The wind blew silently across the field, gliding through the tents. The camp was a horrified, blood-soaked scene. Limbs filled the ground and blood stained the grass. Even the most battle-hardened shinobi would be disgusted.

But the stranger felt at him among the carnage. Because he would have done the same thing.

He looked through the tents and found nothing. He flipped over what bodies were still intact to make sure none of them were his target. He followed a small trail of chakra residue to the back to the camp and found Ansem's body.

He tried to get her out before whoever attacked the camp got to her. That stupid righteousness got him killed. I knew it would.

The stranger sighed. He just wanted this whole ordeal to be over.

"Ho-oh!"

Son of a bitch.

The stranger hated this thing more than himself. The stupid Akatsuki spy. Zetsu. "What do you want?"

The plant-human hybrid slowly rose from the ground. The flytrap for a head always freaked the stranger out. Or did the black and white face with the dual personality have the brain? But which side had it? It was annoying to think about.

"You're late on delivery."

"Yeah, well, you haven't been giving much to go on. I've been searching but with no results. The Fence Sitter is keeping her from me."

"The Tsuchikage must know of our agreement. It would explain the constant movements. He doesn't want you finding her."

"She hasn't stayed in the same place for more than a week."

"They're scared of me. Like they always have been."

"For good reason. You've been his greatest threat since the Fourth Hokage."

"I'm assuming you were here the whole time, watching her. I still don't understand why you don't have one of your other members do this cat and mouse game."

"The others are busy hunting the remaining of the nine. And, by doing this, you'll be achieving your dream."

The stranger glared. "You have no idea what my dream is. Or what I want."

"Ho-oh! Calm down, lava blaster. The Akatsuki doesn't care what it is you want or what your dream is. In the end, everyone will have their dream."

"…Whatever, plant breath. Who did this? Who took her?"

"Konoha. Three shinobi. One killed the camp and the other two took the girl."

"Hold on. A single shinobi did this? What's his name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. The jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit."

I know that name. Was he the one…?

"Han…Was that the jinchūriki he fought during that invasion of Konoha?"

"He was."

The stranger felt his blood boil from the raging lava that fueled his soul. Han was the only person that understood him. That knew what the life was like. The only friend he ever had.

"Where?"

"Towards the border. A F.O.B called Gateway. There's an entire division of Konoha and Suna shinobi there. I suggest waiting until he's alone."

"No. I'm taking that bastard in with me. And the girl, too."

-With Hebi-

"What the hell are we doing here, Sasuke?" Karin was always the first to complain about anything they were doing. "I mean, we're in fucking Kirigakure. What's so important here?"

Underneath his hooded cloak, Sasuke shrugged. He was just enjoying the warm meal and nice cup of tea. "Suigetsu has something here."

"Well, where the hell did he and Jugo go?"

"That's a good question."

Karin rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Looking around the small tea shop, Karin had a wave of nostalgia wash over her. On the run, hiding in plain sight, wondering when the next warm meal was coming. This was her life until Orochimaru found her and put under his wing. His goriest and horrendous wing.

"You aren't as uncomfortable as I thought you'd be."

Sasuke raised his brow slightly. "What's that mean?"

"You went from living in Konoha as a prince to being Orochimaru's prized possession. You've never scavenged for anything a day in your life. I expected you to be on high alert, more concerned about everything."

"How do you know I'm not on high alert?"

"No. It's different. It's hard to explain but you don't seem out of your element. We're in a completely different world then what you know, Sasuke. This is the underworld. People will do whatever to survive."

Sasuke silently set down his cup. "My world is nothing like this. I've been fighting since I was eight years old. This underworld, as you call it, means nothing to me. The struggle of the common man doesn't concern me. I am not a savior. I have one goal in sight. And it doesn't matter who stands in my way, I'll cut them down."

"Sasuke…"

"I don't want sympathy, Karin. This life…it was chosen for me by him. I've never had the ability to walk my own path. This goal will begin to pave my own path. I am an avenger until Itachi is dead. Once he's gone…I guess I can finally stop fighting."

Karin stared in awe. Sasuke held such a determination that she could only dream of having. Virtually nothing would stand in his way to get his revenge on the man that murdered his clan. She could only wonder what could stop him.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Suigetsu?"

The two other members of the team sat with them. Suigetsu slide Karin's plate of food over to him. She didn't bother to stop him, she wasn't hungry.

