The dawn approaches as a thick fog rises over the rain-drenched morning.
Two men, clad in black robes adorned with crimson cloud patterns, stand atop a wall, gazing down upon Konoha.
"It seems like there hasn't been much damage," the taller man remarked, "I was expecting a much bigger commotion."
His features resembled that of a fish, with markings like gills on either side of his cheeks, high on his cheekbones.
The shorter man remained silent, his eyes housing two crimson Sharingan wheels.
"But why are we coming to Konoha?" the tall man turned his head, "Wasn't there intelligence suggesting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had left Konoha to travel and grow?"
"Could it be out of some sort of nostalgia?"
"Itachi, someone like you still harbors feelings for your old village, huh?"
Uchiha Itachi shook his head, his expression unmoved, "No, I don't miss it at all."
"However, Kisame, if you were part of Konoha's decision-makers,"
"Would you let the Jinchuriki go at a time like this?"
Kisame raised an eyebrow, "Of course not, especially with the previous Hokage just deceased. It's a prime time for war to erupt."
"The Jinchuriki is a war machine, after all."
"Oh—"
"Itachi, do you think that's misinformation released by Konoha?"
Uchiha Itachi continued to gaze silently into the distance.
Kisame did not respond.
In the forest outside of Konoha, Naruto listened intently to Jiraiya's explanation, placing his hand over his stomach, "The Nine-Tails inside me is only half?"
"Yes." Jiraiya nodded, "Minato sealed the 'Yang' half of the Nine-Tails inside you."
"The 'yin' half of the Nine-Tails has been sealed with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."
Naruto bowed his head.
He remembered what Captain Unohana told him at the start when she checked him.
"Half of the power within you is missing."
So it wasn't referring to his dual blades after all.
It was the Nine-Tails' power that was missing half—something incomplete.
Jiraiya looked at his hands. "Naruto, how much of the Nine-Tails' power have you managed to control?"
Naruto spoke softly, "About seven tails' worth."
"Seven tails, huh?" Jiraiya muttered to himself. "Then, contact me once you can completely suppress the Nine-Tails' power."
"Minato left behind a key."
"Originally, it was meant for Kushina."
"But before it was completed, that incident happened."
"It's a technique that will allow you to perfectly control the Nine-Tails' power."
Naruto absentmindedly nodded. "But why did Dad leave half of the Nine-Tails' power in me?"
"And that technique."
"Since Mom was also a jinchuriki, he must have known how painful it was to be one."
"Was it to leave something for the village?"
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment.
"Minato wasn't that kind of person." After much contemplation, he cautiously replied, "He would never sacrifice his own child just for the village."
"There must have been a reason he had no choice but to do so."
"I think..."
Jiraiya paused, his tone serious, "Kushina is from the Uzumaki Clan, and she is very skilled in sealing techniques."
"Even if on that day her strength was weakened due to childbirth,"
"there was still Minato there, and it was impossible for the Nine-Tails to break free of the seal."
"However, that day, the Nine-Tails did escape."
"I suspect it might have been deliberate."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean, deliberate? Someone released the Nine-Tails?"
"It's just a hypothesis."
Jiraiya shook his head.
Naruto said nothing, sitting cross-legged, entering his inner world.
Speculation was meaningless.
Those involved knew best.
"Brat!"
The Nine-Tails growled in annoyance, "You're incredibly rude."
"Tell me the truth."
Naruto's tone was firm.
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth, "Why should I tell you?!"
Naruto brought his hands together.
Golden chains surged, clanking loudly.
"Not again!"
The Nine-Tails leapt up in alarm, "You Uzumaki people, you're all the same!"
It locked eyes with Naruto.
In those eyes was impatience and determination.
The golden chains swung, but for now, they showed no intent to bind and suppress.
It was merely a threat.
There was no malice detected, but the message was clear: There would be consequences if cooperation wasn't forthcoming.
The Nine-Tails sighed, "That night, someone unraveled the seal on Kushina."
"It was a man with the Sharingan."
Sharingan?
Those three words made Naruto pause.
His thoughts instinctively went to Sasuke, but it was obvious it couldn't have been him. Sasuke was just slightly older than him, barely a newborn at the time.
"Was it the work of the Uchiha clan?" Naruto released his grip as the golden chains retracted.
"I was released from Kushina and then brought under control by a pair of Sharingan eyes,"
the Nine-Tails continued, hastening past the detail of being controlled.
"And then,"
"by the time I regained consciousness, I was already being sealed inside you, kid!"
"I wanted to break free from the seal, but the Fourth Hokage stopped me,"
the Nine-Tails admitted, its emotion growing agitated at the end.
It detested this feeling, being sealed and imprisoned.
"I see," Naruto clenched his fists, "Someone... took advantage of the time my mom was in labor, didn't they?"
He withdrew from his inner world.
"I just went to ask the Nine-Tails," Naruto said as he looked up at Jiraiya.
"It said a man with the Sharingan took advantage of my mom's labor to undo the seal, release it, and then control it."
Jiraiya's expression darkened, "So, it was indeed someone who purposely orchestrated this event."
Naruto lifted his head, gazing at the now illuminated sky, "The Uchiha clan has been annihilated."
"I've learned a bit about Sasuke's situation."
"Currently, the only ones left of the Uchiha clan are him and that man he loathes."
Jiraiya provided further clarification, "That man is his brother, Uchiha Itachi, the murderer responsible for the massacre of the Uchiha clan."
"Could it be him?" Naruto inquired.
Jiraiya shook his head, "Uchiha Itachi is a prodigy and quite formidable. However, he was very young during the Nine-Tails attack, perhaps only five or six years old, lacking the ability to orchestrate such chaos."
"I suspect it might be..."
He cautiously pronounced a name, "Uchiha Madara."
"Who is he?" Naruto questioned.
Madara?
He had never heard of this name before.
"He is the founder of the Uchiha clan in Konoha," Jiraiya explained, "a contemporary of the First Hokage."
Naruto was astonished, "So long ago, and he might still be alive?"
"If there is any Uchiha with the power to break the Nine-Tails' seal under Minato's defense," Jiraiya's tone was grave, "it could only be the founder of the Uchiha clan."
"Naruto."
"As you leave Konoha, you must be extremely cautious."
"If that guy has made a move once, he will make a second move."
"If you encounter danger, contact me immediately."
"This time, I won't be late."
Jiraiya clenched his fist, his expression and tone both exuding an unyielding resolve.
(End of Chapter)