Jinchūriki

"Hmph. It's nothing but a false peace." Kankuro sounded disdainful.

Gaara, walking at the front, wore an expressionless face.

Just as the three passed an intersection, three children came running over, playing and shouting. The child in the lead was Konohamaru.

The Sarutobi Clan had become much more low-key, but as the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru was still treated with a certain amount of consideration. As a result, his personality was much the same as in the original story.

"Ow!" Konohamaru wasn't paying attention and bumped into Kankuro.

"Damn brat, don't you have eyes?"

Kankuro's eyes narrowed, and a murderous aura rolled off him.

Konohamaru was immediately terrified.

The two friends behind him were frightened too. They sat on the ground, too scared to speak.

"Hey, brat, say something! Are you looking to get yourself killed?"

Kankuro continued to scare him. Of course, he wasn't actually stupid enough to kill someone in Konoha. He had simply seen how carefree the child was and, thinking of his own childhood, had naturally grown irritable. He just wanted to scare him a little.

At the same time, on another street, Naruto was walking when he suddenly received a message from the Nine-Tails.

"Brat, I can sense the raccoon dog's presence."

The Nine-Tails, who hadn't spoken in a long time, suddenly spoke up and startled Naruto.

Ever since learning about Naruto's memories, the Nine-Tails had begun training of its own accord, hoping to grow stronger.

The other Tailed Beasts didn't know how to train, but the Nine-Tails could absorb chakra from nature to strengthen itself.

With Naruto's memories, the Nine-Tails had started training on its own. It had gone so long without speaking that Naruto had nearly forgotten there was a fox inside him.

"You mean the One-Tail, Shukaku?"

Naruto was stunned. He'd thought the Third Hokage had already died, so the Konoha Crush Plan wouldn't happen.

But judging from what the Nine-Tails had said, Gaara had come here after all.

Naruto frowned.

Is the Land of Wind trying to cause trouble again?

For a moment, Naruto wasn't sure. The Fourth Kazekage didn't seem like an easygoing man.

In the original story, he'd wanted to use the Chūnin Exams to stir up trouble, only to be killed by Orochimaru later.

With Orochimaru no longer interfering this time, Naruto didn't know how things would unfold.

"Exactly. Naruto, should we take some of his chakra?" The Nine-Tails' eyes lit up.

Naruto hesitated.

"Let's see what happens first."

"All right. He's over there."

The Nine-Tails pointed Naruto in the right direction.

Naruto suddenly changed course.

"Come on. Let's go see someone interesting."

Hinata didn't ask why. She followed Naruto toward the One-Tail.

Meanwhile, the commotion on Gaara's side had attracted the attention of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Because of the butterfly effect, the Uchiha police force hadn't been disbanded. Instead, members of other clans had joined it.

With the Chūnin Exams underway, the Konoha Military Police Force had already increased its patrols. As soon as a disturbance broke out nearby, two officers arrived.

"Let the child go. Don't cause trouble in Konoha."

The two who arrived were young men. One of them was from the Hyuga Clan.

"So this is Konoha's attitude? This kid bumped into me first, and he hasn't even apologized. What, are you going to use your authority to bully me?" Kankuro grew even more irritated.

By the time Naruto and Hinata arrived, the two sides were facing off.

The two Konoha Military Police Force officers were both young men, which was why Kankuro dared to be so defiant. Besides, Gaara hadn't said anything yet.

As soon as Naruto arrived, his gaze fell on Gaara, who stood with his arms crossed.

For some reason, Gaara was drawn to Naruto as well and looked over at him.

Now that Naruto no longer had a seal inside him, ordinary people might not sense anything. But the Shukaku inside Gaara immediately sensed the Nine-Tails.

"Heh heh. Isn't this our mighty Nine-Tails? How did you end up sealed inside someone, too?"

The mocking voice rang in Naruto's ears.

"Ha! You stinking raccoon dog, I chose to live somewhere. Unlike you, locked up in a doghouse." The Nine-Tails bared its teeth and mocked him right back.

Of course, it had every right to taunt him.

Sure enough, the raccoon dog couldn't compete with the Nine-Tails when it came to trash talk. It flew into a rage, its shrill voice launching into a string of curses.

"Heh. You've got fewer tails and less power, and you're so useless you got locked in a cage. You're an embarrassment to the Tailed Beasts." Hearing that delighted voice, the Nine-Tails taunted him even more.

Naruto was speechless as he listened to the two Tailed Beasts argue.

"Stinking fox, why don't you come out if you've got the guts?"

The One-Tail was beside itself with rage, and Gaara's emotions began to spiral out of control as well.

The gourd on his back started to tremble.

Killing intent spread unconsciously from his body.

Kankuro, who had been arguing with the others, shuddered and immediately backed away.

"Gaara, calm down."

The two officers on the other side sensed the danger too and instinctively retreated, going on guard.

Only then did Naruto turn his attention to Gaara.

He vanished in an instant and reappeared beside Gaara, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid. Calm down. This is Konoha. You can't just cause trouble here."

Shukaku, who had been making a scene, immediately fell silent. The others didn't feel anything, but Shukaku sensed the danger.

At the same time, Naruto suppressed the turbulent chakra inside Gaara.

"So fast!"

"So strong."

Kankuro and Temari were shocked. They knew better than anyone just how strong Gaara was. Seeing someone suppress him so effortlessly left them stunned.

"Gaara of the Sand, what's your name?"

A cold voice rang out.

Naruto took his hand away and stepped back several paces.

"Uzumaki Naruto." With that, he turned and left.

"I'll remember you."

Gaara's voice was cold with murderous intent.

Naruto didn't care in the slightest.

He led Hinata away.

"Let him go. We're leaving," Gaara said coldly, then turned and walked away.

Kankuro didn't dare say a word. He obediently followed behind him.

"So cool! Who's Uzumaki Naruto?" Only then did the three kids come to their senses.

Moegi and Udon gazed in the direction Naruto had disappeared, their eyes shining.

"Hmph. He's just a jerk." Konohamaru snorted. He didn't care in the slightest that Naruto had saved his life; instead, he still remembered Naruto as the one who had killed his grandfather.

As for that little brat, Naruto had forgotten all about him long ago. More importantly, the two of them had never even met.

"Naruto, are they shinobi from Sunagakure?"

"Yeah. And they're the Kazekage's children."

"You know them, Naruto?"

Hinata was surprised.

"No. That guy's a Jinchūriki, so I'm a little interested."

Naruto explained. More than anything, though, the two of them were too alike: both were idiots from the village leader's family, and both had become Jinchūriki. The only way Naruto was better off than that guy was that his own father was dead. If their places had been switched, even Naruto couldn't be sure he wouldn't have destroyed Sunagakure.

"Jinchūriki?"

It was the first time Hinata had heard that term.

Naruto didn't hide anything from her. He explained what a Jinchūriki was.

The girl wasn't stupid. She immediately understood and looked at Naruto.

"That's right. I'm a Jinchūriki too—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."

Naruto went on to explain.

Perhaps other people saw Jinchūriki as symbols of misfortune and disaster, but to Naruto, being a Jinchūriki was nothing more than a cheat.

As for socializing, a modern person could be cut off from society without feeling lonely.

Strong people all had lonely hearts. As far as Naruto was concerned, he only believed in power.