"This is the sealing space inside your body."
"Brother Rokuro…? What's going on?"
Naruto turned and saw Uchiha Rokuro behind him, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning quietly. Rokuro grasped Naruto's shoulder and led him toward the massive gate that sealed the Nine-Tails.
Before Naruto could even make out what lay beyond, an earth-shaking roar exploded from within—so loud it nearly scared him senseless.
"Damn you, Uchiha Rokuro! You actually dared to come here?! Get inside—let me tear you apart!"
A gigantic claw thrust out from between the bars, slamming straight toward Rokuro and Naruto. Naruto froze, his mind going blank, unable to move even a finger.
Rokuro, however, looked utterly disdainful. He didn't dodge. He merely glanced at the Nine-Tails.
In the next instant, the beast's movement locked solid. The enormous claw froze in midair, unable to descend another inch.
"Nine-Tails," Rokuro said coldly, "have you been sealed for so long that you've even lost your memory? In front of me, you're nothing more than a chakra battery. And you think you can touch me?"
"You bastard!!!"
The Nine-Tails roared, a tidal wave of chakra surging outward as it struggled to break free.
Rokuro's Sharingan transformed.
The Mangekyō bloomed.
In that moment, the Nine-Tails was utterly suppressed.
Even at full strength in the past, the complete Nine-Tails had fallen to Uchiha Madara with nothing more than a glance. Now it was only the Yang half—barely half its former power.
More importantly, without its Yin counterpart, its resistance to genjutsu was pitiful.
It stood no chance.
"Brother Rokuro… what is that thing?" Naruto whispered, trembling. "It's terrifying…"
With Rokuro standing in front of him, Naruto gathered a bit of courage—but he still couldn't meet the Nine-Tails' gaze, peeking only from behind Rokuro's back.
"Naruto," Rokuro said calmly, "ever since you can remember, people have cursed you, haven't they? Do you remember what they called you most?"
Pain flashed across Naruto's face. Still, because it was Rokuro asking, he forced himself to think.
"They called me… demon fox brat…"
His eyes suddenly widened.
"W-wait—th-that thing… it's the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?!"
Naruto jumped out, pointing at the beast, shock and fury written all over his face.
"Brother Rokuro, you said this place is inside me—don't tell me… don't tell me I'm really a demon fox reincarnation?! Were they right?!"
In an instant, Naruto's worldview collapsed.
Rokuro raised his hand and smacked Naruto on the head.
"Ow!"
The sharp pain snapped Naruto back to his senses.
"Demon fox reincarnation?" Rokuro scoffed. "What nonsense have you been reading? That thing isn't a demon fox—it's a tailed beast. And you aren't some reincarnated monster. You're a jinchūriki."
"Jin… chūriki?"
Rokuro explained the concept plainly, then recounted the truth of the Nine-Tails' attack years ago.
"In the end, the Fourth Hokage gave his life for the village—and sealed the Nine-Tails inside his newborn son."
Rokuro turned to look at Naruto.
Naruto's mind was already overwhelmed.
"Brother Rokuro… y-you mean… my mother was the previous Nine-Tails jinchūriki… and my father was… the Fourth Hokage?!"
Rokuro nodded.
Naruto collapsed to the ground, clutching his head.
"That's impossible… If that's true, why did they treat me like that?! Why did no one ever tell me who I was?!"
Rokuro crouched down and lifted Naruto's face so he could look him in the eye.
"Naruto, you've suffered through indifference and cruelty—but your understanding of human nature is still shallow."
"To gain someone's loyalty and trust, the most effective method is to help them when they're desperate. But such chances are rare."
"So some people… manufacture them."
Naruto listened, confused.
Rokuro gave him an example.
"Imagine a proud little cat. Whenever it's hungry, someone feeds it. When it's cold, there's a warm bed. Even its messes are cleaned up. Do you think that cat will be especially attached to its owner?"
