CHAPTER 25: A Brewing Strife

Konoha… Hokage Office…

"So how is it, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked his trusted Technical Advisor as he read some various reports for his information and approval as the current Hokage. "How did your marriage interview with Shiho, our resident cryptoanalyst and astronomer, go last night?"

"That's not a marriage interview. We just discussed something regarding the moon. Remember, we also have an Otsutsuki in there under the name of Toneri. So I need her reports if she happened to observe any weird activities that she took note while monitoring the moon." Shikamaru replied with an uninterested tone.

"Don't be like that…" Shizune replied to the current Nara Clan's head while sorting some of the completed reports. "I mean, Shiho made an effort to groom herself even right after Pain's attack on Konoha. Remember her wearing those nerdy glasses and her uncombed hair back then? Just look at her now. She's now a beauty with many other Shinobi suitors aiming at her since the implementation of that Law, but she declined them all. Yet, she immediately accepted dining out with you!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. However… I just can't go ahead and assume things. Or Temari will kick my ass big time all the way to Suna."

"Then just endure that ass-kicking from her if that's the means of her accepting that you're also bound by the Daimyo's Law," Tsunade said while sitting on the table nearest to the window while drinking her favorite sake, earning an annoyed expression from Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Shizune, since they were performing plenty of paperwork while she was leisurely enjoying herself in front of them.

"Whatever." Shikamaru said to the former Hokage. "And it seemed like my batchmates were also currently able to slowly adjust to that new law. Even Kiba has a scheduled date tomorrow… Well… that date was still up in the air due to that sudden mission due to the distress call from the ANBU group who were acting as the escorts of our Elders while on their way back here in Konoha after their urgent meeting with our Fire Daimyo."

"That's right. Considering that the ANBU who's escorting them were the best on their field, yet they still sent such a distress call, is quite alarming." Kakashi added as he continued reading. "So with Kiba being one of our most experienced Jounins, including Sai, Chouji, and Ino acting as their Squad Leader, we have sent them as an immediate backup to help them from whatever situation those ANBUs were dealing with."

"Since we are already at it, let me ask you, Kakashi. Are you concerned about that recent meeting that those Elders had with the Fire Daimyo?" Tsunade asked her successor.

"Can't say I'm not," Kakashi replied. "But most likely that it has something to do with that Law. Because the real target of that Law here in Konoha were Naruto and Sasuke. Yet, the Daimyos from other Shinobi Countries still can't make a move on them."

"Hou… Because from what I'm seeing, you're just being such a doting Sensei for them…"

"Of course," Kakashi replied with an eye smile. "There were already a lot of politically arranged marriage proposals for those two since Konoha declared the implementation of that new Law. However, as much as possibly can, I am disregarding them up till now. I even burned some of those proposals personally… because I want those two to find happiness on their own… And not force them into some political marriage that could possibly create turbulence on this current peace."

"So that's why the Fire Daimyo chose to communicate with the Elders instead of you on this specific case. The Fire Daimyo somewhat had an idea that you're ignoring those politically arranged proposals intended for Naruto and Sasuke." Shikamaru sighed.

"However, won't that create a political conflict between Konoha and the Fire Daimyo? I mean, we're still under the Fire Country's legal jurisdiction, after all. The overall fundings and economy of Konoha were still under the scope and judgment of the Fire Daimyo's political authority." Shizune asked in concern.

"That will be a conflict not between the Fire Daimyo and Konoha, but between me, as Hatake Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf, and the Fire Daimyo," Kakashi replied with a serious expression. "After all, while I am not the kind of person to do something like this, my name is still my very own bargain chip. Not only that I am a renowned Shinobi from the entire Shinobi Nations, I also am the Sensei of Team Seven, the team that defeated Otsutsuki Kaguya and saved the world from Infinite Tsukuyomi during the previous War. So they should somehow know how close I am with my students."

"And with Naruto and Sasuke being those said students, they can't just do something against my tenure as a Hokage since they know that those two will definitely react if they ever try to do something against Konoha. And since those two were the targets of the Daimyo on this specific Law, they won't take chances on that part, or they will lose whatever favor they have on them. So they will try to maintain a good relationship with me even on paper at the very least."

"After hearing that, I can say that I'm glad that you're the one I chose to be my successor." Tsunade gave an appreciative grin to Kakashi.

"…" Kakashi also returned the smile to his predecessor. "That's the least I can do. Because I can only prolong these politically arranged marriages being proposed by those Daimyos on those two for so long. If things get too complicated to the point that I have to choose between the Village and those two, I don't know if I can still create a compromise. After all, the last thing I want to do is betray Obito's ideals… I don't want to abandon my comrades and become an ultimate scumbag."

However, as he returned his focus to his paperwork, he saw a sealed envelope, with a strange seal that Kakashi was familiar with.

"A special kind of blood seal," Kakashi muttered, getting the attention of those who were currently in the room. "A mail that can only be opened by using a drop of blood to its intended receiver. If such requirement to open the letter wasn't met, this entire letter will burn, turning it into ash, in a second."

Kakashi then bit a small part of his thumb, pinched a part of the small cut on his skin, then directed the drop of his blood on the specific seal.

As Kakashi opened the envelope, he pulled a folded letter from it, then read its contents with interest… And the content of the letter made him narrow his eyes.

"It is a letter from the Land of Spring, formerly known as the Land of Snow, that was personally sent by that Country's current Daimyo herself, Koyuki Kazahana," Kakashi muttered, enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Telling us… a very important confidential intel…"

"What is it?" Shikamaru immediately asked.

