Chapter 11: Secrets within
I walked down a street dressed in black, not that it was anything unusual, everyone was dressed in black. A day had passed since the invasion , it was decided that today would be a day of mourning. The Sandaime had died fighting Orochimaru.
On a more positive note, the invasion had ended a lot faster with my intervention, I wasn't surprised. With Shukaku taken care of early and several hundred clones, I would have been more surprised if it didn't end sooner.
Spotting Sasuke and Sakura as I neared the cemetery, I couldn't help but smile a little as I thought about Sasuke's reaction on the invasion day.
Sasuke and Kakashi had arrived so late that they quite literally missed the invasion. From one point of view, it was bad that Kakashi wasn't there to help solely because of tardiness, but on the other hand it was pretty funny. Sasuke looked royally peeved that he missed his chance to test himself and would likely never be late again.
Walking into the cemetery, I silently lined up with the other Shinobi to pay my respects to the Sandaime and immediately felt my heart ache. Standing in the front line, just ahead of me was Konohamaru, holding his sleeve to his face as he sobbed his eyes out.
I had almost forgotten that Hiruzen had family other than Asuma. I knew the future, I knew that Hiruzen was going to die in the chunin exams and I hadn't done anything to stop that and now Konohamaru was paying the price.
"And what could you have done to prevent it?" Kurama asked.
'Not much alone, but together we could have beaten Orochimaru before he used edo tensei.'
"No, that would have put the entire future in jeopardy. You know as well as I that Kabuto has to die alongside Orochimaru or else he will learn edo tensei and resurrect Madara in a perfect form."
'Still,' I thought as I watched Konohamaru.
"You feel bad for the kid," Kurama noted. "Don't you think that your teammate Sasuke cried like that after the Uchiha massacre, that Itachi felt infinitely worse after being ordered to kill his family by Danzo, who was never condemned by the way, meaning Hiruzen condoned what he did. I will also remind you that the Uchiha clan was isolated and ostracised after I attacked your village which caused them to begin planning the coup."
'Damnit,' I let out a breath. He was right. Although Hiruzen did love this village, his track record for the last 13 years didn't do him any favours, his mistakes had ended up costing the lives of not only Shinobi, but civilians as well as children.
Stepping forward, I placed a comforting hand on Konohamaru's shoulder. Although Hiruzen had made mistakes, Konohamaru hadn't. This was the least I could do for him.
"N-Naruto," Konohamaru sobbed as he turned to me.
"It's alright, Konohamaru," I said gently.
"B-but, N-Naruto. Grandpa's dead," Konohamaru cried.
"I know, but… Death isn't truly the end for Shinobi. So long as you carry him and the lessons he has taught you in your heart, the Sandaime Hokage will never truly be gone," I replied, patting him on his shoulder. "And besides. He died protecting us, I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way."
"R-really?"
"Yep," I offered a small grin. "I'm sure wherever he is now, he's happy that everyone's alive and confident that we will be able to carry on in his stead."
"Yeah," Konohamaru dried his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm sure that g-grandpa wouldn't want me crying so much."
I nodded, before stepping back into line, I noticed that the atmosphere felt a bit lighter. People weren't acting as gloomy as before.
All in all the funeral hadn't been too bad, it started off gloomy but turned into a fond remembrance of the Sandaime, unfortunately my own memories of Hiruzen were tainted by knowledge of his shortcomings and failures... not to say that I hated him, I didn't know how I felt about him, he was friendly to me, but he hid knowledge of my parents... Minato and Kushina.
I shook my head. I couldn't let myself get hung up on things now, I more important things to focus on, like Obito and the potential end of the world... Not to mention that Jiraiya wanted to talk to me, most likely about Shukaku.
"Naruto."
"Hmm," I hummed, turning around. "Oh, hey Sasuke, what's up?"
"I heard about what you did during the invasion."
"What I did during the invasion?" I asked, tilting my head. "Do you mean the Ichibi or when I summoned Gamabunta?"
"And the clone army that helped drive the invaders out. You've grown stronger, Naruto."
I chuckled bashfully as I rubbed the back of my head, it always felt nice to be acknowledged. "Thanks, I did some seriously tough training in the last month."