"Yeah. Something like that. A few months back, a hunter shinobi by the name of Haku was brought in with some pretty harsh injuries. She had the Kubikiribōchō with her."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. That name was familiar to his old life.

"Why would Kirigakure take in a random hunter ninja?" Karin questioned.

"She's the last surviving member of the Kirigakure's fabled Yuki clan. She's practically royalty here." Jugo chimed in. "They found her in the aftermath of whatever happened in the Land of Waves."

"What happened in the Land of Waves?"

The three stared at their Uchiha leader. "How haven't you heard about that?"

"Never crossed my radar. Now, spill it. Before I spill you."

"Fine, fine. No need to be hostile." Suigetsu loved to push Sasuke's buttons. "Iwagakure occupied Waves for the war effort and Konoha came in to free them. Word on the street is that two jinchūriki went at it and blew the island to high hell."

"Jinchūriki? What the hell is that?"

"A person that has one of those bijū sealed inside them. They're walking powerhouses. Even more so than our bi-polar maniac here."

Sasuke silently scoffed, knowing full well what one was capable of. You have no idea.

"This sword…that's what you want, right?" Karin was still a little confused on Suigetsu's motives.

"Yeah. This hunter ninja was Zabuza's student. She took on the mantle after he was killed by that famous Konoha shinobi, Kakashi Hatake."

The memories of that mission played through Sasuke's mind like a movie reel. While he was stubborn and arrogant, those were some of the happiest memories he had. He yearned to make more of those memories again. Beyond his need for revenge against Itachi, it was the only other thing he wanted more than anything else.

"Where is she now?"

"That's the tricky part. She's been running ops for the Mizukage. She's been in and out of the village constantly."

"Why would a hunter ninja be carrying out missions for the Mizukage?"

"That's my question. But honestly, I could care less. I just want my sword."

Sasuke came out of his memories. "How'd you find out all this? That was a lot of information."

Suigetsu chuckled. "Our manic monster here can talk to animals. It was mostly rats that hang out inside the walls or birds that like to fly around in their secret hideouts. Apparently, he can be very gentle when he's not mercilessly killing people."

"I don't like to fight." Jugo stated calmly. "Nature is very comforting to me, and the animals trust me with their secrets."

"Yeah…that doesn't explain how you can talk to rats, big guys."

"It doesn't matter." Sasuke interjected. "Is the hunter ninja here?"

"Unclear. None of the animals have seen her the last few days." Jugo fed the small bird on his shoulder a few crumbs. "Once they hear something, we'll know."

"One day." Sasuke ordered. "If nothing by sunset tomorrow, we will leave. We can't stay in one spot for too long."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever boss."

-Kirigakure Gardens-

A beautiful scenery that was shrouded in mist. The Kirigakure Gardens was considered the most beautiful area in the entire village. A small white bridge gapped over the clear pond, home to multiple different families of colorful fish. The surrounding gardens were planted perfectly, making the area breathtaking. And secluded.

The main assistant to the Mizukage loved the Gardens as her secret 'smoke pit'. The mist that coated the air was the perfect cover. She loved to watch the fish swim and dance around each other just below the surface of the water.

But, today, the fish were as deep as they could be. Barely visible from the bridge.

The assistant stared into the water, only seeing her reflection off the clean water.

Until the water blinked back at her.

Suigetsu burst up and grabbed the woman by the neck, stopping her from screaming.

"Shhhh." Suigetsu placed a dripping wet finger over the woman's lips. "Scream, and I'll drown you. Got it?"

The woman nodded as well as she could.

"Good." Suigetsu lessened his grip slightly, allowing the woman to catch her breath in a deep grasp. "I need you to tell me some information. That rouge ninja, Haku, where is she? I need you to tell me where she is."

"W-Why do you need to know?!" She squealed quietly.

"She has something of mine. That's all. Tell me where is she and I'll let you live. It's that simple."

Swallowing hard, the woman was faced with a very tough decision. She didn't want to betray the trust her Kage had in a random rouge shinobi. But her life was not worth that trust. Not by a long shot.

"The Mizukage sent her on a m-mission. She's hunting down a missing ninja of ours."

"Why would a rouge ninja be running ops for a Kage like that? Especially since that was she does already?"

