Han hummed to himself, tossing several herbs and spices into a large bubbling pot of soup that contained the goat that he had hunted earlier. Roshi was grilling rabbits next to him, sprinkling some rosemary and salt onto the tender meat of the small forest animals. The two were in a sort of pocket oasis, only in the middle of a valley instead of a desert. The two had found the place soon after having been thrown out of the village of Iwagakure after the Third Shinobi World War.
The council had deemed them too dangerous to keep in the village and had voted to extract their bijū and store them in objects until the next war came and they needed the human weapons again, but the Tsuchikage vetoed the decision. Instead, he suggested that the two jinchūriki were permitted to stay outside the village and complete the occasional supposed suicide mission sent by the council. The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, would have refused that part of the deal, but he knew that the two jinchūriki were more than capable of accomplishing them relatively unharmed. Why would he send normal shinobi on them to die when he could just send his jinchūriki there instead, right?
The area was far away from the village and secured with Uzumaki seals that they had hired Uzumaki seal masters to make for them back when Uzushiogakure had just fallen and the few survivors had scattered. Roshi and Han managed to find one of the skilled practitioners of fūinjutsu and got the kunoichi to help them with the promise that they would not go after her. The valley was special in the sense that it changed position now and then while maintaining a barrier around them such that the valley seemed barren and lifeless like the rest of the rocky terrain.
It also hid their chakra signatures from all but the best of sensors, of which had practically died out when Uzushiogakure was felled. The Uzumaki were equipped with naturally good chakra sensory and were easily able to exceed the levels of normal tracker nin even with minimal training. Moreover, they tended to enhance their senses with special seals that they had designed on their own. Their instinctive flair with fūinjutsu was no joke either, their ability to spam powerful jutsu due to their massive chakra reserves doing nothing to convince people otherwise.
Those were the major reasons why Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure had decided to destroy the village. Uzushiogakure was powerful, but they did nothing to assert their strength, even going neutral in the war apart from the fact that they supplied Konohagakure with seals. They were just too powerful of an enemy that three major hidden villages had decided to put aside their differences to take them out. Even then, ninety-five per cent of the troops sent out were obliterated by Uzushiogakure shinobi who had stayed behind to buy the others time to escape. Though Uzushiogakure had fallen, only forty per cent of the Uzumaki that made their homes there had perished in the battle. Given that Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure had each contributed fifty per cent of their shinobi, Uzushiogakure made it out with the least losses although they lost their home. Despite that, the Uzumaki had no choice but to scatter since they no longer had anywhere to go. Only select groups of people knew how much the three hidden villages had lost compared to that of Uzushiogakure, but no one knew where the pockets of Uzumaki were. They had seemingly vanished without a trace.
Han and Roshi had suspicions that the Uzumaki had once again banded together and formed an even more well-concealed village where they now stayed, considering how the two had also managed to get themselves off the map with the help of only one kunoichi from the clan. However, they knew better than to inform others and risk having the major hidden villages running around like headless chickens in search of the missing Uzumaki.
The two were about to start digging into their simple meal when a hooded figure made its way into their home without being affected by the seal barrier that was also supposed to keep intruders out. The barrier only rippled slightly, letting the unknown person in without any form of resistance. It was strange for Han and Roshi since the barrier only did that for them and the Uzumaki that had made it. Even the Tsuchikage himself was unable to get through the barrier. The two quickly concluded that the intruder was an Uzumaki.
"May I ask why you have come to our humble abode, Uzumaki-san?" Han spoke up, addressing the unknown person.
The hooded person did not reply and instead surveyed the perimeter approvingly. When the hooded person finally turned to face the two jinchūriki, they were surprised to see that the person's face was shrouded in shadow although they were facing the light. They easily concluded that it was just a simple work of fūinjutsu that would not be a problem for an Uzumaki seal master.
"I came in search of Han and Roshi of Iwagakure, the jinchūriki of the Gobi, Kokuō, and Yonbi, Son Goku, respectively. I believe that you are them?" the hooded person spoke, revealing that it was a male - though neither knew that the deep baritone they heard was due to a voice changer or that the cloak had seals that made the person under the hood seem taller while maintaining a rather slim figure that was impossible to tell whether was male or female due to the cut of the fabric.
