Well... that was not how I imagined meeting the jinchūriki. She was younger than I expected; indeed, she was around my age, younger most likely, and clearly not accustomed to the presence of people.
"I'm just a messenger. I came to deliver a short message from Grumpy Nine to Lucky Seven," I said.
Her eyes dimmed a bit, but she still forced a smile onto her face. The more I observed the jinchūriki, the more disappointed I became. It seemed like no village saw them as people anymore.
"Lucky Seven is with Fu. Tell us, tell us!" she exclaimed, bouncing around like a hyperactive child high on caffeine.
At least I didn't have to worry about Taki sending her into the exams; she was untrained and, let's say, undisciplined. On top of that, she wasn't even a ninja yet.
I extended my fist, just like I had when I contacted Matatabi.
"Bump my fist. It's easier that way," I said, slightly amused as I watched her bounce.
She calmed down a bit and bumped my fist. In that brief moment, I could clearly feel the bijū chakra and transferred the message directly to Lucky Seven.
She spaced out for a few seconds, either because she expected a message and got none or because Chōmei was talking to her. She hummed and nodded a few times during it, then focused again. This time, her eyes weren't the mint green I had seen before; instead, they were blazing orange.
"Thank you for the message, young one," Chōmei's voice emerged, different yet still somewhat childish, with a hint of scraping chitin mixed in. It seemed I was speaking directly with Chōmei.
"I promised Kurama to deliver it. It's no big deal," I shrugged. It appeared that humans keeping small promises were beyond the imagination of bijū.
I wasn't sure if that was sad or completely insane. Just who were they dealing with before? There's no way Hashirama was that unreasonable, right?
No wonder they instantly warmed up to Naruto in the original timeline or to me here. I did the bare minimum, and it yielded unreasonably positive results.
"You went out of your way to find us," Chōmei commented. While this wasn't entirely incorrect, the spirit of the promise mattered more than technicalities.
"I'm in Taki for a mission, and you are in Taki. It's not really out of my way," I replied slowly, still unsure of what Chōmei was trying to say.
That elicited more scraping noises from Chōmei, which I could only guess was intended as a chuckle.
"I see why Kurama bothered to talk to you. Blunt and to the point, just like that grumpy fox." I'd take that as a compliment.
"Thank you?" I managed to say amidst my confusion.
"Anyways," I continued, extending my fist again. "Kurama has some sort of plan that I don't know about, but he and Matatabi left a small imprint of their spirit within me. Maybe that way you could get in contact even from the seal." It was merely a theory; neither Kurama nor Matatabi had contacted me through it yet. But for all I knew, it could be a bijū-specific thing.
Chōmei nodded and bumped my fist again, a surge of chakra flowed through me just like when I connected with the other bijū.
The experience was significantly more intense than with Matatabi, likely due to the vast difference in raw power between the two. However, it didn't compare to the feeling that Kurama had.
The eyes faded, replaced once more by Fu's green.
"You's leaving Fu again?" she asked, returning to her hyperactive demeanor.
"I have to go soon, but before that, I can teach you something cool. But you can't tell anyone. What do you think?" I said, feeling bad for her.
She lived alone, with only bugs for company and maybe an occasional ninja checking on her, not nearly enough social interactions for a kid. So, a little prank on Taki was in order. I wondered what kind of mess a hyperactive jinchūriki with no grasp of social norms might create.
I smirked as I watched Fu bounce around happily; it seemed she was excited for a quick lesson. Luckily, someone had taught her to read, so my prank could be even more elaborate.
For now, though, I had what was essentially a little girl version of Naruto to teach tree-walking. I created a clone to write down more useful things for her, but we would have to start with the basics.
It was already dark when I finally left Fu's 'treehouse of fun'. Her name, not mine.
It would take some time, but I'll give it a few months before she can start terrorizing Taki with pranks raining down from above. Chomei seemed to be on board too. And Fu should gain Chomei's ability to fly when she gets a little older.
A little harmless revenge does bring a smile to my face. I will need to buy some supplies for her before I leave. No timeline should be without a young jinchuriki who has an unhealthy fixation on pranks.
Or is it just my way of coping with the fact that I won't meet Naruto? Maybe, just maybe. But the thought of a hyperactive, flying little girl dumping glue and feathers on unsuspecting residents of Taki is too funny to pass up.
I got to our hotel safely, where I met Hana and Izumi, who were excitedly discussing the places they had discovered. Hana even complained that she couldn't get close to the giant tree.
I smiled slightly; they seemed to be having fun, even as we prepared to venture into the unknown tomorrow. Hopefully, I would gain some insight into whoever Iwa had sent here.