"She said that Doto Kazahana, her uncle who tried to kill her in his hopes to become the Daimyo of that country instead of her, has now completed his imprisonment tenure and has been freed, albeit was branded as a persona-non-grata on the Land of Spring. However…"

"…" Tsunade suddenly had a bad feeling about what Kakashi was about to say…

"In addition to that, Doto Kazahana has been confidentially welcomed by the Raikage on the Hidden Cloud Village without the discretion of the Kumogakure's Council." Kakashi finished his statement with narrowed eyes.

"Huh? Is there any context why all of you reacted like that after reading that letter's content?" Shizune immediately asked.

"We, Team Seven, were the ones who foiled and defeated Doto Kazahana's plans on killing Koyuki-hime and taking over the by-then Land of Snow, more-or-less ten years ago," Kakashi answered. "It was a difficult battle back then since Doto and his men were using some kind of armor that can easily nullify Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and they also used a device against Naruto back then to restrict him from using his own Chakra, thus also temporarily sealing the Kyuubi's Chakra in the process as well…"

"Oh… you mean that Koyuki-hime… the renown actress Koyuki Kazahana?" Shikamaru finally remembered. "I can clearly remember Naruto being so hyped after that mission back then. He even bragged about him overrunning a train that was running at full speed behind him while carrying Koyuki-hime on his back. Just imagine a 12-yr old kid carrying a 17 yr. old Princess all-the-while out-speeding a train without any form of Chakra enhancements aside from his guts back then is quite a feat."

"Of course. I don't know what kind of motivation Naruto had that time that allowed him to outrun that train." Kakashi said with an eye smile towards Shikamaru. "However, if I am in his shoes, with such a beautiful Princess in such very close intimate physical contact on my back, even I could…"

Kakashi stopped in his tracks as he saw a disgusted look from Shizune and Tsunade…

"Ehem…. Anyways… given that the Raikage was vocally against all the Bijuus being sealed within Naruto and for Sasuke being still listed as a Shinobi of Konoha despite having the Rinnegan, saying that Konoha was in control of the power balance of the Shinobi Nations, we can safely assume that the Raikage was making some dangerous things under the table for his own contingency plans against Naruto and Sasuke right now." Shikamaru said with an annoyed expression.

"But why does the Raikage need to do that? Aren't we currently at peace under the banner of the Shinobi Alliance together with the other Hidden Villages?" Shizune asked in confusion.

"Well, let's just say that he just can't fully trust the peace that we currently have," Kakashi replied to Shizune in a very serious tone. "As I have said before, I might've ended up reacting the same if I were in his shoes. Just imagining two of the most powerful Shinobi of your time together in one Village will definitely cause an alarm to other Shinobi Villages."

"But that's the reason itself why we have the Shinobi Alliance. While Naruto and Sasuke were technically Shinobi of Konoha, they were also under the jurisdiction of the Alliance. So basically, both of them are part of the Shinobi Alliance… its Shinobi military force. The Hidden Villages are supposed to solve anything thru the united actions of the Shinobi Alliance. But if the Raikage was doing something like this… then… it is a very serious breach of trust against the Alliance' provisions."

"But aside from that letter, we don't have anything to prove against the Raikage's action. That letter alone could even stir problems and fuel another kind of conflict if not taken confidentially." Tsunade also said with a serious expression. "If Konoha ended up asking the Raikage regarding this action with this letter as our mere source of information, the Shinobi Alliance might also end up interpreting our intent negatively."

"Damn… what's with all these situations…?" Kakashi rubbed his temple due to the series of problems that he was about to encounter. "Can I request for you to take the helm of the Hokage again, Tsunade-sama?"

"Nah… I'm just a drunkard woman now. I am no longer capable of being a Hokage again." Tsunade said with her usual grin.

It was then that Hinata suddenly entered the Hokage Office.

"I'm sorry for my sudden entry, Rokudaime," Hinata said while lightly panting.

"Hinata? Why the rush?" Kakashi replied to the lavender-haired girl.

"Naruto-kun, just after waking up, immediately left the Village after sensing an ongoing battle a few tens of kilometers northwest of Konoha…!"

"Huh? He had just recovered, and now sticking his nose again into things he shouldn't?" Shikamaru replied to Hinata's statement. "Why did you not stop that reckless idiot from doing so?"

"I know that Naruto-kun wouldn't react like that if things weren't serious, Shikamaru-san." Hinata answered. "Because according to him, he sensed some Bijuu Chakra being used on that battle, so he must interfere and see to it personally why he sensed the Tailed Beasts Chakra in there… because he doesn't want the Bijuu's Power to be used as mere tools for conflicts!"

"…!"

Everyone in the room had the same surprised expression painted on their faces upon hearing Hinata's words. After all, it is a given that all of the Bijuus were already sealed within Naruto. But there were some rare instances where certain individuals like Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the previous War, and even Sora of the Fire Temple, were capable of using Bijuu's Chakra despite not having the actual Bijuus within them.

So their surprise was not about Naruto sensing the Bijuu's Chakra from the ensuing battle, but more of… where did those Bijuu's Chakra come from?

"Wait a moment… northwest of Konoha…" Shikamaru muttered to himself. "That's the direction where Ino and the others were sent for a mission due to the ANBU's distress call!"

"In that case, we need to send a back-up ASAP… no… not needed…" Kakashi stopped his statement. "If Naruto was already on his way there, then there is no need for additional backup. In fact, since we're dealing with the Tailed Beasts Chakra here, he might be the best backup that we can send for them…"

-Scene Change-

"Damn… so strong!" Kiba said as he held a wounded Akamaru after being struck by a powerful blow. He was also heavily wounded due to another attack that he had just previously receivedfrom their opposition …

"No wonder why the ANBU ended up with no choice but to send a distress call…" Sai said as he immediately drew and materialize one of his most powerful ink creations came to life from his customized drawing scroll. "CHOSHIN GIGA (Super God Imitating Drawing)!"

