Chapter 307: Truth
"!!!"
In the first instant their fists touched, a tremendous, indescribable information torrent accompanied by vast chakra surged like a bursting river into Naruto's consciousness!
He clearly felt it—that was everything the Nine-Tails had experienced across a thousand years of time! In a life so long it was suffocating, perhaps initially it had once held a tiny hope toward humans.
But what followed was cruel exploitation again and again, merciless betrayal... These thousand years left behind almost entirely gray memories soaked through with pain and disappointment.
The Nine-Tails' consciousness followed the chakra connection, sinking into Naruto's memory depths. Scenes in its mind began flashing past like a revolving lantern. Initially they were all things it had personally experienced or witnessed—intense scenes of fighting alongside Naruto, plus those mundane yet warm bits and pieces from daily interactions.
These were all things it knew about.
Except for one fragment—Naruto using shadow clones to transform into a mysterious figure wearing a fox mask and black robes...
This appearance looked somewhat familiar...
Seems like during the Wave Country mission, someone dressed like this suddenly appeared and took those two enemies away... The Nine-Tails suddenly understood—so that time was this kid impersonating someone himself?!
It never paid attention to human conflicts outside the seal. Regarding this "mysterious organization leader" image performed by Naruto that various forces later speculated about wildly, the Nine-Tails couldn't help inwardly commenting:
This kid sure knows how to be mysterious.
Then memories flowed to Naruto's childhood period. Though it had already learned the general situation from Satsuki's accusations, when those scenes of ostracism, discrimination, and isolation were truly presented from first-person perspective, the Nine-Tails still felt its heart aching.
Itself... had once again witnessed firsthand the pain it had indirectly brought him...
Next, memory arrived at that night it could never forget—the night of Naruto's birth. The perspective became that of an infant, blurred and hazy.
But the primal memories engraved in the soul's depths, forgotten by consciousness, were incomparably clearly displayed. The scenes overlapped with those in the Nine-Tails' memories... and then...?
Wait a minute? The Nine-Tails was confused. The memories had already traced back to the day of Naruto's birth, yet it still hadn't seen any clues or related memories about that "Sage of Six Paths dream"?
Just as it felt puzzled, the scenes didn't stop but continued forward—tracing back toward the spacetime "before Naruto's birth"! The scenery before its eyes suddenly transformed, switching to a dimension completely unfamiliar to it!
"This is... what is this?!" The Nine-Tails' consciousness released an incredulous cry.
The scene before it had completely changed! That was an entirely different world! Skyscrapers towering, traffic flowing like water—city scenery it had never seen before.
Humans lived there, but without chakra fluctuations in their bodies, wearing strange clothing, using tools it couldn't understand... Everything was so unfamiliar. Then came a life trajectory without any battles, completely ordinary. From first-person perspective, a glowing screen unfolded before its eyes. The Nine-Tails, carrying tremendous confusion, unconsciously read aloud that eye-catching title at the top of the screen.
"NARUTO?"
---
"..."
Its consciousness didn't know how long it had been immersed in the information torrent. The amount of information it received was far more massive, far more astounding than the Nine-Tails had imagined...
One of the truths it most wanted to know—that mysterious person who'd controlled it the night before being sealed, creating the Nine-Tails Calamity, was actually just some guy named Obito Uchiha? Not the legendary Madara Uchiha at all?
And this was merely one among numerous truths.
Kaguya Otsutsuki... Black Zetsu... the Eye of the Moon Plan... That Madara Uchiha it hated, viewed as mortal enemy, in the entire story's context was actually just a chess piece manipulated in the mastermind's palm?!
Though that Uchiha Satsuki beside Naruto had the wrong gender...
Plus the "original work" Naruto in the memories seemed more lively and rash than the one it was familiar with...
Could it be... this was the truth of everything? A soul and memories from another world? The Nine-Tails' consciousness plunged into tremendous chaos and shock, momentarily not knowing how to react. This impact far exceeded what it had anticipated by a thousandfold...
While the Nine-Tails struggled to digest this earth-shattering information, sinking into contemplation, this memory from another world finally flowed to its end—arriving at the moment of "Uzumaki Naruto's" birth...
Looks like... that's everything...
The Nine-Tails was preparing to organize its words, thinking about how to express the towering waves in its heart to Naruto after leaving the connection state.
However, just as it thought the information flow had ended—
The scenes actually began appearing once again!
"...?!"
What met its "eyes" was an unknown alternate dimension filled with distorted light. It once again saw Naruto, only this Naruto appeared older, around thirty-something, face more resolute and mature, entire body enveloped in the familiar golden Nine-Tails chakra.
Beside Naruto stood an equally mature-aged, exquisitely featured, coldly elegant black-haired woman. But what shocked the Nine-Tails was the pattern in that woman's eyes—those were Rinnegan that only the old Six Paths man had ever possessed! Plus... a form of Sharingan it had never witnessed before, complex and powerful!!
Both stood ready for battle. Across from them stood a mysterious person whose face was covered in strange black symbols, emanating an ominous aura.
Only to hear that mysterious person speak in a hoarse voice full of killing intent:
"How persistent. Uchiha Satsuki, you actually used space-time ninjutsu to chase here? Perfect timing—I'll finish off both of you right here."
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