"Indeed," Han and Roshi chorused hesitantly, not knowing what to expect from the male Uzumaki.
The hooded man nodded, throwing off the hood. His figure seemed to shrink as the seals deactivated, showing his actual appearance. It was a blond child who appeared to be around the age of nine. The two jinchūriki gaped at the boy, surprised that someone who was looked to be only nine was capable of even utilising fūinjutsu which was said to be the most difficult shinobi art. They were also confused since those of Uzumaki heritage had red hair, while this boy who they had assumed was an Uzumaki was blond.
"Greetings, Han-san, Roshi-san. My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto and I am the jinchūriki of Kurama, the Kyūbi no Kitsune. I am here to make an offer to the two of you," Naruto said cheerfully, causing the other two jinchūriki's jaws to fall to the ground.
"The legendary Kīroi Senkō had a son?!" Roshi barely made out.
"But that would mean that he is the son of the Akai no Shi, one of the greatest kunoichi of all time!" Han managed to screech as Roshi's words snapped him out of his reverie.
"Bingo," Naruto said, smirking at the two men before him.
The two went silent, pondering over what the boy might be here for while retaining their bearings.
"How are you here? You are very far from your home village, Konohagakure, and could not possibly have made it here on your own. Where is your escort? One with heritage such as yours would be treated like royalty in your village despite your jinchūriki status," Han asked seriously.
"My heritage was kept secret. Why else would the Iwagakure spies not catch wind of it?" Naruto replied evenly, "Besides, have you not heard of the infamous Fox Hunt? It occurs on the evening of every Kyūbi Festival."
"The Fox Hunt? The spies mentioned it, saying that it was an event for the young and old, shinobi and civilian. The children's event happens before the adult's one. The activity itself is shrouded in mystery, though. There were rumours that they hunted down a demon fox, but..." Roshi started, before taking off as realisation dawned on him.
"I am the demon fox that they hunt. The jinchūriki of the Kitsune himself, the jailor that prevents the village from going into ruin at the hands of his prisoner," Naruto replied with an overly cheerful tone, sounding more bitter towards the end.
"Why does the Hokage allow it?" Han asked in horror, paling considerably at the very thought of what the participants of the "Fox Hunt" might have done to the boy.
"The answer is simple. He does not know it exists. The civilian side of the council along with the Elder Council which consists of the Hokage's advisors have hidden the details of the activity from all but those who participate. That is also why your spies know so little about it," Naruto replied simply.
"Those vile creatures," Roshi hissed, clenching his fist.
"Relax, they are just blinded by hatred. You cannot blame them for wanting to get rid of the one reminder of their lost loved ones," Naruto placated the furious jinchūriki.
"That is no reason for them to raise their hands against a child!" Han growled in response.
"They justify their actions in a very simple manner. They dehumanise me. They see me as the reincarnation of the Kyūbi no Kitsune and they fool themselves into believing that they are doing the right thing by killing me. The Elder Council are more complicated. They wish to break me so that they can manipulate me and mould me into a mindless weapon for the village," Naruto explained, only serving to rile the two jinchūriki up even further.
"Why don't you tell the Hokage?" the two jinchūriki of Iwagakure gritted out.
"They will worsen the attacks," Naruto replied simply.
"Then-" Roshi started again, only to be cut off by Naruto, "Besides, that isn't why I'm here."
That got their attention.
"War is coming. Uchiha Madara, formerly of Konoha, is seeking out the bijū. He intends to seal them all into a large statue to recreate the Jūbi, which was what the nine bijū were born from. He will place the universe in an unbreakable genjutsu called the Infinite Tsukuyomi. However, despite what he seems to think, this will not bring peace. It is just a part of an even larger plot to resurrect a crazy god-like woman who seeks to steal chakra back from the shinobi and rule the world. I wish for you to assist me in ending the war before that happens," Naruto explained.
"How do you know all this?" Han questioned, feeling slightly suspicious.
"Promise to keep this a secret along with my identity?" Naruto asked.
"Definitely," both jinchūriki said immediately, leaning forward in anticipation for his answer.
