"So… you really killed my parents," Naruto growled through clenched teeth. "I always suspected it, but I needed to hear it from your own mouth."
"In fact, I didn't do it myself. Your father sealed the Nine-Tails inside you, so he brought it upon himself. Want to know how your mother died? I'm sure your so-called 'teammate' never told you that extracting the Nine-Tails from her body didn't kill her directly. Members of the Uzumaki clan are notoriously resilient."
Naruto's body shuddered slightly, but he continued glaring at Tobi. "Nine-Tails… what exactly is he talking about?"
Deep within Naruto's consciousness, the Nine-Tails noticeably hesitated—either choosing its words carefully or attempting to evade the truth entirely. "They planned to re-seal me. Just as I broke free from that man's Sharingan control, I believed I had no choice but to strike first and stop them."
"Nine-Tails, tell me the truth. Don't hide the truth from me anymore. I know you can be a real bastard sometimes, but you've never outright lied to me."
"I saw you—I saw the ritual site itself. When I realized what they were planning, I decided to kill you before you could be sealed," the Nine-Tails finally chose to come clean. "Your mother used her last ounce of strength to stop me with her Kekkei Genkai. By then, half of my chakra had already been consumed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. With my last claw, I made one final attempt to kill you. But they shielded you with their own bodies. That day, Kushina Uzumaki didn't need to die—but I am the one who caused her death."
Tobi clearly saw the changes on Naruto's face—from shock to sadness, and finally to complete despair. He had finally found what he sought.
"Now you understand, right? You never stood a chance." Saying this, he leaped onto a higher stone pillar and looked down at Naruto. The boy stood paralyzed—speechless, with no rebuttal or defiant cry.
"That night, I didn't get the Nine-Tails, but my biggest threat disappeared the moment it was sealed inside you. It only delayed me seventeen years. This war has only delayed things by a few months." Tobi continued, standing high above as if dictating Naruto's fate. "No matter what you do, the Moon's Eye Plan will succeed. You're nothing more than a pawn—used for years by my enemies. Nothing more."
Naruto looked down at the seal on his stomach—the place where the Nine-Tails was sealed—and gently placed his hand over it.
"I can… forgive the Nine-Tails." He murmured slowly, as though all his strength had been drained.
"If I were in the same situation… trapped inside a human body for over a century, and then when freedom finally came, I faced being sealed again… I might have done the same."
"This caught Tobi completely off guard. He wasn't broken yet? No matter how brutally he exposed the truth, no matter how much he flaunted his power, he couldn't break this kid?"
"Can you forgive the one responsible for your mother's death? The monster that made you lose her love?"
That was unthinkable.
"I can forgive it because I forgived it a long time ago, regardless of what it did." Naruto clenched his fist and said firmly. It wasn't acting on its own will—it was first manipulated, then driven by pure survival instinct. "From the very beginning, you pulled both of us into your plan—you made the very first words I spoke to it when I was seven come true."
"What words were those?" Tobi asked with a hint of irritation. "Let's hear them."
"We never wanted this to happen..." A feral glow ignited in Naruto's eyes as his pupils shifted into vertical, beast-like slits. His voice and the Nine-Tails' echoed in unison. "...now we're on the same side!"
Before Tobi could react, flames erupted around Naruto. Tobi's Mangekyo Sharingan distorted space-time, instantly setting the entire valley ablaze.
"I've had enough of you! [Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!]"
The speed at which the flames spread across the valley was astonishing. Even with the enhanced reaction speed granted by Sage Mode, Naruto couldn't completely dodge. Engulfed in flames, he plummeted like a burning cannonball from the rock pillar into the lake below.
"On the same side? Ha!" Tobi roared. The surrounding cliffs caught fire as well, turning the entire battlefield into a flaming inferno. "How ridiculous. Two weapons actually trying to change the world? All you were ever meant to do is follow orders from those smarter than you—used to destroy whatever they wish to eliminate! That's the full extent of your worth! At least do something worthwhile with your pathetic existence!"
Naruto struggled to pull himself out of the water, his upper body and face badly burned.
"What did you say? Too much water noise—I couldn't catch that!"
Still stubborn to the end. Even now, he refused to yield.
Naruto was reaching his limit, but he had no choice—he had to go all out.
He leaped up onto the rock pillar where Tobi stood, drew the Millennium Blade, and launched into a fierce melee strike against the masked Uchiha.
"I need a new Sharingan to replace the one I lost today," Tobi said while blocking Naruto's attacks. "That eye of Shisui Uchiha you have is now invaluable to you. Today, I'll kill you and take that eye for myself." As he spoke, he mocked his feeble resistance.
Roaring furiously, Naruto tried to headbutt Tobi, only for his attack to phase right through him. Thrown off balance, he tumbled to the ground.
"I knew you'd try that move," Tobi said, shifting his body away from Naruto's assault. "Hmm, you've finally gotten me warmed up a little... Luckily, I'm still at my peak."
He took a deep breath, watching as Naruto struggled to rise before stepping forward and stomping hard on his back, pinning him face-down to the ground. "I'm going to rip the power right out of you, Naruto. Let's see just how much fight you've got left in you."
As he said this, he pressed down harder with his foot, causing the rocky ground to shatter.
Naruto's grip on the Millennium Blade weakened. "I can't give up... I mustn't walk away..." The other foot came crashing down on his spine, and another stone pillar crumbled as his fingers slipped from the hilt helplessly.
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