"How strange... why can't I remember their faces no matter how hard I try?"
Naruto Uzumaki's message appeared in the chat room, and at once, an odd scene unfolded across Konoha. It was the sound of people quietly exhaling after surviving a disaster, the kind of relieved breath that came from the very bottom of the chest.
For the villagers of the Hidden Leaf, that one line was enough to loosen the death grip around their hearts. If Naruto couldn't remember their faces, then maybe Kushina's fury would never truly reach them.
Orochimaru blinked.
Then he slowly turned his head and glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi in the stands not far away. Snake-like amusement flashed in his golden eyes. His teacher, the man who liked to call himself the strongest Hokage, had very obviously just breathed a sigh of relief.
How could that be allowed?
Orochimaru smiled. The smile was wicked enough to send a chill through the air.
As a dutiful disciple, how could he ever allow Sarutobi-sensei to relax at a time like this?
Hiruzen's heart lurched. A terrible premonition rose without warning.
"Orochimaru, what are you doing?!"
At this moment, the Third Hokage looked like a bird startled by the bowstring. Every nerve in his body screamed danger.
Orochimaru's lips curved higher. "Sarutobi-sensei, I originally thought I wouldn't have the chance to present my gift."
He paused, savoring the change in Hiruzen's expression.
"But it seems there is still time to send it out after all."
Hiruzen's brows sank hard. He had no idea what gift Orochimaru meant. He couldn't even guess. But instinct told him with brutal clarity that whatever Orochimaru was referring to would only become more fatal after this comparative screening.
"Oh?" Orochimaru let out a soft laugh. "Sarutobi-sensei, are you already looking forward to it?"
Hiruzen's face darkened at once.
At this moment, he regretted it.
Danzo had told him again and again that he would regret it one day. He had never taken those words seriously before. But now, with Orochimaru seated beside him like a snake coiling before a strike, Hiruzen finally understood the taste of regret.
He regretted not killing Orochimaru with his own hands back then.
Only now did he truly wake up. The comparison system was dangerous, yes, but that danger was still vague, still future, still unknown. Orochimaru, on the other hand, was here. Right in front of him. Immediate. Breathing. Smiling.
If the comparison screening had not suddenly interrupted everything, Orochimaru might already have attacked.
That thought settled in Hiruzen's chest like ice.
Of course, that was only what he thought. Secretly, quietly, he made up his mind.
Orochimaru's few simple words had torn away the final disguise. And Hiruzen was afraid.
Then Orochimaru spoke again, his tone light, almost cheerful.
"Second Hokage, I have already perfected your Impure World Reincarnation. I have even collected your DNA, as well as the First Hokage's."
He licked his lips lazily.
"The sacrifices are also ready. And by the way, Danzo provided the offerings. Without his assistance, it wouldn't have been nearly so easy for me to swagger into Konoha with a plan to crush it."
The entire arena seemed to freeze.
Danzo was dumbstruck.
Orochimaru... you sold me out?!
Hiruzen's pupils contracted violently.
Danzo!
Far away in Iwagakure, the old fox Onoki irritably pushed aside his granddaughter's hand when she reached for his beard again.
"Stop messing around."
But the next instant, his old eyes lit up with frightening brilliance.
The Konoha Crush Plan?
The Fourth Raikage's expression changed at almost the same time.
Ōnoki was the first to bark out, "Orochimaru, say that again - slowly!"
The Fourth Raikage followed immediately after. "Orochimaru, keep talking. I can mobilize my army at once. I'll definitely be a great help to you!"
The two voices overlapped almost perfectly.
That damned brat.
That damned old geezer.
Each cursed the other in his own heart.
In the Pure Land, Tobirama Senju fell completely silent.
Uchiha Izuna immediately burst into laughter. "What's wrong? Speechless? Shameless bastard - you taught a disciple even more shameless than yourself. Bah!"
Tobirama's face twitched. Then, in the Pure Land, he reached up and started furiously pulling at his own hair.
"This can't go on. If this continues, my name will stink for all eternity!"
"Damned Izuna! A defeated opponent dares to mock me like this?!"
Not far away, Kushina was just as close to losing her mind. She had already been silenced for another ten minutes because of an overly aggressive outburst, and she was practically clawing at the restraints of that punishment.
She was getting closer and closer to the chance of revival - how could she possibly stay quiet now?
At that exact moment, Tobirama made his decision.
Tobirama Senju: Orochimaru, once you can use chakra again, immediately perform the Impure World Reincarnation on me. I will personally cut down that so-called Darkness of Konoha.