"It's likely that, had the invasion not started, you would have won the chunin exams, that's why I want to fight you," Sasuke smirked.
Of course, I should have seen that coming. Sasuke loved to measure himself by fighting strong opponents... at least he did until he was mind fucked by Itachi a second time, something that I was definitely not going to let happen again.
"You know what, sure, we can fight," I replied, matching Sasuke's smirk. "But not right now. I've got to meet my sensei who trained me for the last month first."
"Fine," Sasuke grunted. "Where are we going?"
And again, I should have known that would be Sasuke's reaction. "We're meeting at training ground 7."
"Hm, I'm interested to see who trained you to be so strong."
"Geez, what took you so long, Naruto... and who's this."
"Good to see you too, Jiraiya-sensei," I rolled my eyes. "This is Sasuke, my other teammate. Sasuke, this is Jiraiya, he's really strong, but also kind of a pervert who likes to write bad smut when he thinks no one is watching."
"What did I do to be ridiculed by my student," Jiraiya sulked dramatically.
"He doesn't look that strong," Sasuke muttered to me.
"Looks can be deceiving, he's known as one of the legendary Sannin, ex teammate of Orochimaru and he even trained the Yondaime Hokage who in turn trained Kakashi-sensei."
Sasuke's eyes widened as he took a second look at Jiraiya, seeing him in a new light. "Kakashi was trained by the Yondaime?!"
"Along with two others," Kakashi said as he appeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Naruto," Kurama began.
'I know,' I thought back. Standing in this clearing right now were several people who would be instrumental in changing the world. Kakashi with Obito's mangekyou sharingan, Sasuke the transmigrant of Indra and Jiraiya the toad sage. Initially I wanted Tsunade included as well, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Well, I was asked to be here by Jiraiya," Kakashi replied.
"Your technique, the one that stopped the Ichibi, I wanted to see if others could learn it," Jiraiya explained.
Oh, this was perfect, but at the same time I felt a little annoyed. "You know, you could have just asked instead of bringing someone with a sharingan to copy it... not that it would be of any help."
"This is me asking. A technique that can stop biju as efficiently as you did Shukaku is almost unheard of, only the Shodaime Hokage had such an ability and that was with the use of his bloodline limit."
"That's not entirely true, the Mangekyou Sharingan was also capable of controlling biju," I replied, crossing my arms. "I'll show you what I did to Shukaku, but I doubt you'll be that impressed."
"How do you know about the Mangekyou Sharingan," Sasuke asked suddenly, his own sharingan flaring to life.
"The Kyuubi told me about it."
"Naruto," Kakashi started slowly.
"Oh relax. I told Sasuke that I was the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki before the preliminary rounds, hell, I've even told Sakura as well."
"Be that as it may, the fact that you're a Jinchuriki is supposed to be a secret," Kakashi argued.
"You can't be serious," I deadpanned. "The fact that the Kyuubi is inside of me is known by pretty much everyone in the village, they used to gossip about it! It is literally the worst kept secret in the history of the world! If the other villages hadn't figured it out by now, then they are so little of a threat that we could probably wipe them out with an academy student."
Kakashi visibly winced.
"Alright, that's enough. I called you here to see if you could learn Naruto's Jutsu, not argue the semantics of badly kept secrets," Jiraiya interrupted.
"Right," Kakashi nodded. "Naruto, you said that this jutsu can't be copied?"
"Nope, because it's not actually a jutsu, it's something a little bit deeper."
"Could you explain how?" Kakashi asked.
Could I explain how Ninshu works? Glancing at Sasuke, I let out a soft hum. "When two powerful Shinobi fight and find themselves in a stalemate, it can often be said that they can read what's inside of their hearts. Ninshu bypassed the need for fighting and strength, leaving behind the understanding."
"I'm not sure I understand how that can stop a biju," Kakashi said.
"Well, I could demonstrate it on all of you," I replied, before pausing. 'Kurama, a thought occurs, how am I going to pull all three of them inside of the seal when I only have to arms.'
Kurama let out a sigh. "Just mesh your chakra with theirs! So long as they have a small amount of your chakra, I will be able to pull them in, even without a physical connection."
