Chapter 623: Why Nagato Is Called Zero

“You’re right. Why didn’t he?”

With Obito’s reminder, Naruto finally realized something was wrong.

Why would someone who possessed such a miraculous substance abandon his ambitions and remain hidden in Kusagakure?

Could Hero Water have some terrifying side effect that nobody knew about?

If so, hadn’t he and Obito just drunk two entire bowls of the stuff?

“Because Hero Water ultimately comes from the Sage of Six Paths’ remains.”

Obito’s expression darkened.

“Anyone who has their chakra absorbed by those remains ends up becoming a mindless fool. Did you honestly think consuming chakra produced by the same thing would leave you completely unaffected?”

“Now think carefully. Why did Uzumaki Karin insist on giving us Hero Water before sacrificing us?”

Obito clenched his fists.

“Because once we’ve consumed Hero Water, our bodies will stop resisting the Sage of Six Paths’ sacred relic!”

“When they bring it out, we’ll obediently submit to it. We might even volunteer to become sacrifices!”

“Now do you understand why I immediately brought you into Kamui?”

“One moment later, and we might have been finished.”

“Those women could have brought out that relic at any moment, and we’d have lost our last chance to resist!”

“What?!”

Naruto shuddered.

“Something that can twist people’s wills like that? Doesn’t that sound a little like the legendary Kotoamatsukami?”

He suddenly felt terribly insignificant.

Even as Dark Naruto, with complete control over the Nine-Tails’ power and the Uzumaki clan’s extraordinary constitution, he was still far too weak.

Faced with a shinobi world this bizarre and depraved, he was nothing more than a helpless little Naruto.

Pitiful, weak, and utterly defenseless.

“…”

Obito’s mouth twitched when Naruto mentioned Kotoamatsukami.

Another slip.

Obito understood the Uchiha massacre far better than Naruto supposedly did.

According to the information he’d inherited from this world, Uchiha Shisui had never revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan ability to anyone.

Many people even suspected Shisui possessed something similar to Madara’s Fourth Power, Back to Basics.

Yet Dark Naruto had casually mentioned Kotoamatsukami by name.

That was clearly information from the real world.

“Naruto, there’s something you’ve been hiding from me, isn’t there?”

Obito suddenly asked.

“W-What? Me? Hiding something? What would I be hiding?”

Naruto froze, and his expression immediately became awkward.

His first reaction was that he really had been concealing something.

Of course, he wasn’t thinking about the original Naruto coming from the real shinobi world.

As far as Dark Naruto was concerned, that detail was irrelevant.

Unless he discovered that Obito was also the real-world Obito, he would never imagine that was what Obito meant.

Instead, his thoughts naturally turned toward an entirely different secret.

“If Uzumaki Karin doesn’t rely on Hero Water, then what exactly did she use to gain control of Kusagakure?”

Obito sighed.

“I didn’t understand it at first, but now I finally do.”

“Both you and Nagato gave me the answer.”

“…Nagato?”

Naruto’s expression changed.

“Don’t tell me he also…”

That reaction immediately confirmed Obito’s suspicions that Naruto was hiding something.

But Dark Naruto no longer saw any point in concealing it.

If Obito had already figured it out, he might as well be honest.

“That’s right.”

Obito nodded solemnly.

“When Nagato first used the Summoning Jutsu, the thing he summoned wasn’t actually the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.”

“It was the Sage of Six Paths’ sacred ‘equipment,’ which had been hidden in Kusagakure all along!”

“The combined powers of Asura and Indra can recreate the Sage of Six Paths’ power, resulting in the Rinnegan.”

“Originally, the Rinnegan was only supposed to possess a special connection to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.”

“But who could have imagined that a portion of the Sage of Six Paths’ actual remains would still exist after more than a thousand years?”

“And so, when Nagato performed his first summoning, that was what appeared!”

Obito shook his head.

“Nagato nearly had all his chakra drained.”

“Fortunately, his Uzumaki bloodline allowed him to withstand the initial assault, giving him just enough time to cancel the Summoning Jutsu.”

“But the experience changed him forever.”

