Amidst Shukaku's roars and the thuds of Gamabunta's attacks, Sasuke, who had been fighting nimbly by Naruto's side, suddenly turned his head.
"Naruto,"
Sasuke asked with a slightly surprised tone, his Sharingan eyes still warily observing Shukaku's movements,
"What did Gamabunta mean just now? Your father... the Fourth Hokage?"
The question slipped out, more out of shock than a desire to pry for information in the midst of a critical battle.
Naruto, who was busy directing Gamabunta and dodging Shukaku's sand attacks, glanced briefly at Sasuke.
He smiled a little wryly.
"It's a long story, Teme. But, yeah... I also only really found out during this Chunin Exam. Grandpa Third Hokage told me."
There was a note of pride yet also a slight bitterness in his voice.
The truth about his father still felt new and a little... overwhelming to him.
"The Fourth Hokage..." Sasuke muttered again, more to himself.
He remembered the stories about the Yondaime's greatness.
And Naruto, the Dobe he always underestimated, turned out to be the son of such a great hero.
The world was indeed full of surprises.
Just as Naruto was about to continue his story about how he found out the truth about his father, a sudden realization hit both of them almost simultaneously.
Amidst the chaos of the battle against Shukaku, one important figure was missing.
"Wait a minute!"
Naruto exclaimed in panic, his eyes wildly searching.
"Where's Sakura-chan?!"
Sasuke also snapped to attention.
He scanned the battle area around them.
Sakura should have been near them, providing support or at least finding a safe position.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
Panic began to creep over them.
Inside her seal, Hana, who had been roaring with laughter at the ridiculous interaction between Gamabunta and Shukaku, now also fell silent, slightly anxious. "My prince is right, where is that pink-haired girl?"
As both of them – Naruto and Sasuke – anxiously looked down from atop Gamabunta's head, their gazes finally found something in the distance, in an area relatively safe from Shukaku's rampage.
There, Karin, with her red hair fluttering, seemed busy.
Brightly shining golden chakra chains extended from her back, tightly coiling around and binding two figures they recognized: Temari and Kankuro from Sunagakure.
The two Sand ninjas looked helpless in the grip of the Uzumaki clan's signature Adamantine Sealing Chains.
And next to Karin stood Sakura, looking safe and unharmed, even appearing to be giving instructions or discussing something with Karin.
"Thank goodness..." Naruto and Sasuke sighed almost simultaneously, immense relief washing over them.
At least Sakura was safe, and it seemed she had found an unexpected ally in Karin.
Hana, seeing Karin successfully master and use the Adamantine Sealing Chains so skillfully, felt a strange sense of pride, although she had no logical reason why she should feel proud.
"Fufufu~ look at that, my prince. That Uzumaki girl is quite talented. Those chains... remind me of Kushina. She will be a valuable asset for Konoha... and perhaps for you too, hehehe~"
Hearing Hana's mischievous tone, Naruto immediately became wary.
"What do you mean by 'perhaps for me too', Hana-neechan?"
Hana chuckled within the seal.
"Ara ara~ My prince is pretending not to understand, huh? I was just wondering, out of the three girls who seem quite close to you – the shy Hyūga, the noisy Haruno, or this new tsundere Uzumaki – who has actually managed to capture your heart, hm? If I'm being honest, I personally recommend Karin. Fellow Uzumaki, possesses great sensory and medical abilities, and it seems she also has a little... interest in you. Isn't that a perfect combination?"
"WH-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HANA-NEECHAN?!"
Naruto completely lost focus hearing Hana's absurd question and blunt recommendation.
His balance wavered, and he almost fell off Gamabunta's head, which was wildly moving to avoid Shukaku's attacks.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT AGAINST A GIANT SAND MONSTER, AND YOU'RE ASKING SUCH WEIRD THINGS?! AND WHY IS HINATA'S NAME EVEN ON THAT NOMINATION LIST?! SHE'S JUST A NORMAL FRIEND!"
Naruto shouted panickedly in his mind, his face beet red from embarrassment and annoyance.
Hana could only shake her head with an amused smile.
'My prince... it seems he's still too innocent and hasn't realized how deep Hinata's feelings are for him. Or maybe he's just pretending not to know? So troublesome…'
Hana then returned to a serious mode, although her mischievous tone still lingered a bit.