Nodding slightly, I held my fist out to Sasuke. "Knock my fist with yours." Sasuke confidently knocked his fist against mine and like clockwork, the link was established and I got a front row seat to Sasuke's emotions, all the hate, anger, worry and the familial love he had for team 7.
"What is this?" Sasuke asked, a look of shock crossing his face.
"Ninshu," I said simply.
"You beat the Ichibi with this?"
"Kinda underwhelming, right?" I asked as I pulled my fist back.
"No... it's different... different from anything I've ever learned."
Turning towards Kakashi, I almost deadpanned when I saw him watching us with his Sharingan. "I told you, you're not going to be able to copy this."
"And it seems you were right," Kakashi eye smiled as he covered his Sharingan. "I wasn't able to figure out how this jutsu works."
Rolling my eyes, I offered him my fist. Our fists met and I barely had time to mesh my chakra with his, before he pulled his fist away suddenly. "What..."
"That... that was deeply unsettling," Kakashi said, his hands shaking slightly.
In the brief moment we were connected, I got a sense of pain, shame and sorrow with the immediate sense of horror that someone could see it.
"I suppose it would feel that way to someone who constantly hides what they're feeling," I muttered, before holding my fist towards Jiraiya. "Well, it's your turn now."
"Show me what you've got, kid," Jiraiya said, bumping my fist with his own.
When the connection was established, Jiraiya blinked, but didn't pull his fist back. Jiraiya was an interesting person, the phrase, 'those who endure,' it truly described him. He had been through much pain in his life, but each time he picked himself up, dusted himself off and carried on, marching towards a goal of bringing peace to a hate filled world.
"I don't... you beat the Ichibi with this?!" Jiraiya began, pulling his fist back. "No, that doesn't make sense. You... you convinced the Ichibi to stop attacking by... talking to it?"
"Yep, that's why I said this isn't a jutsu. This... it's baring yourself and your emotions to others, showing what's inside you."
"I don't believe it," Jiraiya chuckled. "You quite literally just convinced a biju to not attack. No one, not even the Shodaime was capable of doing that. It's probably the first time in history anything like this has happened."
"Well, biju are conscious beings that can be reasoned with," I replied, making several shadow clones that spread out around the training ground. "It's a wonder why no one else has ever tried to talk to them."
"Um, Naruto... what are you doing?" Kakashi asked as the clones all got into their positions.
"Just making sure we're going to be well looked after," I said cheerfully. "The five of us... we all need to have a private talk."
"There's only four of us here, Naruto," Sasuke grunted.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he realized what I meant. "Wait, you don't mean..."
"I told you that I would explain things after the chunin exams were over... there's more to the story than what I mentioned!" I explained, before blackness engulfed us all.
Kakashi was the first to jump into action with Sasuke not far behind, Sharingan's gleamed in the darkness as they tried to take in their surroundings and discern any threats they could find.
"Where are we?" Kakashi asked seriously.
"Calm down, I brought all of you inside my mind so we can have a private conversation. There's no danger here," I said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Your mind?" Sasuke began.
"Wow kid, your head's really in the gutter," Jiraiya joked.
"Haha, very funny."
"But seriously, if this is your mind, then where's the Kyuubi?" Jiraiya asked.
I allowed an amused smirk to cross my face. "Right behind you."
Turning around, Jiraiya came face to face with one of Kurama's giant red eyes.
"Naruto... and I see you've brought three of your little friends with you as well this time," Kurama's voice boomed.
Sasuke and Kakashi jumped back to gain some distance, but Jiraiya stood his ground next to me.
"Hm, your courage is impressive... or is this just foolishness?"
"It's trust," Jiraiya answered. "My student brought me here and said that we would be safe. I trust his judgement."
Kurama eyed Jiraiya for a few seconds, before letting out a snort. "It would seem, Naruto, that you've got yourself a good teacher."
"Yep," I smiled, shocked at the trust Jiraiya was putting in me. "But he's also quite the pervert."
"Oi, don't mention that in front of the Kyuubi," Jiraiya scolded.
"But I don't know about the other two."
"Jiraiya had the benefit of knowing that we're on good terms, they didn't," I defended. "Speaking of," I turned around and waved over Sasuke and Kakashi. "Come back over here," I called out.