That night, I went to sleep with a tinge of nervousness in my mind, but I would be ready if things went south again.
The next morning, we set out for the location of the first exam, amusingly enough, the Taki ninja academy building. It seemed that some things about the exams were set.
I split from Hana and Izumi at the entrance and headed to the lounge reserved for team leaders. I sensed an absolutely massive chakra emanating from there, so at least one of the team leaders should be interesting, or absolutely terrifying. That chakra signature was even larger than Yugito's.
As I entered the spacious room, I looked around with curiosity. There were sofas and chairs scattered about, with a small bar offering refreshments near the back wall.
The wall behind the bar had several TVs mounted on it, all displaying the academy rooms and various spots throughout the village. This was the observation area for the team leaders.
I scanned the people present. Most wore Taki headbands, but I spotted two jonin from Kiri and even one from Kumo. Unsurprisingly yet amusingly, the Kumo ninja tried to stay as far away from me as possible.
A few people sat on high barstools, but only one was watching the cameras intently: a massive man in red armor with a dark green gi worn loosely over the metal plates.
Unlike the others at the bar who drank various types of alcohol, he drank tea from a small cup, though 'small' was relative. It was a rather large cup, but it looked tiny in his massive hands.
How was someone like him even allowed inside this village? Well, it was time to find out. Even if I wasn't curious about how in nine hells the jinchuriki from Iwa got here, I had to keep tabs on my team, and the only way to do that was conveniently right in front of the large man.
I really needed a drink, but unfortunately, my body was still too young for that. This was going to suck major dick, wasn't it?
I approached the free barstool right next to him. Luckily, it seemed that people gave this man as much space as the Kumo ninja gave me.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked, directing my voice toward him as I got close. He paused for a moment before looking down. The scene felt surreal, mostly because I was only slightly taller than the barstool I was standing next to. The guy had to have at least full meter on me in height, making even Jiraiya seem rather small by comparison.
"Nobody else seems to want it," he said slowly, though there was a hint of humor in his words. I nodded and jumped up onto the stool.
I quickly scanned the screens in front of me, trying to locate my team. It didn't take long as most of the genin were congregating in a few large classrooms. They must have been split up by the organizers.
I glanced around again and counted the participants: around twenty teams were set to participate this time. One Konoha team, one mysterious Iwa participant, four Kumo teams, three teams from Kiri, and the rest were Taki teams. It was possible that I had missed someone; not every single team leader was in this room, and not all genin were in the classrooms yet.
"Taki is sure hedging its bets this time..." I muttered quietly, but the man next to me clearly heard.
He let out a snort.
"That's putting it mildly. Over half the participants are from here," he replied, seemingly unbothered by the clear numerical advantage of Taki's forces.
There was a strong chance that most participants from other villages wouldn't make it to the third stage, which was to be expected; the hosting village always took advantage of home field. But to send so many people into the exams... perhaps they were worried about Iwa or us stealing the spotlight.
"Maybe they're scared of your mysterious genius," I said, probing for information without bothering to hide my intent.
"Genius..." he repeated slowly, as if the word sounded wrong to him on a fundamental level. "Genius of blowing shit up, maybe," he grumbled, clearly not wanting to be here. Understandable; I would much rather be back home, too.
"And it's not like you're here with a full team either. Honestly, I expected you to compete solo as well," he continued after taking a sip of his tea.
It wasn't a bad assumption; I was sure it had crossed Hiruzen's mind at least once. But I was glad he didn't try to pull that. After going through the war, the chunin exams seemed boring by comparison.
"I'm more surprised they even let you into the village. It's not often someone of your caliber is welcome in enemy territory," I commented, genuinely surprised.
Whoever was in charge had either struck a good deal with Iwa or was not the sharpest kunai in the pouch.
"I seem to be more welcome here than at home. Shame the tea is horrendous around here," he said, then focused on the screens. "Looks like it's finally starting," he sighed in relief. It seemed he hoped to escape as soon as possible.
I concentrated too and quickly found my team preparing for the test. Every genin squad received a box full of what I could only assume were pieces of a puzzle. They would have to arrange them correctly to get a clue. The teams went to work quickly, trying different combinations of the symbols on the puzzle.
I noticed the symbols highlighted by one of the cameras.
"It's a poem, quite a short one too. A Haiku perhaps..." I mused quietly, receiving a hum of agreement from the armored man beside me.
"You do have a good eye, Bloody Blossom. I didn't expect you to be a fan of literature," he commented, showing that he was familiar with my exploits.
He might have been briefed by Onoki in preparation for my possible competition.