Sai then used his newly created ink giants to intercept an attack from their opposition. The attacker and the Choshin Giga collided, creating a massive explosion that shook the forest.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, the two Choshin Giga giants returned to Sai's side. However, with a roar, their opposition prepared to attack again…

…it was a humanoid being clad with Jinchuuriki Version 2 cloak resembling that of a fox silhouette, with four tails wagging on its back…

"RRROOOAAARRR!"

"So there still were remnants of Bijuu's Chakra around despite all of them being already sealed within Naruto…" Ino muttered as she stood in front of the wounded ANBUs and the set of carriages containing the Konaha's Elders. She was currently aiming to use her signature Shintenshin on their roaring opposition. "This will be a very difficult battle for us…"

"Just like Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the previous War…" Chouji said as he immediately entered his Butterfly Mode, increasing his size while also gaining a large pair of Chakra-based, butterfly wings. "Let's go, Kiba!"

"Yeah!" Kiba then performed a single Kage Bunshin while Akamaru also transformed into a Kiba Clone, creating a trio of Kiba on the scene, then… "JINJU KONGO HENGE: SANTORO (Human Beast Mixture Transformation: Three-Headed Wofl)!"

All of a sudden, the three Kibas transformed into a huge, three-headed, white-furred dog, all roaring towards the Jinchuuriki in front of them.

The Jinchuuriki, on the other hand, then began releasing orbs of black and white Chakra all over his body, then began absorbing the black orbs in its mouth…

"Oh God…" Ino muttered in horror. "Chouji, Kiba, don't allow him to fire that jutsu!"

"OOIGA GOTENGA (Fang Chasing Rotating Fang)!" Kiba then began rotating vertically at massive speeds, making him look like a gigantic white wheel of hurricane…

"CHODAN BAKUGEKI (Butterfly Bullet Bombing)!" Chouji then focused a huge amount of Chakra on his gigantic right fist…

Both Kiba and Chouji then charged simultaneously towards the Jinchuuriki… However…

"BIJUU DAMA (Tailed Beast Ball)!" The Jinchuuriki fired a dense, powerfully charged sphere of Chakra from its mouth directly towards the two attacking Shinobi…

The Bijuu Dama collided with Kiba and Chouji's attacks, once again creating a massive explosion in its wake. The explosion dispelled Chouji's Butterfly Mode and Kiba's three-headed dog transformation as they skid backward with visible physical damage all around their bodies…

The Jinchuuriki, on the other hand, also skidded backward with its head implanted on the ground.

"This is just… one of the 'lower-end' Jinchuuriki transformations, yet this is the best we can do against it?" Kiba said while gritting his teeth. "Then… just how powerful Naruto's Kurama Mode actually is right now?"

"Don't think about unnecessary things right now," Chouji said while panting heavily. "The point here is, that thing wasn't even Naruto. If Naruto will be in that exact same form, I bet Naruto will be even more powerful than this thing!"

As the Jinchuuriki struggled to stand up after being stunned due to the previous impact, Sai commanded his Choshin Giga to attack the Jinchuuriki, sending it further skidding backward.

And much to their surprise, Sai's attack dispelled the Jinchuuriki transformation, revealing a Shinobi with almost totally burnt skin due to the drawback of using the dangerous transformation…

"Why did the transformation suddenly dispel?" Sai muttered to himself.

"Think about it later!" Ino yelled as she used her Shitenshin no Jutsu on the Shinobi since it was within her range… making it lose consciousness and fall to the ground, unconscious…

"It's over…" Kiba sighed in relief as he lost all the strength in his leg, back-to-back with Chouji.

"It's been a while since we fought that hard…" Chouji also commented…

"You did well, heir to Akamichi and Inuzuka Clan…" Homura Mitokado said as he walked out of his carriage. "A commendation for your team is well-deserved once we were able to return back to Konoha…"

"Thanks…" Chouji was the one who replied to the Elder.

The injured ANBUs then gathered around each other, tending first aid to each other's wounds…

"The Bijuu's power really is dangerous… are we really sure that Uzumaki Naruto can contain all of them within himself?" Koharu Utatane, the female Elder, spoke this time.

"I'd apologize for my rudeness in advance, but the fact that the Bijuu themselves chose Naruto as their sole Jinchuuriki should be enough proof for everyone that the Tailed Beasts and Naruto have mutual understanding and respect for each other. Since the Bijuus know that Naruto will not treat them as weapons of mass destruction, like what you're thinking about them right now. If you will ever decide to forcefully do something on those Bijuus that were currently within Naruto right now, you'll just create a situation and destruction much worse than what you're seeing right now." Kiba said to both Konoha Elders.

"…" Both Konoha Elders surveyed the land and saw nothing but huge destruction due to the recently concluded battle against a wild Jinchuuriki.

"By the way, it seemed like you're not the only one who's returning back to Konoha," Chouji asked the Elders after he saw another, seemingly special carriage that instead of it being embedded with Konoha's symbol, it has that of a seemingly vegetable insignia instead. "Who is that person on that elegant carriage?"

"Another Daimyo that was requested by our Fire Daimyo to be escorted to Konoha for a very important reason," Koharu replied. "And it would be best not to inquire too much about it since this is a political matter outside of your jurisdiction as a Shinobi."

