After a brief moment of stunned silence, Kushina was the first to speak, disbelief written all over her face.
"That's impossible—Uchiha Madara died a long time ago, didn't he?!"
Although she was questioning Arata, her tone wasn't harsh. By now, Kushina already trusted him quite a bit. What she truly couldn't understand was why Arata would pick Uchiha Madara, someone long believed to be dead, to deceive her.
If he wanted to name an enemy she could never defeat, couldn't he at least choose someone who was still alive? Was it simply because Madara's reputation was known throughout the entire shinobi world, making him the most convenient choice?
But Madara's death was just as widely known. Under those circumstances, how could she possibly believe it?
Arata knew that it would be difficult for Kushina to accept this all at once. He didn't rush her, continuing calmly instead.
"I know it sounds unbelievable. But Madara really isn't dead. If you need proof—there was a witness on the battlefield back then. Do you want to meet them?"
If there truly had been a witness to that battle, then there was only one.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a person—but a beast.
Yes. The Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails had been under Madara's control during that battle and had witnessed everything from beginning to end. Although it had been trapped under genjutsu at the time, that didn't mean it lost all memory afterward.
After all, in the original history, even though Madara controlled the Nine-Tails only once—and purely through genjutsu—the Nine-Tails still remembered him clearly.
That alone proved that while being controlled, the Nine-Tails retained its memories.
Because of this, Arata dared to speak Madara's name so openly. The Nine-Tails would not lie. Even if the old fox was arrogant and ill-tempered, its hatred toward Madara was likely among the deepest in the entire shinobi world.
Hearing this, Kushina's eyes immediately lit up. She already believed Arata a little more now—his tone had been too firm, too unwavering.
And now there was even a witness.
That meant the one who killed her grandmother… might truly have been Uchiha Madara.
"I want to meet them," she said firmly. "I want to know what really happened back then."
Seeing the seriousness in the little girl's eyes, Arata couldn't help but approve.
Setting everything else aside, just this courage alone already put Kushina ahead of many others.
When the Uzumaki clan had faced Madara, every single one of them had frozen in shock—most hadn't even dared to fight back. Yet Kushina still had the courage to pursue the truth. It seemed that even if her enemy truly was Madara, she wouldn't shrink back in fear.
Perhaps this very courage was why she would later grow into such a formidable woman.
Talent could be lacking—but without the courage to grow stronger, one was doomed to mediocrity for life.
So Arata didn't refuse her. Instead, he nodded.
"Good. That courage alone deserves respect. I'll take you to meet it—and let you learn the whole truth. I just hope that when the time comes, you'll still have this same resolve."
When Kushina heard his answer, excitement flashed across her face. Still, she knew that if the enemy really was Madara, the gap in strength was far too great. Revenge might be something she could never achieve in her lifetime, so she didn't let herself get carried away.
Arata stood up and took her small hand.
"Then let's go."
Kushina didn't know about Arata's space–time techniques, so she assumed they were about to travel normally. She quickly nodded and moved closer to him.
After all, Arata was known as the fastest man in the shinobi world. There was no way she could keep up with his speed, so getting closer would make it easier for him to carry her if needed.
What happened next, however, left Kushina wide-eyed.
In the blink of an eye, ripples spread through the space around them. The world seemed to twist and spin violently, and Kushina felt as though the sky and earth were flipping upside down.
The next moment, darkness flashed before her eyes.
When her vision cleared, she found herself standing in a completely unfamiliar place.
Strange, misshapen objects surrounded them, and the space stretched endlessly into the distance. Yet there was no sign of life anywhere.
Confused, Kushina hurriedly asked,
"Arata-niisan… what is this place? This doesn't look anything like the shinobi world."
Arata replied calmly,
"This is a space I created. It's not part of the shinobi world. And the witness who knows the truth… is right over there."
As he spoke, he pointed in a certain direction.
Kushina immediately forgot her questions about the strange space and followed his gaze.
The moment she did, she stumbled backward several steps—not because of fear alone, but because the sight before her was simply too overwhelming.
Before her lay a massive fox, its fur a blazing orange. Nine enormous tails spread out behind it, each one nearly a hundred meters long.
Even lying down, the beast stood over twenty meters tall.
Despite the distance between them, the sound of its breathing thundered in Kushina's ears like rolling thunder.
In an instant, realization struck her.
Wasn't this exactly what the legends described?
"Th-this… this is the Nine-Tailed Fox?!"
She had been personally chosen by Mito as the next Nine-Tails' vessel—how could she not recognize it? Yet she had never imagined that her first meeting with the Nine-Tails would happen like this.
Then another thought hit her.
The Nine-Tails had always been sealed within Uzumaki Mito. That meant that everything Mito experienced up until her final moments… the Nine-Tails would know best.
Arata hadn't been wrong at all. If anyone had truly witnessed the deaths of Mito and Suigetsu, then the Nine-Tails was unquestionably one of them.
Still, something puzzled her.
In her understanding, the Nine-Tails couldn't speak. So how was she supposed to communicate with it?
Arata had been quietly observing Kushina's reaction. What pleased him was that after her initial shock, she began carefully studying the Nine-Tails instead—showing no fear at all.
Perhaps this was exactly why, in the future, she would be able to keep the Nine-Tails firmly in line.
Without delay, Arata said,
"That's right—it's the Nine-Tails. You know Mito-hime was its jinchūriki, so everything that happened before her death, the Nine-Tails understands better than anyone."
Kushina nodded. That much made sense to her.
But she still didn't understand one thing.
"But… isn't the Nine-Tails just a beast? It can't talk, can it? How is it supposed to tell me what happened?"
Arata smiled slightly.
"Who told you tailed beasts can't speak? This old fox doesn't just talk—it even has a name of its own."