"Kid, don't you remember? When you were in Root, Danzo gave you a brief introduction about the other jinchuriki."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"So she's Yugito, the Two-Tails jinchuriki... I wonder if I could take her down."
Naruto looked her up and down. She seemed very confident.
By now, the tower was already in sight.
Under the guidance of their "guards," Naruto walked into the bottom of the tower.
He saw Izumo and Kotetsu Hagane sitting on the sofa beside the stairs and smirked slightly.
"Naruto, what happened?"
Naruto shook his head.
"I accidentally wandered into a training ground and got accused of being a spy."
Kotetsu asked further.
"Did they hurt you?"
Naruto shook his head again.
"They just wanted to tie me up. If they kept pushing, we would've fought." He scanned the room. "Where's Yuugao?"
Izumo pointed upward.
"Yuugao's with Torune. They're meeting with the Raikage's advisors."
Samui nudged Naruto forward.
"So the Raikage's free now. We can sort this out right away."
So they all climbed the stairs and stopped at the receptionist's desk. After a short exchange with the receptionist, they entered the office of the most powerful man in the country. A broad-shouldered man dressed in traditional Kage robes looked up from his paperwork.
"Yugito... Samui, Omoi, Karui. Why are you all crowding around this Konoha ninja?"
Karui stepped forward, pushing Naruto ahead.
"Raikage-sama, we caught this Konoha ninja spying on our training. He could be trying to steal Kumogakure's hidden techniques, so we decided to bring him here."
The Raikage turned his gaze toward Naruto. Even though the man was built like a wall, Naruto didn't flinch.
The Raikage stroked his white beard.
"I am A, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. What's your name?"
Naruto stared directly at the Raikage.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a chunin from the Hidden Leaf Village."
"What are you doing in my village? Did you come under the guise of diplomacy just to spy on us?"
Naruto sighed.
"No, Raikage-sama. I was simply walking around the village when I accidentally came across a training ground. I was about to leave when your ninja showed up and accused me of spying."
"And are you?"
"Honestly… I just… took a wrong turn…"
Suddenly, the office door burst open as a man stormed in. He strode directly toward the Raikage's desk.
"Hey big bro! I'm back from my latest mission!"
A twitched his eyebrow.
"B... Can't you wait until I'm done with my work before barging in?"
B scoffed.
He turned around and noticed his students standing there.
"Yo, I hope big bro hasn't been working you too hard today?"
Yugito sighed and stepped forward.
"They found a suspicious Konoha ninja and hauled him in."
B shifted his gaze to Naruto. After a moment, he held out his fist.
"What's up, Number Nine?"
Naruto blinked and slowly extended his fist, tapping it against B's.
Samui said,
"Sensei, Killer B, his name is Naruto Uzumaki, not Number Nine."
Yugito shook her head.
"He's referring to the tailed beast inside him."
Naruto was getting tired of all the strange looks. Spotting an opening, he began to slip toward the exit.
"Well then, if anyone wants to talk to me later, I'll be at the Konoha delegation's inn. See ya."
******
When he returned to his room at the inn, night had already fallen.
As he walked in, he saw Yuugao lying on her bed.
"Did you have a pleasant time outside?"
Naruto sat down on his own bed.
"Whatever Izumo and Kotetsu told you—this wasn't my fault at all."
He laid his head on the pillow.
"I almost got into a fight today with three Kumo ninja. They thought I was spying on them. Me! If I really wanted to spy on them, they wouldn't even notice."
His face turned serious.
"They know about me and the Nine-Tails."
"How did they figure it out?"
Naruto stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Today, I met two of the jinchuriki from Kumogakure. Both of them could sense I'm a jinchuriki too—and they outed me in front of the Raikage…"
Yuugao bit her lower lip.
"That's bad… They might use this against us in tomorrow's negotiations…"
Naruto gave her a strange look.
"So what if they start spreading the word that I'm Konoha's jinchuriki?"
******
(The next day)
Naruto sat meditating on the rooftop of the inn.
Suddenly, he shot out a hand and grabbed the one reaching toward his face. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the same group from yesterday.
"What are you doing here? Is meditating against the rules for guests?"
Karui yanked herself free from his grip.
"Why did Sensei Killer B make us talk to this guy? He doesn't seem that special."
Omoi took a step forward.
"Sensei Killer B and Yugito both said he has a demon sealed inside him too. I'm glad he didn't fight us yesterday, or we might be in the hospital right now."
Naruto tried to stand up and walk away.
Then they said,
"We want to see how we stack up against you, Mr. Naruto."
A faint smile crossed Naruto's face.
"Oh, so you remembered my name after all. Fine, bring it on."
After walking through the gate and down the path a ways,
"We're nearly at the Clouds and Lightning Canyon," Omoi pointed downward at the valley below as they reached another mountaintop.
"This place is really beautiful… Does your teacher live around here? I really like the scenery."
Nearby, Naruto spotted a mountain peak that looked like it had been sliced apart for training purposes, leaving behind a flat platform.
When they all arrived on the platform, Naruto shrugged and turned to face them.
"One-on-one, or will all three of you come at me together?"
Samui glared at him.
"You really think you can take on all three of us at once?"
Naruto calmly assumed a taijutsu stance, unfazed.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!