"…?" Kiba and Chouji simply looked towards each other in wonder, making them more curious about who was on board on that other special carriage…

On the other hand…

Ino landed near the now unconscious Jinchuuriki together with Sai a few tens of meters away from Kiba, Chouji, and the Elders.

"We will need to take this guy with us to Konoha and thoroughly examine why he has the Kyuubi's Chakra…" Sai said to Ino.

"Yes. This is not a natural phenomenon like what happened to Kinkaku and Ginkaku during the previous War." Ino said to his fiancé. "After all, when I entered his mind earlier… it seemed like it was an empty mind… no intel… no everything. As if he was just used as a guinea pig for this sort of heinous experiment…"

"…" Sai narrowed his eyes upon hearing the blonde kunoichi's recent findings…

"…!" Ino then suddenly froze in her current position, as if suddenly sensing an imminent danger around them.

"What is it?" Sai immediately looked around, then signaled Kiba and Chouji to immediately prepare for combat.

"This guy… is not alone…" Ino muttered in shock while looking towards the heavily injured, unconscious Jinchuuriki.

At that moment, multiple other Jinchuurikis on the same Version 2 Cloak suddenly leaped out of the woods, then landed around their entourage…

"Eleven… more… Jinchuurikis…?!" Kiba muttered, his expression was suddenly filled with despair.

"What the hell…?!" Was all that Chouji could mutter as he positioned himself on protecting the Konoha Elders near them…

Ino and Sai immediately leaped away, landing near Kiba and Chouji. The injured ANBUs were now also prepared for battle due to the sudden appearance of the other new Jinchuurikis…

"Some have three tails… some have four…" Sai narrowed his eyes, observing the Jinchruukis surrounding them. "Dealing with just one of them already took a lot from us…"

"Can we… even survive this?!" Ino said as she drew a kunai… though she already knew that whatever weapon she had in her pocket right now will not help them escape the current dangerous predicament they're currently in…

The eleven Jincuuriki with varying numbers of tails roared simultaneously. Ino, Sai, Kiba, and Chouji, together with the wounded ANBUs prepared for battle in a formation to protect the Konoha Elders and the other royal carriage….

As the Jinchuurikis prepared their simultaneous attacks…

A powerful presence landed from the sky…

"…!" Everyone on the scene looked in anticipation and wary as the newly arrived Shinobi stood after his superhero-like landing…

"So… they really were… Kurama's Chakra…" The blonde, whiskered Shinobi spoke with his back facing his friends as his Sage coat was being flapped by the mild gust of wind…

"Naruto…!" Kiba and Chouji hung their left and right arms around each other's necks, respectively, in excitement as they exclaimed the name of their friend.

"Heh… what took you so long, dimwit…" Sai said with a relieved sigh.

"I'm glad that you came for us!" Ino exclaimed in happiness while clasping both her hands in a praying motion.

"Yeah… I sensed the Bijuu Chakra all the way from Konoha just earlier…" Naruto said with a side glance. "…and knowing the kind of danger that their Chakra could bring if they happen to end up in the wrong hands, I immediately went here on my own to help you guys. I bet Kakashi-sensei will yell at me once we return back to Konoha after this…"

Naruto then focused his attention on the horde of Jinchuuriki V2 that was now preparing to attack them…

"Ino… tell me all significant information that I need to know before I make my move…" The successor to the Six Paths power muttered to the blonde kunoichi behind him. "And once the battle began… don't try to meddle, or you guys will get caught in my attacks…"

And upon hearing the name of the newly arrived Shinobi, the female girl that was situated within the special carriage embedded with vegetable insignia muttered the same name…

"Naruto…?!"

-Scene Change-

Somewhere on the outskirts of the Hidden Cloud Village…

Raikage Ay, after ensuring that no one was around, entered a camouflaged entrance on his own without any escorts. He entrusted his Office's official duties to Darui for a while, since he already had handled the most important papers earlier.

And on the seemingly deepest part of the camouflaged location, the Raikage entered another room. And in that room, awaits a specific person he intended to meet for the longest time…

"It's a pleasure to be graced with your presence, Raikage-sama." A huge man with long hair, a defined jawline, and matching Killer Bee's physical build greeted the Kage.

"Drop the formalities. This meeting is far from being formal anyways." Ay replied with his usual intimidating voice. "Let's just cut to the chase here, Doto Kazahana."

"Yeah, right." The man, now known as Doto Kazahana, replied casually. "I just want to express my appreciation after accepting me and my group to the Hidden Cloud Village's military force after we are thrown away by the Land of Spring."

"Not specifically you. What I need from you is your Chakra Armor technology. As long as you can provide me the blueprint of that Armor, that's more than enough for me."

"That's a small price to pay in appreciation of what the Hidden Cloud had done for us." Doto Kazahana replied without any hints of him being intimidated by the Raikage. "After all, the Chakra Armor I used in my past attempt to overthrow Koyuki Kazahana that also nearly defeated Hatake Kakashi and his Genin Team back then was just a mere prototype. This entire time that I have been imprisoned, I am already creating calculations in my head based on the Armor's performance during that fight and improving it to somehow lessen, if not totally remove, its' limitations and weaknesses…"

"…and with the Hidden Cloud Village that was capable of creating a technological breakthrough, the world-renown, all-powerful Chakra Diffusion Canon that was capable of destroying the moon in a single blast, I believe that Kumogakure has the proper technology to apply the upgrades to that Chakra Armor, mass-produce it for the use of the Hidden Cloud Shinobi, and tilt the power balance of the current Shinobi System in your Village's favor."

