Greetings my treasured readers, it's time for a new chapter of New Life in Naruto?! I'll admit, updating this chapter took longer than I thought and I got stuck quite a few times. Then there was the fact I was very busy that I barely found any time to log in, let alone write anything. But I finished in the end and the curtain is about to rise, so please enjoy the show!


Chapter Nineteen: Questions and Answers

You know, I probably should have seen this coming when I decided to reveal Isobu in front of Naruto and Iruka. Why else would I be standing in front of Hiruzen in his office in front of pretty much every clan head and jonin in the village? I could practically feel the wariness in their stares. It's not helping that Shisui is also here and giving me an expressionless look, which was impressive since he has no eyes. The only reason I wasn't panicking or trying to bolt is because I was prepared for this and had Isobu to back me up. That's not to say I'm not nervous, far from it, I'm downright terrified!

No one had said a single word since we entered the hokage's office, which is starting to feel cramped with every passing second. Even though I looked calm, that charade was quickly fading. I just got to remember to not reveal anything too suspicious, or else it's game over. I don't even want to think of what they'll do to me for hiding Isobu from them.

"Kojiro." Hiruzen said, breaking the silence and causing me to flinch at, what I dubbed as, his hokage voice. "Do you know why you were brought here?"

"Yes sir." I nodded, deciding to face the music and hope everything goes smoothly.

"Then I'll start." Shikaku said, taking a step forward to get my attention and I knew he was being serious here. "From what we understand, you grew a tail to protect Iruka, didn't you?"

"I did." I nodded, trying to hide my nervousness as I looked at the other clan heads.

"How?" The question came from, who I can only assume is Kiba's mother, Tsume. "As far as we know, the Kurosawa clan don't grow tails."

"Um, well…" I muttered, trying not to look anyone in the eye as I tried to think of what to say. "I-it's not a clan trait."

"If it's not a clan trait, then what is it?" Hiashi was the next to ask, and his active Byakugan was admittedly intimidating.

"I may have an idea." All eyes turned to Shibi Aburame, honestly, I forgot he was in the room. "And I believe some of you think so as well."

"What is it, Shibi?" Choza asked, glancing over to Shikaku and Inoichi who only looked at me with appraising eyes.

"It's the only explanation when you rule out all other possibilities." Shikaku muttered, holding his chin in deep thought. He then looked at me sternly which made me go stiff as a board. "You're a jinchuriki, aren't you?"

At Shikaku's proclamation, all eyes were now on me, well, all open and closed eyes in Shisui's case. Why do all members of the Nara clan have to be so sharp, especially at a time like this? I was going to say something believable to throw them off Isobu, but now that he said it, there's no use in hiding it. I knew I was playing a dangerous game when I used Isobu's tail, and now I'm wondering if it was worth it. Well, no use in regretting it now, best to just rip it off like a band-aid.

I lowered my head to avoid looking anyone in the eye and responded in my softest voice possible. "Yes."

"Did you know about this, Shisui?" Inochi questions the blind Uchiha, which makes sense since I was living with him.

"I didn't." Shisui replied truthfully, still looking at me, which is making me feel even guiltier than ever before. "Kojiro didn't tell me anything about it."

"I don't blame the kid." Tsume said, waving a hand dismissively before looking at everyone in the room. "Jinchuriki have always been mistreated."

"If you don't mind us asking, which one?" Kurenai asked, the gentleness of her voice calmed my anxiety a little.

"The three-tails." I replied, looking around the room until I caught sight of Kakashi as I willed one of Isobu's tails in the open.

"That's impossible." Shikaku muttered, staring at the tail with speculation. "The three-tails' jinchuriki should be the hidden mist's mizukage."

"I honestly don't know how it happened." I said, wrapping Isobu's tail around myself as a form of comfort and protection. I lowered my head as I tried to remember the day Isobu was sealed inside me. "All I remember was celebrating my sixth birthday, seeing my parents dead bodies, and somehow ending up in the woods."

"Nothing else comes to mind?" Inoichi inquired, holding his chin in deep thought as I shook my head. He hummed for a moment before turning his attention to Hiruzen. "Lord hokage, do you want me to see if I can recover his memories?"