“From that day onward, Nagato became half a bond-type shinobi. That’s why he eventually embraced that ideology and adopted the codename Zero.”

Obito paused thoughtfully.

“Perhaps Nagato also believed that since the Sage of Six Paths had given him a pair of eyes, it was only fair to return the favor with an ‘eye’ of his own.”

He sighed.

“I always thought something was strange about Nagato’s codename.”

“Considering his strength and position within Akatsuki, why would he call himself Zero?”

“If Nagato was Zero, then who was supposed to be Number One?”

“I spent ages trying to figure it out, only to reach a horrifying conclusion.”

“The only person qualified to be Number One was me!”

“Unless, of course, Nagato had somehow followed Minato-sensei’s example and involved Konan in something similar… But that couldn’t be right either. Konan isn’t a jinchūriki, and paper-made equipment isn’t exactly suitable for getting wet.”

Obito’s expression suddenly cleared.

“But now I understand!”

“Nagato is Zero because the Number One he’s always yearned for is actually the Sage of Six Paths!”

“Everything makes sense now!”

Dark Naruto finally understood.

No wonder Obito had realized something was wrong.

It was true that Naruto had previously used Reaper Kiss to drain Gaara’s chakra.

However, that technique had merely been a convenient way to conceal his real method.

“Uncle Obito, I’m sorry.”

Naruto lowered his head.

“I wasn’t deliberately trying to deceive you. It’s just that you can never be too careful about revealing this particular secret.”

“After all, this is precisely why the Uzumaki clan was exterminated.”

Obito listened attentively.

“Actually, even the original Naruto doesn’t know about it.”

“When he was secretly reading the Scroll of Seals, he happened to glimpse a record about it out of the corner of his eye.”

“He forgot everything almost immediately, but I still remember.”

“The Uzumaki clan possesses an extraordinary constitution, and occasionally, certain members awaken even more unusual physical abilities.”

Naruto’s expression grew serious.

“Take Uzumaki Karin, for example.”

“By the time we left, I’d already begun suspecting that she possessed one of those special constitutions.”

“She only needs to bite other people to increase her own chakra.”

Obito’s eye narrowed.

“In other words, she doesn’t need to consume Hero Water and suffer its side effects.”

Naruto nodded.

“Exactly!”

“She can treat Hero Water as fertilizer and the people of Kusagakure as crops.”

“First, she feeds them Hero Water to strengthen them and increase their chakra reserves.”

“Then, once they’ve grown strong enough, she simply drains them herself.”

“The Sage of Six Paths’ influence can only extend through the initial process.”

“Once Karin absorbs chakra from the villagers, she receives the benefits without inheriting any of the side effects!”

Dark Naruto had finally decided to reveal the truth.

And just as he’d explained, this was one of the principal reasons the Uzumaki clan had been exterminated.

Far too many members of the clan had possessed similarly terrifying constitutions.

Unless absolutely necessary, Naruto had no intention of revealing their secrets.

But now that Obito had already grown suspicious, continuing to conceal the truth would only damage their relationship.

He might as well explain everything.

After all, Uncle Obito was a genuinely good person.

“Naruto, in that case, I’ve got an idea.”

Obito looked thoughtful.

“Listen carefully and tell me what you think…”

Naruto immediately leaned forward, giving him his full attention.

Unfortunately, Obito didn’t actually have an idea to share.

Or rather, his idea was to trick Naruto.

The moment Naruto leaned closer and shifted his attention toward listening, Obito abruptly straightened, his expression changing dramatically.

“Oh, no!”

He stared past Naruto in apparent horror.

“Isshiki’s here!”

“Naruto, run! NOW!”

“Kamui!”

Space twisted violently.

Before Naruto could react, Obito activated Kamui and teleported him out of the dimension.

It was an incredibly touching scene.

In fact, it closely resembled the moment in the original story when a redeemed Obito, confronted by Madara inside Kamui, used the last of his strength to send Sakura away while allowing Madara to capture him.

And that was precisely the effect Obito wanted.

He had successfully tricked Naruto—

while making Naruto believe he had just saved his life.