After giving Fu 'tips' on how she can use Chomei's powers, Naruto and Fu exited the mindscape where they saw Shibuki guarding them. He honestly didn't know what they were doing, but seeing Fu was alright, he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Shibuki-san, thank you for guarding us" Naruto smiled politely
[Who are you?] Kurama stared at Naruto in disbelief, how can it be, Naruto is actually polite?
Naruto ignored Kurama and continued
"Would it be alright if we spoke privately later?" He asked
"Eh? I wanna listen as well" Fu muttered
"This is village matters, it's best to keep it confidential" Naruto replied with a smile
"Urgh, fine" Fu grumbled and began chatting with Chomei in her mind.
Shibuki agreed, and took Naruto to his office. Naruto set up a seal just in case, and sat down.
"What would you like to talk about?" Shibuki smiled gently
"I want to ask you on your opinion on having Fu temporarily reside in Konoha" Naruto replied
!!!
Shibuki's smile faltered, and his gaze was no longer as friendly.
"Is this the village's intention, or yours" He asked in a low voice
"Mine, the village didn't tell me the seven tails jinchuriki was here, so I only found out after meeting Fu myself" Naruto replied
Hearing this eased Shibuki a little, but he was still a little hostile towards Naruto for asking such a ridiculous thing.
"Before you complain, I have matters I need to warn you about" Naruto said
"Is this a threat?" Shibuki asked
"Hah!?!?! Why the hell would I threaten you? This is purely asking for your opinion, if you disagree, I won't argue, I'll just need to make some other arrangements" Naruto replied calmly
Shibuki seemed to see how sincere Naruto was on this matter, and decided to hear him out.
"I'm not sure if you've gotten the news, but there is an elite group of rogue Shinobis out there, known as the Akatsuki, they are a small group, but every member are incredibly powerful, easily beyond a standard Jonin's level" Naruto said
"And their target? The tailed beasts, I have suffered from their attacks, and so have the current Kazekage, the jinchuriki of the one tail, but we were able to repel them thanks to our forces, but I am worried about Takigakure" Naruto said
Shibuki furrowed his brows
"Our village has the hero water, which can boost our combat abilities multiple folds, we can definitely defend Fu" He replied
"Yes, I have heard of the hero water, but with that, I'll need to raise two points, first, the hero water has drawbacks, the aftereffects leaves the use incapacitated for a while, so in a drawn out battle, your combatants will fall one by one if the Akatsuki were to use the hit and run strategy, which I doubt they need to use" Naruto said
"....and your second point?" Shibuki asked
"Are there any other shinobis in your village who is willing to even fight for Fu aside from you?" Naruto asked
"...." Shibuki's hands tightened
As the village leader, he knew better than anyone else the animosity the village has for Fu. They all show open hostility towards her, and many would probably rather her be captured...
"I'm not sure if you heard me properly earlier, but I said for Fu to temporarily reside in Konoha, so once the threat of Akatsukis are gone, Fu can return" Naruto added
Naruto then stood up
"Think this over, you can give me an answer after the Chunin exam, once you allow it, we will put Fu as our number one target to protect" Naruto said
"I....I'll be sure to give you an answer" Shibuki said shakily
He understood that what Naruto said makes sense, but he was unwilling. Fu is considered a secret weapon of Takigakure, no village would want to give up a tailed beast if they had one. But this is a problem of the weak possessing something they shouldn't possess...
Compared to the five great villages, Takigakure cannot offer the same level of protection as they could. But even so, he didn't want to give Fu up, even if it is just a temporary allocation.
Naruto walked to the door to leave, and upon opening the door...
*Bang*
Fu fell to the ground. She was leaning against the door with her ears pasted on it, so the moment Naruto opened the door, she fell forward.