"She's tracking this shinobi to bring them in to us. He's been missing for a long time. In exchange for bringing this shinobi in, Haku will be allowed to go free."

"What's the missing shinobi's name?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, considering if she should say it. "…Utakata…he's a missing jinchūriki."

Jinchūriki? Ah shit.

"P-Please let me go…I told you everything I know!"

Suigetsu stared hard into the woman's eyes. "Sorry, you know too much. Better luck next time."

With a quick, squealing scream, the woman was pulled into the depths of the pond and was drowned to death. Suigetsu's body molded with the water, making him completely invisible but able to move freely. He tied the woman's body to a rock at the bottom of the pond. It would be hours before anyone would find her.

Sasuke is gonna hate this.

-The Gateway-

"Here." Genma set down a full plate of food in front of the girl. "I'm sure your hungry after the ordeal yesterday."

"I sure am!" The girl exclaimed. She quickly devoured the plate as if it was her first meal in days. "Thank you so much! The food is great here!"

Genma had hold back his snarky comment. No one liked the food here. Maybe there's a reason she's so skinny.

"How are you feeling? It must be strange being in a new place like this."

"Not really." The girl shrugged. "I've been moved around a lot."

Genma nodded. "Can you tell me where abouts you've been moved? And why?"

She shrugged again. "Not really. They didn't tell me much."

"What did they tell you?"

"Not much."

"Are you going to tell me anything?"

"I don't have a lot to say."

Genma sighed. He didn't want to have Ino probe her mind for the information. But it seemed that was the way this interview was going. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go speak to my associates. Would you like anything for the time being?"

"Another plate of food please!"

Leaving the section of the tent, Genma motioned for the standing guard to honor the request. The guard nodded and swiftly moved passed the Kazekage and others. The commanding officer fiddled with his senbon in frustration.

"Don't think she likes us."

"What makes you say that, commander?"

Genma shrugged, much the girl in there. "Just a feelin'. She doesn't want to talk to me." The jōnin in charge looked to the female Yamanaka. "Ino, do you think you can probe her mind to find out anything useful?"

Ino was rather confounded. When interviewing subject that had possible intel, it was really important to build a relationship with the subject. In doing that, trust was also built. Having trust would allow the subject to feel comfortable enough to share that intel. The tactic of using the Shintenshin to read someone's mind was reserved for uncooperative subjects, not a young girl.

"Really? That's it? Captain, you barely spent five minutes in there with her. How could you expect to learn anything from her? We need to build up her trust in us. I don't think it's a good idea to immediately jump to a drastic solution like that."

And she really didn't want to enter another jinchūriki's mind.

"We don't have time to gain this girl's trust, Ino. If she's as important as we believe, we need to know as much as we can right now. We need as much intel as we can get."

"I agree with Ino." Shikamaru stated. "If the circumstances were different, I would think that a mind probe would be the best course of action. But she's no older than fourteen, Genma. That's a lot to ask."

Genma sighed. "What say you, Kazekage? It's your call here."

She's a jinchūriki. Her trust in people is already low. Given the clues, she was probably taken from her home by Iwagakure and has been in captivity ever since. Who knows how long it's been since that happened.

The stoic Gaara of the Sand pondered the possibilities. He tried to put himself in the girl's place. Tried to picture how she was feeling right now. It was obvious that she didn't trust them. She had every reason not to. She woke up here with no idea how or why. For all she knew, Konoha and Suna were doing the exact same thing Iwa did.

Jinchūriki…

"I'll try and talk to her. Maybe she'll open up more to someone who know understands what it's like."

Genma nodded. "Worth a shot, I suppose."

The guard returned with second plate of food. Gaara brought the plate in and set down in front of the girl. She quickly began to eat.

"My name is Gaara. I'm the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure."

"Pleasure." The girl spat out between bites. Gaara remained silent until the girl finished her food. "I'm Fū."

"It's nice to meet you, Fū. I'm glad you and I were able to meet. This is only a second occurrence for me."

The girl overly exaggerated her confusion. "What do you mean by that? We've never met before Mister Kazekage."

Gaara smirked. "Not exactly what I was referring to. You and I, we were the same once. Not too long ago, I was a jinchūriki like you."

It was as if a light switch went off in Fū's head. "That's what I was feeling! That makes so much sense."

"What does?"

"Ever since I woke up, there's been this feeling in my stomach. I couldn't explain it. Now, I think I can. But it isn't going away. I think it is trying to tell me something."

