Chapter 287: Change
"Fourth Mizukage… although asking this may be a little presumptuous, I still want to confirm it with you again no matter what."
Sitting by the window in the restaurant, Naruto Uzumaki looked down at the prosperous streets of Kirigakure below and the endless flow of tourists from various nations. After taking a deep breath, he turned his head and asked Rei Kaguya, who was unhurriedly tasting the pre-meal appetizers.
"Is this really Konoha Year 58?"
"If we use the calendar system most convenient for you to understand, then yes, this year is indeed Konoha Year 58."
Rei nodded, his tone completely calm.
"Unbelievable… It is almost like the Kirigakure from my era, after having completely transformed successfully, traveled back to this era. No, in some aspects, the Kirigakure you rule is even better than the future Kirigakure of my time…"
Naruto sighed, then said softly with great emotion, "After Kakashi-sensei and Hanabi returned from your era, they once told me that, because of your existence, the past they went to would inevitably walk a path completely different from the history we knew. Looking at it now, his judgment was not wrong at all."
"After all, the place where I was born was the Village of the Bloody Mist, secretly controlled by Madara Uchiha. It was not a place where I could lie down on the spot, wait for you and Indra's reincarnation to slowly grow up, and then rely on the Fourth Shinobi World War to change the status quo."
While gently nodding and giving a good review to the restaurant's appetizer, Rei answered absentmindedly.
"The Village of the Bloody Mist… huh?"
Seeing Rei acting as if he were simply chatting and drinking with an old friend, Naruto's originally tense mood could not help relaxing slightly.
He looked at the first dish brought to the table by the waiter with extremely pleasing etiquette, then muttered somewhat absentmindedly, "Speaking of which, in our world, after Sasuke and I became genin and left the village for our first mission, the enemy we met was a Kirigakure shinobi who had gone into exile and secretly accumulated strength abroad after failing to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, the one who enforced the Village of the Bloody Mist policies… If it is this era, that kind of thing probably will not happen, right?"
"Perhaps."
Rei took a small sip of the sake the restaurant had prepared in advance and said slowly, "However, Naruto, the fact that you can so easily accept that Konoha in this era is no longer the number one village among the Five Great Shinobi Villages is somewhat beyond my expectations…"
"Why would you think that, Fourth Mizukage?"
Naruto turned his head, his eyes sincere and curious.
"You are a shinobi born in Konoha, and someone who will become Hokage in the future. Seeing Konoha faintly display a humble, subordinate attitude before Kirigakure—feeling angry because of that should be the normal reaction, no?"
Rei set down the wine cup in his hand and gazed into Naruto's blue eyes.
Faced with Rei's question, Naruto first froze for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and said with an embarrassed laugh, "Well, I honestly did not think in that direction… Maybe it is because I first learned that Sasuke was properly rescued by everyone in Konoha, then saw my dad's face through the communication device. I relaxed a huge amount all at once."
"…That optimistic attitude of yours truly is inherited from Hashirama Senju's line."
Rei shook his head helplessly.
"No wonder the two of you handle all kinds of post-war affairs in more or less the same way."
"I will, for now, take that as a compliment."
Naruto lowered the right hand he had been using to rub his head and shifted his gaze toward the second dish the waiter had just brought over.
Rei also stopped this topic, which was not suitable for a peaceful dinner atmosphere, at the proper time.
Changing the subject, he began explaining to Naruto the arrangements he had for the next period of time.
"Although I have already notified Nagato and Akatsuki to prepare for the Dawn Conference as soon as possible, the shinobi world is vast. Notifying every nation, large and small, and having them send envoys or even national leaders to attend the meeting will still require some time…
"During this period, I will find a way to try to reawaken the Nine-Tails inside you. At that time, there may be some experiments that look rather radical and will require your cooperation. Is there any problem, Naruto Uzumaki?"
"…Can you explain to me in advance what kind of experiments you might carry out, and… who will be responsible for leading them?"
Looking at Rei's eyes, which seemed to be looking at an experimental animal, even Naruto, who had an extremely urgent desire to revive Kurama, instinctively became vigilant. He asked Rei the question with great caution.
"As for the people leading the experiment, they should not be strangers to you."
Rei had no intention of hiding anything. Frankly, he said two names in succession that made Naruto break out in cold sweat.
"Orochimaru is one. Kabuto Yakushi, who has already basically finished learning and squeezing dry all of Tsunade's medical ninjutsu, is another. And I should count as one as well."
"As for the contents of the experiment, hm… the experiments directly conducted on you should not go beyond the level of transplanting Hashirama cells into you. As for external stimulation experiments, those will probably involve the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and portions of chakra from the Nine Tailed Beasts…"
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Naruto widened his eyes and looked at Rei, who seemed to have already prepared every possible plan in his mind, with a face full of disbelief. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi… I can more or less understand that, since even in our era, those two are shinobi who created many unbelievable research results. But the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Nine Tailed Beasts!? Do you know what you are doing!?"
"You mean this?"
Listening to Naruto's fierce questioning, the corner of Rei's mouth curved into a slightly crazed arc.
He raised his right hand, used a small Wind Release to tear away the bandages wrapped around it, and displayed before Naruto's eyes a tattoo that emitted faint chakra fluctuations, had already begun thawing, and looked as mysterious and magnificent as the starry sky.
That distant yet familiar chakra fluctuation nearly made Naruto bristle on the spot like a fox sensing its natural enemy.
"That is… That is Kaguya Otsutsuki's… Karma!?"
Naruto cried out in shock.
"H-How…? You… what exactly did you do!?"
"Nothing much. I simply made a deal with Ancestor Kaguya."
Rei wrapped his right hand in bandages again, then calmly gave his answer.
"She transferred to me all the intelligence she knew about the true Otsutsuki clan. In return, I will pay with my own body as the vessel for her future return to the world. As for the deadline, it will probably be marked by the moment I defeat Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Urashiki, who will attack in the future, and Isshiki, who is hidden in the dark side of the shinobi world."
"So there is no need to worry that temporarily reviving the Ten-Tails will allow Ancestor Kaguya to break free from the seal on the moon. When it comes to repelling the pursuers of the Otsutsuki clan, our positions and interests are aligned."
"But… in the end, she is still Kaguya Otsutsuki, the one without emotion who wanted to reclaim all chakra in the world, is she not?"
Naruto looked at Rei, who did not seem to take Kaguya Otsutsuki's threat seriously at all, and asked with a deep frown, "Are you not worried that after she uses Karma to completely revive from your body, she will once again threaten the safety of the shinobi world?"
"Then consider it a trial I leave behind for all living beings in the shinobi world."
Rei glanced at Naruto, whose fists were tightly clenched, and answered calmly.
"If, after accepting more than thirty years of my diligent early cultivation, they still cannot grow into towering trees capable of withstanding external storms on their own, then if such a rotten piece of wood cannot be carved, the shinobi world can be destroyed."
"Children will one day grow into adults and leave their parents to venture into the world alone. There is no reason that the massive collective of living beings called the shinobi world cannot become independent and strong, and must instead rely on the protection of a few Children of Prophecy or Chosen Ones to cling to life under the gaze of external crises."
"Excessively doting on and protecting children will only make them gradually lose even the ability to run and stand on their own, Naruto Uzumaki."