"Uh....I didn't hear anything, I swear!" She said as she waved her hand
"Obviously, I set up a seal to make sure no one can hear what we talked about" Naruto replied
"Ah!? You can do that? No wonder I heard nothing!" Fu exclaimed
Naruto chuckled
"I'll be leaving now, see you at Konoha's Chunin exam" Naruto said
"Okay" Fu waved her hand and smiled happily
Naruto didn't directly teleport back, instead, he headed back into the village. He wanted to see the village's view on Fu. He walked around, subtly mentioning Fu when he conversed with other villagers, soon, getting the answer he wanted.
Fu, much like Gaara, was ousted because of their fear towards the tailed beast within. It's rather comical to him honestly.
'The jinchuriki is expected to become the village's greatest weapon, yet the villages don't even bother hiding their hostility, it's as if they don't know the status a jinchuriki should actually hold' Naruto narrowed his gaze
'If danger strikes the village, I assume they'd expect the jinchuriki to fight for them as well'
Human nature is something he understood, as he himself is very selfish in many ways. But this narrow minded selfishness the villagers here have, it was something he can never understand.
"Seems like pulling Fu to Konoha won't be as hard as I imagined" He muttered
If he offered a reward, he could probably convince the elders of the village to willingly pass Fu to Konoha, Shibuki aside.
"I'm in no rush though, I'll see his decision after the Chunin exam" He chuckled faintly
Once his goal has been accomplished, he teleported back to the village. Upon his return, he informed Tsunade about the matter with Fu, which made her lips twitch.
"You...really asked Shibuki for Fu?" She questioned
"Ye~p"
"Hah....no village leader is willing to give up their jinchuriki, especially a small sized village like Takigakure, you basically asked him to give away his village's future"
"But the village does not cherish the jinchurki" Naruto replied
"And you think this village does?" Tsunade replied
"At the very least, I can offer better protection than Takigakure" Naruto retorted
Tsunade tapped the table and thought for a bit
"If you can convince him....I will fully support you on this matter" She said as a smirk grew on her face
So what if Konoha also had some prejudice? She just needs to smash that prejudice with her fist! For Konoha to hold two jinchurikis, it will shake the balance between the villages, and set their future potential at a higher standard.
"Knew I could count on ya, sis" Naruto chuckled
"Right back at you" Tsunade responded
Her eyes flashed with slyness, one that Naruto shared as the two laughed
Once this matter was over, Naruto returned home. When he teleported back, he heard the sound of clashing. In the back yard, he saw ice fly around, as a monstrous figure bashed through it all.
A Doki, summoned by Tayuya, swung its massive weapon, breaking the ice that formed around, while Tayuya stood on its shoulder with the flute placed against her lips.
As it broke the ice, a white figure flashed by its legs, forming ice with every step taken. The floor was frozen solid, and the temperature dropped, even in the house.
"Haku's physique has improved quite a bit over the year, huh?" He muttered
Haku is now much more adept in close combats compared to before. Below his feet were sharp blades that he used to slide over the ice he formed on the ground, maneuvering around the Doki with ease as he created more ice.
*Swoosh*
He slid down and slashed the Doki with the sharp ice blade below his feet as he slid past, his expression was casual, even wearing a faint smile as he slid around.
*Fwee*
Tayuya blew her flute gently, and the ground rumbled. The ice on the ground began to crack, and a second Doki crawled out from below, breaking apart the frozen ground completely.
Haku jumped up and created ice mirrors around that he slid over in the air, using each mirror as a small platform to jump off and move around more freely than when he was on the ground.
'He's adapting well, then I can keep pushing it' Tayuya activated her curse mark to the first phase, causing the patterns to crawl over her skin.
*Bang*
The sound waves became more chaotic, causing cracks to form in all the surrounding ice mirrors that Haku created. With every wave, the cracks widened, forcing Haku to create new ones frequently.
Being caught in this situation, Haku found himself having trouble retaliating against Tayuya, who would gradually win the war of attrition.
Staying on the ground meant being overwhelmed by the Doki, and soaring in the air with his ice meant he depletes his chakra much faster.