My head shot up at that, my eyes widened both in surprise and fear. If I let them look in my head, then they'll see memories of my past life. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. I had to think quickly, maybe I can have Isobu block them. No, that would just make me suspicious and like I'm hiding something.

"Unfortunately, we cannot." Hiruzen shook his head, to my relief and confusion as he looked at me then to Shisui. "I'm sure you all remember the incident of Shisui and Kojiro's disappearance." He rested his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together. "The perpetrator has made it so we cannot get any information out of Kojiro."

"What do you mean, lord hokage?" Kurenai asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"It's because of a jutsu they claimed to have created." Shisui explained, gaining the attention of the occupants of the room. "They turn their body into a blood-like substance and enter their target's body through an open wound."

"After stealing Shisui's sharingan, he left a piece of themself inside Kojiro." Hiruzen continued, looking at me with speculative eyes. "If he tells anyone, or if we try to extract information from him, that piece will kill Kojiro."

Everyone's eyes were now on me again and I was starting to feel like a museum exhibition. Although, the one whose eyes I was worried about were Hiashi's because he can see chakra. Luckily, I already took that into consideration when I used Isobu's tail, I just hope it works. Once I saw him activating his Byakugan, I momentarily flared my chakra, signaling for Isobu to begin. The plan, as much as I didn't want to do it, was to temporarily let out my doppelganger.

Whenever I went into my mindscape, I always felt like there was chakra other than mine and Isobu's there. Curious, I investigated and found that it belonged to my doppelganger that Isobu imprisoned. I was confused about that, but found that it was an opportunity to take advantage of. By making a small crack in its coral prison, Isobu and I could let a small amount of its chakra out. This way, even if they use the Byakugan, there would be three chakras in my body when they look. I held my breath when Hiashi didn't say anything for a minute.

"It's true." Hiashi finally said, deactivating his Byakugan and I silently let out a sigh of relief. "I saw three different chakras in his body, the boy's, the three-tails, and a faint trace of another."

"And because it's now part of his bloodstream, we can't extract it." Asuma muttered, looking like he wanted to smoke right now.

"What about the three-tails?" Kakashi pointed out, looking at the tail that was still wrapped around me. "Can we assume it's not a threat to the village?"

"Isobu wouldn't hurt anyone." I asserted, unwrapping Isobu's tail around myself and letting it wave behind me.

"Isobu?" Kakashi blinked owlishly and I covered my mouth with my hands.

'Crap, I wasn't supposed to tell them his name!' I thought in panic, feeling Isobu's tail going stiff from my slip up.

"Kojiro, answer me honestly." I gulped at Hiruzen's serious expression and the looks of the others made me want to hide somewhere. "What is your connection with the three-tails?"

'Well, I already spilled the beans, might as well.' I thought resignedly, removing my hands from my mouth and lowering them. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before looking Hiruzen in the eyes. "He's my partner."

"Your partner?" Hiruzen repeated, lowering his head so his hat hid his eyes from sight.

"Yes." I nodded, tapping into Isobu's chakra to form a one tailed beast cloak around myself. "More than that, he's my friend."

My declaration and formation of the chakra cloak had a variety of reactions ranging from surprise to skepticism. Can't say I blame them considering the reputation tailed beasts have. However, the reaction that worried me the most was Hiruzen's. He hadn't said anything since I gave my answer to his question. In fact, he hasn't even moved an inch, he's so still you can mistake him for a statue.

To be honest, I was starting to get a little scared because my life is literally in Hiruzen's hands now. As the hokage, whatever he says goes, no ifs, ands, or buts about it no matter who objected. It was a terrifying thought, my fate being decided by a few words. Either my life goes on as normal, or I'll be treated like every jinchuriki before me. No matter the outcome, nothing will ever be the same once Hiruzen passes his verdict.

"Before I decide anything, I want to ask you one thing, Kojiro." Hiruzen finally said, causing me to go stiff as a board and a bead of sweat trailing down my face. He lifted his head to look me in the eyes, as if he was staring at my very soul, looking for any traces of falsehood. "The three-tails, Isobu was it, is truly not a threat to the village?"

"Yes." I replied immediately, not a trace of hesitation in my response as I willed away the chakra cloak. "I've had Isobu with me since I was six, and not once did I or he tried to destroy the village."

