This Jinchuriki Seemed to Have No Shame

"What's up? Organizing data again?" Naruto asked. "Did you bring all your ninja tools?"

"I brought everything." Sakura nodded in response. "No, it's just a small favor."

"Oh, okay, we'll see later. Is it closer to go in the other direction?" He naturally pointed in another direction; the village was a circle, and that was a straight line.

However, it requires climbing over other people's rooftops, which makes it easy to be caught by the Anbu.

Under normal circumstances, aside from the Anbu, no ninja would casually travel across rooftops. Genin Chunin their image and wouldn't dare to act like monkeys jumping around in Konohagakure.

Furthermore, the older one gets, the more afraid they are of being talked about.

The students at the Ninja Academy were also thin-skinned; only a few troublemakers like Konohamaru still imitated Naruto's original pranks, liking to pass by other people's rooftops.

Naruto didn't care; he could go wherever he wanted, since he never considered becoming Hokage and just wanted to do whatever made him comfortable. His carefree personality once gave Tsunade a lot of headaches; he was the kind of person who was hopeless and couldn't be helped.

Sakura's expression froze. "I'm not leaving!"

Going onto someone else's roof for no reason is incredibly embarrassing if you get caught.

"But this route is closer."

Naruto looked confused, but he couldn't resist Sakura's insistence and was forcibly dragged away. By the time the two of them arrived at the village entrance, the rest of the people had already arrived.

"You guys are so slow," Shikamaru said, his eyes wide and lifeless.

"We're here now, aren't we?" Naruto said shamelessly. "I saw an old lady crossing the street on the way, so..."

"Let's go!" Shikamaru looked completely unconvinced, but he couldn't do anything about Naruto. He sighed, waved his hand, and directed everyone to hurry on their way.

People grow up, Shikamaru is not just wearing a Chunin green vest compared to the others present; he carries the lives of everyone on his shoulders.

Even someone with such a lazy and unrestrained personality can become serious and earnest when suddenly burdened with responsibility, and start thinking and acting like an adult.

After leaving Konohagakure, the group fell silent, as the A-rank Mission. Tentatively A-rank meant there was a possibility it could escalate to S-rank.

The highest-ranking mission these people have ever carried out is only A-rank. The only team present with S-rank mission experience is Team Seven, after all, they are Genin team that chased down Shukaku of the Sand.

Eleven people launched a raid, with Shino, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata leading the way, as the Team Eight was skilled in reconnaissance. Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten provided flank protection for the Team Eight and cleared a path through the jungle.

Team 10, consisting of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, whose primary role is to disrupt and control the enemy formation, is positioned at the core. Team Seven, the main offensive force, brings up the rear, while Naruto and Sakura are at the very back of the formation.

If Sasuke hadn't defected, Team Seven would probably have been the main offensive force. But with one less person, if a real fight broke out, Naruto wouldn't be able to protect the others.

So, he brought the Nine-Tails with him.

The current situation is that if a fight breaks out, Nine-Tails) won't be able to take care of everyone.

Losing Sasuke but gaining Nine-Tails) means we can't easily take action, but it provides an extra layer of protection. All things considered, it's still a worthwhile trade-off.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked Shikamaru lazily.

Shikamaru glanced back at him, his face unusually serious, filled with a deep sense of unease. "Gaara has lost control and killed dozens of villagers. He's currently on the run."

"You're making this up, right?" Naruto paused for a moment, then looked at Shikamaru with surprise and suspicion. "Didn't Gaara change his personality? How could he lose control?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru turned his head and said as he walked, "This is the message the Anbu returned with: some of the higher-ups in Sunagakure are very dissatisfied with Gaara becoming Kazekage."

Naruto wasn't impressed with the so-called higher-ups. He originally thought the Konohagakure higher-ups were idiots, but now it seemed the Sunagakure higher-ups weren't any better.

The Fourth Kazekage was outnumbered and killed by Orochimaru. The Sand leadership definitely had their own ideas about the Kazekage position, and they certainly weren't keen on Gaara madman, inheriting it.

"Any more detailed information?" he asked.

"This time we need to cross the border of the Land of Fire to pick up the three siblings. The Sand leadership has already dispatched ninjas to pursue them. The Lord Hokage's intention is for Konohagakure to temporarily ensure their safety," Shikamaru said.

"That's a private matter for Sand, isn't it? What does it have to do with Konohagakure?" Naruto asked.

"Originally, it wouldn't have mattered. Konohagakure wouldn't interfere in Sand's internal affairs, but..." Shikamaru coughed slightly, then suddenly laughed, as if he had gained some advantage.

"Lady Tsunade said that Sunagakure and Konoha have signed an alliance agreement. In addition, Sunagakure's eldest princess, representing the opinions of the vast majority of the high-ranking officials, has also signed an agreement with Konoha authorizing the joint protection of the tailed beast Jinchuriki."

"Simply put, if Gaara's life is threatened, Konohagakure can cross the border of the Land of Fire to take Gaara away and temporarily protect him."

"So many agreements signed?"

"Yes, it's quite thick, probably over a hundred pages." Shikamaru nodded.

This time, it was Naruto's turn to be dumbfounded. No wonder Konohagakure had always been so concerned about Sunagakure. It turned out that after Konoha Crush, Temari stayed behind and signed so many agreements with Konohagakure.

