"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"
"My name is Gaara!"
Little Gaara suddenly realized he'd never actually introduced himself face to face like this before.
…Oh, wait.
He glanced down at the tanuki curled up comfortably inside the black pot in his arms.
Dad told me not to get close to him while carrying Shukaku.
So now what?
Should he leave right away?
But when he saw the utterly relaxed, blissful expression on Shukaku's face as it lay sprawled inside the pot, he couldn't bear to disturb it.
After all, in just a few days, Shukaku would be going to the Land of Rain with Grandpa Ebizō.
That's why Gaara had made sure to bring enough money—to let Shukaku ride coin-op kiddie cars to its heart's content.
If he just dragged Shukaku away now?
Gaara was sure it would be heartbroken.
Besides, he didn't have much cash on him. All the prize money from the race had been handed over to his mom for safekeeping—no way he could get it back. In the end, it was Shukaku who'd managed to sneak a gold bar from his big sister's secret stash.
Shukaku, too, just wanted to have a little fun before leaving.
If Gaara cut that short now, Shukaku would be pestering him all night long.
With his cheeks puffed up in frustration, little Gaara looked troubled.
Beside him, Naruto was still enthusiastically talking about himself—saying things like:
"I'm really strong! I'm gonna be Hokage someday! My Naruto Racer is awesome too! Next time, let's race again!"
Gaara didn't know how to respond.
He hadn't planned to talk to Naruto at all. He just wanted to quietly let Shukaku enjoy the rides and then sneak it home after it was satisfied.
That way…
Dad would never find out.
But whether Gaara answered him or not, this little brat from Konoha just wouldn't stop talking.
…Naruto must not have any friends.
Gaara turned to glance at the chattering blond kid with something close to pity in his eyes.
Why else would he talk so much?
He remembered during the race how the other Konoha kids had all seemed to dislike Naruto—nobody wanted to talk to him.
In fact, Gaara was starting to wonder…
Maybe Naruto didn't have any friends because he was too annoying?
"Hey, Gaara, are you even listening to me?"
Naruto looked disappointed when he saw Gaara wasn't responding. He lowered his head and muttered softly:
"Is it because you think I'm a monster?"
He had hoped to make a friend here…
But even this kid—the first one in Sunagakure who'd spoken to him—was ignoring him now.
"I…"
Just as Naruto was about to speak again—
"I don't like talking."
Gaara cut him off bluntly.
"Shukaku wanted to ride the kiddie cars, so I just brought it out to play."
"Tch—who said I wanted to ride them?!"
Shukaku, who had been basking blissfully in the rocking motion of the ride, suddenly puffed up its cheeks and snapped.
"You begged me to bring you here, brat!"
"Mmhm," Gaara nodded. "I asked you to bring me out to play."
There was no point arguing with Shukaku. If they quarreled, it would sulk and refuse to speak to him, burying itself deep inside the pot.
"You done playing yet? It's already afternoon. We should go home or—if Dad finds out…"
"I know you haven't had enough yet. Let's ride a little longer," Shukaku interrupted before Gaara could finish.
"We'll head back after dinner."
Then, as if suddenly inspired, Shukaku turned its little head toward the Nine-Tails jinchūriki standing beside the ride. Its eyes narrowed mischievously, a sly grin tugging at its lips.
"Hey, brat… come here. I've got a gift for you!"
"…???"
Naruto blinked in confusion, eyeing the strange creature that looked like a talking tanuki.
Even though it was tiny and cute and could talk—which made him kind of jealous—Naruto knew it wouldn't be given to him.
Still…
A gift?
Curious, he leaned over the kiddie ride and peeked inside.
"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he greeted brightly.
Hidden in the shadows, the Konoha shinobi assigned to protect Naruto glanced at each other but didn't intervene.
They didn't believe some tiny summon beast could possibly do any harm to the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Their mission was to observe.
Stay patient.
"Excellent," Shukaku said, clearly pleased by Naruto's manners. It nodded sagely, then hopped out of the black pot.
"Listen carefully! From now on, when you see me, you call me 'Grandpa Shukaku,' got it? And if you ever run into that nine-tailed fuzzball again—call him 'Little Ninetails.' That's an order!"