"Trying to tell you what?"

Fū looked at Gaara for a moment, as if she was examining him. "You said you used to be a jinchūriki? How is that possible?"

Gaara gracefully put his hand up to try and calm down the enthusiastic girl. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. How about you tell me something first. Why did Iwagakure have you in their custody? Did they take you from your home village?"

Fū completely ignored Gaara's questions. She seemed to be focusing hard about something. "There's another jinchūriki around here, isn't there?"

Interesting. This girl can sense when there are other jinchūriki near her. I wonder if she can detect which bijū it is.

"There is." He answered simply.

"I wanna talk to him. He was the one who brought me here."

"How do you know that?"

"I can just tell. I can feel that he was the one. His chakra…it's familiar to me now that I know what this feeling is."

"First, let me ask you something. Can you tell what bijū was sealed inside me? Or what bijū is sealed inside the other jinchūriki here?"

Fū closed her eyes and focused again. She seemed to concentrate a little harder this time before giving up. "No. That's disappointing."

"That's okay. I just wanted to test something. I'll go get him, if that's what you truly want."

"Yes!" Fū exclaimed. "That would be great!"

Gaara nodded and left the room. He approached Ino as soon as he saw her. "Go get Naruto. She wants to talk to him."

-With Naruto-

After a long three weeks, I heeded Lord Third's advice and scheduled all my meetings for the morning. It gave the entire afternoon to handle the paperwork side of things. It was smart. I should follow his advice more. I was actually home at a decent time yesterday.

Kushina stopped by the office for lunch today. She brought a bowl of ramen from the new shop on main street. I can't remember what it was called. She said she was craving it all morning. She said the owner was super nice and that his daughter was cute.

She brought up the idea of starting a family again, despite our agreement to wait a year. I had feeling she would back out and try to convince me again. I'm not against it, I just wanted to get comfortable as Hokage before we brought a life into this crazy world. Maybe set up some more warehouses, too. You can never too careful or prepared. I'll send word to Master Jiraiya. He'll know what to do. He always does.

I'm trying to write more. Being Hokage is busier than I thought. How did Hiruzen find the free time to wander the village? That I must know.

Naruto was about to close the book when he noticed there was more writing on the back of the page. He flipped the page. It was an entry for the same day, he assumed.

Kushina's pregnant.

Why did it feel so empty? Like it was nothing more than a passing thought? Did he even care? It did not sound like his father cared that his wife, Naruto's mother, was pregnant.

"That sure would explain why he chose me…"

But it still fucking hurt every time he thought about it.

Smoke plumed next to him on his cot. Fukasaku just wouldn't leave him alone now that Jiraiya was dead.

"Naruto-boy.."

"That was the worst possible time for you to drop that on me. You know that, right? You fucking comprised our position."

Shamefully, Fukasaku nodded. "Aye. It could've waited some. I just…couldn't shake da feeling."

"Feeling of what?"

"Regret. Guilt. Not really sure, if I'm honest. Naruto-boy…ya just needed ta know."

Despite his emotions, Naruto couldn't ignore his better judgement. Fukasaku lost someone important too. It was easy for Naruto to forget that.

"You said Baa-Chan was okay?"

"Aye. She's more traumatized than injured. She's pretty broken up."

"Probably hasn't set down the bottle since coming back." Saying it gave Naruto the idea to have a drink himself. He reached for his private stash.

"Actually, no. She ain't allowed to drink."

"What do you mean?"

"She's pregnant with Jiraiya-boy's child."

Naruto spat out his drink. "What?!" He looked at the toad in disbelief. "She went on that mission knowing she was pregnant?!"

"No lad. She just found out. I noticed she weren't fighting like she used to. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. But it makes sense now."

Naruto held the bottle in hands, letting the weight of everything slowly pull on his shoulders. Their mission was to eliminate the Akatsuki leader. And by the status quo, they failed.

"This is my fault…"

"Lad…"

"If I had been there…things would be different…"

"Yer can't put da blame on yerself. It ain't right."

"Please, tell me how I'm not responsible for this." Naruto stared at the toad, eyes full of anger and sorrow. "The Akatsuki are after me! Pervy Sage went there to try and spare me the responsibility of doing it all myself. And he died! You almost died! Baa-Chan nearly died and she's pregnant with his child now!" The realization hit him. "I would've been devastated if Baa-Chan died too…"

"Jiraiya-boy's last moments were saving us so that we could have a chance against Pain! And knowing Jiraiya-boy, he took another one with him!"