They probably anticipated that Sand would find a scapegoat for this foolish operation, and that they might transfer their anger onto Gaara.

Gaara's situation is somewhat similar to Naruto's; if he doesn't become Kazekage, his future will be very difficult. The future Kazekage will naturally treat the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki as weapons, to be manipulated at will.

Like a toy placed on a table, he is bound by the affection of his companions, or Gaara is threatened with the interests of Temari and Kankuro to make various compromises.

Naruto did remember the time when Temari signed the agreement. He originally thought that Temari and Shizune had just signed some insignificant documents, since even Tsunade wasn't present.

But now that I think about it, it doesn't really matter whether Tsunade is there or not. Shizune is Tsunade's representative anyway. It's just a matter of making a brief appearance and stamping her name.

As for what the Sand thinks, they'll have to deal with Konohagakure for a while before they can even discuss those hundreds of pages of agreements. And in that time, there's enough to protect Gaara.

By the time the negotiations were resolved, Gaara's crisis would be mostly over. That's the beauty of pre-emptive negotiation; this kind of seasoned strategist's approach is definitely not Temari her small brain, could have come up with.

"Killing dozens of people is tiring," Naruto suddenly said, making no sense.

"What?" Shikamaru suddenly turned his head to look at him.

He frowned and said, "Shukaku isn't very strong either. If he releases the Tailed Beast Ball, it's not just a few dozen people who will die."

"Whether there's something fishy about this is another matter. Our mission is to meet Gaara and the others," Shikamaru said softly. Perhaps feeling that there were some things he shouldn't say, he opened his mouth but then swallowed it back.

Naruto noticed it but didn't take it to heart. Tailed beast jinchūriki have no rights; they deserve to die.

He's now considered a pseudo-Tailed Beast Jinchuriki; he can extract and use the power of the Tailed Beasts, but he can no longer transform into one. The real Tailed Beast has emerged, hiding inside a fat dog.

In comparison, Gaara's situation is much more tragic. But under the rules of this ninja world, there is no such thing as a peaceful life. Even if Naruto gets rid of his status as a Jinchuriki, he might not be much better off than Gaara.

A sword's meaning never changes simply because it's sheathed; ultimately, the Nine-Tails' Chakra is still controlled by Naruto. From the perspective of those in power, it's no different than if it were still within his body.

He also understood that his situation was similar to that of the prisoners in the Land of Snow. It was a story he had read in a magazine about a prison in a Land of Snow that had no walls. If a prisoner wanted to escape, he had to be prepared to die in the vast snowfield.

A TV station paid prisoners to escape and broadcast the entire escape live. A large group of people went and all died in the snow, but the station's ratings soared. However, one person succeeded. As a result, that person was hailed as a hero, and the path he walked became a sacred one.

People turned their attention to the remaining prisoners, denouncing them as cowards. They'd rather be kept like pigs than fight for freedom!

Freedom is wonderful! Even if it means death! But some people succeed, so maybe they can survive too. Damn it! Why don't they take a chance!

The heroism they care about is the heroism of others; when it's their turn, they fall silent.

Others may not know, but Naruto knows for sure. If he were to defect like Sasuke, he'd probably be caught in less than three days. The main problem is that he currently has nothing to turn to the dark side; he Danzo and the Nine-Tails. As for the injuries his predecessor suffered, what does that have to do with him, Naruto?

He can't just run away like a paranoid idiot, turning himself into a lonely, ferocious beast, donning a cloak and becoming the ancestor of the Shinobi World —oh, that's Obito.

Although he disliked Konohagakure, he still held a Konohagakure position there. With Danzo dead, he could act with impunity, so there was no need to run away now.

He's a normal person, not a madman, so of course he'd choose the option that's most advantageous to him. Even if he can't stay in Konohagakure forever, staying until he's an adult is definitely not a problem.

He'll find a quiet place to settle down, and that will be the daily life of a Celestial King, filled with love and marriage. Peace is so much more interesting; he's not the type to fight and kill Tenten, chasing the meaning of life.

He had it all planned out: lie down, live a wonderful life in the Shinobi World.

Until then, just take it easy and get by. In short, whatever Uchiha Madara, Obito, the Akatsuki Organization, or the Otsutsuki, I'll definitely kill them when I get the chance.

He does have a ruthless side, a ruthlessness devoid of heroism and empathy. Tsunade did mention this ruthlessness once.

When Naruto, it gave Tsunade an unusually familiar feeling; it was the same kind of ruthlessness as Tobirama Senju.

You're so pitiful, I'm so touched, I'll kill you.

You're so innocent, so guilty, I killed you.

What? You're not wrong, the world is wrong? Very well, that makes sense. Dig the pit deeper, kill them and bury them.

Naruto snapped out of his daze.

Looking at the troops rushing ahead, he sighed silently. He was still thinking about how to show off now; if he ran into the Akatsuki Organization or the ruthless Obito later, he might end up running back to Konohagakure in a sorry state.

Like a primary school student who got beaten up by older students, he poured out his grievances to Tsunade. He even exaggerated the incident, hoping to gather a gang of thugs to get revenge.

I'm not a Pervy Sage, you guys go and kill them!