"It is good to know that we were on the same page on that specific part." The Raikage replied seriously. "Just remember though, I only need you for your Chakra Armor technology, and not anything else. So save your military advice for someone else. I will not take any advice from a defeated criminal whose only way to gain power is to assassinate the proper successor of the leadership of his own country."

"But the fact that you're already talking to this so-called defeated criminal like me behind the Shinobi Alliance's back was already a serious breach of trust against them." Doto Kazahana fired back towards the Raikage.

"Don't you dare to bark back against me?! I am the 4th Raikage of the Hidden Cloud. You're only here with your head intact is because I need something from you, nothing else."

"Yes. I apologize for my rudeness, Raikage-sama." Doto lowered his head as an apology and also to hide his malicious smirk against the Raikage.

"The Chakra Armor that will be mass produced for the Hidden Cloud Shinobi will merely be used in case of dire need as part of our contingency plans in case something like the Akatsuki and or someone like Uchiha Madara began to disrupt the current peace we have. That's all there is to it."

"If that's the case, why don't you share this Chakra Armor technology with the entire Alliance if that's the sole reason for all this? Why isolate it for the use of the Hidden Cloud?"

"Power balance." The Raikage replied. "The Hidden Village of the Leaf currently has two of the most powerful Shinobi of this era registered in their ranks. If it continues like this, aside from that Village's already formidable military powers, the Five Great Shinobi Nations' economic balance will also shift towards them, since right now, they are the only ones who have the capability to fight against powerful threats such as the Otsutsukis."

"While I am vocally against the Rinnegan and all the Bijuus to be within Konoha's military jurisdiction, I am just using that specific issue against them for me to establish the need to create contingency measures against powerful beings that leads to the concept of creating this Chakra Armor. However, should the need to use these Chakra Armors come in need, specifically against the Rinnegan and the Bijuus, then all the more reason why we need these weapons to be created and used against them…"

"Interesting… as far as I know, the Rinnegan was currently in Uchiha Sasuke's possession, the kid back then who damaged my Chakra Armor with his Chidori. All the Bijuus, on the other hand, were on Uzumaki Naruto, the one who destroyed my Chakra Armor and also the one who defeated me with that powerful Rasengan…" Doto said with a visibly angered expression.

"…but based on the current data that I have, if I can modify the Chakra Armor's properties and give it an additional power source aside from the Chakra of its user, then we can greatly augment the Chakra Armors capabilities to allow any Shinobi to potentially go toe-to-toe against those two freaks of a Shinobi."

"Hou… an additional power source, you say…?" The Raikage muttered in interest. He wanted to comment on Doto Kazahana's previous statement, however, he also knew very well that Doto was underestimating the current level of power that Naruto and Sasuke already have. So just in case something go south on this forbidden collaboration between him and Doto, he can still use Naruto and Sasuke under the Shinobi Alliance provision to deal with Doto in the future.

"That's right. While I am imprisoned, I have all the time in the world to perform calculations in my head based on everything that I heard that was happening outside of my prison walls. And I still have some of my loyal men to do research for me in that regard…"

"…" The Raikage continued to listen to Doto Kazahana's explanation.

"Raikage-sama… are you familiar with the Stone of Gellel?"

"You mean the mythical vein of ore that was destroyed a few years ago, once again involving Uzumaki Naruto with his merry friends from Konoha and Suna?"

"That's right. The entire deposit of the Stone of Gellel is said to be capable of destroying an entire continent if it went berserk. Basically, a power beyond that of the Bijuus." Doto Kazahana further explained. "A Shinobi in possession of a fragment of the Stone of Gellel will acquire a power boost akin to a Jinchuuriki using the power of the Bijuu sealed within them. Now imagine if we can install a fragment of Gellel stone on those Chakra Armors as its additional power source... with also a possibility of using with the Chakra Diffusion Canon..."

"Impressive… however, as I have already said, the entire Gellel deposit was already destroyed, right? How can you acquire such ores for your intended use?"

"And my loyal men were able to retrieve some of the remaining ores of that Gellel deposit…" Doto Kazahana said seriously. "That's why I need the help of the Hidden Cloud to transport those ores in here so we can use them in conjunction with the production of the Chakra Armor."

"I see… you really have done your homework, Doto." The Raikage muttered, deep in thought. "An upgraded Chakra Armor that not only augments its user's abilities, but could also nullify Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but will also be powered by the mythical Stone of Gellel to further increase its powers and capabilities… and with the Hidden Clouds technology… this might very well be a good contingency to protect the world in our own way without relying too much on the Bijuus and the Rinnegan…"

"Once again… just imagine your entire Hidden Cloud army wearing such Chakra Armor… marching on a battlefield… I can even say that all those other Hidden Villages won't be able to handle you're military might aside from Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. You might as well be able to control the entire world if you have such an army at your disposal." Doto said with an evil smirk.

"Shut up! Once again, I will reiterate to you that it will never be my intent!" The Raikage glared towards Doto. "All that you need to do is to provide me the blueprint of your upgraded Chakra Armor, give the coordinates where we can fetch that Gellel Stone deposit, and we'll handle the Chakra Armors' production. Understand that?!"

"Understood, Raikage-sama". Doto replied with hints of sarcasm.

And after a few more minutes of a very tense conversation, the Raikage departed from the camouflaged location, leaving Doto Kazahana behind…

"Yes… that's right… it will be all in your hands now, Raikage…" Doto Kazahana said to himself. "I don't intend to involve myself with your Shinobi Alliance shenanigans…"

"…all that I care about right now… is to use whatever you will do as my steppingstone… to exact my painful revenge on my beautiful niece, Koyuki Kazahana… and to turn the entire Land of Spring… into a burning hell… for all these humiliations that you did to me…!"

