Naruto: Manipulation

"Eight years ago."

"The village was struck by the Nine-Tails' rampage."

"Because a certain great figure had once helped Konoha suppress the beast, we foolishly underestimated the risk of another outbreak. We believed such an event could never happen again, and as a result, countless people in the village lost their lives..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, reminiscing about the horrors of that night and their grave miscalculation of the Nine-Tails' threat.

He could not hide the truth from Kakashi.

He had to explain why Uchiha Obito was being designated as a rogue ninja, lest Kakashi let his emotions lead him astray.

"A great figure..."

Kakashi recalled a name that Konoha had long kept hidden.

The one—

Who had taught his father how to integrate Storm Release.

The one—

Tsunade always spoke of with deep sentiment.

"Shigen."

Hiruzen nodded, confirming it. "The shinobi world could never obscure his brilliance. By the time you grew up, you must have heard his name many times. Back then, he helped Konoha suppress the Nine-Tails' rampage. Without his aid, we never would have succeeded in sealing the beast, nor would Konoha have gained its first Nine-Tails jinchūriki."

The truth was—

Shigen had contributed greatly to Konoha.

He had left behind an invaluable legacy.

Beyond the countless medical scrolls and the curse marks he had placed on Hiruzen, Danzo, and Tsunade, his most significant contribution was overseeing the Nine-Tails.

The First Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki, had mastered the beast's power thanks to him. The Second Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki, had learned from Mito how to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra by evoking emotions from its past, tapping into the beast's deeply buried sentiments to pacify its rage.

This method was highly effective.

Though the Nine-Tails loathed Konoha for exploiting it, its long years of coexistence with Kushina made it impossible to remain completely indifferent. Even if it never allowed her to fully use its power, it never once attempted a rampage while sealed within her.

"I remember you were once assigned to protect Kushina."

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi with a solemn gaze. "You must recall how much she loved hearing stories about Lord Shigen."

"Yes."

Kakashi lowered his head.

It had been an order from his teacher, Minato Namikaze, during a dark period in his life. He had been assigned as an Anbu guard to Kushina while she was pregnant.

Kakashi murmured, "I was only relieved of duty when she was about to give birth..."

At that time—

Because a Jinchūriki was most vulnerable during childbirth, higher-ranking personnel had taken over to prevent any accidents.

"That night..."

"There should have been no problems."

"Kushina herself believed her seal wouldn't fail during labor..."

Hiruzen recalled her unwavering confidence and sighed. He had let his guard down, believing there was no cause for concern since the Nine-Tails had never acted up before.

"But..."

"That night, a masked man appeared—an enigmatic figure with a single Sharingan."

"He slaughtered the shinobi protecting Kushina..."

Hiruzen's expression darkened as he recalled an irreplaceable loss. "And he killed Biwako, who was helping deliver the baby..."

Only Hiruzen still remembered his wife.

Perhaps only family truly mourned the departed.

"!!!"

Kakashi's face paled.

"That masked man wielded space-time abilities. After massacring everyone present, he extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to control it, unleashing a rampage upon the village..."

"It was... Obito?"

Kakashi's hand trembled as it touched his eye socket.

If there were other masked men, it was possible.

But a Sharingan wielder with space-time jutsu?

Only Uchiha Obito fit that description.

"Back then, he called himself Madara Uchiha."

Hiruzen no longer concealed the truth. "But Minato saw through his deception. Even though Madara had lost an eye, he should have been able to use the overwhelming power of Susano'o. Yet when Minato drove the masked man away, he never used Susano'o even once..."

"Now, it seems clear..."

"The masked man who took advantage of Kushina's weakened state to orchestrate the Nine-Tails' rampage—was Uchiha Obito."

The Nine-Tails' attack—

Had left a blood-soaked scar on Konoha.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

His wife, Kushina Uzumaki.

Hiruzen's wife, Biwako Sarutobi.

Kurenai's father, Shinku Yuhi.

His longtime comrade, Torifu Akimichi.

And countless elite shinobi and civilians perished...

To simply label Obito's crimes as "atrocious" was an understatement.

That night had been so catastrophic—

That even Hiruzen, a man known for his benevolence, could not forgive Obito's sins. As Hokage, he had witnessed Konoha's post-war struggle and frailty more directly than anyone.

This situation was even graver than the crisis following the Second Hokage's death. It had forced Hiruzen to devote all his energy to nurturing the next generation.