"Hmm." Hiruzen continued to look at me with a contemplative expression and I must admit, his silence was starting to unnerve me a little. He then leaned back into his chair with his eyes closed. "Very well, in respect to your involvement in capturing Mizuki, I'll let this slide."

"R-really?" I managed to stutter out, unable to keep the surprise off my face. I was expecting him to have me contained, not letting me off scot free. 'Here I was worried over nothing.'

"Yes." Hiruzen nodded, opening his eyes to give me a look that sent shivers down my spine. "However, I have some conditions."

'I spoke too soon.' I wanted to hang my head at the realization I just jinxed myself, but refrained from doing that. Instead, I just nervously nodded my head as I dreaded what these conditions were. "Yes, sir."

"First, when you're assigned to your team, your sensei will be surveying you at all times." Hiruzen started, the tone in his voice leaving no room for argument or complaints. I nodded in agreement as I knew this would happen and had no right to protest. "Second, if you want to train in the three-tails' chakra, you must have both mine and your sensei's permission."

'There it is.' I thought blandly as I nodded, having a feeling one or two of the conditions would involve Isobu in some way.

"Third, you're not to use the three-tails' chakra unless it's a life or death situation." Hiruzen continued, his eyes narrowing slightly as if daring me to challenge his authority. His eyes then seemed to look past my shoulder and to the door behind me for some reason. "Lastly, if possible, I want you to teach Naruto to use his tailed beast."

'Eh?' It felt like my brain just crashed when I tried to process what I just heard and was having trouble rebooting. 'Did I hear that correctly?'

"If what you said is true, then it should be possible, correct?" Hiruzen's voice snapped me out of my confused stupor and I looked him in the eye.

'I think it would be best to not mention Kurama already agreeing to give Naruto a chance, Kojiro.' Isobu suggested and I fought not to jump at suddenly hearing his voice. He was so quiet this whole time I forgot he was listening in too.

'Yeah, I don't even know how to explain if they ask questions.' Never before did I ever want to find a rock to crawl under and let this be someone else's problem. Seriously, all of this secret planning is so hard and headache inducing. 'How do antagonists do this on a daily basis?' Choosing not to answer that obviously rhetorical question, I turned my attention back to Hiruzen and nodded my head. "I understand, lord hokage."

Hiruzen just nodded his head in satisfaction and gestured with a hand I was dismissed. I bowed to everyone in the office before opening and stepping out the door. Once I closed the door behind me, I leaned my back against it and let out an enormous sigh of relief. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back against the door as I slowly counted down from ten. My heart won't stop beating against my chest, it felt like I ran a marathon for some reason.

"So…" I opened my eyes and gave the wall beside me a side glance. "How much did you guys hear?"

I was met with silence for a couple moments before a piece of the wall seemingly peeled off and fell to the floor. Hidden behind it were Naruto and Sasuke, much to my not surprise. Okay, Naruto I expected, but I was genuinely surprised to see Sasuke with him. I thought he was at home all this time sleeping the night away, but apparently he wasn't.

"All of it." Sasuke replied, giving the blond beside him a side glare. "This idiot woke me up just to do this."

'Ah, that explains it.' I thought as I mentally smacked myself upside the head. Of course Naruto had some involvement with Sasuke being here. I just sighed before giving my friends a tired, yet apologetic smile. "Well, now you guys know."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Naruto questioned, adjusting the headband Iruka gave him.

"It's rather hard to bring up in conversation." I explained, glancing out a nearby window to see the sun shining brightly. "Look, I promise I'll explain everything after team assignments." I brought a hand up to cover a yawn I've been holding in. "Right now, I just want to go home and get some sleep."

"But the sun's already out." Naruto pointed out in confusion, looking out the window.

"And what have we been doing last night?" I deadpanned, watching the blond sheepishly scratching the back of his head. I nodded at the sight before walking past Naruto and Sasuke. "I'll see you guys at team assignments."


As I walked home, some villagers were already up and about, getting ready for the day. Most of them being owners of some sort of business, others just casually roaming the streets. This was rather nice, the quiet peacefulness of it all lets me think without interruption. Most of my thoughts were how to proceed from here on out and measures to take. Particularly on the conditions Hiruzen set for me about Isobu.

