past.
"...Just who are you!"
"It seems you've forgotten about me."
The air was filled with a tone as if he was talking to an old friend.
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes, carefully thought, and sized up Tōshirō, but there was still no information.
Tōshirō glanced at the tall cage and taunted it. "...But you're really pathetic. After all these years, you're still locked up in a cage, and this time, you're inside a brat's body."
These words deeply hurt the Nine-Tails' fragile and sensitive heart.
"ROAR—!"
With an angry roar, the beast's aura and a gust of wind blew right at Tōshirō's face.
His bangs were blown back. Tōshirō's expression was calm as he plainly told the Nine-Tails his name.
"...Uchiha Tōshirō."
Hearing the name, the Nine-Tails' heightened emotions became less intense.
Tōshirō calmly recounted his information. "That's my name. In the past, I was the Five-Tails Jinchūriki."
"N-no, that's impossible..."
The Nine-Tails' red vertical pupils widened, and its expression was one of shock.
It knew a few things from being inside a jinchūriki's body.
Because of this, it had even sighed with regret.
Seeing the Nine-Tails' shocked expression, Tōshirō seemed to have seen through its thoughts. "You're so surprised because you thought you would never see me again, didn't you, Nine-Tails?"
"...You should be dead."
Tōshirō spread his hands and said casually, "But I'm alive and well..."
The Nine-Tails' slightly closed eyes reflected Tōshirō's Sharingan, which was filled with an evil aura.
At this moment, Tōshirō's bewitching eyes were filled with a smirk. He was looking at the Nine-Tails with a smile.
This only made the Nine-Tails even more wary.
Although it didn't know what had happened to this guy, his ocular power was so strong now that he could probably control it easily.
Tōshirō shrugged and said leisurely, "Don't be nervous. I don't have any ill intentions. I'm just saying hello to an old friend I haven't seen in many years."
The Nine-Tails snorted and said sarcastically, "I don't remember when I became your friend."
Tōshirō gave up on trying to be friendly. He spread his hands and said indifferently, "Well, whatever..."
The news of him making contact with the jinchūriki would probably reach the higher-ups soon.
Heh. Let them be worried.
As for the Nine-Tails' chakra, he wasn't very interested in it.
He had a perfect substitute.
He remembered that the Fourth Hokage still had the Nine-Tails' yin chakra inside him. When he found Orochimaru, he would perform the Impure World Reincarnation on the Fourth Hokage and extract the Nine-Tails' chakra from his body.
"Well, I've said hello, so I won't disturb your sleep. Let's get in touch again sometime."
After saying this, Tōshirō left Naruto's mental space without any hesitation, leaving the Nine-Tails completely confused.
He just left?
What is this guy's purpose?
Returning to the real world, Tōshirō gave Naruto a look, dispelling the genjutsu and erasing his memory of it.
Naruto fainted.
Tōshirō waited for a few seconds, then pretended to shake Naruto and called his name.
"Naruto, Naruto..."
Naruto, who was in a deep sleep, vaguely heard someone calling his name. He frowned and slowly opened his eyes. He woke up and saw a white-haired, blue-eyed boy. "Where am I..."
"You suddenly fainted just now..."
Naruto's innocent face was filled with confusion. "I fainted?"
Tōshirō gave a firm answer. "Yes."
"Why would I faint for no reason?"
Naruto stood up and held his forehead, trying to remember, but that part of his memory was blank.
"I'm not sure." Tōshirō said temptingly, "Did you eat something that wasn't clean recently?"
"Something not clean?"
"Yes, for example, buying too much milk at once and not being able to finish it before it expired."
When Naruto heard that, he thought it was possible.
The villagers hated him and sometimes wouldn't even sell him things. So whenever he had a chance, Naruto would buy things by the cartload. As a result, his food would sometimes expire without him knowing.
Naruto thought it was a waste to throw it away, and it was also a hassle to get more, as he had to deal with the villagers' nasty looks.
Sometimes, he would just eat expired food because he had never had any problems with it, so he didn't care.
Tōshirō said softly, "Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"
"I'm fine."
Naruto thought that if he went to the hospital, the medical staff would definitely give him strange looks.