Naruto dropped the bomb, "I am from the future. I was able to kill Madara - with the help of my two teammates - before the plan to resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya could commence, but humanity had already been obliterated by that time. There was nothing left for us to protect, so I took us back into the past to try and change it. Unfortunately, I found out about the actual plan only in this life. I managed to infiltrate the enemy forces and retrieve useful information about how the enemy intends to resurrect the Usagi no Megami, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"Proof?" Han requested, narrowing his eyes.
"What proof do you need?" Roshi hissed, "It sounds very real to me."
Naruto ignored Roshi and instead smirked at Han.
"Of course. I might have accidentally made myself the jinchūriki of the Jūbi by accident. I can show you the full Jūbi - untainted by Kaguya and with all three parts of its chakra - if you would like," Naruto said smugly.
Before either jinchūriki could reply, Naruto placed a hand on each of their foreheads (which was only possible since they were both seated) and dragged them into his mindscape. They found themselves in the middle of the grassy area that made up part of Mugetsu's section of the mindscape, right next to the musical grove of trees and the sparkling lake of crystal clear water. They could see the dark, beautiful sky, untainted by pollution that would have blocked the dimmer stars from view in the real world. The moon hung on the edge of the sky, at this point of time a sliver of blue in the shape of a crescent. The two jinchūriki marvelled at the scenery, not noticing as a large ten tailed wolf padded silently next to the physically younger blond who had returned to his actual age at the time before his return to the past.
"This place is beautiful," Roshi breathed.
"Thoroughly mesmerising," Han agreed with Roshi, his choice of words a little more eloquent.
"Thank you. I designed it myself," Naruto replied, startling the duo since they did not expect to hear the voice of a man rather than a boy.
They turned to face the time-traveller only to draw back at what they saw. The blond was muscled, though he had a slender frame. His shoulders were not too broad and the whisker marks that were rather prominent on his younger self were faded and barely visible. The pupils of his cerulean blue eyes were ringed with a starling violet, a link to his Uzumaki heritage. Likewise, his blond hair was longer and was now tipped with a fiery shade of red that matched his mother's own. His nails were stained midnight blue, a physical feature he had gained when he absorbed the Jūbi into his seal by mistake. His canines were also more pronounced, a display of his link to his bijū. These were all features that he would regain in time after he had accustomed to his full chakra reserves.
"Naruto?" Han and Roshi asked hesitantly.
"That's me," Naruto confirmed, "This big guy is Mugetsu, the Jūbi no Ōkami."
Han and Roshi finally noticed the large creature which resembled a gigantic wolf that dwarfed their bijū in both size and chakra. The first thing the two noticed were its large, intelligent eyes. The eyes swirled with every colour in existence, the unfamiliar pattern of the Rinne Sharingan making up the entirety of them. The concentric rings with scattered tomoe pulsed with power, threatening to shatter existence with a mere glance. Mugetsu's hide was grey, lined with blue and green patterns which resembled intricate tattoos that seemed to shimmer and move like molten lava. He had a huge maw, with fur that seemed to be made out of flames, shifting constantly despite the lack of wind. Ten tails flicked around lazily, the body of the large creature curled up next to the blond jinchūriki as he ran his hand through the fiery fur of Mugetsu's belly without getting scorched by the intensity of the grey flames.
"So you are the Jūbi? The same one that was meant to be our enemy?" Roshi whispered in awe and fear.
Mugetsu narrowed his eyes, glaring terrifyingly at the jinchūriki as he growled, "I am not the weak, mindless beast that was controlled by Kaguya's measly ambitions. That creature only had two-thirds of my power but none of my will. It was stupid, brainless and foolishly suicidal."
Roshi nodded fearfully, shrinking in on himself.
"Hush. He didn't know any better. Don't blame him for the ignorance of the humans," Naruto told the powerful creature off gently.
Mugetsu eyed Naruto from the corner of his eyes before relenting.
"Sorry," Mugetsu huffed gruffly.
"Don't be too scared of Mugetsu. He's just a big fluffy marshmallow when you get to know him," Naruto told his two fellow jinchūriki, much to Mugetsu's discontent.
"What do we gain from accepting?" Han questioned.