With those conditions, I won't be able to train in Isobu's chakra until I get his and my team's sensei's permission. That really throws a monkey wrench in my training schedule. With how tailed beasts are seen throughout the years, it's going to be hard to get permission. I could always train in secret again, but then Hiruzen has that damn crystal ball.

'I'm too tired for all this.' I thought exhaustedly, seeing my house coming in view as I let out another yawn. 'Maybe some sleep will help.'

"Tired, Kojiro?" I jumped at the sudden voice and quickly turned around to see Shisui standing in front of me.

"Shisui!" I shouted in surprise, suddenly wide awake with my hand over my chest to calm my beating heart. I then pouted now that the chances of me sleeping dropped to zero. "Not anymore thanks to you!"

Shisui just chuckled before his face got serious, which was not good in my situation. "Kojiro, why didn't you tell me about the three-tails?"

'Of course he asks that.' I couldn't blame him for asking that question, we got close after all these years. So I just scratched the back of my head and looked anywhere but him. "I just wanted to be normal."

This was all an act of course, after all, how can anyone call themselves normal if they're reincarnated into their favorite anime and manga series? Let's not forget the fact that I also have a tailed beast sealed inside me. Yeah, the definition of normal clearly excludes me in every sense of the word.

"Isobu told me how jinchuriki were viewed and treated." I continued, shuffling my feet as I fiddled with my hair stick. "I didn't want that, so I decided to keep him a secret." I glanced at Shisui to see he was still giving me a serious look. "Sorry."

Shisui didn't say anything for what felt like minutes before resting a hand on my head. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Shisui?" I looked at Shisui with a mix of both surprise and uncertainty.

"I would have made the same decision if I was in your shoes." Shisui patted me on the head before walking past me. "Let's head home, you need to rest for team assignments."

"How can I rest when I'm not tired anymore?" I muttered before following Shisui and adjusting my new headband. I ran my hand over the leaf symbol carved on the metal and couldn't help the grin on my face. 'I'm actually a ninja now, this is so cool!'

"You seem to be forgetting something, Kojiro." Isobu pointed out, much to my confusion as I'm pretty sure I'm not forgetting anything. He seemed to have caught on to my confusion as he debated whether to tell me or not. "The genin test?"

After hearing those words, I tripped over my own feet and waved my arms to keep my balance. That obviously didn't work as my face ate dirt faster than Minato going from the hidden leaf to the hidden stone. And again I could hear that damn crow flying overhead going 'aho, aho.'

'I forgot about that!' I pushed myself to my hands and knees before placing a hand over my stinging face.

"Are you okay, Kojiro?" Shisui asked, kneeling down next to me and helping me to my feet. "That sounded like it hurt."

"It did." I groaned in response, lightly touching a scratch on my cheek. I immediately retracted my hand at the stinging pain and let out a small hiss.

"Let's hurry home and get you treated." Shisui suggested, lightly pushing me in the direction of the house. Shisui is amazing, despite being blind now, he still somehow knows where he's going.

The moment we stepped through the door, Shisui directed me to the living room and sat me down on the couch. He then disappeared to find the first-aid kit we keep somewhere. While he was away, I decided to use my chakra to make a floating ball of water. Very carefully, I used the water ball to wash away the dirt to avoid infection. Not gonna lie, it still stung when the water touched the scratches. Once I was fully clean of dirt, I threw the water out an open window.

'Wait, why was the window open?' I wondered, staring at the open window and I can already tell that question marks were dancing over my head. Shaking my head, I got to my feet and went to close the window. 'Note to self: make sure all windows are closed before leaving the house.'

With that out of the way, I returned to the couch and started thinking over what to do now. Team assignments usually set the graduates in groups of three with a jonin sensei. Which means I have to somehow end up on Naruto's team no matter what. Problem is, they normally pair the dead last with the top boy and girl of the class. Basically, Naruto being on a team with Sasuke and Sakura was inevitable.

That's why handy plan B is always ready to step up to the plate when needed. My plan B is that if I end up on a different team, I just try to get on the same missions as Naruto. I know, it's more complicated than that, it doesn't take a genius to figure that much out. It just takes a bit of preparation and a lot of good excuses, which I'm good at.

And if plan B fails, I can always rely on good old plan C. What's that, you want to know what plan C is? I'm so glad you asked, because this plan can be executed at any time no matter what. Plan C is my favorite back-up plan because of how simple it is. And plan C is… ditching my team and following Naruto's!

