"Urashiki, have you eaten?" Naruto asked casually.
For a moment, both Itachi and Urashiki froze.
Itachi gave Naruto a strange look, while Urashiki, whose presence had been fading, suddenly pulled himself together again. He let out a cold laugh. "I can see Uchiha Sasuke’s memories, you know. That trick won’t work on me."
Then why did you stop just now...? Naruto kept the thought to himself, keeping a straight face as he said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just thought it’s been a while since we last met, so I wanted to chat."
Itachi’s expression became even more unusual.
But in the next moment, Naruto suddenly changed the topic. "Oh, right, I forgot—you don’t have a family. So, are you an orphan?"
Urashiki clenched his fists, his smile twisting slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto, do you have a death wish?"
"You can’t beat me right now," Naruto shrugged. "So saying stuff like that just makes you look nervous."
Then, with a curious look, Naruto continued, "By the way, I’ve always wondered—what’s the Otsutsuki clan’s social structure like? I’ve never heard anything about Otsutsuki parents. Are you guys some kind of artificial beings?"
Even Kurama had never mentioned it.
Kurama: *How the hell would I know?!*
A vein bulged on Urashiki’s forehead as he gritted his teeth. "Uzumaki Naruto, our clan is just like yours! My father and mother are also searching for the path to godhood. But the fact that you’d even ask something so rude... maybe *you* are the one without parents!"
Naruto blinked. "Wait, are you trying to insult me?"
*Wow, Urashiki actually knows how to insult people now?*
*Sasuke’s memories must be full of this kind of stuff. There’s no way Sasuke can blame me for this—he’s the one who rubbed off on Urashiki!*
That said, Urashiki *did* have a point. Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. "Well, I *am* an orphan. My parents died when I was born. I’ve met them before, but technically, I grew up without parents."
*What are you even supposed to say to an orphan in this situation?*
Kurama: "...You really went all out, hurting yourself just as much as the enemy."
Naruto didn’t think much of it and simply said, "I was an orphan anyway."
"You win." Kurama gave up right away. After all, not everyone had the guts to use their own parents as an insult.
Urashiki suddenly stopped being angry.
When you come across someone , what can you even do? He just let out a cold laugh. "Uzumaki Naruto, my parents are still alive."
"But if they raised you , is there really a difference between you and an orphan?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.
For a moment, no one knew what to say. You know that feeling, right?
Even Naruto realized he might have gone too far. He quickly waved his hands. "Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean it like that. I was just really curious, not trying to insult you on purpose. You’ve met me before—you know I speak without thinking."
Itachi opened his mouth as if to say something but ended up staying silent.
Kurama looked completely lost. "I swear I didn’t teach him this."
Honestly, if Naruto hadn’t explained, people might have let it slide. But with that explanation? It somehow made things worse.
Urashiki’s rage meter instantly hit the max. "Tenshuba Purple Light Dragon—"
Seeing Urashiki clench his teeth and launch an attack, Naruto awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Ahem... I guess that means I successfully provoked him?"
"You did way more than that," Kurama muttered. "Looking at him now, he won’t stop until he’s beaten you senseless."
Still, it was surprising how much Urashiki valued family. Then again, he was always pretty serious about the Otsutsuki clan, so it kind of made sense.
But the real problem now was... the guy had gone completely berserk.
As a giant purple dragon came charging straight at him, Naruto stretched out his right hand. A fully-formed Big Rasenshuriken appeared in an instant, blocking the attack.
The impact from this attack wasn’t as strong as what he had experienced back in Roran. Urashiki wasn’t at full power right now, so his strength wasn’t enough to cause massive destruction. At most, he’d just blow up the random illegal structure beneath them.
Holding the Rasenshuriken, Naruto watched as Urashiki slowly rose into the air, one Byakugan and one Rinnegan locked onto him.
Naruto felt a little awkward. "Urashiki, actually, my memories are sealed. I only said all that to provoke you—I wasn’t really trying to insult you."
Naruto might have a sharp tongue, a habit of throwing in extra jabs, and be an expert at getting himself into trouble, but at his core, he was a good kid.
The moment he realized he might have gone too far, his first thought was to apologize to Urashiki.
Of course, whether Urashiki accepted it or not was his own problem.
Kurama watched as Urashiki’s Byakugan nearly turned into a Sharingan from sheer anger and couldn’t help but admire Naruto’s uncanny ability to step on landmines with perfect accuracy.
Then Kurama decided to stir things up even more. "Naruto, push harder! This isn’t enough! Look, Urashiki hasn’t even completely lost his mind yet!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I just want to stop him from going back, not argue with him."
"A subordinate shouldn’t kiss their boss," Kurama blurted out.
"What the hell are you even talking about?"
Naruto dodged Urashiki’s attack and countered with a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Urashiki’s eyes turned red as he reached out his left hand and absorbed the entire blast.
Seeing this, Naruto felt a headache coming on. "Absorbing chakra is such a pain."
After all, aside from Taijutsu, almost everything in battle relied on chakra. Even Taijutsu had the word "ninja" in it.
"Do I have to use that trick again and make him absorb natural energy?" As he evaded Urashiki’s attacks, Naruto started thinking through his options.
"That won’t work anymore," Kurama explained from within his mind. "Urashiki’s mind might be in control, but his body is Sasuke’s. And Sasuke has already mastered Sage Mode. The moment natural energy enters his body, his instincts will automatically mix it into Senjutsu chakra. Instead of helping yourself, you’d just be giving him more power."
"Then what should I do?" Naruto spread his hands in frustration. He couldn’t exactly pin "Sasuke" down and beat him up, could he?
Sakura was right there. If he went a little overboard, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal.
Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought. If he took this chance to rough up Sasuke a bit, he could just blame it on Urashiki later. He’d also get to settle the score for that time Sasuke snitched to Hinata. It was a win-win!
Kurama twitched at the thought. "I have to admit, it’s tempting. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Sasuke isn’t an idiot."
"Tch." Naruto shook his head in disappointment. "I’ve been wanting to punch Sasuke for a long time."
Kurama nodded in agreement. "Same here."
Just as they were debating whether to take the chance for personal revenge, a massive crimson Susano’o rose from the ground. In its third stage, it stood tall with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, its glowing eyes locked onto Urashiki in the sky.
Naruto’s face lit up. "Already finished?"
Itachi covered his eyes, blood streaming down his arms from both sockets, but his expression remained calm. "Naruto, give me a chance."