"Alright, alright, don't be so angry, my prince. Now, try doing this: shout as loudly as you can towards that giant, sand-stinking Tanuki. Tell him, 'As a 'mother', could you pay more attention and wake up your child who is sleeping soundly on your head instead of rampaging aimlessly?!' Believe me, it will be very effective."
Naruto, although still a little annoyed and confused by Hana's rapid mood swings, decided to follow that strange advice.
He was used to Hana's crazy ideas that sometimes worked. He took a deep breath, focused his chakra, and shouted with all his might towards Shukaku,
"OI, WEIRD GIANT TANUKI! AS A 'MOTHER', COULD YOU PAY MORE ATTENTION AND WAKE UP YOUR CHILD WHO IS SLEEPING SOUNDLY ON YOUR HEAD INSTEAD OF RAMPAGING AIMLESSLY LIKE THAT, HUH?!"
Shukaku, who was busy launching Air Bullet attacks, immediately stopped moving.
His savage angry expression suddenly changed to more... confused?
Then it changed again to even greater anger.
"YOU DAMN CROSS-DRESSING FOX INSIDE THAT BLOND BRAT! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING YOUR STUPID JINCHURIKI, HUH?! IT'S CLEARLY THIS BRAIN-DAMAGED BRAT WHO IS ARBITRARILY CALLING ME 'MOTHER'!"
Shukaku, of course, knew exactly where that insolent taunt came from.
Mental communication between Bijuu was indeed magical.
Sasuke, standing beside Naruto, looked at him with a very confused expression.
"Naruto, what did you mean by that just now? 'Mother'? The child on his head?"
Naruto scratched the back of his un-itchy head, a little awkwardly.
"Ah, that... The Bijuu inside my body, she told me to say that. She said it would be effective."
Then, as if just remembering something important, Naruto continued his previously interrupted explanation to Sasuke.
"So here's the thing, Teme. Bijuu are like living natural disasters, and right now all Bijuu, from One-Tail to Nine-Tails, are sealed in various places. The sealing place is within the body of a ninja from each respective village. Now, in the ninja world, those who have a tailed beast sealed within their bodies are called Jinchuriki."
Naruto paused for a moment, taking a breath.
"I am... the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox. But don't get me wrong, the Kyuubi inside me is different! She's nice to me!" Naruto said proudly.
"And the one in front of us, that Gaara, he is the Jinchuriki of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Tanuki. And it seems, this Shukaku has a very strange hobby, which is to always want to be called 'Mother' by his own Jinchuriki, that Gaara! Weird, right?"
However, without Naruto fully realizing it, because he was still slightly influenced by the remnants of chakra he used to shout loudly earlier, his voice while explaining all this to Sasuke turned out to be still amplified and echoed quite loudly.
Loud enough for everyone within a radius of several hundred meters – including Gamabunta, Shukaku, Karin, Sakura, Temari, Kankuro, and even some Sunagakure ninjas who had just arrived at the battle site – to hear it very clearly.
The atmosphere, which had been filled with monster roars and the thuds of attacks, suddenly fell deathly silent.
Even Gamabunta and Shukaku, who had been insulting each other, were now momentarily quiet, looking at Naruto with unreadable expressions.
Sasuke: "..."
His face was flat, but his brain was trying hard to process the information he had just heard.
'Naruto... Kyuubi's Jinchuriki? And Shukaku wants to be called Mother? What the hell is this?!'
Temari, still bound by Karin's chakra chains: "..."
'Shukaku... wants to be called Mother by Gaara? Did I hear that right? No wonder he's been so strange all this time!'
Kankuro, also bound beside her: "..."
'So... so the monster inside Gaara... wants to be his mother? This... this is worse than I thought! I didn't expect Father to have an affair with a monster!'
Karin, still controlling her chains: "..."
'Naruto... Kyuubi's Jinchuriki?'
Sakura, standing beside Karin: "..."
'Na-Naruto... so all this time... that fox monster... was inside him? And... Gaara's Bijuu... a 'Mother'? My head is spinning…'
The newly arrived Sand Ninjas who didn't fully understand the situation: "..."
'Why... why did it suddenly become like an academy lesson session? Are we in the wrong place? Isn't this a battlefield? Why are we here listening to a lecture about Jinchuriki?'
The battle seemed to come to a complete halt.
All eyes were now on Naruto, who was still standing innocently on Gamabunta's head, unaware that he had just leaked several major secrets and created the most awkward moment in the history of the Konoha invasion.