"Your bijū will probably end up getting extracted either way, but I will make sure that you don't die and return you your bijū. A part of them at least. However, they will have their consciousness and will be able to aid you in battle. Please learn to get along with them first, though. I have already met the rest of the jinchūriki except the one of the Nanabi and we have decided to call it the Jinchūriki Alliance. If you accept, you will be a part of the Alliance and will be able to delay the extraction," Naruto explained with a slight smirk, confident that the offer was too good to resist.
"What if I don't want to participate in another war?" Roshi asked stubbornly.
"You will die. It is as simple as that. The Akatsuki will get to you and extract Son Goku, ending your life," Naruto said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. To him at least.
Han and Roshi were silent for a minute longer, contemplating their options. Deciding between dying a painful death or surviving to save the world from its predetermined end was surprisingly difficult. For one, neither wanted to go through another war. However, they felt an inborn sense of duty to keep their home safe from whatever threat they faced. Both were in a dilemma. If they were asked that question in a different context, they would have chosen to let someone else do the job. When faced with the decision, though, they found it increasingly tempting to take up the offer and save the world. It was, for lack of better wording, strange. They both knew that they did not want to be part of it, but they also felt that, in actuality, joining the alliance was the right choice.
That was when two familiar voices jolted them from their thoughts from within their mindscapes.
"Cowards, both of you. The world is at stake here. Your species is being threatened by one with more power. You have an opportunity to prevent the world from ending, but here you are. You want to run away with your tails between your legs while this child risks his life, again, to save the hides of your people," Son Goku spoke, purposely projecting himself in a way that allowed Han to hear him too.
"We all know war is like. War is where everything is fair so long as it is in your favour. Children are going to be forced to see the horrors of the world. They are going to die for their homes while the two of you cower away in your safe little haven. Pathetic," Kokuō sneered, following Son Goku's example by projecting his thoughts into Roshi's mind.
The two, who were preparing to say "no" once and for all, felt their resolves crumble. All they were trying to do was run away from the terrors of the world, hoping that it will not catch up to them. They have a chance to save everything they hold dear, but they were thinking of ignoring it in favour of crying over their pasts. Honestly, their lives were not even that bad if they compared them to Naruto's. The two were never abused in their childhood, actually having adults that took care of them. Neither had they been forced to see all of humanity perish by the hand of their enemy. They were not forced to make the difficult decision of letting everything they have worked for go to bring their friends back and were very sure that they would not have decided to do so. They were too cowardly to do so, but they want to change that.
"We accept your offer and would like to join the Jinchūriki Alliance," Roshi spoke for both of them, Han nodding his assent.
"Good," Naruto said cheerfully, snapping his fingers and causing the scenery to swirl away and leave them in the waking world.
"These are for you. They allow us to communicate with one another and have a safety feature of transporting you away into a safe place. I am also able to track you through a seal placed on it and can use Hiraishin to reach you through it. They cannot be taken off by anyone other than yourself and can only be touched by fellow jinchūriki," Naruto explained, revealing two small silk-wrapped parcels with a flourish.
Han unwrapped his parcel to reveal a large smooth red carnelian, an opaque brownish-red gemstone that matched the colour of Han's eyes. The gemstone was not surrounded by smaller gems, a jab at the mostly unknown fact that Han was born bald. The carnelian was pierced through and attached to a chain of interlocking platinum and teal anodised titanium - that was the same colour as Kokuō's eyes - by a ring made out of a strand of each intertwined while they were still hot and soft. Carefully engraved into the surface was the kanji for five, 五. The surface, however, was still perfectly smooth since a clear stone -- likely diamond had been filled into the scratches somehow.
Roshi was met by a different sight. A beautifully cut black sapphire was the centrepiece, the kanji for four, 四, visible through the clear gem. Small beads of cherry topaz, a perfect match in colour with his hair, surrounded the larger gemstone. They were not set in a metal, the cherry topaz instead having been adhered to the black sapphire with a special kind of aluminised glass as an adhesive. The cherry topaz at the top was also spherical, but it was pierced through such that it became more like a ring and threaded with a narrow chain of rose gold anodised niobium that matched the colour of Son Goku's eyes.
"Remember this: 'We are jinchūriki, the power of human sacrifice. That is what we are, and will be up to the day we die.' It will be important in the distant future. Now that all that had been settled, I would like to suggest that you never take those pendants off after putting them on, which I urge you to do right now. You would not like to lose them, well would you?" Naruto said before using his perfected version of the Hiraishin to get to the outskirts of Taki no Kuni.