"Probably?" Naruto guessed.
"Not necessarily," Rokuro said. "It may see the owner as family—but not cling to them."
"But now imagine a starving cat, constantly on the brink of death. One day, someone gives it hot food and clean water. What do you think happens?"
Naruto thought carefully.
"First it tests whether the person means harm… then it eats… and then it follows them home…"
His eyes snapped open.
"You mean?!"
Naruto wasn't stupid. He was only six, but he had endured far too much to be naïve.
Before, he hadn't understood his own value.
Now—knowing who he was, and what the Nine-Tails meant—everything clicked.
His face darkened. His pupils narrowed into slits. Fangs like a beast's emerged from his mouth.
Rokuro glanced downward.
Nine-Tails chakra was leaking through the seal, creeping up Naruto's legs.
"Trying petty tricks in front of me?" Rokuro said coldly. "Nine-Tails, have you forgotten how terrifying I am?"
Golden chains burst forth, binding the Nine-Tails completely. Its chakra was instantly cut off.
Naruto's partial transformation vanished. He collapsed, gasping for breath.
"Brother Rokuro… what just happened to me?"
Rokuro pointed at the bound beast.
"You were overwhelmed by hatred and rage. This thing seized the chance to feed you its chakra—trying to erode your soul and turn you into a humanoid tailed beast."
Naruto's face turned deathly pale as he stumbled back.
"Relax," Rokuro said casually. "With me here, that thing's nothing."
"Brother Rokuro…"
Naruto's eyes shone with gratitude.
From a young age, he had learned to distinguish genuine kindness from malice. Rokuro's concern—free of calculation—felt pure.
"And Naruto," Rokuro continued, "the villagers aren't entirely without reason. You felt it yourself—if you lost control, you'd become something even most jōnin couldn't stop."
"They feared you. That doesn't excuse them—but it explains them."
Naruto nodded vaguely.
Anyone else might have fallen into hatred.
But Naruto—Asura's reincarnation—could only forgive instinctively.
Rokuro led Naruto out of the sealing space and back to reality.
"Now that you know who you are… do you still want me as your teacher?"
Naruto's gaze was unwavering.
"No matter whose son I am—you're still the hero I admire most. Please accept me as your student!"
Rokuro sighed.
"Sigh… looks like you've really set your sights on me, huh? But I already told you—your identity is very special. How about this: go back for now. I estimate that your situation will be resolved within a day or two. Take this time to think things through properly, and give me your answer then."
After sending Naruto away, Uchiha Rokuro realized Tsunade hadn't come looking for him. He couldn't help but smile.
"Compared to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Tsunade's composure is clearly on another level. Then again, she did master the Strength of a Hundred Technique. Even though she's advanced in age, her strength has remained formidable—naturally, she has more confidence than Hiruzen ever did."
Without dwelling on it further, Rokuro turned and headed home.
Unfortunately, the Tsunade he spoke of so confidently was anything but calm at that moment.
When Jiraiya entered the room, he found her gripping her hair, her face full of anxiety.
"What's wrong? What bad news now?" Jiraiya asked.
"ANBU just reported that Uchiha—no, Uchiha Rokuro—has made contact with Uzumaki Naruto."
Jiraiya's expression changed instantly. But what truly angered him was what Tsunade said next.
"After I took over as Hokage, I was overwhelmed with administrative affairs. Then the Shinobi World War broke out. I never found the time to properly intervene… Naruto has been living the same way as before all this time…"
"What!?" Jiraiya snapped. "You're telling me Naruto is still living in that rundown apartment? Eating instant ramen every day? Tsunade—you—how could you be this careless?!"
In truth, Jiraiya had visited Naruto shortly after returning to the village. But considering Tsunade's position, he deliberately avoided direct contact.
Then the war erupted, and Jiraiya was sent to the frontlines. After that, he truly had no time.
He had assumed Tsunade would improve Naruto's living conditions. After all, Sarutobi was dead—there was no reason to continue that cold neglect.
