Retainers, Don't Mess With Me!

[Setting Change: 'Family' changed to 'Retainers']

"Captain, go check what's going on."

The captain began to walk slowly towards the rear, counting people one by one.

Naruto was a little anxious. He thought quickly and imitated the tone of the host from earlier that day, shouting, "Retainers, I'm a newcomer who just joined."

The captain was built like a bear, with a fierce dragon tattooed on his chest.

His eyes held a scrutinizing gaze. He coughed and said, "You're new? Why weren't you speaking earlier?"

Naruto also sized up the captain. His way of speaking didn't sound like it was from the Land of Waves, but more like one of Gato's confidants.

His eyes darted around, and he said, "Retainers, I was so awestruck by the team's spirit that I followed along without realizing it. Didn't Chief Kakashi say we should unite everyone who can be united?"

The captain remained silent, walking forward and beginning to check Naruto's pockets.

He patted Naruto down from head to toe. After confirming there were no dangerous items, he asked, "What is Mr. Gato's philosophy?"

Naruto was stumped. For days, he had only been training and scouting. Who knew what Gato's philosophy was?

'Develop subordinates? Bring spring to the Land of Waves?'

Making something up would likely backfire.

No, he had to take control of the conversation.

Naruto deliberately let a hint of disappointment show in his eyes: "Retainers, is this how you test your cadres?"

The captain frowned.

Naruto slowly raised his voice: "I just experienced the retainers' morning meeting today. They all say retainers are closer than family, that you can trust them with your back. And now you're going to doubt a retainer's loyalty?"

Everyone around looked over, and many began to whisper.

The captain clearly felt embarrassed. "Keep your voice down. Don't say anything that harms unity."

"You're the one harming unity now!" Naruto turned to the crowd: "Retainers, this retainer suspects I'm an enemy. Heaven and earth are my witness, I've eaten the Chief's food for days, how could I possibly be an enemy?!"

An old man next to Naruto said, "That's right, retainer. If we join this family, we can eat and stay warm. There's no need to be so sensitive."

"Yeah, yeah."

The captain was speechless. "Ah, it's like this, retainers. Lately, a group of spies has infiltrated the Land of Waves..."

"Spies? I'm a spy!" Naruto shouted, his expression unusually angry, his face contorting slightly.

Even though he was a 'spy'.

"Shh, keep it down," the captain quickly pulled Naruto aside. "Ahem, you go inside first and get registered."

Another auntie from the crowd comforted him, "Young man, don't get upset. Go inside and register."

"Hmph!" Naruto snorted, finally giving the captain an out.

So you're smart, kid... Wait, I think I am the spy?

The group filed into the gathering place. The captain first took a headcount, then had the retainers collect their nameplates.

Naruto also received one. A small nameplate bore a number: 3021.

'Does this mean three thousand people have fallen...' Naruto thought.

After collecting them, the captain led the retainers to their accommodations. The gathering place was managed militarily, and many collective dormitories had already been built. Each dorm housed dozens of people, enough to make a college student shake their head.

The dorms reeked of all sorts of things. As soon as Naruto entered, he almost passed out from the smell.

He coughed and walked to an unoccupied corner. He created a Shadow Clone to return to the dormitory, while his main body hid in the shadows, waiting.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, and someone shouted, "Report! There's a fire on the west side of the gathering place!"

"Get a few teams of retainers with wet towels and water to go put it out!"

"Damn it! How can there be a fire in a humid place like the Land of Waves?"

Rustle, rustle...

Footsteps and shouts continued unabated.

A moment later, when Naruto's main body saw fewer people patrolling, he boldly emerged and began to move around.

This fire was naturally set by Sakura and Sasuke, with the goal of buying time for Naruto.

Naruto summoned several more Shadow Clones and began splitting up.

"The granary, the granary..." Naruto's main body murmured softly.

At this point, the trio's plan was clear.

They intended to dismantle the gathering place without resorting to violence. After all, the vast majority of the people were locals from the Land of Waves. Harming them would be no different from terrorism; even Satan would ask you for a smoke.

Reverse brainwashing? Not realistic. The trio believed Gato's brainwashing techniques far surpassed theirs.

It was Naruto who finally proposed stealing the granary!

He believed that food was the reason the retainers had gathered so quickly. While the brainwashing itself was powerful, it still took time to subtly change people's views.

Unless they were lunatics willing to abandon everything for a so-called ideal, but Naruto believed there were few such people at the moment.

Soon, one of the clones found the granary to the south. He dispelled the Shadow Clone, and the remaining Narutos began to rush towards it.

He quickly spotted the granary, with two tall guards patrolling the area.

Judging by their clothing, they were likely Gato's direct subordinates.

Naruto didn't charge in rashly; instead, he slipped into his mental space.

"Oi oi oi, Nine-Tails, time to pay rent," Naruto said in his mental space, reaching out towards the giant eyes.

"You're getting more impatient, aren't you? Have I been too nice to you lately, making you forget my terror?" the Nine-Tails' tone held a hint of anger.

"Barking incessantly," Naruto shook his head. "As long as you're still sealed by the Eight Trigrams Seal, you're just a little fox. Hurry up, I have business to attend to."

"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails turned over, ignoring Naruto.

"Yo, is the little guy throwing a tantrum?" Naruto asked with amusement. "How about this: if you pay rent twice more, I'll grant you one reasonable request."

The Nine-Tails remained silent, but its aura clearly changed.

"With your abilities, you can't fulfill my request!"

"Not now, but in the future?" Naruto said calmly.

"You've seen my potential and my methods. Not only that, but I can also use your power. Once I grow stronger, what request will I be unable to fulfill?"

"Or perhaps, you look down on your own power?"

The Nine-Tails didn't respond, but Naruto knew it had taken the bait.

It wasn't a machine; it naturally had its own desires, and Naruto was one of the few who had the opportunity to fulfill them.

What Naruto didn't explicitly mention was that the request the Nine-Tails made had to be 'reasonable.'

Naruto would be the sole judge of that reasonableness.

"Fine, I'll trust you this once." The Nine-Tails' aura stabilized and began to transfer Chakra to Naruto.

Feeling the increasingly refined Chakra, Naruto's consciousness returned to reality.

He realized that he could now perform simple actions in reality while communicating with the Nine-Tails.

It was like being temporarily offline.

Naruto took two steps at once, preparing to knock out the guards.

Just as he was about to succeed, he suddenly saw two dark figures lurking behind the guards.

Naruto focused his gaze and saw they were the old man and woman he had seen at the entrance earlier!

He froze.

Retainers, don't mess with me!