"What do you mean another one?" Naruto questioned. "How many of the Akatsuki were there?"

Fukasaku shook his head. "You misunderstand, Naruto-boy. Jiraiya-boy learned a great deal while fightin' Pain. In total, there six of dem we fought." From some place Naruto couldn't fathom where, Fukasaku pulled out the scroll Jiraiya created. "This scroll contains Pain's secrets and abilities. I suggest you study it thoroughly."

Naruto took the scroll in hand. He could tell it was hastily put together; the double knot was evident of that. He struggled with said knot before opening the scroll.

There were no words. Only sets of numbers.

"What am I looking at here, geezer?"

Fukasaku hopped onto the teenager's shoulder. "Not sure. First time I'm seein' this, too. Looks to be a code of some kind."

"Of what? I thought you said this had Pain's secrets on it!"

"That's what Jiraiya-boy said! He said dis scroll was the key to Pain's abilities. It 'twas one of the last things he said. 'The real one isn't here'."

"What the hell does that mean? And you said six of them? That just processed in my head."

"Aye, lad." Fukasaku sighed. "I'll give what info I know, but slug queen is gonna probably know more."

It took Naruto a good moment to figure out Fukasaku was talking about Tsunade. "Yeah…I suppose."

Dread filled Naruto's stomach. The thought of going to see Tsunade now sent anxiety through his body like constant sound waves. The weight of everything crashed down on him like a rolling boulder.

There was no question that Jiraiya's death landed at his feet. Completely his fault. He should have been there. He should have argued more to go. Why didn't he argue more? It's his fault. Jiraiya would still be here if Naruto had gone.

She doesn't want to see me. She probably blames it on me, too. I mean, she's pregnant with his kid. I think going to see her isn't the best idea right now.

There was no question in Naruto's mind about that.

"Naruto? You in there?"

"It seems duty calls, Naruto-boy." Fukasaku leapt off the shoulder and back onto the cot. "I'll see what I can come up with in terms of da numbers there. I'll update yer when I know somethin'."

The Grand Elder of the Toad Army vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah…"

Ino tore the flap open as the smoke dissipated in the air. She was going to make a snarky comment about how she was surprised that he was alone but decided not to. The sullen look was enough to hold the words in her mind. "Everything okay?"

Shaking himself and shoving his emotions deep, Naruto's stoic face returned. "I'm fine. What do you need?"

A lie if I've ever heard one. A damn good one though. "Captain Genma needs you in the command tent. The girl we brought in yesterday wants to talk to you."

Naruto's ears perked up. "She does? What for?"

"Dunno. But she doesn't want to talk to anyone else. C'mon. They're waiting."

Sighing, Naruto followed Ino through the camp. As they walked, some of the shinobi tried to offer condolences to Naruto about Jiraiya. The Sannin was a role model to all; truly the model shinobi to look up to. Many shinobi were disheartened and affected by his sudden death.

But Naruto wanted no part of it. He didn't want to hear any of it.

They didn't know Jiraiya like he did. They weren't raised by him. They weren't trained by him. They didn't spend three damn years with him. No, they were just sad they lost a powerful shinobi amidst a war. They weren't grieving with him or for him. He didn't want their pity.

In all his life, Konoha was never there for him. They didn't care about him before. Why would they start now?

"Naruto…I just wanted to say…"

"Don't…Just don't, Ino."

Nodding, Ino was silent the rest of way to the command tent. She could hear in his voice. He wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Finally." Genma sighed. "Glad you could get your dick out of whoever to come in and help."

Ignoring the comment all together, Naruto approached Gaara instead. He had feeling he knew what this was about.

"What's she want with me?"

Gaara was stoic as always. "She wants to talk to another jinchūriki. She could feel you."

"Yeah, I've felt her presence, too. Jinchūriki are drawn to each other. It's like we have a link or something."

"Interesting. But I never felt anything connection towards you when we first met."

"I sure did. I knew the second I saw you."

Gaara nodded. "Perhaps I was too lost in the darkness to understand what I was feeling."

"Hey, hey." Genma interjected. "We don't have the time for idle chitchat. If she wants to talk to you, get in there Naruto. Get her to tell us what she knows."