Naruto changed his appearance again to look like a teenager with reddish-brown hair and amber eyes along with sun-kissed skin wearing civilian clothing, making another fake set of identification papers to help with his infiltration of the village. He began walking at a civilian pace, a simple genjutsu making it seem like he was carrying one of those large bags that he saw civilian travellers use. He used his Tenseigan to locate the entrance of the village, making it there right at the beginning of sunset. He pretended to stumble around the entrance, which was hidden behind a waterfall while squinting at a map he had taken from a village nearby just for show and mumbling to himself with a look of frustration.
A friendly guard took the bait and temporarily left his post to help Naruto, who he had assumed had gotten lost.
"Hello! You look lost. Perhaps I can help you?" the male guard addressed the disguised blond.
"Hmm...?" Naruto hummed, casting a worried look to the position of the sun before speaking, "I am looking for a place called Takigakure. A person from the nearby village, Izumi-gai suggested that I go there, giving me this map."
Naruto showed the guard the map and pointed at the place that he had marked out on purpose for this trick.
"I followed the map and came to the spot he had told me this hidden village was, but I cannot seem to find the village. I am a traveller, you see. I have been to many of these shinobi villages, but have never actually brought myself to become one. Do you happen to know how I can get there?" Naruto asked, feigning hopefulness.
"I might know how to get there. Would you mind showing me your identification papers first?" the guard asked Naruto.
"Mm. They're..." Naruto mumbled, pretending to dig through his illusory backpack and sneaking the fake documents from a pocket in his cloak and presenting it with a flourish.
"...here!" Naruto said triumphantly, handing them to the guard.
The guard scanned the information presented, reading aloud, "Kuromatsu Seijī of Tanzaku-gai, huh? You sure are far away from home. Age seventeen, permission granted by the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni to travel to other countries. Had been allowed access into the following Hidden Villages: Konohagakure, Kumogakure, Hoshigakure, Sunagakure and Kusagakure. Family: Kuromatsu, Status: Deceased. Relations: NIL. That's just sad. Alright, you pass. I will bring you in."
The guard took out a stamp and added Takigakure to the list of hidden villages that Seijī had visited, guiding Naruto through the gates.
"Welcome to Takigakure. I am a guard on border patrol, so I have to go now. Have fun, but try not to get in trouble," the guard said cheerily before exiting the gates again.
"That was... a little too easy..." Naruto muttered quietly to himself.
"Hey there -ssu! You must be new to the village if Aoyama-san had to bring you in -ssu. My name is Fū!" Naruto heard a childish female voice shout from behind him.
Naruto could not help but notice how everyone else immediately scrambled away at the sound of the girl's voice, leaving a wide berth around the jinchūriki and the supposed teen she was addressing. He felt a twinge of pity for the girl. He was given similar treatment, after all. During the day, he was avoided like the plague as everyone whispered things about him that were not true just out of earshot without knowing that his hearing was better than theirs or that he could hear them perfectly. At night, he was hunted down and tortured. He sometimes even wished that they would kill him once and for all. They treated him like some sort of rabid dog, but they refused to put him down. They refused him the sweet release of death. They would never grant him such mercy so long as they hated him, after all.
"Hello there. I'm Seijī," Naruto spoke kindly, beginning to walk in the direction of a more deserted area so that he could tell the girl his plans.
"I can bring you around the village, if you'd like," Fū said shyly.
"I would love to, but would you mind first accompanying me on a stroll first?" Naruto replied pleasantly, causing Fū to blush since she had never been treated so kindly by anyone other than Shibuki before.
"Of course -ssu!" Fū squeaked, quickening her steps to match Naruto's stride.
They finally came across the completely deserted area. Naruto was going to ask Fū about it, but she beat him to it. She looked rather embarrassed as she explained.
"This is where I live. People abandoned the entire district when they found out that I moved in, so it is practically a ghost town now. I own the place, I suppose. No one comes here anymore. Not since the incident, at least..."
Naruto's interest was piqued. What could have happened to cause people to stop going there altogether? Fū spoke as though people used to visit the place even after they had moved out, though she had done something to end that. She sounded rather guilty, so he knew that it was most likely accidental. However, what could it have been?
