Within the Land of Rain.
An underground cave.
Several phantoms gradually appeared, casting colorful lights that illuminated the dark, narrow space.
"We're being summoned again," one of them spoke, shouldering a massive three-bladed scythe, his tone impatient. "What is it this time? Are we finally going to take action?"
"Our group's mission is already complete," a tall figure beside him said calmly.
The one with the Rinnegan spoke, "Zetsu, brief them on the intel."
The noisy group immediately fell silent.
A phantom with a Venus flytrap on its head spoke in a raspy voice, "The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki has gone to the Land of Lightning. He was targeted by the Cloud Village, and they organized a force to capture the Nine-Tails."
"Has the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki already been captured by the Cloud?" a phantom with a high ponytail exclaimed. "Did they get ahead of us?"
Zetsu ignored him and continued, "However, the Cloud Village's capture attempt failed."
"The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchūriki teamed up, along with dozens of Jōnin, and even the Raikage himself. But they were no match for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"The Cloud Village's strike force was nearly wiped out."
"The Raikage was injured, losing an arm and a leg."
These words caused the colors on the phantoms to dim.
Inside the cave, the atmosphere became oppressive.
"That's too exaggerated," the one with the high ponytail said, raising his voice. "Taking on an entire village?"
"It would take all of us together to achieve something like that," he continued. "Can he do it alone?"
"The Cloud Village used almost all their strength, yet they couldn't capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?" a man curled up almost into a ball spoke up. "Itachi, I remember you fought him before."
The phantom with the Sharingan looked up.
He was the only one in the "Akatsuki" not referred to by a code name.
The "Sharingan" was too distinctive.
Currently, there were only two Sharingan in the entire ninja world, and everyone knew who he was.
"He's very powerful," Uchiha Itachi spoke. "Nan and I didn't engage him too deeply, so we're not sure exactly how powerful he is."
"Moreover, that was more than a year ago."
The tall phantom looked up at the one with the Rinnegan: "So, the leader summoned us this time to gather all our forces to deal with him?"
The Rinnegan bearer spoke calmly, "The intel Zetsu brought back this time."
"And the information that Shu and Nan brought me more than a year ago."
"They almost describe two different people."
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is still very young."
"If we let him continue to grow, he will become a significant threat."
"Furthermore," he paused and glanced at the Venus flytrap, "according to some reports, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki has been trying to gather intelligence on our organization over the past year."
"He may already know what our organization's goal is."
The man with the scythe chuckled and said, "Couldn't his goal be Itachi?"
"After all, it's the Sharingan."
The Rinnegan bearer looked over, "According to Zetsu's intel."
"Orochimaru, that guy, doesn't seem to be dead."
"And he has had some interaction with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Our information might have been leaked by that guy."
The man with the scythe fell silent.
The Rinnegan bearer scanned the phantoms with his gaze and lowered his voice, "Whether it's because of Uzumaki Naruto's strength."
"Or to ensure the secrecy of the organization."
"Capturing the Nine-Tails has become an urgent matter."
"But the battlefield cannot be on the territory of the Five Great Nations."
"We're not ready to reveal ourselves to them yet."
"So."
"San, Hoku."
"You two go and lure the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to the Land of Rain."
"The rest, return and prepare for battle."
The two phantoms called out shuddered.
The man with the scythe complained in a drawn-out tone, "Are you sending us on a suicide mission?"
"Aren't you two the immortal duo?" the Rinnegan bearer said. "This task is most suitable for you."
"And 'San,' you joined the organization after Orochimaru."
"No one knows about your intel."
"You might be able to use your ability to catch the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki off guard."
The man called "San" sighed, "Understood, leader."
"But..."
"I think you can retract that last order."
"I'll definitely bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!"
The Rinnegan bearer didn't respond to him; he simply formed a seal and whispered, "Be prepared."
His phantom then disappeared.
The others' figures also gradually faded away.
The Land of Birds.
In a forest, two men wearing black robes adorned with red clouds slowly opened their eyes.
"Hidan, you sure know how to say things like that," said the man wearing the headband of the Waterfall Village. "Do you really think you can capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?"
"Crushing the strongest in the Five Great Nations, Cloud Village."
"This strength reminds me of an old acquaintance I haven't seen in a long time."
"If he grows a few more years, he might become that kind of person."