"I had no idea even the 'Jinchuriki of the Steam' had heard of me," I replied, letting him know that I had heard of him too.
He was quite famous for his role in both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars. I was fortunate that he seemed friendly. Unlike Yugito, this man wouldn't toy with his opponent. On the contrary, he was known for his efficiency and brutality in combat.
Judging by his power, I had little to no chance of survival, but at least I wouldn't have to travel to Iwa to deliver Kurama's message. That alone would make my promise easier to fulfill.
looked back at the screens; the first teams had already finished their puzzles.
On the late summer
A natural, bridge resides
whilst watching the bug
"Well, that's clearly not fair..." I chuckled. "There are many solitary bridges in this village, and I doubt people from the outside know where Taki's jinchuriki lives," I said loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. Nothing like spreading a little chaos.
It's not like they can prove I was snooping around anyway. The armored man let out a hearty laugh, shaking the entire bar.
"Damn it, young man! I almost spilled my tea," he yelled in mock outrage. "You seem to know a lot about Taki." He concluded, carefully placing his cup down.
"Even though the giant tree makes my sensing way worse than usual, I can still sense the ridiculous amount of biju chakra coming from it," I explained quietly to him. There was no need to say this too loudly; I wanted the Taki forces to think for a bit.
"And it looks like your team figured it out too... so did my brat, it would seem," he commented while looking at a wall of screens. I followed his gaze and finally landed my eyes on a screen showing a young blond boy.
He wore standard Iwa attire, grays and browns all around, but he looked suspiciously similar to Ino. The only significant difference was his deeper blond-colored hair.
So, that's young Deidara, huh? It explains the comment about explosions, but why not have a member of the Explosion Corps with him here? I expected him to be trained by them in using the Explosion Release.
I watched Deidara on the screen for a few seconds as he used a small explosion to propel himself across a large gap between rooftops.
"Explosion Release... He seems to be your Explosion Corps rising star," I said with a small smile.
In the original timeline, Itachi effortlessly defeated Deidara to have him join the Akatsuki, and now Itachi's girlfriend might get to fight him for the chunin rank. It was relatively funny. Not funny enough for me to ensure they fight, but amusing nevertheless.
"Unfortunately... that rash brat will be the death of us one day," Han said with a hollow laugh. "And it's not like your team isn't interesting. An Uchiha so soon after... She's clearly strong too." He said, assessing Izumi.
And he was right. I doubt many jonin could beat her if she used Mangekyo. Without it, though, she was solid chunin level, maybe slightly stronger.
I could only nod so as not to give away too much information. Fortunately, my team seemed to figure things out quite quickly, mostly by chasing after a Taki team and knocking them out along the way.
So that's what it feels like, pride in someone else... I smirked victoriously.
It seems my team will be among the first to make it. And they did, much to Taki's team leader's displeasure. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, as they did not break any rules.
Deidara made it too, much to Han's disappointment. The poor man really wanted to get out of there soon.
Soon, all the slots for passing teams were filled, and the team leaders began to slowly leave the lounge.
"You have a tinge of biju chakra on you," Han commented once we were the last two people in the room.
"I'm just a humble messenger, hoping to deliver Kurama's message to his siblings," I said, hoping for some reaction. But the reaction I got was not what I expected.
"Hmm, it's nice to meet someone who has respect for them," he said, a joyful rumble in his voice. "I take it you wish to give it to Kokuo directly..." He added, already spacing out to let his biju speak. It wasn't necessary, but I'll take a jinchuriki who respects their beast over one who hates them any day.
Fortunately, Kokuo wasn't a biju of many words; he simply stared into my soul through Han's newly blue eyes before extending a fist towards me, seemingly finding me worthy of a fist bump.
Is it weird that this is a biju's preferred form of communicating with people? Meh, who cares? It's time to send a message.
I bumped my fist into the comically larger fist in front of me, relaying Kurama's words to Kokuo, as well as my conversation with Chomei.
I can only hope Han doesn't get captured this time; it would be a shame to lose someone like him.
"Thank you." Kokuo's words sounded like a leaking pressure cooker or teakettle, like steam rushing out of a very hot place.
"Just fulfilling a promise." I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately. But it seems to mean a lot to the biju.
"Let's go see what Taki has prepared for the second test, shall we?" I asked aloud. Mostly, it was for myself, but Han was welcome to join me, and join me he did.
The trip toward the bridge was short. It looks like I finally found someone who could keep up with me when I used Hirenkyaku.
Yeah, fighting Han is out of the question. I doubt I would be able to run away, much less fight him.