But soon, as if it remembered something, it looked toward the quiet wooden house in the distance, and its slightly tense body immediately relaxed. Right, with that old guy here, what was there to be afraid of?
After all, it had been used as a cushion to sit on for so long. Even if not for its sake, at least because sitting on it was comfortable, that old guy would not just abandon it if real danger appeared.
"Cough."
Thinking of this, the Nine-Tails coughed lightly and lowered its voice to test the waters. "Um..."
Before it could finish, a voice from the wooden house interrupted it.
"You are my possession," the voice said calmly. "They cannot take you away."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails was not angry for once at being called a "thing." Instead, it felt an inexplicable sense of security and joy.
All that time being a cushion had not been for nothing. It even started to look forward to that damn Uchiha coming to find it.
But still...
"Are you not interested in those Yin Release creations outside?" the Nine-Tails asked curiously.
Back then, Toneri Otsutsuki's father had been able to tell that Xu was a Yin Release creation. As a Yin-Yang Release creation itself, the Nine-Tails could naturally sense the true nature of Xu.
To be honest, this was the first time it had encountered such a Yin Release creation, and it felt both strange and uniquely fascinating. No, wait, not the first time.
As if realizing something, the Nine-Tails's pupils shrank slightly.
"They are creations I made myself," Yunshiki Otsutsuki's calm voice reached its ears. "There is nothing to be curious about."
That sentence instantly confirmed the Nine-Tails's guess, deepening its sense of awe. This kind of ability was already equivalent to creating a form of existence completely different from living beings.
"So you want to destroy Konoha?" the Nine-Tails asked, its pupils flickering with excitement.
This kind of thing, leave it to me, I can do it.
But the next sentence poured cold water over it.
"Whether it is destroyed or not has nothing to do with me," he said.
"Do you not think that the existence of Konoha and other ninja villages is a mistake?" the Nine-Tails could not help asking.
"Whether it is a mistake or not, what does it matter?"
"Do you think I have not tried to guide those lambs raised in pens, waiting only to be slaughtered?"
Yunshiki Otsutsuki said coldly, "But when I open their cages, they only stand there and look at me with confusion in their eyes."
"Fox, you are the same."
Hearing the arrogance filling his words, the Nine-Tails opened its mouth as if to argue, but in the end it obediently closed it. It did feel that humans kept repeating the same mistakes, completely unaware of their own errors, and it only wanted to refute him because it believed itself different from humans.
Yet from its perspective as a watcher of hundreds of years, it could see human flaws. In the eyes of this old being who had lived for thousands of years, perhaps it was no different.
While the Nine-Tails was lost in its own thoughts, inside the wooden house, Yunshiki Otsutsuki slowly opened his eyes.
"Finally, I have found you," he thought.
After spending these days within Naruto Uzumaki's body, he had finally found what he was searching for. Asura's Chakra.
He would not make the same mistake as Black Zetsu. After obtaining the Rinnegan through Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the previous reincarnations of Asura and Indra, that one had completely ignored later reincarnations, causing the plan to fail.
As long as Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha remained in Hagoromo's hands, or as long as Asura and Indra's Chakra continued to reincarnate, Hagoromo could always turn the tables through them. He could always create a "Child of Prophecy," a so called world protagonist, to overthrow his plans and rule.
Even killing Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would be useless. It would only alert Hagoromo and cause him to lose track of Asura and Indra.
Therefore, what this body called "Yunshiki Otsutsuki" needed to do was to grasp the "protagonist" firmly in his own hands.
However...
Looking at the Asura Chakra that was almost completely fused with Naruto Uzumaki's soul, Yunshiki Otsutsuki could not help frowning. No wonder the personalities of successive reincarnations of Asura and Indra were so similar. It was because their Chakra had fused with their souls.
Or rather, Asura and Indra's Chakra were, in essence, souls themselves.
That Otsutsuki Hagoromo really had taken soul manipulation to an extreme, achieving an effect already infinitely close to the Otsutsuki Clan's kacha. This was a level he could not forcibly remove, and besides Asura's Chakra, he also sensed something mixed within it.
"A failsafe Hagoromo left behind?" Yunshiki Otsutsuki's blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you think that means I cannot touch Asura's Chakra?"
Since you do not allow outsiders to touch Asura's Chakra, then I will do as you wish and let Asura's Chakra become Naruto Uzumaki's power. It is just that the way it becomes power may be very different from what you imagined.
"Asura," Yunshiki Otsutsuki said softly. "Become Naruto Uzumaki's Zanpakuto."
You will no longer exist in a symbiotic relationship. Instead, you will be blade and wielder.
Two independent beings.
Several figures appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi. They were Ninja from the major clans who had rushed over after hearing the alarm. At the front stood Shikaku Nara, with Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka beside him, along with Shibi Aburame and Tsume Inuzuka. Every face was tight with strain, brows drawn low.
"Third Hokage," Shikaku Nara asked in a low voice, "what exactly is happening? The source of the attack is…"
"Uchiha Clan."
Hiruzen Sarutobi lifted a hand and cut him off. His gaze swept across the group as he spoke in a cold voice. "It has been confirmed that Itachi Uchiha betrayed Konoha and colluded with outside forces."
"A few days ago, inside Uchiha Clan, he slaughtered his own clan members and replaced them with a creature that has strong concealment abilities, known as 'White Zetsu.'"
"After being exposed and pursued by ANBU, he is still trying to resist."
"Now, come with me to Uchiha Clan Grounds and suppress the unrest."
Shock spread across the faces of the assembled Ninja.
Itachi Uchiha, slaughtering his own clan and colluding with enemies?
Had he gone mad?
And could something like this really be done by one person?
"Move!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said no more. He tore off the Hokage Robe, revealing the combat uniform beneath, and vanished from where he stood. The others exchanged quick looks and followed at once.
They had not even reached the outer area of Uchiha Clan Grounds when the scene ahead forced everyone to stop. Their expressions twisted with alarm as inhuman roars, shrill screams, and warped laughter poured into their ears.
Several black figures walked toward them with twisted, unnatural movements. Each wore a pale White mask that looked deeply unsettling. Beneath those masks were crimson eyes filled with hatred and destruction, and within them was clearly the pattern of Sharingan.
Worse still, every one of them had Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"What… what are those things?!"
"Sharingan? Did Uchiha Clan make these monsters?!"
Before anyone could react, a massive Xu opened its huge mouth. Dark red energy gathered and compressed wildly inside it.
"Shadow Neck Bind Jutsu!"