Chapter 356: The Nine-Tails Lowers Its Head, Agreement Reached!

With the Nine-Tails speaking, Minato and Kushina also turned to look at Uchiha Jin.

Obviously!

They had also been unable to figure out this question—after all, in some sense, Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, had already entered the Pure Land; he had no connection whatsoever to Konoha or to Uchiha Jin, so why did he target Uchiha Jin so fiercely?

And yet, regarding this—

Uchiha Jin’s gaze remained unchanged, his tone perfectly calm as he asked: “What do Itachi think the ninja world is?”

The ninja world?

Upon hearing this question, Minato and Kushina were stunned.

Even the Nine-Tails’ mind went blank—after all, to them, the ninja world was just the ninja world, the place where all living beings survived.

But—

Minato and Kushina, along with the Nine-Tails, said nothing, for they knew Uchiha Jin’s meaning would not be so simple.

So—

None of them spoke; instead, they simply looked at Uchiha Jin.

Uchiha Jin, for his part, showed no change in expression—he had never expected these people to offer any insight on the matter.

No way!

This wasn’t because they were unintelligent—in fact, in some ways, they were among the smartest people in the ninja world.

What Uchiha Jin had over them was merely a golden finger, plus a god’s-eye view of the entire ninja world.

If he himself had been born a native of the ninja world, without any golden finger, then even competing with these top-tier figures would be impossible—ordinary Chunin would likely be stronger than him.

After a soft sigh, Uchiha Jin spoke in a quiet tone.

“The ninja world is a nursery!”

“For Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, distributing chakra to everyone was meant to encourage people to cultivate even more chakra.”

“Thus, upon death, the lifetime’s accumulated chakra of humans would naturally be seized by Hagoromo in the Pure Land.”

“Though the powerful revived through Impure World Reincarnation possess endless chakra?”

“Energy is conserved!”

“What seems like endlessness is merely because the amount of chakra consumed is negligible compared to the Pure Land’s reserves—hence the illusion of infinity.”

“Hagoromo’s goal is to collect sufficient chakra, enough powerful souls…”

“Itachi must understand one thing: Hagoromo and his mother Kaguya are, at their core, traitors of the Otsutsuki clan.”

“Right now, because the distance is too great, the Otsutsuki clan’s pursuers have not yet arrived.”

“Once the Otsutsuki pursuers come, the souls in the Pure Land become weapons; the Pure Land’s chakra can, through the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Statue, once again produce a chakra fruit, elevating Hagoromo’s power to a higher level.”

“If Itachi think carefully, Itachi’ll realize this yourself!”

“Black Zetsu, Kaguya’s third son, has stirred chaos in the ninja world for over a thousand years—surely Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, never noticed?”

“Why didn’t he stop it?”

“Because war is necessary!”

“Just as the Oil-Style clan breeds insects—they must force their insects to constantly fight each other to cultivate truly powerful ones.”

“Hagoromo views the ninja world as if it were a field of insects.”

Ordinary insects have no right to become weapons against the Otsutsuki—so to breed as many weapons as possible, war in the ninja world cannot be easily halted; otherwise, where would the Sage of Six Paths find strong warriors to cultivate?

“Perfect!”

“Black Zetsu, this younger brother, became Hagoromo’s pawn—manipulating the reincarnations of Indra to incite the thousand-year blood feud between the Senju and Uchiha, all to save Kaguya.”

“Even after the ninja villages emerged, the war could not stop…”

“But what about me?”

“Because I seek to unify the ninja world, to end war completely, to bring true peace—this naturally disrupts Hagoromo’s plan.”

“And that’s why, just days ago, Hagoromo and the Toad Sage Realm joined forces to stop my unification!”

As Uchiha Jin spoke, Minato, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails froze in shock.

Minato and Kushina could not imagine that so many tragedies in the ninja world stemmed from such a reason…

Likewise—

The Nine-Tails was stunned.

Because he had lived so long, he had seen far more—and now, with Uchiha Jin’s explanation, countless previously incomprehensible things suddenly became clear.

“How is this possible?”

The Nine-Tails couldn’t help speaking, his eyes filled with disbelief.

No way!

This clashed too violently with his image of the Sage of Six Paths—so much so that he felt almost unable to face it.

And yet, regarding this—

Looking at the bewildered Nine-Tails before him, Uchiha Jin paused briefly before speaking again: “Don’t imagine Hagoromo as noble—Itachi, the Nine-Tails, are merely a tool in his eyes.”

“Your purpose is to be sealed into the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Statue by Black Zetsu, reviving the Ten-Tails and making Uchiha Madara its jinchuriki, so that when the Divine Tree is replanted, a chakra fruit can be produced.”

“At that point, even if Kaguya is freed, Hagoromo still has Indra and Ashura as his pawns to reseal her.”

“And the chakra fruit produced will be claimed by Hagoromo.”

“Black Zetsu bears all the blame, while Hagoromo remains pristine, gaining even more powerful souls and strengthening his chances against the approaching Otsutsuki clan.”

“…”

Uchiha Jin’s face was filled with contempt.

Though much of this was merely speculation, from the original story he had read and the current state of the ninja world, he felt it was nearly certain.

After all—

This was the ninja world, a world where strength reigned supreme!

If Hagoromo truly wished to restore peace to the ninja world, it would be no great feat—just as Uchiha Jin himself could accomplish it effortlessly right now.

But what was the reality?

The ninja world had waged war for over a thousand years, and still remained in chaos.

And now, just as I was about to bring peace, Hagoromo and the Toad Sage Realm appeared, manipulating that fool Jiraiya to come here and die.

“Alright, understood!”

“I’ll help Itachi from now on. This brat isn’t bad—I’ll try not to interfere with him.”

“As for what comes after, we’ll deal with it later.”

After a long silence, the Nine-Tails nodded in agreement.

No way!

Better to be trapped inside a jinchuriki than to be shoved directly into the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Statue, right?

And yet, regarding this—

Uchiha Jin nodded, showing no surprise.

As long as the Nine-Tails wasn’t stupid, he’d know what to do.

Thinking of this, he made his promise: “If Itachi, the Nine-Tails, don’t cause trouble, then after Naruto Uzumaki dies of old age, I’ll find Itachi a new jinchuriki and let Itachi live freely in the ninja world.”