"…???"
Little Ninetails?
An order??
Naruto had no idea what this tanuki was talking about. He blinked his big blue eyes in confusion.
But behind him, the hidden shinobi felt their hearts jolt.
Little Ninetails…? Was it referring to the Nine-Tails?
What exactly did this summon beast know?
Had it figured something out?
They couldn't let Naruto linger here any longer.
Not with Jiraiya and Kakashi both gone.
Tsunade-sama… well, best not to count on her. She wasn't the type you could "assign."
So for now, it was up to them.
One of them prepared to step out and retrieve Naruto.
But before he could—
"Here, take this—hehe~"
Shukaku gave a sinister little chuckle, reached out its chubby paw, and gently pressed a finger against Naruto's stomach.
A pulse of chakra surged into him.
Shukaku's chakra.
Then—
"Seal!"
"Aaargh—!"
Naruto let out a yelp before collapsing unconscious.
Shukaku dusted its hands with satisfaction and looked up to see the Konoha shinobi staring him down with wary eyes.
"Relax, he's fine," Shukaku said, rolling its eyes.
"His seal was weak—that's all. I just gave it a little boost."
Let's see if that stupid fox can get out now.
Stay put, Kurama~ My chakra will be with you, keeping you company.
Then, without sparing them another glance, Shukaku hopped right back into the kiddie ride.
"You guys aren't worth my time. Scram, before I really get annoyed and kill the lot of you. The brat's fine—if something goes wrong, just come find me."
Turning around, it looked up at Gaara, who was staring curiously at it.
"Let's go. Time for dinner. I'm in a damn good mood now."
"Okay~" Gaara nodded sweetly, then added in an adorable voice:
"But I'm telling Dad what you did."
"S-Say it then! G-Go ahead and say it! I-I'm not scared of anyone! Not even your dad!"
Shukaku shouted defiantly, hiding back inside the pot with a tiny blush on its face.
Meanwhile, the Konoha shinobi—
They exchanged glances.
Then looked down at Naruto, who now appeared to be sleeping peacefully.
They stared at Gaara's retreating back.
"…That chakra just now… it was terrifying."
"What kind of summon beast is that?"
"No idea."
"What do we do now?"
"We must find Jiraiya-sama. Now."
A little earlier…
Jiraiya glanced cautiously over his shoulder. Seeing no one chasing him, he let out a long sigh and strolled leisurely through the village streets, whistling as he went.
He really didn't want to end up back in that hospital bed again.
Sure, his ribs were still aching a bit, and he wasn't fully healed, but there was no way he was dealing with that brat again.
He wouldn't even bring up what had happened in the past.
But right now—
He was being forced to take twelve doses of medicine a day.
Who the hell could survive that?
Jiraiya was convinced that little bastard was doing it on purpose. It wasn't like he'd never broken a rib before. He'd been punched by Tsunade more times than he could count. He knew how this worked.
It was a minor injury!
There was no need for that much medicine.
Twelve times a day?! Even a meal schedule wasn't that ridiculous.
And after yesterday's meds, he and Kakashi had spent the entire night on the toilet.
He was sure that brat was using him as a test subject.
"Even my legs feel wobbly now…"
He remembered how, after every dose, the kid would take notes.
Muttering things like:
"No reaction… wrong reaction… slow absorption… needs refining…"
What did he think Jiraiya was? Some kind of idiot?
That little punk was definitely testing drugs on him.
Grumbling, he rubbed his side and muttered:
"Guess I'll go find Tsunade after all…"
She still hadn't visited him in the hospital.
Maybe… she felt guilty?
Either way, compared to other med-nin, he still trusted Tsunade the most.
"…Maybe it really was the Star God…"
The thought brought a lecherous grin to his face.
He could already picture it—showing up unannounced at Tsunade's place tonight, and then…
Under the moonlight, surrounded by flowers, the two of them would gaze into each other's eyes, and—
Just then, he spotted someone up ahead.
A young man with dark hair, carrying a large sketch board on his back.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly.
A moment later, his expression changed.
"…Right. I've still got one more thing to deal with."