"Where is your home? I'll take you back. At least I have to tell your family about this."
This was the first time in his life that Naruto had met someone who didn't discriminate against him and even cared about him. He was very moved. "I..."
"What is it?"
Naruto's expression turned sad. "I don't have a family..."
Tōshirō realized and said, "I'm sorry..."
Naruto shook his head, indicating that it was okay. "I'm used to it."
Tōshirō stroked Naruto's head and comforted him. "You're very strong."
Feeling a warmth on his head, Naruto mustered his courage and asked, "Older brother, aren't you afraid of me?"
"Why would I be afraid of you?"
Naruto's eyes flickered. After hesitating for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone says I'm the demon fox."
"The demon fox?"
Naruto told Tōshirō about himself and looked at him nervously.
Tōshirō asked, "Is there any proof?"
Naruto was slightly stunned.
"Since there's no proof, there's nothing more to say."
"But, everyone says so..."
"Everyone? Who is everyone? That's just what people who follow the crowd say," Tōshirō said. "Naruto, you are you. You're not the demon fox. All you have to do is be yourself."
Under Tōshirō's earnest persuasion, Naruto, who was inexperienced and craved acceptance, instantly fell for it. He started crying and was moved to tears.
"Older brother, why are you so nice to me?"
Tōshirō looked at the swing and sighed. "I saw you sitting alone on the swing just now, and it reminded me of someone."
"Someone?"
"The old me."
"Older brother, are you also..."
"Yes, I'm also an orphan."
Naruto covered his mouth, and a sense of belonging he had never felt before surged in his heart.
Seeing that the time was right, Tōshirō brought up his idea again. "Naruto, do you want to come to my house for dinner tonight?"
This time, Naruto didn't refuse. He wiped away his tears, nodded, and said, "Yeah."
"But before that, I'll take you to school. Skipping school isn't a good habit."
After saying this, Tōshirō deliberately looked up at the sky and showed a provocative smile.
Just now, he had vaguely felt a gaze watching him.
It wasn't the Anbu. It was something else.
With a little deduction, he guessed it was the Telescope Jutsu.
Now, that person was probably in a room somewhere, using this jutsu to observe his every move.
He wondered what kind of expression that person had when they realized he had been found out. It must be very interesting.
Hehe...
Tōshirō thought happily, the corners of his mouth turned up.
In a room.
On a table, a crystal ball was placed.
Through the image in the crystal ball, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows furrowed deeply, and his expression was solemn.
After a while, the door opened, and a man with a bandage wrapped around his head walked in.
"Danzō."
"I just received the latest intelligence. That guy is making contact with the jinchūriki."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the crystal ball. "Not only that, he even smiled at me."
Danzō was startled. He followed Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze and saw the crystal ball on the table. He understood what was going on. With Tōshirō's strength, it was impossible for him not to have noticed the jutsu.
"He's challenging us."
"Be patient. The first one to act will lose."
"That guy is getting more and more out of control now that he's so strong."
"Yes. I also heard that he brought back a mother and daughter from the Uzumaki clan from the Land of Grass and is planning to have them live in Konoha."
Danzō was surprised to hear that they were from the Uzumaki clan.
"Hmm. This was told to me by someone from the Grass Village. It seems he set his sights on a secret jutsu in the Grass Village when he was outside. After causing a big stir in the village, he took the secret jutsu and left leisurely, bringing the mother and daughter with him."
"A secret jutsu?" Tōshirō's eyelids drooped, and his expression became solemn. "What kind of secret jutsu?"
"They didn't say. The Grass Village wants us to ask Tōshirō ourselves." Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled the angry expression of the ninja from the Grass Village and continued, "They seem to want Konoha to give them an explanation for this."
Danzō said with disdain, "A small village like that dares to question Konoha."
After saying that, a plan formed in his mind. "However, we can make a big deal out of this. The annual meeting will be held soon. Representatives from all the major clans will be present. We can use this matter to make things difficult for him."
Sarutobi Hiruzen clasped his hands, resting his chin on them, and pondered the feasibility of this plan.
(End of Chapter)
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