Although it only took a few seconds, it felt longer with how slow Sasuke and Kakashi made their way back. Both of them still seemed extremely antsy, their Sharingan's still on display.
"Naruto, what is this?" Kakashi asked stiffly.
"We're inside my mind... or the seal, I was never really that sure and where exactly this is, other than somewhere inside of me," I replied. "I brought you all here because I have information that concerns all of you."
"I don't know much about seals, but I believe it should be more secure than this," Kakashi argued.
"Yeah, about that," I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
"Minato sealed me into Naruto with the hope that one day we would work together. That day came sooner rather than later and the piece of himself he left behind to repair the seal saw that and unlocked the seal for us."
"Minato-sensei is here?"
"Was," I corrected. "He faded after he was done, something about not being able to stay because of the Shinigami. We're getting sidetracked."
"Indeed," Kurama agreed. "Thirteen years ago when my previous container was giving birth, I was straining to break free of her seal, but your Yondaime Hokage, Minato was able to contain me... until an Uchiha attacked him and forcefully rip me from my container and enslave me with his accursed mangekyou sharingan."
I watched the varying reactions passively. Jiraiya didn't react much, instead, he was listening intently, Kakashi looked surprised and Sasuke... Sasuke was shocked and a little horrified.
"W-who was it?" Sasuke asked.
"A man claiming to be Uchiha Madara, but he was not. More troubling though was that half of his body was artificially constructed from Hashirama's flesh and that he had a small amount of Madara's chakra implanted in his chest."
"The first Hokage?!" Jiraiya gasped. "I can see why you would think that is troubling, an Uchiha that can already control biju with Hashirama's power to tame them!"
"That is not what I meant," Kurama grunted. "When the chakra of an Uchiha and a Senju or an Uzumaki mixes, the Rinnegan can potentially awaken."
I suppressed a smirk, Kurama had left out the part that, rather than just and Uchiha and Senju, it had to be the transmigrants of Indra and Ashura who's chakra needed to be mixed to awaken the Rinnegan.
"I imagine you all can guess what happened next. That Uchiha used me to attack Konoha, your Yondaime fought him off and then went on to seal me into Naruto."
Jiraiya let out a sigh. "Besides the fact that this Uchiha has the Shodaime's power, Naruto already told me all of this."
"Who said I was done?" Kurama smirked. "I have spent the last 13 years sealed inside Naruto with nothing to do but sleep or sense the world around me. One particular thing I sensed was that Uchiha... he came back, he liked to loiter around Konoha and he made contact with another Uchiha several times... Your brother," Kurama pointed to Sasuke.
"Itachi, he met this man?" Sasuke ground out, looking halfway between sick and murderously angry.
"Yes. He also helped Itachi exterminate your clan."
"I... I'll kill him," Sasuke whispered with venom in his voice.
"Too late, we already called dibs," I replied.
"This isn't a joke, Naruto. He helped kill my clan, I deserve to-"
"He killed my parents," I interrupted, thinking of Minato and Kushina.
"You know who-" Kakashi began.
"I already told you, Minato was here, we had a talk. Why do you think he would hide the fact that he's my father?"
Things settled into a momentarily uncomfortable silence, before Kurama continued his story. "Itachi's movements during the month leading up to the massacre were... most interesting. He went to what I assume to be clan meetings, then he met up with another Uchiha that had unlocked the mangekyou, he went to talk to a most disgusting man then your Hokage and finally he went to the Uchiha that forced me to attack Konoha."
Jiraiya let out a whistle, "Man, that brat really got around."
I stifled a snort as Sasuke just glared at him.
"Who was the other Uchiha with the mangekyou sharingan?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know the names, all I could do was sense where Itachi went," Kurama lied, he knew exactly who and what went down with the Uchiha, but if he suddenly knew the names of everyone, then others would begin to question just where he got that knowledge. "Something interesting happened about a week before Itachi massacred your clan. The disgusting man attacked an Uchiha who managed to awaken the Mangekyou, stealing one of his eyes and poisoning him in the process."
"What?!" Sasuke yelled.
"Wait... you're saying there's someone else out there with a mangekyou sharingan?" Jiraiya asked.
