Chapter 25 Tailed Beast Capture Plan

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "It's him! It's him! That's him!"

Onoki: "Him? Who?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Even after turning to ashes, I can't forget. This mysterious masked man calls himself 'Uchiha Madara' and was the mastermind behind the Nine Tails rebellion in Konoha!"

Terumi Mei: "So, he's also the one responsible for controlling Yagura?"

Rasa: "And..."

Rasa: "Inextricably linked to the divine beings!"

Fourth Raikage: "I hope our surveillance can uncover his identity, so we can target him!"

Akatsuki Organization Base.

As Obito caught sight of his image appearing on the light screen, his expression suddenly soured.

"No, that's too much!"

"Just because you're gathering intel doesn't mean you have to catch every detail! Spare me."

"Can't you expose someone else?"

"If that's not an option, I'll expose Pain .

It's a shame.

Obito is not Gray.

He had no control over the content displayed on the light curtain.

All he could do was watch as his future self slowly approached Naruto.

["Did you hug me when I was born?"]

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes lit up like a stars. He gazed directly at the mysterious masked man, his voice trembling with excitement as he asked, "Then...have you seen my parents?"

"Your parents? Of course, I have met them!"

The mysterious masked man drifted into memories.

Konoha, 48 years ago.

The night was dark, the wind howled, and the crescent moon hung ominously in the sky.

In an empty stone cave, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato faced off against a masked adversary.

"Wow--"

The baby's cry pierced the eerie silence of the cave.

"Don't move!"

The masked man gripped the baby with his left hand while pressing against the infant's neck with his right. Any move by Namikaze Minato would mean the child's demise.

Anbu corpses littered the ground.

Next to a stone bed, Uzumaki Kushina, weakened from childbirth, lay unable to even twitch her fingers.

"Who are you?" Minato's gaze shifted anxiously between the masked man and the baby.

"You don't need to know."

With those words, the masked man flung the baby into the air.

Minato swiftly employed the Flying Thunder God Technique, catching the baby safely mid-air.

The picture depicted the baby with a serious expression, though undeniably infantile. Yet, the telltale blond hair and the distinctive six marks on the cheeks left no doubt among the ninja spectators.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto!!"

Onoki: "Well, I'll be! I held you when you were just born!"

Iruka: "Hold on a moment!"

Iruka: "If the child on the screen is Naruto, then does that mean Fourth Hokage-sama and Uzumaki Kushina-sama..."

Jiraiya: "Yep, it's exactly what you're thinking."

Tsunade: "Old man, stop pretending to be oblivious. It's out in the open now. How much longer do you plan to keep it under wraps?"

Inside the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen was feeling numb.

Wasn't it supposed to be the mysterious masked man who called himself "Uchiha Madara" exposed? Why was he the one feeling the sting?!

Thankfully, Hiruzen had decades of experience as Hokage, and a thick skin to match. Clearing his throat, he mustered a response: "Yes, Naruto, you are the child of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and Konoha's previous Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Uzumaki Kushina!"

Naruto gazed blankly at the light screen, whispering, "Dad... Mom..."

Meanwhile, as Sarutobi Hiruzen sealed the coffin, the entire village of Konoha was in an uproar.

"What? We've been ostracizing the Nine-Tails for nearly a decade, and he's actually the Fourth Hokage's son?"

On the other side, at the Akatsuki organization's base, Uchiha Obito breathed a sigh of relief as the memories in the light curtain came to an end.

What surprised Obito was the leniency

 of the viewing system this time. It didn't directly expose the fact that the Fourth Mizukage was controlled like last time, but only played clips of the Nine-Tails Rebellion.

Though in the footage, he was somewhat embarrassed by the Second Stage of Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God, at least his identity wasn't revealed.

While Naruto outside the light curtain learned about his life experience, the Naruto within remained oblivious.

"Naruto!!" The distant shouts of companions interrupted Naruto's moment with the masked man.

Instantly, Naruto's eyes cleared, and he turned to see little Sakura and Sasuke approaching.

"One person?" Naruto realized the mysterious masked man had vanished.

Like a fleeting cloud, the figure disappeared, leaving Naruto bewildered, wondering if it was all his imagination.

"What's wrong? Are you daydreaming?" Little Sakura interrupted, unaware of Naruto's thoughts.

Ignoring her, Naruto followed Sasuke and Sakura back to the village.

Minutes later, among the deserted fields, a strange Uzumaki figure emerged, followed by the mysterious masked man.

"Pity," the masked man muttered, "We were close to success."

His fear wasn't Sasuke or Sakura; it was Kaido, who warned him with Conqueror's Haki not to act recklessly.

Undeterred, the masked man saw this visit as merely a test.

With determination, he activated a ring, transporting his consciousness to a colossal, tree-like structure, where two phantoms awaited.

Addressing one with black nails on his nose, the masked man declared, "The time has come. Start the tailed beast capture plan!"