Just after finishing his conversation with Jiraiya, Kimimaro sensed a powerful chakra fluctuation not far away.
The two immediately rushed over.
"Kazuma, Sora, what's going on?" Kimimaro asked.
Sora glared at Kazuma, his voice filled with resentment. "It's him! I asked why he sealed the Nine-Tails' chakra inside me back then. He answered self-righteously—no remorse at all."
"And then?" Kimimaro prompted.
"Then Naruto got angry."
Well, well. A father-son argument had actually triggered Naruto's Nine-Tails transformation.
Kimimaro could tell that while Sora resented Kazuma, it hadn't yet become hatred. After all, that was the father he'd longed for since childhood.
But Naruto—he was a different matter entirely.
When he heard that Kazuma had sealed the Nine-Tails' chakra into his son just to gain power—and had ignored him even while alive—Naruto's fury erupted.
"Kimimaro, be careful," Jiraiya warned. "I've been training Naruto for over a year, and he's become more and more prone to rampaging."
"It's a Tailed Beast transformation, right? Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Kimimaro didn't seem concerned. On the contrary, he observed Naruto's state with interest.
Naruto was now cloaked in the Tailed Beast shroud, two tails already formed, and a third one beginning to emerge.
"Oh right, I forgot—you can use Wood Release," Jiraiya chuckled. "It's a pity you can't travel with me. You'd make my life so much easier."
Kimimaro smiled. "If you want, you can have Naruto stay in the Land of Vegetables."
"Haha, no need for that. I can still manage him."
Kimimaro clapped his hands together, then extended a palm.
Wooden rectangular prisms sprouted from the ground, surrounding Naruto and pinning him in place. The malevolent chakra cloak began to dissipate.
Now, this technique was far easier to use than when he first obtained Wood Release and confronted Fū, the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.
No—back then, he couldn't even call it suppression.
Fū had far greater control over her Tailed Beast than Naruto did. At that time, Kimimaro's own strength was lacking too; the technique had only served to communicate with Fū while she was transformed.
Thinking about it now, maybe it was because the Nine-Tails was simply too powerful…
Naruto might very well be the jinchūriki with the worst control over their Tailed Beast—and that remained true for a long time.
"Kimimaro! Perverted Sage! You're back!"
Naruto had come to his senses, but immediately turned to Kazuma with a scowl. "You bastard. You're truly despicable."
Kazuma looked unimpressed. "Didn't expect the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki to be such a bleeding-heart justice freak."
Kimimaro stepped in with a calm voice. "Naruto, Kazuma is Sora's father. Their issues should be settled between them—you don't need to interfere."
"I just don't like him!" Naruto grumbled, but he eventually relented.
When he saw Sora and Kazuma step aside to talk, he let it go—for now.
"At least you've still got some sense left," Kimimaro remarked.
"What's with that tone? When have I ever not been sensible?!" Naruto snapped.
Kimimaro gave him a teasing smile. "I thought you'd butt into Sora's issues like you always do with your beloved Sasuke."
"Damn it, Kimimaro, stop saying that! I want a fight! Sasuke and I—it's brotherly love, got it?! Brotherly!"
"Mhm. I know. Brothers who shared their first kiss. It's fine, Naruto. I don't judge that kind of affection."
"I don't!!" Naruto exploded. "I've told you already—I like Sakura!"
Kimimaro shrugged. "Then stop making 'bringing Sasuke back' your life's mission and then talk to me about liking Sakura."
He stopped paying attention to Naruto's yelling after that.
He used to think Hinata was too good for Naruto because of Sakura, but now… Sakura wasn't really worth it either.
Sakura liked Sasuke—but even after they got married, Sasuke's feelings never quite resembled romantic love between a man and a woman.
Looking at the original story, their pairing felt more like something forced by Kishimoto—the old scoundrel.
And Kishimoto's contradictions didn't end there.
After Naruto completed his training and re-teamed with Sakura, their chemistry as a couple noticeably strengthened. At the same time, Sasuke had Karin, who was clearly positioned as a potential love interest.
Hinata, on the other hand, had very limited appearances in the manga during this period—most of her emotional development with Naruto was fleshed out by the anime production team rather than the original story.
If the plot had shifted at that point—if Sakura gradually came to realize that Sasuke wasn't someone she could entrust her heart to, and that she had genuinely fallen for Naruto—there would definitely have been backlash. But arguably, less so than the backlash she received for constantly depending on Naruto while still clinging to her feelings for Sasuke.
Unfortunately, once Kishimoto noticed Hinata's rising popularity, he began inserting more scenes for her, which led to an increasingly tangled web of romantic dynamics between the four.
In the end, both girls appeared to have married the ones they loved—but looking deeper, it was clear that neither relationship was truly fulfilling.
As for Naruto and Sasuke—honestly, their bond was too deep, too intense. Even Kimimaro had once jokingly thought that maybe those two should've just ended up together. Of course, Kishimoto didn't dare to go that far.
Kimimaro's first interaction with Naruto included teasing him with the line, "You love Sasuke the most," which at the time stemmed from his own mischievous nature carried over from a past life. But the teasing didn't stop there—and over time, even he had to admit he wasn't doing it entirely without ulterior motives.
Little Hanabi had once encouraged him to pursue her older sister Hinata, and Karin had made a few offhand comments about the "sister flowers." Kimimaro couldn't pretend he wasn't tempted.
And since the women around him were already doing so much to push him in that direction, Kimimaro naturally played along. When he crossed paths with Naruto, he would deliberately deepen Naruto's bond with Sasuke—maybe not enough to turn Naruto gay, but enough to at least weaken the potential between him and Hinata.
While Naruto continued gesturing and complaining about something, Kimimaro walked over to Sora and Kazuma.
"How are things going between you two?" he asked.
Sora spoke first. "Kimimaro, thank you for helping me find my father. I'm happy I got to meet him—but also a bit disappointed. That's why I don't want to live with him. Can I come work for you instead?"
"Work for me?" Kimimaro raised a brow.
"Yes," Sora said with conviction. "On the way back, I learned about your story from Ranmaru. I know I'm not strong enough yet, but I want to grow alongside you." He glanced at Kazuma. "He always talked about protecting the king in his heart. I want to show him how I do it. So please, Kimimaro, let me follow you."
Kimimaro naturally wouldn't refuse. He nodded with a calm smile.
Sora immediately changed his tone. "Lord Kimimaro, from now on, I pledge my loyalty to you." Then he turned and walked off.
Kazuma, slightly stunned, chuckled and then laughed heartily. "Kimimaro, you've impressed me again. You've got a broad mind and a vision for the world—but you're not shackled by naïve idealism. I didn't expect you to use my own son to tie me down. Hah! Well done. Very well done. I'm becoming more and more optimistic about your path."
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Author's Note:
Looking through the comments, I noticed that most people didn't have much to say about Sakura. Opinions on Tsunade were mixed—some for, some against—but nearly everyone agreed that Hinata should be included. So, let's have the protagonist sort out his own thoughts on the matter.
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