Cloud Village Envoy

Cloud Village Envoy

After returning home, Naruto eagerly opened the gift. Inside was a pair of warm gloves, similar in style to the ones he had obtained through the system before. There was also a note filled with blessings.

Unfortunately, it was already spring, so he no longer needed gloves to keep warm. They would not be of any use for the time being.

Still, this was the first gift he had ever received from someone his own age.

Just then, the Nine-Tails' voice rang out at the worst possible moment, carrying its usual foul mouth. "Brat, what are you grinning stupidly about? Don't tell me you've fallen for that little Byakugan girl?"

Naruto put the gloves into his pocket and snapped back without any courtesy. "Big fox, have you ever been in love? Has a girl ever given you a gift? Stop being jealous."

The Nine-Tails froze for a moment, then put on the air of someone experienced.

"I am a Tailed Beast. I have no gender, so there is no love for me to speak of. But I have lived for thousands of years. What love, hatred, and grudges have I not seen? My experience far exceeds yours."

"If you beg me, I will reluctantly become your mentor and offer you guidance."

Naruto looked utterly distrustful. Unwilling to accept this, the Nine-Tails immediately began listing several little tricks for romance—embracing a beauty under the moon, cradling a girl in one's arms, and so on.

Naruto was left dumbfounded, and the surprise in his gaze toward the Nine-Tails grew.

This guy really had a lot of ideas.

However, as far as he knew, love gurus were usually wizards. Someone like the Nine-Tails was probably close to becoming an archmage, so the experience it taught was completely unreliable.

The Nine-Tails sensed the malice coming from Naruto and slowed its speech.

Being able to sense malice was no good. Naruto looked like he was listening seriously on the surface, but he seemed to be looking down on it inside, radiating faint malice.

But after finally getting a chance to show off, how could the Nine-Tails give up so easily? It could only keep talking.

Half an hour passed before Naruto's impatience became obvious. Only then did the Nine-Tails end its endless lecture on experience and lie back down in the Sealing Space, waiting for Naruto to send it Chakra that evening.

After dinner, Naruto did not bathe or read. Instead, he stood by the window, looking toward Konoha beneath the night and the direction of the Hyuga Compound.

"It's normal for young people to receive gifts. Don't overthink it, don't get too excited, and go to sleep early."

The Nine-Tails' voice rang out again, sounding exactly like an experienced elder.

Naruto shook his head. "It's not because of that. I have a feeling something will happen in the village tonight, so I deliberately took a good position to watch the excitement as soon as possible."

"Watch the excitement?" The Nine-Tails was unimpressed. Could the Masked Man be appearing again tonight?

Naruto explained, "A Cloud Village Envoy delegation came to the village recently. I feel like they have other plans besides signing the peace treaty Shikamaru mentioned. In any case, they definitely won't behave themselves."

"Cloud ninja? They really are a bunch of lunatics. Back then, two leaders called the Gold and Silver Brothers even set their sights on me. But before my strength, they were doomed to fail."

At the mention of the Cloud ninja, the Nine-Tails wore a disdainful expression.

Naruto grinned wickedly and deliberately brought up its sore spot. "If the big fox was so strong, how did it end up being sealed by Konoha?"

The Nine-Tails was no longer the Nine-Tails of old. It snorted coldly. "I was sealed by the First Hokage. Back then, the First Hokage was invincible across the world and could suppress the ninja world with ease. Kumogakure's lot did not even dare to fart."

"Now look at your Konoha. You're even too timid to deal with a few Cloud ninja."

Naruto was about to retort when he noticed several figures leaping along the distant wall. He said to the Nine-Tails, "Stop hurting each other, big fox. The excitement I told you about is here."

The Nine-Tails extended its senses as well, then said in confusion,

"So many ninja have been deployed. Looks like there really is something to watch tonight. But since you already guessed that the Cloud ninja would make a move tonight, why didn't you tell your Third Hokage grandpa?"

"Would that old Third Hokage believe me? Even if I told him, I couldn't change anything. I'd only make him suspicious of me. It's better to honestly watch the excitement and avoid causing trouble."

With that, Naruto took out the chips he had gotten from Choji and began eating.

The Nine-Tails received the chips Naruto fed it. As it sensed the distance, it looked at Naruto thoughtfully.

Naruto said he would not warn anyone, but hadn't he still warned Hinata? This kid had always said one thing and meant another. Who knew who he had inherited that from?

Was he more like Kushina, or more like that annoying Minato Namikaze?

While Naruto and the Nine-Tails watched the excitement in peace, the Anbu responsible for protecting Naruto could not sit still. After noticing activity at the Hyuga Compound, they hesitated over whether to go provide support.

But the mission they were carrying out was to protect Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

After a brief moment of thought, Gekko Hayate made a decision and said to Uzuki Yugao, "Yugao, continue the mission. Lord Hokage and the others will handle this matter."

After speaking, Gekko Hayate coughed several times. His face beneath the animal mask was pale and bloodless.

Uzuki Yugao nodded. Looking at Gekko Hayate with concern, she said, "Hayate, your lung condition has gotten much worse. How about we leave the Anbu together?"

Gekko Hayate shook his head. "If we stay another two or three years, we can become Jonin. It's far too difficult to become Jonin anywhere else. Only by becoming Jonin can I bring glory to the Hayate Clan."

Uzuki Yugao sighed and was about to say something when she noticed several furtive figures nearby.

Gekko Hayate noticed them too. Frowning, he said, "Aren't those members of the Delegation? Why are they near the Jinchuriki? Could they be planning to make a move on the Jinchuriki?"

Uzuki Yugao guessed, "Hard to say, but we need to keep a close eye on them. We can't let anything go wrong."

Gekko Hayate said between coughs, "Keep watching them. I'll find a way to notify Squad Leader Kakashi. At a time like this, Squad Leader Kakashi can't slack off."

While Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate monitored the Cloud ninja, the Cloud ninja were monitoring them as well.

One Cloud ninja said to the Squad Leader, "Captain, are we really going to make a move on the Jinchuriki? I didn't expect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to be treated as a Demon Fox by Konoha's villagers and shunned everywhere."

The Squad Leader gave his young subordinate a deep look. He wanted to say that Kumogakure was actually the same. Killer B was treated as Gyuki, and Jinchuriki were discriminated against wherever they went.

But the task at hand was more important. He quickly explained, "Making a move on the Jinchuriki means starting a war. The village has no intention of continuing the war. Our mission is to tie down part of Konoha's Anbu and buy time for the leader to obtain the Byakugan."

"What a pity. If we could abduct the Jinchuriki, the village would become even stronger."

After hearing the Squad Leader's words, the Cloud ninja still felt it was a pity.

If they could abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, it would be a good thing both for the Jinchuriki himself and for Kumogakure.

Although Kumogakure also discriminated against and feared Jinchuriki, it believed even more firmly in the truth that strength ruled all. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would definitely receive enough attention and resources in Kumogakure.