Of course, I have to pass the genin test first if I want to do any of my plans. While funny to watch, I know how serious these tests are. After forming a team, the graduates have to take a test from their jonin sensei. Problem is, I assume each test is different and they all have a sixty-six percent failure rate. The thought of my potential team being one of the failures is enough to set me on edge.

'Worst comes to worse, I can always go rogue.' I nodded at my decision before grimacing at a sudden thought. 'Ugh, but then I'll be hunted by hunter ninjas non-stop and be vulnerable to the Akatsuki when they make their move.'

It's times like these knowing the future is a bad thing, it makes you overthink everything, which leads to a massive headache. Just the thought of running with kunai raining down on me is terrifying enough, I don't want to live it. Despite becoming a ninja, I have zero plans of dying again. I like this life, and I would like to keep it until I'm old and gray, thank you very much.

"Found it." Shisui announced as he walked in with the first-aid kit in his hands. He sat down next to me before opening the kit and feeling inside. "Now let's disinfect those scratches."

"I can do that myself." I said, reaching for the disinfectant and cotton pads before closing the kit. "I already washed off the dirt."

"Be careful not to use too much." Shisui warned as I soaked the pad before lightly patting the scratches. I hissed as soon as the disinfectant touched them. "Are you sure you can do it?"

"Yeah, can't let a little pain stop me." I said resolutely, continuing on with the other scratches. 'I should just use my chakra.'

"You were thinking of using your chakra, weren't you?" I jumped at Shisui's accurate statement, which led me to press a little too hard. I cried out at the stinging pain, dropping the soaked cotton pad and tears building in my eyes as my fingers twitched. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Why does disinfectant have to sting so much?" I whined, picking up the cotton pad and continued to disinfect the scratches. "It feels like a bunch of needles are digging into my skin."

"That just means it's working." Shisui chuckled at my misfortune before standing up with the first-aid kit in hand. "When you're done, be sure to get some rest, you'll need it to get your picture taken tomorrow."

"I know." I drawled out, finally finishing the torture that is disinfecting before also standing up. I removed my hair stick and hair band to let my hair fall. "Gotta look my best for my ninja ID after all."


The next day, I was with the photographer who would be taking my picture for my ninja ID. I'll admit, my eye was twitching the whole time I was with him. The reason being he doubted the documents I gave him. What was so doubtful about the documents I gave him? You should all know the answer to that at this point, my gender. I was nearing the point of doing something reckless and stupid to prove my gender when he finally took the picture.

I then met with Hiruzen to get his approval of both my picture and the documents to 'officially' make me a genin. Thanks to Isobu, I remembered I won't be considered a genin until I pass my jonin sensei's test. There wasn't much to talk about and was out of there almost as quickly as I got in.

With nothing left to do, I decided to walk around the village for a while to kill some time. I contemplated training with Isobu's chakra, but immediately shot the idea down. I'm already on thin ice as it is, I don't want to make it thinner. Maybe go to the library and study on a few medicinal herbs? Yeah, that seems like a good way to kill time.

It was then I saw Naruto pointing at a wooden fence and I wanted to laugh so badly. He was clearly being followed by Konohamaru, and terribly disguising himself. For one thing, he was holding the tarp sideways. Secondly, you can see a small tuft of his hair poking out from the top.

'Aaaand I'm turning away now.' I turned my back to what may potentially be a hilarious adventure and walked away. 'Best not to mess with that bonding time.'

"Why are you leaving?" Isobu asked, clearly confused as to why I'm not getting involved.

'I kinda liked how they bonded in my past life.' I explained as I made my way to the library. Needing some excitement, I decided to roof hop around the village instead. 'There are some things that are better the way they are.'

"Isn't Naruto going to teach him his sexy jutsu, though?" Isobu asked, confusion evident in his voice.

'Yup' I replied happily, snickering at the memory of the jutsu that soon became a running gag throughout the series. 'I can't wait for the hilarity to begin!'

"What are you snickering about?" I looked to the side to see that Sasuke was roof hopping beside me.

"Nothing, just remembered something funny." I replied as we both landed on the academy's outdoor field. "So what were you up to?"

