Kumogakure – Village Hidden by Clouds.
Boom!
A figure was sent flying from the Raikage's office atop the cliff.
"Bee! You bastard!" The Fourth Raikage, A, followed close behind with a fierce flying kick.
"Oh! Big Bro…"
BOOM!
Killer Bee hadn't even finished his sentence before he was kicked deep into the rock face. Fortunately, he was augmented by the Eight-Tails' chakra; otherwise, that kick alone would have landed him in the intensive care unit for quite some time.
"Sigh, time to redecorate again." Mabui walked to the severely damaged floor-to-ceiling window and sighed helplessly.
"Lord C, I hope the next time you bring Lord Bee back, it won't be to the Raikage's office."
"Ahaha…" C scratched his head with a laugh.
What could he do about his boss's explosive temper?
"A secret report from Lord Lazy's team just came in!" A Kumo ninja from the intelligence division burst through the door.
He paid no mind to the office, which looked as if it had just survived a major battle, seemingly accustomed to such sights.
"Lazy?" C's expression shifted, and he quickly took the report. Hopefully, nothing's wrong.
He and Darui (Lazy) were Lord Raikage's right and left hands; though not related by blood, their bond was closer than that of actual brothers.
"What happened?" Mabui asked quickly, seeing his strange expression after he finished reading the report.
"Take a look. I need to process this."
"???" Mabui took the report with a puzzled look. After reading it through, her expression also turned somewhat odd.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki… Has he gone mad?"
"Possibly… I guess," C said, his tone uncertain.
"First, let's call Lord Raikage back. Lord Bee can be dealt with anytime; this matter is more urgent," Mabui stated.
C nodded slightly and leaped down through the hole in the wall.
Before long, C returned with the Fourth Raikage A, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, who was black and blue from the beating.
"Lord Raikage, take a look at this." Mabui handed over the report.
After the Fourth Raikage finished reading, he couldn't help but glance up at his brother, pondered for a moment, then launched a spinning kick at Killer Bee.
Boom!
Killer Bee stood up from the wreckage of the desk, a look of utter despair on his face.
"Big Bro, why?!"
"See for yourself!" the Raikage roared. "You're both Jinchuriki, so why do you always make me so damn angry?!"
Killer Bee cast a puzzled look at the report his brother handed him. A moment later, just as he was about to speak…
"Bee, do you remember what I told you not long ago?" the Eight-Tails, Gyuki's, voice resonated in his mind. "If I hadn't seen this report, I would have almost forgotten about it."
In his mental space, Killer Bee, lounging on Gyuki's snout, thought for a moment. "You mean about the mental space?"
"You guys haven't used that space for a long time, have you?"
"That's right," Gyuki said. "Not long ago, that long-abandoned space suddenly became active again."
"I went in once and met Kurama's Jinchuriki."
"Little Eight likes him, yo?" Killer Bee asked.
Man and beast were one in spirit; he could clearly feel Little Eight's emotional shifts.
"He's very different," Gyuki said slowly after much thought.
"I once listened to his description of peace, his views on the Tailed Beasts."
"Is that so, bro?" Killer Bee nodded slightly. "He's the first ninja besides me that Little Eight has acknowledged, you know!"
"Don't be so narcissistic," Gyuki deadpanned.
"Big Bro, Little Eight communicated with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Killer Bee said out loud.
"And?" The Raikage, Mabui, and C all looked at him.
"Little Eight really vibes with his ideals, ya know!" Killer Bee declared in his peculiar rap cadence.
"Can you still communicate with him?" The Raikage asked, stroking his mustache.
"I can." Killer Bee nodded slightly after consulting Gyuki.
"Tell him I want to beat him up."
"I'll give it a shot, yo!"
Mabui and C exchanged glances. Just moments ago, they had thought the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was a madman.
Turns out, the guy had proposed ideals that even Gyuki could get behind.
"Lord Raikage, regarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's demand not to arbitrarily initiate large-scale warfare, what are your thoughts?" Mabui asked.
"Hmph…"
Iwagakure – Village Hidden by Rocks.
"Hmph! A mere Jinchuriki!" Onoki scoffed. "Does he really think he's the God of Shinobi just because he controls the Nine-Tails and the Three-Tails?"
"The only one who could suppress the entire ninja world single-handedly was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."
"Tailed Beasts are nothing more than pets Hashirama Senju used to balance the power among the villages."
"Attempting to use the power of 'pets' to suppress the entire ninja world – utterly foolish!"
"So?" Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow.
"We do what we were going to do. If he dares to stir up trouble, Iwagakure will show him why Jinchuriki are merely weapons of the village," Onoki stated.
"I think I understand now why Old Man Roshi defected," Kurotsuchi said, nodding in sudden realization.
"Don't mention that bastard to me!" Onoki's face flushed with anger, his mustache bristling at her words.
Mental Space.
"Naruto, why didn't you let me make a move back then?" Gaara asked.
He had been present at the border battlefield when the Nine-Tails and Three-Tails overwhelmed everyone.
He had initially intended to enter his Tailed Beast state immediately to provide support but was dissuaded by Naruto.
"You have your own ideals to pursue. If you had acted then, the position of Kazekage would have been out of your reach," Naruto said, shaking his head.
"Moreover, with you providing intelligence from the shadows, the Dragon Heritage's presence can be utilized to its fullest potential."
"…I understand." Gaara nodded slightly.
Recalling the scenes from the border frontline, a surge of hot blood couldn't help but churn within him.
To compel two Great Hidden Villages to cease hostilities through the power of an organization – how incredibly powerful was that?
It was an unconventional way of pursuing peace, vastly different from the empty, insipid rhetoric found in books.
All these factors made him feel a greater sense of belonging as a member of the Dragon Heritage.
"By the way, have you learned the Shadow Clone Technique I taught you?" Naruto asked.
"I have," Gaara nodded.
"Good, you'll be needing it soon."
"What's wrong?"
"If you were Kazekage, and hadn't joined the Dragon Heritage, would you have agreed to the restriction I proposed back then?" Naruto didn't answer, asking a question instead.
"…No." Gaara shook his head slightly.
If the Five Great Hidden Villages could be so easily threatened, they wouldn't be the Five Great Hidden Villages.
"Similarly, until they personally witness the Sword of Damocles, the Kages of the Five Great Hidden Villages will only see me as a joke," Naruto said with a smile.
"So, your idea is?" Gaara nodded slightly. Having spent some time with Naruto, he understood the meaning of the Sword of Damocles.
"To set off some fireworks over the Five Great Hidden Villages."
"Yo, yo, yooo…" A peculiar rap echoed through the mental space.
The two turned their heads. For the first time, someone other than themselves had appeared in their shared mental space.
"Gyuki, your Jinchuriki is rather interesting," Kurama chuckled.
"His rapping is terrible," Shukaku stated bluntly.
"Bee, be serious," Gyuki prodded his Jinchuriki. Being stared at so strangely by Kurama and Shukaku made his ox-face flush.
"Let me introduce you. This is my Jinchuriki, Killer Bee."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Kurama," Naruto introduced.
"I am Gaara, and this is Shukaku," Gaara said.
Looking at the two, Killer Bee was inwardly moved. He had never heard of the One-Tail Jinchuriki being a perfect Jinchuriki. The Dragon Heritage runs deep, indeed…