Jinchuriki

"Hmph, nothing but a false peace." Kankuro sounded somewhat disdainful.

Gaara, walking at the very front, remained expressionless.

Just as the three of them passed an intersection, three children came rushing over in a playful scramble, the leader being none other than Konohamaru.

The Sarutobi Clan had kept a much lower profile lately, but as the grandson of the Third Hokage, everyone still looked after him, which resulted in his personality remaining much like it was in the original story.

"Ouch." Not paying attention, Konohamaru bumped right into Kankuro.

"You damn brat, are you blind?"

Kankuro's eyes narrowed instantly, a murderous aura leaking from his body.

Konohamaru was terrified on the spot.

The two friends behind him were also frightened, sitting on the ground and too scared to speak.

"Speak up, brat! Are you looking to die?"

Kankuro continued to intimidate him. Of course, he wasn't truly stupid; he wouldn't dare kill anyone in Konoha. It was just that seeing this child's carefree appearance reminded him of his own childhood, putting him in a foul mood, so he decided to scare the kid.

At the same moment, on another path, Naruto Uzumaki, who was walking along, suddenly received a message from the Nine-Tails.

"Brat, I sense the aura of that raccoon dog."

The Nine-Tails, who hadn't spoken in a long time, suddenly piped up, giving Naruto a start.

Ever since it had learned of Naruto Uzumaki's memories, the Nine-Tails had begun to cultivate proactively, wanting to become stronger.

The other Tailed Beast might not know how to cultivate, but the Nine-Tails could actively absorb natural chakra to grow stronger.

With Naruto Uzumaki's memories, the Nine-Tails had started cultivating so diligently that it hadn't spoken in so long that Naruto had almost forgotten there was a fox inside him.

"You mean the One-Tail, Shukaku?"

Naruto Uzumaki was stunned for a moment. He had assumed that since the Third Hokage was already dead, the Konoha Crush Plan would never happen.

But hearing the Nine-Tails now, it seemed Gaara had already arrived.

This made Naruto Uzumaki frown immediately.

"Is the Land of Wind trying to stir up trouble again?"

For a moment, Naruto Uzumaki was uncertain. The Fourth Kazekage didn't seem like a pushover.

In the original story, he had wanted to use this exam to cause trouble before being killed by Orochimaru.

With no interference from Orochimaru this time, it was unclear how things would develop.

"Not bad. Naruto, do you want to snatch some of his chakra?" The Nine-Tails' eyes lit up.

Naruto Uzumaki hesitated for a moment.

"Let's see how the situation plays out first."

"Fine, he's over there."

The Nine-Tails pointed out a direction for Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto Uzumaki suddenly changed course.

"Let's go, let's see an interesting person."

Hinata didn't ask questions, simply following Naruto Uzumaki toward the direction of the One-Tail.

At the same time, the commotion on Gaara's side caught the attention of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Due to the butterfly effect, the Uchiha Clan police force had not been disbanded; instead, members of their clan had joined it.

Because of the exams, the Konoha Military Police Force had already stepped up patrols, and as soon as there was a disturbance here, two officers arrived on the scene.

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

The two who arrived were young men, one of whom was a member of the Hyuga family.

"Is this Konoha's attitude? This brat bumped into me first without even an apology. What, are you trying to use your status to pressure me?" Kankuro was even more annoyed.

By the time Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata arrived, the two sides were in a standoff.

The two from the Konoha Military Police Force were just young men, which was why Kankuro dared to be so aggressive, especially since Gaara hadn't said anything yet.

Once Naruto Uzumaki arrived, his gaze immediately locked onto Gaara, who stood with his arms crossed.

For some reason, Gaara was also drawn to Naruto Uzumaki and looked over.

Naruto Uzumaki no longer had a seal inside him, so humans might not be able to perceive anything, but Shukaku, inside Gaara, instantly sensed the Nine-Tails.

"Yo-yo. Isn't this our mighty Nine-Tails? How did you end up sealed inside a human body too?"