"I was trying to find a place to train." Sasuke replied, looking around wearily and I knew right away who he was on the lookout for.

"My place?" I suggested, jabbing a thumb over my shoulder in the direction my house was. "Can't get more secure than there."

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded in agreement before we both roof hopped all the way to my house.

"Taijutsu only?" I asked, getting a shrug of indifference from the young Uchiha. "Alright, first to use weapons or jutsu loses."

"Trying to make a game out of it?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow as we landed in my front yard.

"No one said training can't be fun." I countered, placing my hands behind my head before walking around the house to get to the backyard.

Once we got to the backyard, we both distanced ourselves from each other and took a battle stance. Sasuke scowled in my direction while I just smirked as we waited for the other to make a move. As if it was the referee, a bird let out a cry, which resulted in us moving at the same time.

Sasuke moved for a punch, but I caught his fist before it reached my face and parried it to the side. I brought a knee up to hit him in the solar plexus, only to be blocked by Sasuke's foot. I then used my free hand for a palm thrust to Sasuke's chin which he moved his head to the side. We both pushed each other off ourselves and backed away to gain some distance.

I smirked as I charged towards Sasuke again and he took a defensive stance. Just as I was inches away from tackling him, I bolted to the side and landed a roundhouse to his back. Sasuke placed his hands to the ground and retaliated with a kick of his own. I blocked the kick with my arms, but felt pain in the abdomen from another kick. The blow knocked the air out of me as I backed away and held my abdomen with an arm.

"You're getting sloppy, Kojiro." Sasuke said, flipping himself to his feet and turning to face me.

"Nah, just thought I let you get one in." I replied, a smirk still on my face as I straightened out and removed my arm from my stomach.

Sasuke just scoffed before we were charging at each other again. It was standstill as traded and blocked blows. Neither of us were giving an inch as we blocked punches and kicks and threw ones of our own. We were suddenly in a deadlock, where we each held a limb in place. We struggled to break out of the deadlock first, but neither side was having any of that.

We eventually broke the deadlock and backed away from each other again. This went on for a while with us trading blows and blocking. There were times where we mixed things up with a flip or two, or even unorthodox methods. Sasuke soon had the advantage in our sparring match with me backing away.

'Time for a counterattack.' I thought as I blocked another punch before using Sasuke's arm as support to flip myself over him. 'Got you now!'

While I was still airborne, I maneuvered my body so I was now standing on Sasuke's shoulders. I then stomped on Sasuke's left shoulder, causing him to lose balance. Using that opportunity, I flipped myself off him. I then grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back before slamming him into the ground with a foot firmly planted on his head.

"Gotcha!" I shouted victoriously, applying my weight when Sasuke struggled. "Try getting out of this!"

"Isn't this the same way Kakashi pinned him down?" Isobu asked curiously, having noticed the way I pinned down Sasuke.

'It is?' I looked down, and indeed it was, I pinned Sasuke the same way Kakashi did. 'Huh, what a coincidence.'

That was a huge mistake on my part, because Sasuke soon freed himself and now had me pinned. He had my arms on my back, a knee on the back of my legs, and applied his weight to make it more difficult for me to escape.

"What was that you were saying?" Sasuke asked mockingly, a smug smirk on his face at how easily he turned the fight around.

'Damn it!' I clenched my teeth in frustration before letting out a sigh and laying my head resignedly on the ground. "Alright, you win."

"Was there any doubt?" Sasuke questioned as he got off me and released my arms.

"Keep talking." I grumbled, getting to my feet and rubbing my wrists. "You'll get yours one of these days."

"Doubt it." Sasuke shrugged indifferently before turning his back to me and walking away. "Thanks for the spar."

"No problem." I rolled my shoulders before grinning in Sasuke's direction. "What are friends for?"

Sasuke stopped walking at the word friends and looked at me from over his shoulder. "... Yeah."

With that response, Sasuke continued walking and was soon gone. It wasn't much, but I'll get him to openly say we're friends eventually. Naruto and I pretty much made that our mission. Sasuke has no problem saying it as a passing comment when it's just us, but never in public. Naruto and I have no idea why he doesn't want to openly admit it. Okay, that's a lie, I have a vague idea why.

It concerns a certain dojutsu and a misinterpreted condition to attain a new power. Add that to the fact Sasuke is after revenge and doesn't like anyone getting close to him. Naruto and I are the exception because of both my interference and Naruto's persistence.