-Scene Change-

Naruto, now standing in front of the Konoha entourage with his back facing them, glared towards the Jinchuurikis who were now about to attack them simultaneously after hearing the important intel from Ino about the current situation…

"GGGRRROOOAAAHHH!"

And like a pack of wolves that was to attack their prey, the Jinchuurikis charged with massive speed towards Naruto's group at the same time.

However… Naruto then drew a single Hiraishin kunai, then pinned it to the ground in the exact same location where he was currently standing. Then…

"…!"

Naruto released a massive, potent Chakra that shook the entire location while emitting a very suffocating intimidation directed at the attacking horde of Jinchuuriki. The combined oppressive pressure of the sudden potent Chakra release and intimidating presence immediately halted the attacking Jinchuurikis on their track, freezing them in place, shaking due to feeling something dangerous that they might have never felt before…

On the other hand, even Ino and her team, together with the ANBUs who were watching from behind, also felt like they were about to vomit due to feeling the sudden pressure emitted by Naruto against their opposition despite that intimidation itself not being directed towards them…

"What kind of power is that?!" Sai just muttered, both his arms lightly shaking, his mouth hanging…

Meanwhile, Konoha's male elder, Homura Mitokado, fell on his butt with Koharu Utatane, the female elder, also fell on her knees… not just because of the sudden pressure that Naruto just released, but also because of the overlapping silhouette that they saw when Naruto performed the feat…

"That kind of oppressive intimidation by releasing such potent Chakra… is something that Hiruzen and the succeeding Hokages after him were not capable of…" Koharu Utatane muttered while shaking. "…it is a feat that we only saw from the Shodaime and the Nidaime Hokage themselves… no… Uzumaki Naruto's power… might even be far above them right now…"

"An intimidating power that Uzumaki Naruto… might have inherited from the Senju and Uzumaki Clan…" Koharu said with the same expression as her fellow elder. "The Senju and Uzumaki Clan… is still alive… with Uzumaki Naruto as the remaining anchor of those powerful Clans in this current era…"

After all, being of the same generation as Hiruzen Sarutobi who was a student of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, these two Konoha elders were one of the few remaining eye-witnesses of the current era on the true powers and capabilities of the alive Hashirama and Tobirama Senju… together with the history of the entire Senju and Uzumaki Clans' history. So they knew very well of the power of those two notable Senjus have…

…a power they did not expect that someone from the current generation, specifically Uzumaki Naruto, the formerly most hated kid of Konohagakure, would possess… with him not even accessing any of his Sage and Bijuu transformations…

***Insert Naruto BGM/OST: Spin and Burst***

All of a sudden, Naruto disappeared from his current location, leaving a small crater in his wake, then reappeared right in front of one of the Jinchuuriki. He then gave the Jinchuuriki a powerful right straight on the face, sending the Jinchuuriki flying ala Otsutsuki Toneri, destroying every large tree and land formation on its tracks, until it hit a solid rock. The power encapsulated by the punch pinned the Jinchuuriki on the epicenter of the crater created by the impact… immediately dispelling its transformation and making the Shinobi using that form fall unconscious.

"One down…" Naruto muttered with a serious smirk.

Two of the Jinchuurikis nearest to Naruto then leaped away, and while on the apex of their leap, charged and fired a quickly charged Bijuu Dama simultaneously on both his sides.

However, Naruto simply grabbed both the Bijuu Dama barehandedly by crossing his arms in front of his face, with his right hand grabbing the Bijuu Dama on his left while his left hand grabbing the one on his right, then swiped them away backward, sending both potent spheres of Chakra flying on the nearest mountains behind them, exploding on contact, with both hollowing more than half of those mountains.

And with both his hands now stretched on both sides due to deflecting those Bijuu Dama, Naruto immediately charged two Rasengans on both his hands. And in a second…

"RASENRENGAN: SHUNKI (Spiraling Serial Spheres: Flash)!"

The blonde Shinobi fired the pair of Rasengan as a long-ranged beam directly towards the two Jinchuurikis that previously fired the Bijuu Dama that was now on their way down after their huge leap. The beam Rasengans landed despite the Jinchuurikis covering themselves with Chakra Tails, and with the Rasengans' spiraling force, the said Jinchuurikis were violently sent flying while spinning vertically.

"Two and three down…"

However, another two Jinchuurikis used their extended Chakra Tails and grabbed both of Naruto's arms right after he fired the Rasengan beams, then attempted to pull him from different sides while also immobilizing him in the process. However, much to their surprise, Naruto doesn't seem to take damage or even didn't seem to be affected by the Version 2 Cloak's corrosive Chakra properties.

In the meantime, taking advantage of the Ashura's successor's immobility, another two Jinchuurikis dashed towards his front and back simultaneously at massive speeds, aiming to punch Naruto at the same time while still immobile.

It was also at this moment that another pair of Jinchuurikis that wasn't attacking him charged a Bijuu Dama simultaneously, aimed directly towards Team Ino and the ANBUs, aiming to take advantage of him being occupied by four other Jinchuurikis…

Naruto, after carefully calculating what he must do… then planted both his feet on the ground, then added further force on both his arms that were currently wrapped by Chakra Tails, then much to the Jinchuurikis' surprise, Naruto pulled both the Jinchuurikis that were immobilizing him.

Now, the two Jinchuurikis that were binding him were now flung mid-air towards the very same direction and trajectory of the other two Jinchuurikis that were about to attack him from both his front and back, making the two pairs of Jinchuurikis collide and sent reeling on separate directions, on the exact same direction where the two other Jinchuurikis that were sent flying by Naruto's Rasengan earlier…

"Four, five, six, and seven, down…" Naruto muttered to himself.