A mocking voice echoed in Naruto Uzumaki's mind.

"Heh, you stinking raccoon dog. I'm just finding a place to stay, unlike you, who got shoved into a dog kennel." The Nine-Tails immediately bared its fangs in a retort.

Of course, it had the right to mock.

Sure enough, when it came to trash talk, the raccoon dog was no match for the Nine-Tails. It flew into a rage instantly, its shrill voice beginning to spew insults.

"Heh, you've got fewer tails and less power, and yet you're so useless that you got locked in a cage. You're a disgrace to the Tailed Beast." Hearing that gleeful voice, the Nine-Tails mocked even harder.

Uzumaki Naruto listened to the two Tailed Beast bickering, feeling somewhat speechless.

"You stinking fox, if you've got the guts, come out and fight!"

Shukaku was frantic with rage, and consequently, Gaara's emotions began to spiral into instability.

The gourd on his back began to tremble.

A murderous aura radiated from his entire body involuntarily.

Kankuro, who had been arguing with someone, shuddered and immediately retreated.

"Gaara, calm down."

On the other side, the two others also sensed the danger and instinctively backed away, growing vigilant.

Only then did Uzumaki Naruto's gaze fall upon Gaara's face.

His body vanished in an instant, reappearing beside Gaara, one palm resting firmly on his shoulder.

"Young man, calm down. This is Konohagakure; you can't just go around causing trouble."

Shukaku, who had been acting so fiercely, suddenly went silent. While the others felt nothing, Shukaku sensed danger.

At the same time, the volatile chakra within Gaara was suppressed by Uzumaki Naruto.

"So fast."

"So strong."

Kankuro and Temari were shocked. They knew better than anyone just how strong Gaara was; that someone could suppress him while appearing so relaxed left them stunned.

"Sandstorm Gaara, what is your name?"

A cold voice rang out.

Uzumaki Naruto released his hand and stepped back a few paces.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He turned and walked away after speaking.

"I will remember you."

Gaara's voice dripped with icy killing intent.

Uzumaki Naruto didn't care in the slightest.

He led Hinata away, vanishing from the scene.

"Let him go, we're leaving," Gaara said coldly before turning to depart.

Kankuro didn't dare let out a peep, obediently following behind.

"So cool! Who was that Uzumaki Naruto?" Only then did the three little ones snap back to reality.

Moegi and Udon stared at the direction where Uzumaki Naruto had disappeared with sparkling eyes.

"Hmph, he's just a jerk." Konohamaru snorted. He didn't care at all about Uzumaki Naruto saving them; instead, he still remembered that Uzumaki Naruto was the murderer who killed his grandfather.

As for this brat, Uzumaki Naruto had long since forgotten him. More importantly, the two had never actually met.

"Naruto, were those ninjas from Sunagakure?"

"That's right, and they are the children of the Kazekage."

"Do you know them, Naruto?"

Hinata was somewhat surprised.

"I don't. That guy is a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so I was just a bit interested."

Uzumaki Naruto explained. Of course, the main reason was that the two were too similar—both were the foolish sons of village leaders, and both had become Jinchuriki. The only difference was that Uzumaki Naruto's father was dead. If their positions were swapped, even Uzumaki Naruto couldn't be sure if he would have wiped out Sunagakure.

"Jinchuriki?"

It was the first time Hinata had heard this term.

Uzumaki Naruto didn't hide it and explained to her what a Jinchuriki was.

The young girl wasn't stupid; she understood instantly and looked at Uzumaki Naruto.

"That's right, I am also a Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Uzumaki Naruto then clarified.

Perhaps to others, being a Jinchuriki was synonymous with misfortune and disaster, but to Uzumaki Naruto, being a Jinchuriki was nothing more than a cheat code.

As for social interaction, for a modern person, detaching from society didn't make him feel lonely at all.

Powerful people all possess a lonely heart; for Uzumaki Naruto, he only believed in power.