Chiyu is not Uchiha Madara.

He has no need for the power of the Tailed Beasts.

For Madara, gathering the beasts is a compulsory step; without them he cannot resurrect the Ten-Tails, much less carry out his Eye of the Moon Plan.

For Chiyu, however…

the power of the Tailed Beasts is nothing more than icing on the cake.

Accordingly, his attitude toward the beasts is entirely different from Madara's.

Kurama was now completely overpowered, cowed by the aura pouring off Chiyu—a presence as formidable as that of the Sage of Six Paths. The Nine-Tails trembled in shock and fear.

Standing to the side, Uzumaki Naruto could only marvel.

The Nine-Tails sealed inside him was a creature the villagers called a natural disaster. Because of that, everyone hated and feared him…

Yet in front of the Sovereign of the Shinobi World, the Nine-Tails looked like a mere puppy—almost pitiable.

Kurama (terrified): "Y-you… who exactly are you?!"

Chiyu replied calmly, "You live inside Naruto, so you can sense everything outside as well. You should already understand that I am now the Lord of the Shinobi World, standing at a height even the Sage of Six Paths never reached.

"I know everything: the Sage, the Ten-Tails, the Divine Tree, and even…

"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."

Kurama was stunned. "How could you possibly—"

"Spare me the pointless chatter.

"I know where you come from. I know the Sage of Six Paths split you nine beasts from the Ten-Tails' chakra and foretold that one day you would gather again.

"But for over a thousand years, true understanding between beasts and humans has never been achieved.

"Now, I can give you that chance."

Kurama: "What chance?"

Chiyu: "A chance to reconcile with humanity."

Kurama (snorts): "And how do you expect me to do that? Make peace with this brat? Help him become a perfect jinchūriki so you humans can keep fighting your wars?!"

Chiyu: "Exactly."

Kurama (angrily): "Why should I?"

Chiyu: "Because I will give you the one thing you want most."

Kurama: "And that is?"

Chiyu: "Freedom."

Kurama fell silent.

Kurama: "Why should I believe you? Humans have sealed me time and again, calling me a calamity, a scourge—while all they really wanted was my power for their own battles!"

Chiyu let out a disdainful laugh.

"Don't overrate yourself, Kurama.

"To me you're just a slightly larger beast. If I wanted to kill you, it would be effortless. If I wanted to control you—turn you into my puppet, my summon—it would take but an instant."

Kurama shut his mouth; he knew Chiyu was telling the truth. With eyes that surpassed Madara's, controlling a Tailed Beast would be trivial—yet Chiyu had not done so.

Kurama: "Then why haven't you?"

Chiyu: "Because I don't want to.

"Killing is easy—and I even enjoy it—but brainwashing, manipulation, seizing another's mind and soul… that is not my style, and I despise it."

Kurama sensed no lie; Chiyu had no need to lie.

Chiyu: "So I also despise the practice of jinchūriki. But you are already sealed in hosts. Ripping you out would only kill them. Since that is so, it is better to let you be useful…

"Do well, and afterward I will grant you freedom—not only you, but Shukaku and Saiken as well.

"I know you beasts can share thoughts spiritually; I'm sure they're listening."

Kurama's heart pounded as Chiyu casually spoke the beasts' names. Moments later Shukaku and Saiken did appear in the mindscape—Kurama had drawn them into a deeper layer of the Tailed Beast-space.

Not just those two…

Even the spirits of the other, now-dead beasts materialized, forming a vast ring.

Naruto stood gaping.

Chiyu (surveying them): "Shukaku of One Tail, Matatabi of Two, Isobu of Three, Son Gokū of Four, Kokuō of Five, Saiken of Six, Chōmei of Seven, Gyūki of Eight, Kurama of Nine… you are all the same.

"Serve me, and I will set you free.

"Refuse, and you know perfectly well how Madara would treat you."

The nine beasts looked at one another.

Kurama sighed. "Indeed, Madara would treat us far worse."

Matatabi (coldly): "Uchiha Chiyu, you haven't hesitated to kill jinchūriki—why should we work for you?"

Chiyu: "I killed the hosts. You just happened to be inside them. I was not the one who sealed you there."

Matatabi fell silent.

Kokuō: "Yet we still died."

Chiyu (snorts): "Killing the hosts allowed you to be reborn. Is that not liberation? For you, an act of mercy.

"I've no patience for more debate. Choose: submit and work for me, and freedom will follow—or bear the consequences."

Son Gokū rumbled, "…He's right. If Madara gets us, our fate will be worse. My real body is already gone, sealed in the Demonic Statue by Madara and the Akatsuki. Unless he's defeated and my chakra is pulled out, I won't even have a chance to revive.

"For me, Chiyu is the only hope."

Chōmei nodded. "The same for me… Better to strike a deal with Chiyu than let Madara revive the Ten-Tails and doom us all."

Gyūki snorted. "I've forged a bond with Bee, and you killed him!"

Chiyu ignored him.

Isobu sighed. "I bonded with Yagura too; yet half his life he was a puppet under the man calling himself Madara. In the end, Chiyu saved us—Yagura even thanked him before dying.

"Gyūki, if you and your host aren't killed by Chiyu, you'll just end up in Madara's hands, and the result will be worse…"

Gyūki fell silent.

The nine beasts exchanged thoughts for a long while.

At last Kurama spoke. "Uchiha Chiyu, we are willing to cooperate—until Madara is dealt with, we will lend you our power. But we hope you keep your promise… and set us free."

Kokuō: "The Sage once said we would reunite a thousand years later, led by a blond, blue-eyed youth…"

The beasts looked toward Naruto, who fit that description perfectly.

Naruto stared blankly, clueless.

Chiyu: "Prophecies exist to be broken.