'All or nothing'
Haku summoned a massive wave of ice, thick enough to endure the sound waves and even resist the attacks of the Dokis. It rushed towards Tayuya who faced it with a calm expression, her face unchanged.
*Bang*
The wave of ice swept past her completely, freezing the two Doki in place. Haku panted as he stared at the wave he created, but his eyes didn't carry much hope as he saw cracks form.
He hardly had time to rejoice when his attack landed, as the cracks became extremely apparent in mere moments of it landing.
*Whoosh*
Something pierced through the ice cleanly, an orange coloured claw, formed purely from chakra.
*Crack*
*Bang*
Followed by that, the ice wave crumbled, and Tayuya stood there, unfazed by the attack. She had a coating of orange chakra around her, identical to Naruto's one tailed form.
Tayuya retracted the chakra and revealed a smile
"Too bad, it's still my win" She said casually as she called back her Dokis as well.
Haku sighed
"Whatever experiment Naruto is running on you, I seriously want to take part as well" He said helplessly
"Hahaha, suck sh*t" Tayuya laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him
Haku scoffed and turned away
"What? Can't take a loss? This isn't your first time losing to me, nor will it be the last" Tayuya said with a smug smile on her face.
Naruto witnessed this and felt rather satisfied. Tayuya, as well as Kimimaro, can now both utilise Kurama's chakra, with Tayuya being more proficient as she is constantly combatting against Haku and Hinata.
Kimimaro, though frail, began to recover slowly under the effects of the tailed beast's chakra, allowing him to exert nearly his peak strength.
"Both of them has heavy yin chakra, lucky for them, it balances out somewhat with Kurama's yang half" He muttered
The reason why he picked these two back then were because they were both especially high in yin chakra. And at the moment, he only has half of Kurama's chakra, being purely yang.
"Once Orochimaru helps me retrieve my father's soul, I should be able to extract the yin half of Kurama from him and complete you" Naruto said
[I await the day] Kurama chuckled
Naruto smiled
"I wonder....when will the bomb I planted go off, hm?" Naruto suddenly muttered out of nowhere
[Where did that come from??? Were we not talking about my other half?]
"Yeah, well, talking about you reminded me of beast bombs, and what are beast bombs? They're bombs, so now I'm thinking of the bombs I planted around the house of that snotty kid who threw an egg at me when I was sleeping" Naruto chuckled
[....]
*Bang*
They heard a distant explosion
"Well, that answers my question" Naruto laughed
[That won't kill, will it?]
"Hahaha, not at all, it emits an insanely bright light that leaves people stunned for a bit" Naruto smiled innocently
[You said the same about the last one as well, and it left the poor man in the hospital for days]
"Yeah, a few days, a bit, same thing honestly" Naruto replied
[....]
Naruto laughed again. In the village, though many came around to seeing him as a decent person, he still had a rather notorious name in Konoha. Occasional pranks due to his pettiness left many on their edge, wondering if they had accidentally provoked this demonic brat.
Of course, it is only if they somehow offended him, he'd leave either bombs that flash people, or poison bombs that leaves them itchy for days. To make matters worse, he makes it so the bombs goes off days after the offence, not taking revenge immediately.
His pettiness is known by all, thus, gaining him the title, the petty little sh*t of Konoha.
"Maybe I should come up with better bombs, maybe one filled with laughing gas, make them laugh for days on end" Naruto smiled
Of course, not long after, he was called over by Tsunade and got an absolute earful. It really left her with a headache. One moment, she can be laughing with him, next moment, he got slammed into the ground by her....
"Why are you causing trouble left and right?" She sighed after delivering his punishment
"They started it"
"The kid threw an egg at you, it didn't even hit"
"The attempt was there" Naruto replied shamelessly
"....whatever, the other villages are arriving one by one, I don't want you causing another scene like this during this time, got it?"