After the Nine-Tails' rampage, he had once doubted the masked man's identity. But in the end, he had been forced to acknowledge Tobirama's warnings about the Uchiha clan's unpredictability.

Ultimately—

This had deepened the rift between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan.

No one had expected—

That the culprit was a supposedly dead Uchiha, Obito.

"I..."

Kakashi struggled to speak but only clenched his teeth. "Obito... did it all because I let Rin die..."

"This is not your fault."

Hiruzen's expression hardened. He stared directly into Kakashi's eyes and asked in a grave tone:

"Regardless of whether he knew the truth about Rin's death, a man who inherited the pain and hatred born from the Nine-Tails' rampage..."

Would never be allowed to live in this village!

Even Naruto, the very embodiment of the Nine-Tails, was barely tolerated by Konoha's people!

"Enough."

"Don't dwell on this any longer."

"Perhaps it's time I assign you a more suitable mission."

Hiruzen sighed, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "You finally seem alive again. Protecting the living is always more meaningful than clinging to the past."

"I want to continue the mission to retrieve Anko..."

Kakashi's gaze lowered, unwilling to accept any reassignment. He knew that rescuing Anko meant another confrontation with Obito.

"..."

Hiruzen felt a headache forming.

"And..."

Kakashi kept his head down as he spoke. "We also encountered Uchiha Itachi. I believe there's more to the Uchiha Massacre than we were told..."

"..."

Hiruzen's headache grew worse.

"Itachi..."

The old Hokage's face wrinkled like aged bark, his expression heavy. "What about him?"

"He secretly provided me with information on Obito."

Kakashi finally looked up, trying to argue for Itachi's innocence. "He also told me he would handle Anko's situation. I suspect the true culprit behind the Uchiha Massacre wasn't Itachi..."

"..."

Hiruzen had no words.

Itachi...

Was still fulfilling his duty as a spy for Konoha.

"Tell no one."

Hiruzen's voice carried unwavering authority. "No one can know about Itachi."

"!!!"

Kakashi's eyes widened in realization.

This all but confirmed that something was hidden behind the Uchiha Massacre. Otherwise, the Third Hokage wouldn't be so insistent!

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.

The elderly Hokage fell into deep thought, debating whether he should reveal the truth of the Uchiha Massacre to Kakashi.

After all—

It had been a failure on Konoha's leadership.

And—

It had been part of his own carefully orchestrated plan.

However—

What was done was done.

Itachi's act of passing intelligence to Kakashi had essentially exposed part of the secret.

Hiruzen couldn't understand why Itachi had taken such a risk, but he could only assume Itachi trusted Kakashi and wanted him to know the truth.

"Come with me..."

Hiruzen picked up his pipe, slowly placed his Hokage hat atop his head, and stepped out of the Hokage Tower.

He led Kakashi down the deserted streets—

All the way to the Uchiha clan grounds, where the scent of blood still faintly lingered.

"Since the era of the Second Hokage..."

"There has always been discord between the Uchiha clan and the village."

"The tension escalated after the masked man—Obito—fomented the Nine-Tails' rampage. The village leaders couldn't determine his true identity, but they suspected he was from the Uchiha clan. The growing distrust of the Uchiha led to increased surveillance, which in turn made the Uchiha fear they were being suppressed. The divide deepened, until finally, they planned a coup d'état."

"..."

Kakashi clenched his fists.

"But..."

"There were those who wished to prevent conflict."

"Like Itachi and the late Shisui Uchiha."

Hiruzen stood on the steps of the Naka Shrine, gazing down at the ruins of the once-proud Uchiha district. "But prejudice is a mountain that cannot be moved. Without mutual trust, there could be no reconciliation. Though Itachi and Shisui tried to bridge the divide—passing information from the Uchiha to the village and vice versa—neither side was willing to back down. Itachi became a double agent, hoping to find a peaceful resolution, but in the end, he was left with no choice..."

"At that time..."

Kakashi recalled the day Itachi joined Anbu.

Had he already been burdened with such a dilemma?

"In the end..."

"The Uchiha clan attempted to stage their coup."

"As Hokage, I bear responsibility for this failure. I could not find a solution to the rift between the village and the Uchiha."

"In the end, Itachi, manipulated by Danzo, made the ultimate decision—he annihilated his own clan to protect Konoha and prevent a civil war."

"At that time, Obito had infiltrated the village in disguise. He was there to sow chaos and was chosen by Itachi to assist in the massacre..."

Hiruzen's voice grew heavier.

"I should have found a better way to protect him."

