First Steps into Kumogakure

Huge peaks pierce the clouds.

More than a hundred mountains of varying heights are connected by stone bridges, and strangely shaped houses are embedded in the mountains like rings.

Lightning rods are everywhere; every mountain peak has an incredibly sturdy lightning rod at its summit, with long lightning rods stretching across the sky and embedded deep within the mountains.

The central peak is mostly covered by buildings; this is the Raikage Building, the most prominent building in Kumogakure. At the top of the mountain are two tall towers, each topped with a huge lightning rod to deflect lightning strikes and prevent damage to the building and the mountain.

"Amazing! So tall! So strong!"

Overwhelmed by the unusual scenery, Naruto's limited vocabulary was insufficient to express his excitement.

It all boils down to these two or three sentences.

"It looks quite thin from a distance, but I didn't expect it to be so thick up close."

Shuyuan looked up at the lightning rod passing overhead, estimating it to be as thick as his wrist—the thickest lightning rod he had ever seen.

Many buildings in Konoha also have lightning rods, but those lightning rods are only about the thickness of a thumb, and they are nothing compared to the equipment in Kumogakure.

Even Sasuke was leaning on the railing, gazing at the bottomless abyss below, his heart filled with excitement.

This is Kumogakure.

I arrived yesterday afternoon, and after traveling all that way, I was quite tired. So, due to the restrictions imposed by the Minato, I didn't go out and stayed in my room to rest.

This morning, under the guidance of their respective instructors, everyone had half a day to explore the Kumogakure.

"You three, behave yourselves, don't cause any trouble." Shisui strolled over, carrying a box of takoyaki, popping them one by one with a toothpick, then a look of pure enjoyment spread across his face. "Ah! This is really good! Soy sauce takoyaki, not bad at all."

All right!

This was also Shisui's first time visiting Kumogakure.

Generally speaking, one would not enter the headquarters of a non-ally's forces unless acting as an envoy or a spy.

The unusual scenery of Kumogakure not only greatly surprised the children, but also piqued the interest of Jonin like Shisui.

However, the Jonin had strong enough self-control that they did not show any significant abnormality.

"······Coo coo!"

Looking at the takoyaki in Shisui's hand, Naruto's stomach growled involuntarily.

Naruto patted his flattened belly, his eyes darting around. When he saw the squid flag fluttering in the distance, his eyes lit up.

······

"Hey, Shuyuan, where did that idiot go?"

"Huh? Where's Naruto?"

Shuyuan, engrossed in her research on lightning protection wires, reluctantly turned her gaze away, scanned her surroundings, and found no trace of Naruto.

"That idiot... I hadn't heard him chattering for ages, and when I turned around he was gone. Shisui- sensei already told us not to run around."

Sasuke frowned in annoyance, but seeing Shisui- sensei still engrossed in the delicious takoyaki, he suddenly lost his temper.

"Don't panic, let me look for it."

Shuyuan remained calm.

Close your eyes, form a hand Hand Seals, "Mind's Eye of the Kagura."

An invisible and traceless power of perception spread wildly into the distance, and familiar Chakra appeared in the perception, but Naruto's whereabouts were not found.

Huh? Naruto's gone pretty far...

Boom!!!

A surge of Chakra, wild and powerful, vast as the ocean, suddenly appeared in his senses. In particular, the extremely evil and insane aura was very familiar to Shuyuan —he had personally felt it in his own father.

No, strictly speaking, there are subtle differences. They seem to originate from the same source, yet they are clearly distinct.

"Jinchuriki?"

As for Chakra's identity, there's no need to guess; he must be one of the two Jinchuriki of the Cloud Ninja, but it's just unknown which one.

And next to this astonishingly powerful Chakra, they finally found their target.

"How did Naruto end up with Jinchuriki from the Cloud Ninja?"

She muttered to herself, then glanced at Sasuke Shuyuan, silently understanding his meaning.

Without disturbing Shisui- sensei who was enjoying his meal, the two quietly left, with Shuyuan leading the way and Sasuke following closely behind.

"You brat, look what you've done! My clothes!!!"

A conspicuous black soy sauce stain was imprinted on his chest.

A dark-skinned girl with short, spiky red hair grabbed Naruto's collar and shook him violently.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Naruto's head was spinning from being shaken, and he could only speak intermittently.

"Huh? That Forehead Protector... is it from Konoha ninja? Karui, stop!" A beautiful woman with a large bust, blonde hair, fair skin, and a cold demeanor stopped the red-haired girl's wild actions.

Once released, Naruto immediately knelt down under a nearby utility pole and began to vomit.

Naruto is in good physical condition, but the high-altitude environment has thin oxygen, and he hasn't fully adapted yet. Coupled with being shaken violently, he naturally feels very dizzy.

"Eh? So what if he's Konoha ninja? This idiot dirtied my clothes." The red-haired girl looked indignant. "Samui- neechan, these are brand new clothes Dad bought for me!"

"Sorry~! Ugh... that's disgusting."

Naruto covered his mouth and stood up unsteadily.

"Um, I'm sorry, this was my fault, I will take responsibility for making amends."

The incident started when Naruto was wandering around and got lost, accidentally dropped grilled squid on Karui's clothes, and the conflict immediately broke out.

Under the careful guidance of Minato and Kushina, Naruto is a good boy who admits his mistakes and does not shirk responsibility for them.

Naruto pulled out his bulging frog wallet. This time, he had brought all his belongings with him. He had carefully saved up all the rewards he had earned from missions over the past few months.

"Give it to me!"

Karui roughly snatched the frog wallet from him.

"Well! I didn't realize you were so rich. All of this is mine. Part of it is compensation, and the rest is for my emotional distress." The girl weighed the heavy wallet in her hand, a smug smile on her face.

Naruto frowned, looking at his frog wallet, but said nothing. After all, he was the one who was rude first, so paying a price was nothing.

The problem is that I won't have money to buy local products anymore, so it looks like I'll have to ask my dad for some pocket money later.

"Karui-- "

Samui glared at the red-haired girl, his cold gaze making the girl shrink back.

"Oh! I was just kidding..."

The girl pouted, looking displeased.

Just then, a shout rang out.

"Naruto ~!"

Shuyuan and Sasuke appeared on the street and ran over quickly.

"Naruto, you idiot, why are you running around like that?" Sasuke immediately retorted. "Shisui- sensei said not to run around."

"Ah--! I forgot."

······

Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Seeing Naruto's dazed expression, Sasuke's eye twitched. This idiot was truly hopeless. (To be continued)