"Yes sis~"
Tsunade sighed
"I'm starting to think I've been scammed into becoming Hokage by you, with how you're acting, I wouldn't be surprised if you were coordinating with Orochimaru back then to put on an act" She muttered in frustration as she eyed the pile of paperwork that seems to only increase, but never decrease.
Naruto waved his hand and laughed
"Hah, me, working with him? With how petty I am, aren't you glad I'm not scourging the world for him to seek revenge?" Naruto said with a grin
"True, thankfully, you have a good head on your shoulders and know when to stop"
"Hahaha"
[Twofaced f**k] Kurama cursed
Naruto's eyes curved into a crescent shape, and didn't refute what Kurama said. After all, he is indeed working with Orochimaru.
-Days later-
The other villages sent their teams over, though Naruto was only paying attention to one group, which was Fu's group.
Naruto sat at the top of the village wall and looked down at the various groups that entered. He glanced around to see if there are any groups worth paying attention to, and possibly bribe-ahem, invite them to the village.
But after sitting there all day, he hadn't seen any others that really caught his attention.
"Hah, and I have to oversee the next two exams after Shiki's? They all look so weak, can't compare to the previous Chunin exam" Naruto muttered
Last exam, there were some decent ones, though most were killed or eliminated early on by Gaara. Not to mention Gaara's team back then, all three were note worthy individuals.
Now, however...
[Your standards are a little high, no?]
"It's not high at all, just don't die to a mini beast bomb and I'll consider them good" Naruto replied
[....] In short, none of them were good....
"Huh?" Kurama suddenly saw Naruto furrow his brows
[Got someone who caught your eyes?]
"Uh...ahem, maybe? I mean, I could be mistaken...okay I'm dropping the suspense, I think Orochimaru is back" Naruto's lips twitched as he watched a small group walk in boldly with the others.
Orochimaru had killed another group, and replaced them with the other two members of the sound four...
[Now that you mention it, his chakra does seem familiar] Kurama nodded
"Yeah, not just familiar, the b*stard isn't even hiding his snake eyes, wait, no, it's slowly changing, huh, now, his chakra is hidden completely, like a normal kid?" Naruto was stunned
[I believe that's his way of saying, I know you're watching] Kurama said
"...damn, is he going to attack the village again!?" Naruto gasped
Orochimaru's current appearance was that of a young woman with pale skin, not as pale as his own, but still quite pale.
'Does he have a kink for dressing up as chicks or something? I swear he did the same during the last exam as well....wait, why did he even get angry that I turned him into a woman then?' Naruto thought as his brows furrowed
[Kid, the difference is he's doing this with the purpose of infiltration, you did it for fun]
'Bah, I did it fora purpose as well, and the purpose was for fun' Naruto retorted
[Th-That-....I'm not even going to begin with this] Kurama sighed in resignation
As Naruto observed, he noticed that a small white snake slithered down from Orochimaru's arm, and crept away towards the wall. He jumped down, knowing it was probably for him, so he arrived at where the small snake had hid, and scooped it up when he found it.
The snake's tongue flicked at him as it opened its mouth
"Weren't expecting me?" Orochimaru's voice came through
"Nope, not at all" Naruto replied
He jumped back onto the wall to avoid people nearby from hearing
"You're here to attack the village?" Naruto asked
"And if I was?" Orochimaru chuckled
Naruto's eyes furrowed
"Our cooperation only extends to personal gains outside of overall interests, once you attack the village, we will be considered enemies during that period" Naruto replied
His voice had a hint of threat, telling Orochimaru that he won't hesitate to go for the kill if they truly became enemies, no matter their past relations.
