Three days later, the nobles from various nations began to depart one after another.
This year's Chūnin Exams had left them deeply shaken.
"I've understood!" On his way out, the daimyō of the Land of Rain, Nagato, suddenly declared to Naruto.
"Unbreakable, indestructible—yet once broken, it can be rebuilt. If the shinobi world is completely shattered and reshuffled, then and only then will there be no barriers between us. That's when true peace will come." Nagato first muttered this under his breath, but his voice grew louder and louder. Then he bowed deeply to Naruto: "Ancestor, thank you for your teaching."
Naruto: "?"
Actually, that wasn't quite the lesson I wanted to teach you.
But I suppose… that works too.
In less than a month, the news that Danzō had become the new Fifth Hokage of Konoha spread throughout the shinobi world, carried swiftly by those with an agenda.
All five Kage received word of it.
What baffled them was that, at the same time, they had also heard another report—that Sunagakure had betrayed the alliance and attacked Konoha.
Yet not only did both Konoha and Suna completely deny this, they even pushed the blame onto Otogakure, claiming it was all an elaborate scheme to frame the Sand. As a result, the Land of Rice Fields paid a heavy price—Otogakure was erased from existence in the shinobi world.
Now, the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure couldn't be better.
How could it not be?
Both villages were practically under the influence of the same person.
The other three great villages wanted to investigate the truth of the matter, but unfortunately, Konoha had completely shut its borders, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.
This left the three great villages helpless, unable to uncover the "truth."
---
Somewhere within Konoha's forests.
"Hahaha!" A string of bright, bell-like laughter rang out through the woods. The cheerful girl with short turquoise hair could be none other than Fū, the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.
"Fū, aren't you going back to Takigakure?" Naruto asked.
Gaara and Fū had both been rescued by one of Naruto's shadow clones after reverting to their human forms. At that time, Naruto's clones had been scattered across all of Konoha, ready at every spot where ANBU might be lurking.
"The village is boring! Too many rules—do this, don't do that. Here is much more fun. There's a big tanuki, a big kitty, and a big fox!"
Unlike Shukaku, who remained resentful after being controlled by Sharingan genjutsu, Fū and Chōmei didn't mind much. Chōmei was simply good-natured, while Fū was just happy to have made new friends.
Matatabi, Kurama, and Naruto—these were companions she could call her own.
As for Shukaku? He could stay mad if he wanted. It wasn't like he could beat Sasuke anyway.
In every shinobi village, jinchūriki were shunned, unless they could flawlessly suppress their tailed beast from ever rampaging. Even one incident—whether by the current or previous host—was enough to make the villagers hate them.
That's why Fū clung so strongly to the idea of making friends.
In Takigakure, she wasn't treated as a friend so much as a weapon. Only Shibuki treated her somewhat better—but even that was limited.
"My name is Kurama!" The Nine-Tails was noisily bickering in the "tailed beast channel."
Shukaku: "Big fox! Big fox!"
Ever eager to stir up trouble, Shukaku kept provoking Kurama.
"You stinking tanuki! You wanna fight?!"
"Come on then, who's afraid of who?!"
The two of them were born to clash, always arguing the moment they met.
"Count me in!" Naruto suggested.
"Me too, me too, me too!" Son Gokū, who hadn't shown up for a long while, chimed in eagerly.
"…Not fighting anymore!" ×2
The two beasts instantly shouted in unison, turning their heads away.
For once, Shukaku and Kurama stood united—absolutely refusing to fight Naruto or Son Gokū.
At first, Shukaku had resisted. But after Naruto had "bonded" with him in the seal space—with fists—he stopped protesting.
"What about you, Gaara? Not planning to return to Sunagakure either?" Naruto asked, turning to him.
After some time together and plenty of "friendly" interaction, Gaara's condition had finally stabilized. After all, Shukaku had promised Naruto not to wrestle control of Gaara's body again. If he ever broke his word, he'd find himself dangling from "Adamantine Sealing Chains" and getting beaten senseless.
Gaara shook his head slowly. "It's… not so bad here."
Since waking up, Gaara had come to understand his identity as a jinchūriki—his body sealed with one of the legendary nine tailed beasts, Shukaku of the One Tail. Across the entire shinobi world, there were only nine people like him (now eight).
And here, with Naruto, there were three jinchūriki and four tailed beasts. He wasn't alone. He wasn't treated as a freak.
Jinchūriki didn't always become friends, but only they could truly understand each other.
Compared to Fū's treatment, Gaara's life in Sunagakure had been far harsher. He wasn't just a weapon—he was an unstable, dangerous one, feared for the possibility of rampaging at any time.
The only people in the village who might have cared for him were Baki and Temari. Perhaps Kankurō could barely be counted as well.
But what a jinchūriki wanted was really very simple.
A loving family.
A village where they weren't shunned.
An environment where they weren't treated as monsters.
Unfortunately, as long as war existed in the shinobi world, these were nothing but dreams.
"Wherever Gaara goes, Fū goes too!" Fū declared boldly, throwing an arm around Gaara's neck.
Gaara's expression seemed a bit resistant, but he didn't push her away.
It wasn't rejection—just unfamiliarity.
Curiously, the sand that always repelled anyone from approaching Gaara didn't stop Fū at all, as if she were completely exempt.
Gaara's sand didn't come from Shukaku, but from his mother, Karura, who protected him even after death. Which meant it wasn't Shukaku who accepted Fū, but Gaara's mother.
Naruto said meaningfully, "You really like Gaara, huh, Fū?"
"Mm!" Fū thumped her chest with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Fū likes Gaara the most!"
Her feelings for Gaara were strange. From the moment she first saw him, she had felt something special, a unique aura that drew her to him. Even rarer, Gaara didn't push her away—he seemed to feel something unusual toward her as well.
This attraction wasn't the same as what Naruto described—the bond between jinchūriki.
"Being by his side makes me feel… safe."
Safe.
Gaara repeated the word silently in his heart, a blush appearing on his face for the first time in his life.
Never before had anyone told him they felt safe around him.
Naruto looked from Gaara to Fū, a smile spreading across his face like an indulgent aunt watching her niece.
This match—I'll personally see it through.
"Fū, Gaara, I've started an organization," Naruto said, tossing them an olive branch. "Would you like to consider joining us?"
Naruto held no ill will toward jinchūriki. On the contrary, because of Kurama, he felt close to them. As for Yugito, that was different—she was from Kumo. In that case, Naruto was simply avenging his mother, his wife, and his brother-in-law.
Blame it on Kumo for being too overbearing.
I remember that the official story once hinted at Gaara and Fū as a possible pairing.
But unfortunately, by then, Fū had already died.
If only they had met earlier—perhaps sparks would have flown.