"Damn it, we are about to be hit by the Bijuu Dama!" Kiba yelled as the other two Jinchuurikis fired the Bijuu Dama.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Without wasting any movement, Naruto summoned four Shadow Clones, with two of the said Shadow Clones using Hiraishin simultaneously, flashing on the same Hiraishin kunai he left in front of Ino's Squad and Konoha entourage. Both Clones then drew their own Hiraishin kunai, then thrust the kunais forward horizontally towards the incoming two Bijuu Dama from separate directions at the same time.

The other pair of Kage Bunshins, on the other hand, leaped upwards, each of them in separate directions towards the direction of the pairs of Jinchuurikis that were sent skidding away by the original Naruto just earlier heading in the direction of the other Jinchuurikis that were sent flying earlier by Naruto's beam Rasengan. On the apex of their leap, both the said Clones then also drew their own Hiraishin kunais on the same horizontal position as the two Bunshins in front of Ino's Team…

And right before the pair of Bijuu Dama landed on two opposite sides of the Konoha entourage…

"HIRAISHIN: JIKUKAN KEKKAI (Flying Thunder God: Space-Time Barrier)!" Using the same space-time barrier that Minato used to deflect the Kyuubi's Bijuu Dama during Obito's attack on Konoha more than 20 years ago, the two Naruto Bunshins blocked the two incoming Bijuu Dama by having their respective Hiraishin kunais absorb the powerful blast…

…while the other pair of Kage Bunshin who leaped towards the other Jinchuurikis 'summoned' the deflected Bijuu Dama thru their own respective Hiraishin kunais, then fired it towards the Jichuurikis that were sent flying earlier… making them the recipient of the said Tailed Beast Ball explosion…

And right after blocking the Bijuu Dama, the pair of Shadow Clones that protected Team Ino's and the Konoha entourage then charged and fired another new variant of the Rasengan directly at the Jinchuurikis that fired the Tailed Beast Bombs…

"RASENDANGAN (Spiraling Bullet Spheres) !" By pointing their middle and index finger to their target, they charged a tennis-ball-sized Rasengan and fired it towards the said target… creating a powerful piercing impact that sent the two Jinchuurikis rolling backward…

"Eight and nine, down…" The original Naruto muttered as the four Shadow Clones dispelled themselves…

The explosions created by the two Bijuu Dama and Rasendangan slowly revealed the now multiple unconscious Shinobi, with their Jinchuuriki Version 2 transformation now seemed to dispel after receiving massive physical damages due to Naruto's maneuvers and attacks… displaying severely burnt, corroded skins due to the side effects of the Version 2 Cloaks…

"Wow…" was all that Ino could mutter after he and their entire team saw how Naruto singlehandedly defeated a horde of Jinchuurikis WITHOUT accessing any of his power-ups…

"So this is what Naruto was capable of right now…" Sai said, also in disbelief. "He is far more powerful now than he was during the 4th War…"

"So Kiba… you said before that you will challenge Naruto on the Hokage seat when the time comes, right?" Chouji muttered, however, his eyes were still directed at Naruto's back due to amazement at the feats he just saw right in front of his eyes.

"Can you erase that bit in your memories, please?" Kiba also said with the same facial expression as Chouji while also looking towards Naruto's back.

"Shodaime's strength, Nidaime's mastery of Kage Bunshin, Sandaime's proficiency in Ninjutsu, Yondaime's Hiraishin, Godaime's absurd physical strength and vitality… under the Rokudaime's tutelage…" Homura Mitokado muttered in awe…

"Uzumaki Naruto… right now… without a doubt… is the best candidate as the successor for the Hokage's seat… and no one can now tell me otherwise…" Koharu Utatane also said as the two elders of Konoha saw the overlapping silhouette of all the previous Konoha Hokages while looking at Naruto's back…

Naruto then glared at the two remaining Jinchuurikis that were standing in separate directions from him. And without any second thought, the two said Jinchuurikis leaped away in separate directions at full speed towards whatever remains of the once bustling forest due to the destructive effects of the currently ensuing fight.

"Ino, I'll follow the Jinchuuriki who was escaping on the northeast by myself. And don't follow the other one running away in the opposite direction." Naruto said to the group without looking at them. "I intend to defeat one of them and capture the remaining one alive. We will set up a trap for that other one, since once I personally follow one of them, the other one will definitely return here to attempt and finish the ambush while I am away…"

"…Once the other Jinchuuriki returns while I am following the one that I'll be chasing, I'll immediately return here using this Hiraishin kunai I have left behind earlier, knock that thing down, so we can take it back to Konoha and interrogate on everything that we need to learn from them."

"Uh… okay…" Ino just muttered, still in awe. Not only that Naruto had shown his visible growth in power, but he also seemed to have matured as a Shinobi as well based on his statements right now… "I'll also be tracking that other escaping Jinchuuriki on the western direction just in case thru my sensing abilities."

With a nod, Naruto then disappeared from where he currently was, following one of the fleeing Jinchuurikis on the northeast direction while continuously tracking the one escaping in the western direction of the forest…

And by augmenting his speed with Chakra, he was able to quickly catch up to the one he was chasing a few hundred meters away from the battle site. As he landed in front of the escaping Jinchuuriki and prepare to knock it down…

And as expected, the other Jinchuuriki escaping in the western direction immediately change course and dashed back towards the Konoha entourage's location. Naruto then immediately prepared to knock out the Jinchuuriki in front of him so that he can return back to the Konoha's group and deal with the last remaining Jinchuuriki…

-Scene Change-

"Just as Naruto had said… that other remaining Jinchuuriki would return here while he chased the other one…" the female ANBU spoke, as she stood together with two other male ANBU to protect the Konoha Elders and the special carriage in hopes to protect whatever the Jinchuuriki attempt to do against them.