The young man with a headband from the Hot Water Village around his neck turned around and impatiently dug at his ear. "Kakuzu, you're so annoying. I've heard the story of how you survived a fight with the First Hokage more times than I can count!"
"A so-called God of Ninja."
"Not to mention, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki hasn't reached that level yet. Even if he did, so what?"
"A status built on flattery—can it really compare to a true god?"
"Jashin-sama is a real god!"
"No one can resist the power that comes from Jashin-sama."
Kakuzu sneered, "Then let's go. It's a long way from here to the Land of Lightning."
Hidan was eager, already playing out scenes in his mind of torturing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
On Turtle Island, progress was slow in the training at the Falls of Truth.
Naruto was calm and collected, treating the Falls of Truth as a tool to verify his abilities. He fought against an identical version of himself, capturing and recording any flaws in his battles, and refining his techniques to become stronger.
It was with this goal in mind.
He didn't visit the waterfall often, at most once every two or three days. Sometimes, if he reached a critical point in his research or couldn't figure out how to solve a problem, he wouldn't go to the waterfall until he had resolved it.
The Nine-Tails, however, went every day, fighting its "dark side" two or three times daily.
One reason was its desire to obtain the Zanpakutō.
On the other hand, it really didn't like that "dark version" of itself.
A mere internal force.
So arrogant and conceited.
But the results were far from satisfying.
Every day, it returned defeated and frustrated.
This left it somewhat demoralized.
Even when arguing with Karin, its usual vigor was noticeably diminished.
"Nah, Naruto, you can study the Tailed Beast whenever you want," grumbled the Yin Nine-Tails, lying on the bed with a grimace. "Don't you want to deal with that dark side of yours sooner?"
"I'm not in a hurry," Naruto replied with a smile.
The Yang Nine-Tails uneasily scratched at the bedsheet.
But I am in a hurry!
Do I really have to swallow my pride and ask Naruto for help?
Like that little girl Soi Fon?
Wouldn't that be too humiliating?
Naruto read its emotions—after all, the Nine-Tails was an open book, with its thoughts written all over its face.
He put down the scroll and turned around, "Haven't you heard the name of that sword yet?"
Both foxes nodded, their expressions growing more frustrated at the topic.
"The voice is clear enough," the Yang Nine-Tails growled, "but the name is still hidden."
"Why is that?"
"Could it be that our training isn't sufficient?"
The Yin Nine-Tails pawed at the pillow.
Naruto spoke softly, "You're too impatient."
He paused and lightly slapped his thigh, "Seeing how you two are right now, I've got some new ideas."
The two foxes bared their teeth.
What do you mean by "how you two are right now"? As if we're a mess.
"I think."
"Maybe we've been too set in our ways?"
The Nine-Tails tilted its head, its four eyes fixed on him.
"Dad told us that we had to deal with our inner darkness," Naruto continued. "So when we came to the Falls of Truth, we naturally thought that we had to kill that guy."
What else?
The two foxes felt justified.
Of course, we have to get rid of that ugly thing!
"But," Naruto recalled the night when Muguruma Kensei and the others got into trouble, "no matter how dark or evil that guy is, he's still a part of us."
"Before I unleashed the Ashura Blade."
"I could hear their voices, but I couldn't hear their names."
"I've thought about it, and the reason is simple—I hadn't made up my mind yet."
"I wanted more power, but I didn't feel close to it."
"I preferred to be close to weaker powers, but I wasn't willing to embrace them."
"Subconsciously, I was rejecting them, which is why I couldn't hear their names."
"It's not that our power isn't enough, but that we've blocked our own ears."
The Nine-Tails pondered this.
"So, do we have to accept that guy?" Its face instinctively showed a look of disgust.
Naruto grabbed the Yang Nine-Tails' tail and began to rub it in his palm, "Where there is light, there is shadow."
"In our hearts, it's no different."
"We need to become the brightest light, suppress these shadows, and let our true consciousness guide our body and mind, rather than letting these partial thoughts take over."
The Yang Nine-Tails raised its head and stared at the blond boy, "Naruto, you're starting to sound pretty convincing."
"But."
"What's with you Uzumaki clan members!"
"Stop playing with my tail."
It bared its claws fiercely, while the Yin Nine-Tails laughed on the side. Naruto refused to let go.
The next day.
The two of them appeared at the Falls of Truth at the same time, meditating on the platform, ready to face the other side of their hearts.
~~~
Late!!!! By 30 mins, here's today chapter!
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