Speaking of which, I still need to convince Naruto to partner up with Kurama. Oh boy, I can already feel a headache coming on. Is it really a good idea to partner up two stubborn hotheads? The answer depends on which hotheads, in my case, you might as well partner a match up with gasoline. No, that is not an exaggeration when you consider their personalities.

'I don't wanna!' I wailed as I entered my mindscape and saw Isobu waiting for me with Kurama next to him.

"Suck it up, brat." Kurama growled, lifting his head from his paws to glare at me. "That whining is annoying."

"Remember Kurama, we had a deal." Isobu said placatingly, placing a tail on my head in a comforting manner.

"Hmph, I know." Kurama muttered looking down at me as his tails swayed behind him. "I may not look it, but I do keep my word."

"Then you'll team up with Naruto?" I asked hopefully, praying to the sage of six paths that this isn't some sick joke.

"I wouldn't go that far." Kurama replied, poking me in the shoulder with a claw before resting his head on his paws again and closed his eyes. "I'll only help him if he needs it." He cracked an eye open to look at me again with a contemplative look. "Whether or not we'll team up will depend."

"I guess that's fair." I nodded, glad that the nine-tailed fox is at least going to be cooperative for the time being.

"When will you contact him?" Isobu asked, lifting me up and placing me on his head where I sat down.

"When I feel like it." Kurama turned his head away from us and closed his eye.

"That is by far the most childish response I have ever heard." I deadpanned, which earned me a glare from the fox. I laughed nervously at the glare and looked anywhere but Kurama. "Anyway, gottagobye!"

I quickly left my mindscape and ran into my house to prepare dinner when I noticed how late it was getting. Zensuke was apparently in the house, because I saw him in the living room talking with Shisui. He paled with he saw me entering the kitchen and promptly pushed me away, insisting he'll cook for us. Talk about rude, I can cook simple things… and get indigestion soon after.


Now it's time for Review Corner, where I reply to your reviews and answer any questions to the best of my abilities.

Karsap: Worry not, the curry of life arc will happen in the future.

frankieu: I'm happy to hear that you liked the previous chapter. I hope this chapter has met and exceeded your expectations.

ThePowerfullKira: That's an interesting suggestion, I'll keep it under consideration when I decide what Kojiro will summon.

MBS41: It warms my heart to hear that you love my story and think it's amazing. Thank you for pointing out that tidbit, I'll admit that was a mistake on my part. However, as I thought it was necessary, I decided to keep it in there instead of rewriting the whole thing. I appreciate your detailed and well informed critic and reassure you that it won't happen again. All I ask is that you forgive this one transgression of mine.

jamisoncollins45: Yes, I plan to have Kojiro learn Earth Style jutsu in the future. Unfortunately, Wind and Lightning Style will be impossible for Kojiro, though I was tempted to give him those too. However, that would have made him too OP so early in the story, so I scrapped that idea much to my regret.

LordZarcon: He doesn't have the Sharingan, he gave them to Itachi to further the plot and fake Shisui's death.

guest reader: Oh how I was tempted to do that, but I'm trying to keep this R-rated, despite how hilarious it would have been.

J.R.E.D.C: I have to agree with you on the Frog Kumite. Whether Kojiro learns this and the Rasengan is still up in the air.

setokayba2n: I am deeply sorry for the wait and I hope it was worth it. I indeed made another chapter this year and again I'm sorry for the wait. I'm writing these chapter as fast as my busy schedule will allow. I hope you understand and continue to support my work.

LezarioFanficio: I'm glad you love my story and that you binged the whole thing. Yes, a lot of you were upset I killed off Kojiro's parents, I killed a part of me as well to write it. But as you said, he's in Konoha now and with Shisui. So am I, I already quite a few ideas for when I reach that part of the story.

Sadinhuu: I'm doing alright, thank you!

DragonBladeB5: Good question, I would have to say ninja. While a knight has armor, it'll make it difficult for them to move. A ninja, on the other hand, has no such restriction and is more agile than a knight. Yes, I have seen Yo-kai Watch with my nephew.

And that is it for Review Corner, now it is time for the curtain to drop and I look forward to seeing you all again in the next act!