Orochimaru let out another chuckle, as if he had expected this
"Thankfully, I'm here with a different purpose" The snake's mouth curved upwards
'Creepy' Naruto thought
"Oh? Then I'm at ease, I thought I'd have to fight you, turn you into a woman, and thoroughly humiliate you by spreading recordings of your flustered expression for all to see" Naruto smiled
"...you're as annoying to talk to as always" Orochimaru said
"Glad you realised it"
The snake shook its head
"I've got intel that there is a jinchuriki amongst this batch of genins, so I came to find it and use it for my future experiments" He replied
Naruto paused for a moment
"That...wouldn't happen to be Fu, from Takigakure, could it?" Naruto asked as his gaze narrowed once more
"You know her?"
"Hah, man, just when I am trying to forcibly recruit someone to be my personal beast bomb provid-ahem, to join Konoha" Naruto said
"You have your eyes on her as well eh? Hahaha, I guess it is to be expected"
Naruto sighed
"So, how will this work out then? You want to use her for experiments, and I want her to join Konoha, now this is troubling" Naruto shook his head and said, but Orochimaru could tell from Naruto's gaze that he didn't really mean it.
He acted as if he was having trouble what he should do, and Orochimaru knew he was only feigning it.
He had not accounted that Naruto would have gotten acquainted with Fu, who had been in Takigakure all her life, but it didn't cause his desire to waver at all. In fact, a rather playful idea came to his mind.
"How about we play a game" He asked
Naruto lifted a brow, but a twisted smile slowly grew on his face
"Oh, a game you say?"
"Fufufu, the rules are simple, during this exam, I will do whatever I can to capture Fu, in return, you will do whatever you can to protect her, this will involve only the two of us, no outside force, if you wish, I can even ask my subordinates to withdraw" Orochimaru crackled
Naruto listened with a wide smile
"Hah, interesting, but if kidnapping is your goal, all I need to do is block your exit" Naruto said coldly
"You can try, but to capture her, I have come prepared" Orochimaru responded confidently
Naruto smiled, he then threw the snake to the ground
"I'll play your game, but tell me, will you begin operation during the first exam, or the second?"
"Why do I need to tell you? Our game has begun" The snake hissed as it returned to Orochimaru
Naruto smirked
"Indeed it has"
A faint mark shone on the back of the snake, before promptly disappearing. He didn't know if Orochimaru realised or not, but the moment he heard about the rules, he already planted a flying raijin mark on it.
An improved one at that. He realised that the marks were too easily found by skilled shinobis if they attempt to find it, and Sasori was the best example. As a result, he spent months creating a new mark that is almost impossible to be found.
As for whether it would work on someone like Orochimaru, this game will give him the results.
Naruto appeared above the buildings and looked down. He saw Orochimaru down there, who returned with a smirk before walking away. Naruto also saw him pick up the snake, and examine it closely.
After a bit, he frowned, revealing a trace of uncertainty. Naruto watched closely, and saw him destroy the snake without much hesitation.
[Guess he found out about the mark] Kurama laughed
[It seems your mark isn't as secretive as you hoped for] His laughter rang in Naruto's head, but he soon realised that Naruto was still smiling.
"No, he didn't find it, he destroyed it precisely because he doesn't know if there is a mark or not" Naruto replied
[Huh? The hell is that supposed to mean? Would he have kept it if he found a mark?]
"He would have, because he is a smart man, by keeping the mark, he can lay a trap for me, perhaps trapping me while he captures Fu, but since he doesn't know, he dares not keep uncertain factors around himself" Naruto replied
[...you humans and your mind games] Kurama scoffed and went silent after that
Naruto laughed
He took notice of Fu, who just entered the village, and jumped down to greet her.
"Yo, you made it" Naruto appeared before her and smiled
"Ah! Hi bestie" Fu waved
"Huh? When'd I become your bestie? I thought that'd be Chomei" Naruto asked
"Chomei is also my bestie, hehehe" Fu grinned
Her group members gave Naruto a wary look, then turned away quickly when he noticed their gaze. Naruto ignored them, he wasn't too interested in them anyway.