"Among other things, yes," Kurama replied. "The Uchiha with the mangekyou met up with Itachi, gave him his remaining eye and killed himself by jumping into a river-"
"He didn't kill him?!" Sasuke muttered.
"Sasuke, do you know who this other Uchiha could be?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes," Sasuke nodded slowly. "His name was Shisui, he was my distant cousin... he was also Itachi's best friend. I always assumed that Itachi killed him to awaken his mangekyou sharingan, but... he didn't. I don't know what this means."
"There is more to be heard that will make you question your brother," Kurama continued. "After gaining his mangekyou, Itachi contacted the Uchiha that controlled me and the two of them massacred the rest of your clan, but then Itachi did something strange... he reported to your Hokage."
"WHAT?!" This time it was Jiraiya's turn to be in disbelief. "He wouldn't... no... he would, he did."
"The Sandaime... ORDERED ITACHI TO KILL OUR FAMILY!" Sasuke roared, his sharingan spinning madly as a third tomoe formed.
Kakashi stood back, but I could see he was visibly shaken. "Sasuke, calm down, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this."
"REASONABLE EXPLANATION?! My broth... Itachi killed my entire family and now it looks like he was ordered to do it by the Hokage."
"The mangekyou sharingan that was stolen has the ability to implant false memories. Your Hokage was under a potent illusion by that disgusting man."
And there it was, my plan to make sure Sasuke stays on my side, shifting all the blame for every bad thing onto Danzo and Obito's shoulders.
"How do you know that?" Sasuke hissed, uncaring that he was back talking the Kyuubi.
"It was once used on Naruto when he crossed paths with that man and I got to see how it works. It implants false memories in its victim and makes them think that whatever they do next is their idea."
"Wait, so you've seen him?" Jiraiya asked me.
"Yeah, he's an old man, about the Sandaimes age. He's got black hair, a bandage across his right eye to hide his sharingan, his arm is in a cast and he walks with a cane... oh yeah, he has an x shaped scar on his chin," I replied, rubbing my chin as I thought of how to describe Danzo.
"Danzo," Jiraiya growled. "Well, at least I know who I'm killing."
"If you plan on killing him then you will need to be prepared," Kurama replied. "This Danzo... He has done disgusting things. After the Uchiha massacre, he and the Uchiha that controlled me each stole sharingan from the dead Uchiha, funnily enough they weren't working with each other."
"My parents?" Sasuke asked, his rage was palpable as he unconsciously ground his teeth together.
"Every Uchiha that had a sharingan had their eyes stolen," Kurama explained. "But worse is what Danzo did with his stolen sharingan. He met up with Orochimaru and had him implant some of Hashirama's flesh along with the stolen sharingan in his right arm."
Where once, Sasuke displayed rage, he now looked visibly sickened.
"This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?" Jiraiya asked. "So now we have to worry about Danzo suddenly awakening the Rinnegan on top of having a mangekyou sharingan and Mokuton."
"It's unlikely he will awaken the Rinnegan, his body does not produce Uchiha chakra," Kurama shook his head. "But that isn't to say that it's not bad. Among the Uchiha clan, there is a Genjutsu that is unlike any other, it places the user under such a powerful Genjutsu that reality and illusion momentarily switch places. While using such an ability, the user is Immortal, capable of surviving anything. Uchiha Madara used that ability to fake his death at the valley of the end."
"That is worse," Kakashi idly noted. "But surely that jutsu has a weakness."
"It does. The Jutsu can only be used for a limited time of around a minute and once it's over, the eye that was used to cast it goes blind. Danzo has ten eyes implanted in his arm."
"Then I will kill him... repeatedly," Sasuke announced.
"Um, Sasuke," I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "Danzo is at the very least a Jonin level opponent with mokuton, a mangekyou sharingan and ten lives... not to mention..." I gestured for Kurama to continue.
"He also has his own organization of Shinobi that are solely loyal to him."
"Yes, that. If you're not able to beat Kakashi in an all out fight, then fighting Danzo would just get you killed and your eyes stolen."
"So... what? Must I just give up on my revenge and let the man who's responsible for such... atrocities committed against my family free so he can commit other such atrocities to others?" Sasuke asked angrily.
