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When Naruto opened his eyes again, leaping flames greeted him.
Above the flames, a skewered fish sizzled, dripping hot oil onto the fire.
Old Man Kuro sat nearby, watching him with gentle eyes.
"Naruto, you're awake."
Naruto's mind hadn't fully snapped back to reality yet. He blinked, dazed.
"Old… Man Kuro?"
His gaze wavered. He wanted to say something, but—Guuuuurgle.
His stomach spoke first.
"You must be starving… Here, eat the fish I grilled for you."
Naruto ate. Big, hungry mouthfuls. A wave of pure, simple happiness spread from his taste buds through his whole body…
It had been so long. He'd last eaten Old Man Kuro's fish only a few months ago, yet it felt like a lifetime.
Memory rushed back.
Sasuke… Sasuke had tried to kill them. To kill him and Old Man Kuro. There was no choice. He'd had to let Old Man Kuro take control to escape!
"Old Man Kuro… You're okay! You're really okay!!"
Tears spilled out. He couldn't stop them.
The stone in Kuro's heart finally settled.
Madara's will is completely dormant now. Just as Naruto was before.
To prevent the Nine-Tails from spilling the truth, Kuro had tampered with the seal while Naruto was unconscious, cutting the beast off from its host. As for Asura's consciousness? So long as Kuro stayed close to Naruto, it couldn't manifest either.
It seemed foolproof. But Kuro had still worried. What if Naruto retained some memory of the time his body was under Madara's control?
Those memories… contained far too much that was inconvenient. Details that would shatter the carefully crafted trust.
Naruto's reaction was perfect. Exactly what Kuro wanted.
"Don't worry, Naruto. Everything's fine now."
Kuro smiled. A genuine, warm smile that felt like sunlight breaking through a dark cloud, warming Naruto right to his core.
Naruto also remembered their last meeting. That small, nameless country. The temple. Old Man Kuro had said he had a gift. It was… a coffin.
"That's weird. I remember being on top of that coffin. How'd I get outside? And… my memory's just blank after that. Really weird."
He scrunched his face, thinking hard. It hurt. He gave up and looked at Old Man Kuro, confused. "What happened?"
Kuro served up the story he'd prepared.
"Naruto. Do you remember the bad man I told you about? The one who killed my mother?"
"Yeah… I remember!" Naruto said. "That bad guy was… your brother!!"
"Yes," Kuro continued. "That coffin… it held the son of the man who killed my mother."
"Wh… What?!?" Naruto stammered. "He had a son? And… his son is dead??"
"Yes. The relationships are… complicated. To put it simply, my brother was utterly evil. He was punished by heaven. Before he died, he gave all his power to his son—the man in that coffin—hoping his wickedness would live on."
"That's awful!!" Naruto yelled. "Making his son inherit his evil!!!"
"It is. That power ended up destroying him too. My nephew. He was… irredeemably wicked. But his power was immense."
Naruto's brain short-circuited.
The bad man who killed a mother. The bad man himself. The bad man's nephew… The bad man's power. The nephew's power. The concepts swirled and blurred in his head. Naruto, never one for complex plots, couldn't untangle the knot.
Perfect.
Kuro didn't give him time to think. He pressed on. "I saw your determination to bring Sasuke back. I wanted to help. So I decided to give you that power."
"That power…" Naruto asked. "Which power???"
Kuro ignored the question, his tone growing more urgent. "With it, you could achieve your dream! But I never imagined… My nephew. My dead nephew. His consciousness… it was still there!"
He leaned in. "I gave you the power. And his consciousness took over your body!"
Who was dead again? Who took over?? The bad man? Or the son??
Naruto's confusion deepened.
Then, Kuro did something shocking. He dropped to his knees. Thud.
"This is all my fault! Naruto, I have to apologize! I wanted to help, but I almost got you killed!!"
Naruto panicked. "Old Man Kuro!! Get up, what are you doing, dattebayo!!!"
Kuro stayed put, stubborn. "Not until you forgive me!!"
"I forgive you! I forgive you!! So a bad guy just took over my body, right?! And now he's gone, dattebayo!!! I should be apologizing! What if he hurt you?! What would I tell Ero-sennin, dattebayo!!!"
Naruto grabbed Kuro's arms, hauling him back to his feet.
Kuro sighed, a mix of relief and weariness. "You… always thinking of others. But you don't need to worry now. That evil consciousness… you defeated it. Not only are you free, Naruto… his power is now yours to command."
Naruto stared at his own palms. "I… I do feel different. Stronger. But it's weird… I can't feel the Nine-Tails anymore?"
Kuro chuckled, a low, comforting sound. "That fox? He's nothing but a bully. He tormented you when you were weak. Now that you're strong? He's hiding. Too scared to show his face."
"Is… is that really it?"
Naruto lowered his hands and looked around. The flickering firelight, the strange stone ground, the still pond in the distance.
"Where… are we, anyway?"
"This," Kuro said calmly, "is a separate dimension. We entered it through the Rinnegan in your right eye."
"Eh? Rin-ne… gan?? What's that??"
Kuro simply pointed toward the pond.
Naruto walked over. He knelt and peered into the still water.
He froze.
The reflection staring back… had dark hair, tinged with deep red!
And the eyes… they were wrong. His left eye was a pale purple with three concentric black ripples. His right eye was the same, but with six black tomoe embedded in the ripples!
He whirled around. "This is a lie, right?! My face… why do I look like this?! Is that really me?! Old Man Kuro???"
"The power you received changed some of your outward features," Kuro said, his voice steady as bedrock. "But you are still you."
That calm tone. That solid, reliable presence. It washed away Naruto's fear. He accepted it.
Then, his expression sobered. His gaze dropped.
"I remember… before we came here. You said the village was attacked. By… by Sasuke. Right?"
Kuro nodded. "Yes."
Naruto's hand moved to cover his strange right eye. "I'm… really worried about everyone! I wanna get back to the outside world, fast! Old Man Kuro! Can you use my body again? Use this… Rinnegan thing to take us back?!"
"I could, of course."
Naruto's face lit up with hope.
Then, Kuro delivered the blow.
"But, Naruto. A true ninja doesn't rely on others the moment trouble arises. And tell me… if you go back now, just like this… can you stop Sasuke?"
"T-that…" Naruto's pupils shook.
Kuro pushed harder. "If you insist, I'll help you return right now!!"
Naruto's fists clenched. White-knuckled. A fire ignited in his newly changed eyes. "NO!! You're right, Old Man Kuro, dattebayo!!! I'll go back… but I'll do it with my own power!!!"
Kuro smiled, a real, proud smile. "Now that's the Uzumaki Naruto I know. Special training begins now. Be ready."
SMACK! Naruto brought his fists together, a fierce grin splitting his face. "Osu~!!!"
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