"Bestie huh? Well, now I feel bad, cause I was hoping to use you in an experiment" Naruto laughed
"Ah? An experiment? Is it dangerous? If not, I don't mind, what is it? Is it fun? Would it involved Chomei? Ooh, would I get superpowers or something? How about kekkei genkai? Would I get those?" She bombarded him with questions, a completely unexpected response.
"Uh, actually, I was going to ask you if I can tear off your wings and use it as materials for my puppet, and whether those wings can grow back" Naruto replied
"Wow you're honest!" Fu laughed
"And your answer?" Naruto asked
"Nope!" Fu replied
"To be expected, what if I bribe you with food?" Naruto asked
"Hahaha, I'm not that stupid" Fu continued to laugh
Naruto laughed with her
"Right, so can your wings regrow?" He asked
"Yep" She nodded
"So can I take a set?"
"Still no" She replied
"What'll I need to do to get a set?" Naruto rubbed his chin and asked
"One of Kurama's tail" Fu replied with a wink
Naruto fell silent
'So....Kurama, can your tail regr-'
[F**K OFF!]
"He said no" Naruto sighed
"You actually asked!? Hahahaha!" Fu held her stomach and laughed, she had been laughing so much her stomach started to cramp.
"Hahahaha, ouch, hahahaha, ah, it hurts to laugh" She wiped a drop of tear from the side of her eyes due to all her laughing.
Naruto shrugged
"Oh well, plan B then, Fu, can you have Chomei fill these tiny metal orbs with the beast bomb please?" Naruto held a small golden ball in his hand and asked.
"Ah? You can store beast bombs in this?" Fu asked as she grabbed it
"Ye~p, fill up a hundred of these for me please"
"Nope~" Fu made an X with her arms and said
"Worth a shot" Naruto smiled as he took it back
"Can't you fill it yourself?"
"I did fill a few, then Kurama roared that he refused to work, and went on strike" Naruto sighed
He made many of such containers with Orochimaru, but half way through filling them all, Kurama refused to make more as it was too bothersome. For goodness' sake, Naruto created thousands of those things over the year! Of course he'd reject filling them all up!
"Bwahahaha!"
As Fu laughed, Naruto heard a light chuckle
"I spy with my little eyes, a blonde hooligan cheating on my bestie~" Sakura covered her mouth with one hand as she pointed at him with the other
"Gasp! It's not what it looks like!" Naruto feigned shock as he let out an exaggerated gasp
Sakura played along
"Oh my, talking so happily with such a cutie, and you say it's not what it looks like? Could it be, a secret affair?"
"No! I'm just friends with him" Fu exclaimed, not realising the two were messing around
Naruto and Sakura both gave each other a sly grin
"Yeah! We're just friends, nothing more" Naruto said with an honest expression, a little too honest looking in fact, so much that it looks guilty.
Sakura gave them a pitiable look
"My, my, Ino-chan will be so sad~ Naruto you heart breaker, I need to tell Ino-chan about this~" She said as she covered her mouth with her hands, hiding the little smile that was rising
"No, don't!" Fu shouted, her face became red as she became flustered, not knowing what to do
She turned to Naruto, who had an exaggerated look of shock on his face, as if he was out of a shonen romance manga, and let out a gasp.
"No~, anything but that! I'll do whatever you want" He said
"Really now?" Sakura turned around and grinned
"Yes"
"Then...oh right, sensei asked me to take you to him" Sakura dropped the act and remembered why she was here.
"Huh? Oh, sure" Naruto walked over casually
?????
Fu was stunned, she stared at them, looking at both as she switched around. What? Huh? What just happened? Weren't they talking about Naruto 'cheating' earlier? Wasn't Sakura saying Fu was the one Naruto was having a secret affair with?
What is happening!? Why are they so casual with each other now? WHY!?
[That poor naive child] Kurama sighed as he witnessed Fu break down in confusion
She looked so clueless that steam started to rise from her head
'Ah, she short circuited' Naruto and Sakura thought