"That's not what I'm saying and you know it," I argued. "You need... no, we all need to get stronger and ready for the day that we take him down. As it currently stands, I don't believe that Kakashi, Gai and Jiraiya teaming up will be able to kill Danzo, not if he decides to escape, which he will."
"That's not good enough," Sasuke yelled.
"Sasuke, calm down," Kakashi began.
"No it's not nearly good enough," I interrupted, "But it's the best we have. The Kyuubi and I called you all here today, not so we can act on what we know, but rather to get everyone ready for the coming fight. This knowledge, it has the ability to lead the world to peace or to destruction, I'm entrusting it to everyone here in the hopes that once everything is over, we will be met with a better future."
"There's something else... something you're not mentioning," Jiraiya noted.
"A Rinnegan is already in play," I replied seriously. This part was risky, if Jiraiya found out that Nagato was still alive, he might just rush over to Ame and get himself killed.
"And how do you know that?" Jiraiya asked, before turning towards Kurama. "Can... can you sense that its user is alive?"
Kurama shook his head. "No, but I can sense that something has been summoned, something that threatens the existence of this world. The Jubi's husk."
"The Jubi? From the tales of the sage of six paths?" Jiraiya asked.
"The very same," Kurama replied. "The Jubi is the origin of us biju. When my father sealed it into himself and became the world's first Jinchuriki, he split its chakra into 9 separate entities, us and sealed the Jubi's husk to keep it safe."
"How does that relate to everything you've already told us?" Sasuke asked impatiently.
Kurama regarded him coolly. "If the chakra of each tailed beast was to be resealed into the Jubi, it will be resurrected. It's a god that can carry mountains on its back, it drinks oceans and its tails stretch across the horizon."
"That still doesn't–" Sasuke complained.
"Someone's trying to resurrect it," I interrupted. "And we think it's the Uchiha that controlled Ku... the Kyuubi."
"It's as Naruto says, the clans that would have stood a chance at stopping the Jubi have all but been wiped out. The Uzumaki clan were wiped out, the Senju have disappeared and the Uchiha were massacred."
"Someone's been orchestrating this," Kakashi realized, his eyes widening. "But who?"
"As I've already said, Uchiha Madara survived his final fight with Senju Hashirama. He has had the time and the means to have planned this, especially with the world thinking he was dead."
"If this is all true, then why... why haven't you told anyone else about this before?" Jiraiya asked with an angry scowl on his face. "So many lives could be saved, so many events could have been prevented. WHY NOW?"
Kurama glared at Jiraiya as his killing intent flared. "After being controlled by Uchiha Madara, your Shodaime Hokage had his wife seal me inside of her. Uzumaki Mito, the first and list time I met her, she said this to me, 'If you use your power, only hatred will come from it. Stay tranquil deep inside me.' I spent the next several decades in darkness."
"When I was sealed in Uzumaki Kushina, she also only met me once, she crucified me to a rock, chained me and gloated about how she was keeping me at bay," Kurama spat angrily. "When I first met Naruto, he talked to me with respect and understanding. He risked his life in an attempt to get to know me. You ask me why I never told anyone else about Madara being alive? It's because out of all my other Jinchuriki, only Naruto has given me the time of day."
"In the Shinobi world, there's been a major misunderstanding about biju," I let out a breath. "People only think of them as beasts or weapons to be used, but they're individuals, they've got their own hopes and dreams."
"The state of the world... the coming dangers, it isn't my or any of the other biju's fault, It's Madara and his followers fault. Once Madara is dealt with, perhaps the world will have time to mature without his interference."
"This is just too much," Jiraiya groaned, rubbing his face lightly.
"Yeah," Kakashi agreed.
Sasuke remained silent.
"It is a lot," I nodded. "But it's not insurmountable. We've got Ku... the Kyuubi on our side and Shukaku's already agreed to help out as well."
"Shukaku?" Sasuke asked.
"The Ichibi's name," Kurama replied. "We biju have names that were given to us by our father, but we mostly keep them to ourselves and sometimes our Jinchuriki. Shukaku is different and doesn't care how many people know his name."