"Yes, the one the Sage foresaw is Naruto. But because of my existence, destiny itself will change."

The beasts were shaken: Chiyu not only understood the prophecy but possessed the power to overturn it—power beyond the Sage's foresight. Their awe deepened.

At that moment—though separated by distance, life and death, and countless seals—Uchiha Chiyu, in a sense, became the jinchūriki of all nine Tailed Beasts.

He sealed none of them inside himself, yet he could draw on any of their chakra and abilities at will.

Of course, that power was limited by each beast's current state, so to Chiyu it was merely an enhancement—icing on the cake.

More importantly…

Chiyu had just forged three new perfect jinchūriki:

Perfect Nine-Tails jinchūriki: Uzumaki Naruto

Perfect Six-Tails jinchūriki: Utakata

Perfect One-Tail jinchūriki: Gaara

No longer mere targets, they now possessed enough power to protect themselves. Naruto and Gaara were still too young to wield a full perfect form, but it was more than enough for now.

When Chiyu opened his eyes again, he could speak to the nine beasts at any time and borrow their chakra and abilities: Shukaku's Magnet Release, Son Gokū's Lava Release, Kokuō's Boil Release, and so on.

With them, his invincible power became even more flawless.

Naruto, sensing the change within himself, cheered:

"This is amazing, Lord Sovereign of the Shinobi World! I'm no longer afraid of the Nine-Tails—no, of Kurama! From now on he'll be my comrade, my partner, my friend in battle! Thank you so much!"

Chiyu: "I've given you this power, but how far you take it depends on your own effort. As you are, you can't wield even one percent of it. Your own training is the key."

Naruto (pumping his fist): "Don't worry, Lord! I'll train like crazy and get stronger—soon I'll surpass Sasuke!"

Chiyu's eyes narrowed. Sasuke Uchiha, huh? After the Uchiha massacre, on Chiyu's advice, Fugaku had already enrolled Sasuke early in the Academy, keeping the rivalry with Naruto intact. That bond would help Sasuke cope with the trauma of Itachi's betrayal.

Gaara as well: with Shukaku pacified, he could enter the Academy and grow alongside Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, Sai and Shin rescued from Root, and the other children whose fates Chiyu had rewritten.

Beneath Chiyu's ruthless methods lay a strange mercy toward children and their potential.

Chiyu's three-tomoe Rinnegan gleamed. He invoked Takamagahara: a divine domain opened, a spatial gate appeared, and he teleported to a desolate plain.

Channeling Four-Tails chakra and Lava Release into his Susanoo's spirit weapon, he transformed the Ten-Taba Zaimetsu Ken Sword into molten magma wreathed in searing flames. One slash—

Boom!

The ground split into a vast gorge, rock liquefied into lava, flames roared—a single blow reshaped the very terrain into a volcanic hellscape.

Chiyu smiled faintly, dispersed Susanoo, then infused himself with Five-Tails chakra. Boil Release erupted within him, his strength soaring—

Crack!

A katana strike ripped the air, thunder exploded, chakra boiled; his already peerless power rose by half again. The Boil Release truly rivaled the Senju Clan's monstrous strength.

It was merely a test, and it amused him.

Now invincible, Chiyu set about elevating the entire shinobi world—especially those loyal to him. A single conversation with the Tailed Beasts had granted him their power and created three perfect jinchūriki, but this was only the beginning.

Soon he met with Uchiha Fugaku.

Fugaku understood at once.

Fugaku: "Lord Hokage—no, Lord of the Shinobi World—you've come about the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, haven't you?"

Chiyu nodded. "You awakened your Mangekyō only recently and lacked practice, so you didn't immediately transplant Itachi's eyes. But now… you should be ready."

Fugaku sighed. "Perhaps… Yet whenever I think of that beast Itachi, my heart still surges with rage—not just at him, but at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others who brainwashed him."

Chiyu: "Itachi chose his own path, even if Hiruzen pushed him. This is not your fault, Patriarch."

Fugaku: "Even so, as his father I feel I failed my clan and forebears…"

Chiyu: "Then you need this power to atone."

Fugaku agreed.

Chiyu arranged for the best medical-nin to handle the transplant—though the greatest healer was Tsunade, many other accomplished medics served in Konoha: Shizune, Nonō Yakushi, and more. Eye transplantation was not complex in the shinobi world; the hurdle was rejection. Even among blood relatives success was not guaranteed—but a father and son surpassed even brothers in kinship.

The procedure went smoothly. After recovery, Fugaku opened his eyes: the Mangekyō had evolved—Konoha's third pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was born.

His power spiked; he could now use Mangekyō techniques freely and had awakened the third stage of Susanoo. Higher forms were only a matter of time.

The Uchiha, with Chiyu as the Leader and Fugaku wielding Eternal Mangekyō, had reached unprecedented might. Under Chiyu's guidance, Konoha and the entire Five-Village Alliance grew steadily stronger and more peaceful.

…

At the same time, on Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya wallowed in despair. The Toad Sages Shima and Fukasaku urged him daily, but he could not recover.

Fukasaku: "Jiraiya, you've done all you could. There's no point in regret. Hiruzen's death was his own doing… and Uchiha Chiyu is beyond your reach."

Jiraiya (bitter laugh): "My life is full of failures… I couldn't save my master, my students… The three I trained: one dead, two now walk a dark path with the Akatsuki. My teammate Orochimaru defected, Tsunade wandered the world… I don't know what I'm even living for."

Just then Shima spoke: "Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage is calling you—says he's had a new dream, a prophecy concerning you!"

Jiraiya's heart stirred. His whole life had been guided by the Great Sage's prophecies; at his darkest hour, a new one seemed like dawn.

Jiraiya: "A new prophecy…? I'll go at once."

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!