"Don't worry about it…" Sai said as he prepared his ink and custom scroll to draw and materialize his painted creatures. "Naruto will definitely return ASAP. We just need to hold this thing back until he returns…"

"GGRRROOOAAARRR!" The four-tailed Version 2 Cloaked Jinchuuriki then roared as he immediately charged directly towards the group.

"…!" Kiba and Chouji immediately prepared to fight back against the powerful opponent charging in front of them…

"Naruto… Where are you?!" Ino muttered as she also prepared the Shintenshin Jutsu's hand gestures…

On the last moment before the Jinchuuriki reached their group…

***BBBOOOMMM***

Something suddenly blocked the from the Jinchuuriki out of nowhere… something made of skeletal Chakra construct…

"…What is that?" Ino immediately asked… then saw the appearance of the thing that blocked the attack… "…isn't that… a Susanoo?!"

-Scene Change-

"…!" Naruto then sensed that as the other Jinchuuriki landed near Ino's Team, another power presence suddenly appeared out of nowhere… and it suddenly engaged the returned Jinchuuriki in battle…

"Who is that?! It is a familiar presence… yet at the same time, entirely different than that of Sasuke's…"

Naruto, in wary of the new presence that suddenly appeared out of nowhere that seemed to be engaging the Jinchuuriki that returned to attack Ino's Team in battle, immediately cast a variant of Rasengan to immediately knock away the Jinchuuriki in front of him…

"JITON: RASENGAN (Magnet Release: Spiraling Sphere)!

Naruto used a Magnet Release variant of Rasengan that he learned to use without tapping into Shukaku's Chakra. And upon impact, the Jinchuuriki skidded while spiraling away due to the effect of the Rasengan while also binding it due to the effect of the Magnet Release that Naruto had applied to it.

"Tenth Jinchuuriki…" Naruto muttered as he used Hiraishin on the now unconscious Jinchuuriki, picked that Shinobi, then immediately used Hiraishin to return back to Ino's Team…

"…!"

And much to Naruto's surprise, the last Jinchuuriki that returned to attack the Konoha entourage was already now knocked down and defeated… its Version 2 transformation was now dispelled… its unconscious body lying in front of the person with the powerful presence that appeared out of nowhere… with the person's back facing them…

…and that person itself… was clad in a now familiar skeletal chakra construct… albeit in a pinkish red hue…

"This is…" Naruto said with narrowed eyes… "…Susanoo…!"

The person then dispelled the skeletal Chakra construct, then slowly faced them sideways…

"…!" Naruto can't help but feel surprised as he saw the appearance of the person who defeated the Jinchuuriki…

The person is a female Shinobi with long, black hair, wearing a usual Shinobi Jounin attire topped with a long-sleeved red coat. And as the wind mildly blew around them, her long black hair was mildly blown by the breeze, revealing an Uchiha Clan insignia on her red coat…

…and what greatly surprised Naruto… was the facial appearance of the girl…

…she was around their age… wearing a pair of glasses… and behind that pair of glasses, is a pair of two uniquely powerful eyes…

"An Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan on the left eye… with a dark red-colored Rinnegan on her right eye with a similar tomoe pattern to the Rinnegan on Sasuke's left eye…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the female Uchiha in front of them… He first thought that she was an Otsutsuki due to her Rinnegan, yet he can sense that this girl is a human just like him. Also, Naruto can't feel any hostility in her eyes… In fact, based on his empathic tracking ability, he can feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and responsibility from the girl…

"Who are you…?" Naruto muttered in wary.

"…" It was then that traces of tears began to form in the eyes of the Uchiha girl right after Naruto asked that exact question…

…and without any other word… a space-time rift opened right beside the girl… and the girl immediately entered the rift…

"That was… one of Otsutsuki Kaguya's signature space-time jutsu, Yomotsu Hirasaka!" Naruto then used his full speed to grab ahold of the Uchiha that was about to enter the space-time portal…

"It is not the right time yet… for us to meet like this…" The girl said with a small smile towards Naruto.

"…the one who possesses the power of the Shinju of this world… this reality's God Tree… the Tree of Emptiness of this Singularity…"

"…Nanadaime…"

And with the closure of the space-time rift, Naruto wasn't able to catch the Uchiha girl… aside from a drop of tear that escaped her eyes… the very symbol of the girl's sadness… that was blown away by the mild breeze of wind from her powerful eyes on the last moment before her disappearance…

Author's Note:

1. Shiho is the nerdy blonde girl who's working with Shimakaru to decode Jiraiya's dying code before Invasion of Pain. The unnamed Konoha Astronomer is the blonde woman who's working with Kakashi during 'The Last' movie. In this fic, I just treated them as one and the same person.

2. Before anyone comments on why the Raikage was moving around without any escort, it is a discretion of a Kage if they need an escort or not. For example, Naruto, as the 7th Hokage, was about to rendezvous with Sasuke somewhere without any escorts during the Seventh Hokage Gaiden Manga.

3. For those who were not familiar with Koyuki Kazahana and Doto Kazahana, they were important characters from Naruto's first-ever movie… Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. This story will draw a lot of materials from the Naruto movies as I have already been doing so since the start of this fic. So please bear that in mind.

4. Please leave some reviews for additional motivation. Thanks much for reading!