But she had actually forgotten?
"So what now?" Tsunade said grimly. "According to ANBU, Rokuro is playing the emotional angle. On top of that, his battlefield reputation is legendary. Naruto already idolizes him… he might've already knelt down and asked him to become his master."
"What!?" Jiraiya exploded. "Naruto wants Uchiha Rokuro as his teacher? No—absolutely not!"
In the original course of events, Naruto becoming Jiraiya's disciple looked like coincidence.
But in reality, it had been a carefully arranged decision.
Naruto was Minato's son—and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. The village leadership had always treated the choice of his mentor with extreme caution.
Kakashi before, Yamato later—both possessed abilities capable of suppressing tailed beasts. As for Jiraiya, he had been Konoha's strongest shinobi at the time.
With such elite mentorship, it was no wonder Sasuke harbored resentment.
Now, however, the Uchiha clan hadn't been annihilated—instead, they had grown even stronger.
Objectively speaking, Uchiha Rokuro was the perfect candidate to train Naruto.
But Tsunade and Jiraiya would never allow it.
"No matter what, this must be stopped," Tsunade said coldly. "Naruto is the trump card meant to restrain the Uchiha. He absolutely cannot fall into their hands!"
After reaching a decision, Tsunade and Jiraiya planned to confront Rokuro the very next day.
Unfortunately, plans never survive reality.
That very night, something major happened.
Although Rokuro had eaten half a grilled fish and two thin flatbreads at Naruto's place, such food barely counted as a snack for a shinobi.
This was precisely why Naruto had grown up malnourished.
After returning home, Rokuro devoured a full meal before heading to his room to refine chakra.
Many believed chakra functioned like inner energy in martial arts novels—cultivated in daily practice, stored in the dantian, and drawn upon at will.
But chakra didn't work like that.
Unless one used the Strength of a Hundred Technique, or the Qi-Sea Seal Rokuro himself had invented, chakra did not accumulate in a single reservoir.
Instead, it flowed loosely throughout the entire body—and in relatively small amounts.
Every time a ninjutsu was used, chakra had to be refined on the spot.
That was why even pure taijutsu specialists like Might Guy or Rock Lee formed a refining hand seal before attacking.
Even Senju Hashirama would clap his hands before performing ninjutsu—that clap was the act of refining chakra.
As for refining chakra during daily training, it was merely about increasing refinement speed, allowing chakra to be drawn instantly in combat.
Generally speaking, chūnin-level shinobi could already refine chakra in under a second.
Failing to do so meant being killed before even reacting.
"Sigh… I've hit my chakra limit too," Rokuro muttered. "Could it be that the Chakra Constancy Theory is real? If that's the case, even senjutsu won't solve it. To achieve limitless chakra… only someone like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, who consumed a chakra fruit, could do it."
Just as Rokuro was contemplating how to scheme against Kaguya
He sensed a distinguished guest arriving.
Rokuro opened the window.
A figure stepped in on his own accord, crimson eyes glaring coldly at him.
"Well, well," Rokuro chuckled. "I was wondering who it might be. So it's the Uchiha clan's prodigal son. It's been a while, Itachi. How have you been?"
The visitor was none other than Uchiha Itachi.
Ever since Uchiha Fugaku had been driven to death by Rokuro, this so-called "filial son" had defected from the village.
Konoha had branded him a missing-ninja—but had never managed to capture him.
Staring into Itachi's eyes, Rokuro could sense the terrifying ocular power that far surpassed a three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Congratulations," Rokuro said calmly. "You've awakened the Mangekyō as well. Was it Fugaku's death? Or Shisui's? Or both? Since we both possess the Mangekyō… have you come to avenge your father?"
Itachi glared at him coldly.
"Rokuro," he said, "I have crucial intelligence to give you. As for revenge—at the very least, I won't pursue it now."
END OF CHAPTER
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