"I'm sorry, I was wrong, I'll totally do it again…" Naruto got shut up — physically.
Just like Mr. Lu once said, if someone who normally never shuts up suddenly goes quiet, he's probably holding in a big one.
Judging from the wild look on Naruto's face, he probably broke inside from that "shy" little smile.
Tsunade brushed the black smoke off her fist, sat back down like nothing happened, and looked around. "Now, where were we?"
Oonoki looked at the Naruto-shaped hole in the ground and twitched. "This kid… is just like Deidara."
To be fair, in all his life, Oonoki had only seen one guy act like this in front of the Kage — and that was Deidara. Now there was another one: Uzumaki Naruto. Sure, the Hidden Leaf produced all kinds of crazy talent, but seeing this "Deidara 2.0" made Oonoki feel a bit better.
Turns out, as long as you're not the only one suffering, the pain's easier to handle.
A smile doesn't disappear — it just moves to someone else's face. That's the great law of smile conservation among Daimyos.
Whether anyone else was laughing didn't matter — Kurama was definitely having a good time.
Tobirama looked at Naruto, clearly annoyed, but also thoughtful. "He really is a lot like my brother. But... his way of thinking is even stranger. Judging by the Kazekage's reaction, he truly believes in Naruto's words… Maybe this kid really can do something even my brother couldn't."
No matter what the others were thinking, after Naruto's outburst, the atmosphere of the Five Kage Summit suddenly became way more normal.
Then again, maybe the earlier scene was so abnormal that anything else seemed calm in comparison.
Naruto climbed out of the hole, rubbing the huge bump on his head and sniffling like a kid who just got scolded — looking all pitiful and dramatic.
But since he was quiet and not bothering anyone, Tsunade, even though she really wanted to punch him again, decided to save face and let him off for now.
About half an hour later, the Kage had finally started giving some input on how to organize the Allied Shinobi Forces. If things went smoothly, after another hour or two of discussion, they could probably start getting ready.
That was the plan—nothing unexpected.
Which, of course, meant something unexpected happened.
Just as everyone was caught up in a heated discussion, Naruto, who had been sitting there pretending to care but really just counting how many hairs Oonoki had left on his head, suddenly sensed a few strong chakra signatures enter his range.
They appeared out of nowhere, right on the edge of the Land of Iron.
Naruto knew that kind of familiar chakra entry too well—no doubt about it, it was Kamui!
And they were so close now, it was no surprise Naruto could feel them. Just as his face changed, Senju Tobirama suddenly frowned. "Something's up."
He turned to look at Naruto.
The room went dead silent. Everyone turned to Tobirama instinctively, but seeing that his eyes were on Naruto, they all looked toward Naruto too.
Naruto stared seriously in the direction of the chakra, then spoke up. "Nine people just showed up out of nowhere. They were probably dropped right outside the Land of Iron using Kamui. Seven of them don't seem hostile… but two of them definitely do. And this chakra feels…"
"No way," he said, sounding shocked as he sucked in a breath.
"What is it?" Tsunade stood up. She couldn't sense anything from this distance, and hadn't activated her sensing ability yet.
Everyone else looked at Naruto too, waiting for an answer.
Tobirama frowned. His voice was strange as he said, "It's Tailed Beast chakra."
"Tailed Beasts?!"
Everyone stood up at once, their faces full of surprise. "Weren't the Tailed Beasts already captured by the Akatsuki?"
Tobirama didn't answer. He stayed quiet, clearly thinking something over.
"Give me a second." Naruto didn't respond right away either. Instead, he entered his inner world to talk to Kurama. "You sensed it too, right, Kurama?"
Kurama's expression was dark. He stared in the direction the chakra was coming from, and his aura almost burst out of control.
"They're Jinchuriki," Kurama said at once. "That chakra isn't directly from Tailed Beasts, and I can't connect with them either. They're Jinchuriki. And… they're perfectly controlled Jinchuriki!"
"Perfect Jinchuriki? That's not something you can just make happen…" Naruto was having a hard time believing it.
A perfect Jinchuriki doesn't just borrow Tailed Beast chakra. Naruto's case was special, but real perfect Jinchuriki were like Killer Bee and Gyūki. Their chakra was completely blended—no separation between human and beast. The ninja could use the Tailed Beast's power freely.
Not just chakra—
That included partial transformations, full transformations, cloaks of Tailed Beast energy—all of it. It wasn't borrowing power anymore; it was more like… they had truly become one, like a two-in-one being.
You could say he's a tailed beast, or you could say he's a person. Cases like Shukaku and Gaara don't really count as perfect Jinchuriki. (*Note below)
Kurama didn't bother explaining this to Naruto. Instead, he muttered like he was talking to himself, "Yagura, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei... and the chakra from Gyuki and me are all here. Wow, that's almost the full set—only Shukaku's missing."
As soon as he said that, sand began swirling inside Naruto's mindscape, and soon took the shape of Shukaku.
The moment Shukaku appeared, he shouted at Kurama, "Kurama! When did you give so much of your chakra to the others? And not just one, but two people?"
This amount of chakra was more than what Kurama had given him before. It was enough to fire off a few mini Tailed Beast Bombs.
"That wasn't me," Kurama replied, giving Shukaku a sideways glance. "So don't worry. They don't have my healing speed."
What made Kurama's chakra strong wasn't just the amount—it was the insane healing power. Even when he lent it out, it kept that ability—unless someone forcibly took his chakra.
Then Kurama looked down at Naruto. "Naruto, the two ninja with my chakra are Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the Land of Thunder. They're the ones who died along with Senju Tobirama. If you want to know the details, ask him."
"Uh… okay." Naruto was a bit thrown off by this side of Kurama—it wasn't like usual. "Then I'll go tell Granny Tsunade and the others. Great-grandpa Tobirama can stay here. I'll—"
"No, I'll deal with those guys." Kurama suddenly cut in, face darkening. "Remember what I told you about the person I hate the most?"
Naruto went quiet. He understood now.
The one Kurama hated most?
Someone who dared to hurt tailed beasts and treated them like animals.
That's what he said the first time they met.
——
*Note: Perfect Jinchuriki – This is from the author's own additions. In the original story, only three people are considered perfect Jinchuriki: Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Killer Bee, and Naruto. Technically, Minato also had potential, but it was never confirmed.
So Yugito and Yagura weren't actually perfect Jinchuriki. The original says Yugito was still training and hadn't reached that level yet.
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