Danzo practically exploded.
Danzo Shimura: Tobirama-sensei, please don't believe the words of a rogue ninja!
Danzo Shimura: This is pure slander! Orochimaru was Hiruzen's disciple!
Hashirama finally stepped in, as though trying to press down a pot whose lid had already blown halfway off.
Hashirama Senju: Alright, let's leave that matter for now. I'm more curious about what's happening with the Naruto in the black frame.
And so everyone's attention shifted back to the screen.
***
On the black-bordered screen, the image continued.
Naruto's eyes were so wide they looked as if they might burst from their sockets. He ignored the dizziness pounding through his skull and stared with all his strength at the crowd in front of him.
Egg yolk and blood slid together into his eyes. The sting instantly triggered tears, making his vision blur and swim.
Then - buzz.
A cold, terrifying chakra erupted without warning.
Naruto jolted. In that instant, his mind became startlingly clear, as though a window had been thrown open inside his head. The oppressive fog choking his thoughts vanished for a heartbeat.
But the feeling disappeared almost at once.
Naruto himself didn't fully notice what had happened. The sinister chakra had come too suddenly and vanished too quickly. On top of that, he had been keeping his head lowered, instinctively protecting it from the barrage.
No one saw that his azure eyes flashed crimson for a single instant before returning to blue.
That brief moment of clarity left Naruto dazed.
Could it be because...?
A thought suddenly surfaced.
Ninjas.
Ninjas knew ninjutsu. They could breathe fire. They could walk on walls. And there was another kind of art too - one he had heard about in scraps and whispers.
Genjutsu.
Illusions.
My current state must have something to do with that kind of technique!
Who did it?
Was it the ninja who brought me away?
Damn it... I can't even remember what he looked like!
That was what crushed him most.
Thanks to that terrifying pulse of chakra, Naruto had finally stolen a little room to breathe. But the pain eating at him now wasn't the pain in his body. It was the pain in his mind.
The malice pouring off the villagers was so heavy it nearly had weight. It left him confused, wronged, furious, and full of resentment all at once. But on top of that, there was another emotion - gentle, numbing, alien - that kept washing through him and smothering what he actually felt.
That was what truly drove him to the brink.
In the arena, present-day Naruto stared blankly at the screen.
"This..."
He swallowed hard.
Was I really like that back then?
"I don't remember any of it at all."
Neji, still lying on the ground not far away, suddenly spoke. "Do you remember the face of the Sarutobi clan ninja who brought you back just now? The one on the black-framed screen?"
Naruto answered on instinct. "No."
Neji's gaze sharpened.
"Naruto, I'm certain of it now. There is a force inside you influencing you."
He paused, then corrected himself.
"No. Two forces."
The bits and pieces finally connected in his mind.
Jinchūriki.
So that was it.
The reason Naruto had managed to defeat him earlier... the answer was already there. It was the tailed beast sealed inside him.
Neji drew in a slow breath.
"I understand now. The reason you defeated me before was because of the tailed beast inside you, wasn't it?"
Naruto scratched his cheek, suddenly looking awkward. "Uh... yeah. I borrowed chakra from that big fox."
After all, being caught red-handed using outside power was still embarrassing, even for someone as shameless as Naruto.
Then a familiar, scornful voice echoed inside his mind.
"Hmph. Foolish brat. That wasn't my fox chakra. My chakra doesn't feel like that."
Naruto froze.
The Nine-Tails continued, voice dripping with mockery.
"In the end, what soothed the Naruto in the black frame was my chakra. Heh... suddenly, I'm a little jealous of myself in that world. That Naruto will definitely become addicted to my power."
The fox gave a disdainful snort.
"Unlike you, in this world - foolish, overflowing with pointless compassion, always finding new ways to leave this fox speechless. You refresh my understanding of stupidity every single day."
The big fox...
Naruto fell silent for a moment.
So that was really what happened?
Messages flooding through the chat room quickly confirmed the Nine-Tails' guess. More and more people noticed that something had clearly been wrong with Naruto's condition back then.
By now, Neji had recovered enough strength to push himself back to his feet.
He stepped closer, lifted a hand, and patted Naruto on the shoulder.
His expression was still proud, still cold, but there was a faint change in his eyes.
"You're both Naruto," he said. "You started from the same place."
He glanced at the black-bordered screen, where that other Naruto was still fighting to hold on to his own mind beneath the hatred of the crowd and the interference of unseen forces.
Then Neji looked back at the Naruto standing beside him now.
"If he can do it," Neji said quietly, "then you can do it too."