"The more I learn, the dumber I feel," Jiraiya grumbled.
Kakashi nodded his head in agreement. "I know the feeling."
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Jiraiya asked. "Anymore worldview breaking information."
"Hmmm," Kurama hummed as we shared a look.
"Oh god, there is?!" Jiraiya groused.
"It's nothing too important," I replied. The only other things we could explain would require a significant amount of information on Kaguya, Zetsu, Indra and Ashura. No, it was better that they focus things that they could actually effect. "You don't need to concern yourselves with it, we'll take care of it. If you all could just focus on the issue of the Jubi's resurrection, that would be enough."
"If it's not important, then why don't you want to share it?" Sasuke asked.
"Because sharing it won't change a thing," Kurama explained. "Naruto and I already have plans with how to combat the masked Uchiha."
"If it's in relation to this Uchiha, then it must be important," Kakashi argued, his eyes narrowed. "What aren't you telling us?"
"We've already told all of you quite a lot," I replied, trying to deescalate the situation. "Trust us, this bit of information... it would serve no other purpose other than hurting you. Just let it go and let us handle it."
Revealing the knowledge that the masked Uchiha was really Obito serve no purpose, it would only hurt Kakashi and Jiraiya, knowing that Minato's student was the cause of his death.
"I'm afraid I'll also have to insist, any info, no matter how small could be useful in stopping this masked Uchiha," Jiraiya said.
"Very well," Kurama replied. "The name of the person pretending to be Madara–"
"Wait," I interrupted. "We already know his abilities, there's no reason to tell them who he is."
"They want to know and they obviously know better than us."
"Still."
"Just tell us," Sasuke snapped.
"Naruto, this is a very serious matter, you shouldn't keep this to yourself," Kakashi argued.
"You know what, fuck it. Go ahead and tell them," I gave up. "Just remember, I tried to warn you."
"The masked Uchiha that controlled me, his identity was discovered by the Yondaime and told to us when he opened the seal," Kurama explained. "Your Yondaime... Minato called him Uchiha Obito, a former student of his that felt he was failed by Minato."
"What?" Kakashi asked softly. "No, that can't be. You're lying."
Kurama growled as he moved, shifting the water by our feet. "I've done nothing but tell the truth and answer all of your questions at Naruto's request and you accuse me of lying?!" The venom in his voice was palpable. "Here's the truth, your old teammate, Obito didn't die on the day he was crushed by that rock. He was found by Madara and had the broken half of his body replaced by the artificial body of Hashirama. He awakened his mangekyou and used me to attack Konoha, not only killing many civilians, but also your precious sensei and his wife."
"No, Obito was never like that, he–"
"Watched you kill your other teammate," Kurama interrupted.
"Alright, that's far enough," I said, stepping in between them. "Ku... Kyuubi, I don't think Kakashi really meant it when he called you a liar, he was just in shock. Kakashi, I warned you that this knowledge wouldn't be helpful, but I suppose you had a right to know it... heh... kind of like how I had a right to know who my parents were. At least this way you found out in a way that wouldn't leave you freezing up on a battlefield."
"Perhaps... we have learned enough for the day," Jiraiya said awkwardly.
"Oh geez, you think?" I snapped, before sighing. "Sorry. It's just... it would have been better if Obito's identity was never revealed."
"I get it," Jiraiya sighed. "Some things are better of being unsaid. I pressured you into revealing it and now I'm paying for it."
"Yeah, it's all your fault," I teased, getting a laugh out of Jiraiya and a snort from Sasuke. "Now, before we leave here, I trust that everyone realizes that you can't share this information with anyone or it could quite literally mean the end of the world. We need to wait for the perfect time to act, but for now, we need to focus on getting stronger."
Chapter 11 is complete.
Naruto and Kurama have finally told Kakashi, Jiraiya and Sasuke the important details about the past and Operation Blame Danzo and Obito has finally come to pass.
Ninshu is great to connect with people, but as demonstrated by Kakashi, not everyone is open to it and they can have a negative reaction to it. It's a great tool to understand people, but not everyone wants to be understood.
Anyways, I'm up to chapter 16 on the spooky P word website. I'm always 5 chapters ahead there.
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.
Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.