"But after he destroyed his own clan, he told me he would defect—choosing to infiltrate the masked man's organization..."

"And I believed—"

"That his defection could give us insight into the masked man's true identity and his reasons for orchestrating the Nine-Tails' rampage."

As Hokage—

Hiruzen had made the choice he deemed necessary.

He had to learn more about the masked man to prevent future threats to Konoha.

But—

Itachi had succeeded far faster than anticipated.

Even Hiruzen had expected Itachi's mission to take years, yet barely any time had passed before he had already uncovered the masked man's true identity: Uchiha Obito.

"Itachi is an outstanding shinobi."

Hiruzen turned to Kakashi. "Whether it's recovering Anko or dealing with Obito, let him handle it for now. The fact that he risked sending you intelligence was already a dangerous act. Our discussion today must remain secret—tell no one."

"Understood..."

Kakashi bowed his head in silence.

The sheer weight of everything he had learned was overwhelming.

He could hardly fathom that his once-cherished friend had become a mass murderer—

That Obito was the reason their teacher had died.

"Protecting the living is our greatest responsibility."

Hiruzen adjusted his Hokage hat and stepped down from the shrine. "Kakashi, it's time to let go of the past. It's time for you to live again. Come with me to meet Minato's child."

Now—

Hiruzen intended to take him to see Naruto Uzumaki.

Though Kakashi had no real connection to Minato's son, he had wandered through life like a ghost, indifferent to the boy's existence. But the bond between them—

Had been forged by Minato himself.

"That child..."

"Loves the stories of Lord Shigen."

Hiruzen put aside his heavy heart for a moment and smiled as he thought of the bright young boy. "It's quite a coincidence—he's growing up to be just like Lord Shigen, carrying boundless love for everyone in his heart."

After all—

That child was the Third Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.

If Naruto admired Shigen, then he could one day develop a similar bond with the beast sealed within him.

This was something Hiruzen had learned from Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki. He believed that frequently telling Naruto about Shigen would only benefit the village.

Unfortunately—

Hiruzen had no idea.

Shigen was no longer the man he once was.

—

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As Hiruzen issued the worldwide bounty on Uchiha Obito, Shigen stood within his Kamui dimension.

He scanned the empty void and sighed in relief.

This meant—

His Kamui dimension was separate from Obito's.

That meant—

This vast, empty space was the perfect place to house the rewards of his SSSSS-rank mission.

[SSSSS-Rank Mission: Reveal to the world that the masked man is Uchiha Obito. Mission Complete. Reward: Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal (Seals the Ten-Tails), and Tailed Beast Release Seal (Frees the Tailed Beasts)!]

The reward for this mission was absurdly generous!

It was almost comparable to obtaining the remains of the Sage of Six Paths—not just in chakra potency, but in sheer volume. The amount of chakra surging through Shigen's body after acquiring the Ten-Tails had skyrocketed into the tens of thousands!

"Come forth... Ten-Tails."

Shigen raised his hand, his Rinnegan flashing with a cold glint.

In the next instant—

An overwhelming chakra erupted from within him!

It surged outward like writhing masses of flesh, twisting and expanding in the Kamui space—

Until it fully materialized as a colossal, grotesque beast!

If not for his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Six Paths Chakra strengthening his Kamui, this space might not have been able to contain it!

The Ten-Tails.

The most powerful Tailed Beast in existence.

The very being that Black Zetsu had long sought to resurrect—the physical incarnation of the God Tree itself!

If Black Zetsu ever discovered that Shigen had secured a second Ten-Tails—

It might go completely insane on the spot.

It might even abandon its plan to revive Kaguya altogether.

Which was precisely why Shigen had to keep this secret for now...

Raising his hand, he swiftly wove a series of sealing formations, constructing barriers to prevent anyone from summoning the Ten-Tails away.

"Good thing I have an immortal Edo Tensei body..."

Shigen exhaled in relief, feeling an unusual sense of gratitude toward Orochimaru for resurrecting him.

"If I were still alive, separating the Ten-Tails from my body might have left me bedridden for months. Now, I can take my time."

Perhaps...

It was time to recruit Kabuto as a double agent.

After all—

With one mission completed, he had an open slot for a new commission.

[Unfinished Missions (2/3)]

Shigen intended to find a way to trigger another high-reward mission tied to important figures.

One Ten-Tails wasn't enough to guarantee victory over Kaguya.

After all—

According to his past life's memories—

Kaguya's space-time jutsu was terrifyingly powerful.

Kamui was child's play compared to it.