Sighing, Naruto flipped the flap to the more secluded part of the tent. The command conference room. The girl was sitting at the head of the large table, patiently waiting. There were two empty plates of food next to her.

"Hey there!" The girl energetically shouted. "I'm glad you could make it!"

Confused by the girl's enthusiasm, Naruto stared at her. "You're very…excited."

The girl nodded, no more than four times. Naruto was reminded of Lee's youthful enthusiasm. "Of course! I finally get to meet another jinchūriki!"

"You're excited about that?"

"Yes! Very!"

"Why?"

"I've never met one before! It's exciting to me. I finally get to meet someone like me."

"…You and I nothing alike."

"Sure, we are! We're jinchūriki. That means something."

Naruto scoffed. "Oh yeah? What's that? The impending doom and crushing loneliness?"

Somehow, the smile never faded. Not even a flinch. "No, I wouldn't say that. We understand each other. In ways that others can't. I mean, I see how you talk to that red haired guy. The way you two are…you guys understand each other in way no one else can."

This had Naruto intrigued. "How can you tell that? You don't know me or him at all."

"I…can just feel it. Come sit with me and we'll chat!" To her surprise, he sat in the chair next to her. "Can't you feel it? We are connected!"

"I've felt this before. Three times actually. I ended up fighting all three of them."

The girl lit up with excitement. "You've fought other jinchūriki before?! That's amazing! Tell me, what was it like?! I have to know!"

What the hell is this girl's problem? Why is she so excited about all this? "What's your name? I didn't catch it before."

"Fū! My name's Fū! What's yours?"

"…Naruto Uzumaki…"

"It's nice to meet you, Naruto! Now tell me, what was it like?"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Because why?!"

"I've never fought anyone before, especially a jinchūriki! I wanna know what it's like."

That caught Naruto by surprise. She's never fought someone before? But she's a shinobi. How is that possible? "You've never fought someone before?" Fū shook her head, at least, four times. "How? You're a shinobi from Takigakure. There's no way you've never fought someone."

"My leader, Shibuki, he made me a shinobi because I was a jinchūriki. He said it was my role to protect the village as a last resort. I'm Takigakure's secret weapon!"

Fake or not, Naruto never imagined he'd see a jinchūriki be so happy being the deterrent for war. It was a little unsettling. Was her mind so warped into believing the stigma? Or did she truly believe this was her calling?

"You like being called that?"

"Uh, yeah! You don't? It's super cool and secretive! I think it's awesome to be someone so important! Didn't your village treat it the same?"

How else are they supposed to treat a jinchūriki? "What did Takigakure tell you about jinchūriki?"

"Shibuki always told me that I was super important to Takigakure. And that I kept everyone safe with my power. He taught the importance of making friends and having loyalty to them."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Yeah, keeping everyone safe by deterring enemies from war. "How were you treated in Takigakure?"

"Great! I was friends with everyone. And it didn't matter that I was under Shibuki's care, everyone was so nice."

"Wait…you weren't ostracized by the villagers? Or yelled at? Chased around? None of that?"

Fū seemed genuinely surprised and concerned. "Heavens no! That sounds terrible! Is that how your village treated you?"

What the fuck is happening?

"…Uh…I'm not gonna answer that."

Fū's concern instantly disappeared. "Okay! So, what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Fighting a jinchūriki! You never answered my question."

Why did he feel overwhelmed by her? Her accepting nature was against everything he knew about jinchūriki. How could she be so accepted in her village? What was different with her compared to him? To Gaara? To Yugito?

What was different about Fū?

"Let's…backtrack for a minute. Why were you in a Iwagakure encampment? How'd you end up there? Tell me that story and I'll tell you about fighting another jinchūriki. Sound good?"

Fū overexaggerated a pondering look before smiling brightly. "Deal!" She stuck out her hand. "Shake on it?"

Reluctantly, Naruto accepted the handshake. "Okay. Let's hear it."

Fū's smiling face slowly disappeared. Something was overtaking her and draining her enthusiasm. Then Naruto started to feel something. It was the same exact sensation.

"Do you feel that too?"

"…Yeah…I do."

There was a third jinchūriki was nearby.

Kyūbi's deep, roaring voice echoed in Naruto's mind. "…Son Goku…Rōshi…They're here."