"What happened?" Naruto asked.
Fū explained sheepishly, "Well, the people here don't like bugs much. They hate insects now, ever since the time the previous jinchūriki had lost control and wreaked havoc. I was younger at the time and didn't understand that since I thought all bugs were ultra-cool! So I tried to show everyone how amazing bugs can be. No one was happy. They were all terrified."
"So you showed them some of your bugs?" Naruto confirmed, his head tilted to the side in confusion.
"No -ssu! I showed them the biggest bugs I could find from every species I know of! Shibuki-nii-sama yelled at me after that, though," Fū said excitably, waving her arms around for emphasis before sounding abashed once more.
"I remember that," Naruto heard Chōmei chuckle from within his seal, "Though I do not recall the villagers to have made that much of a fuss. As a matter-of-fact, Fū was never hated in her village even though she was always clumsy. They did not like her that much, but they did not go out of their way to avoid her. I suppose that this was one of the things that are different in this timeline."
Naruto frowned at that, thinking back, 'Does that not mean that more things could have changed? I got a less lonely past since my ANBU guard showed up and threw me a birthday party. Fū ended up being avoided in her village. I recalled that Roshi was supposed to have left Iwa out of his own free will, but this time he was thrown out together with Han who was hated in his village. I changed Gaara's past so that he got a companion and managed to save Yashamaru, but he was older than me before. He's my age now. I prevented Yagura from continuing the bloodshed and we do not know whether Obito had done anything to him the last time either. Utakata had regained his ability to trust people and had even returned to Kirigakure as a loyal Kiri nin. I did not bother to find out more about Kirābī or Nii since I assumed that nothing had changed, but I honestly do not know. So far, the changes have been rather minor and did not change that much in the long run. However, it may alter things.'
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," Mugetsu replied, sounding unconcerned.
"Would you please show me to your home? I have a gift for you. It would be best for both of us if no one sees it, so it needs to be a private space," Naruto told Fū, causing the girl to nod eagerly and drag the boy in a seemingly random direction.
The two finally ended up in front of a gigantic tree. Fū immediately started climbing up with practised ease, Naruto following behind her. She stopped halfway up, opening up an entrance into a narrow hollow in the tree using a strange mechanism that was in the form of a small protrusion in the bark of the tree. She scaled above the entrance, shimmying into the small entrance and climbing up a ladder hidden within. Naruto followed behind her, surprised to see that the hollow was home to numerous fireflies that lit up the dark passageway. It went about four metres up before Fū pushed aside a trapdoor next to the ladder and climbed out. Naruto peeked his head out when he reached the top, seeing a tubular passage into a vaguely circular room. When he entered, he noticed that the room was round and built around the thick trunk of the tree.
There was a tap built into the side of the tree trunk, showing that pipes had been installed into the trunk of the tree to give the girl living within access to water. He also saw an array of canned goods and instant noodles. Naruto crawled around and saw a few pairs of shoes. A pair of shinobi sandals, steel-toed combat boots, slippers and heels. The girl was barefooted and peeking down into the room from a well-concealed circular hole in the ceiling of the room he was in. Naruto removed his shinobi sandals, poking his head through the hole to see another room. This one had a comfy-looking sofa, coffee table, television set and two bookshelves (one on each side of the room). The room was squarish instead of round like the previously seen areas. The ceiling here was not as low, high enough that Naruto could stand up straight. A light brown rug disguised itself with the ground and offered great comfort to those who stepped on it.
"This is my home," Fū said excitedly, "You're the first one to visit since Shibuki-nii-sama helped me make it. Even sensei never comes up here. What do you think?"
"It's fantastic," Naruto replied, smiling warmly at his fellow jinchūriki.
"My room is upstairs, there is a toilet too. Shibuki-nii-sama needed to use fūinjutsu to make it since there is no plumbing," Fū explained.
"That's nice," Naruto replied calmly, "But I believe that there is something I had to show you."
"Ooh! What is it?" Fū squealed.
Naruto shook his head with a small smile, saying gently, "First, I have to show you who I am."
Naruto dropped the Seijī disguise, introducing himself, "My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. I am the son of Uzumaki Kushina, the Akai no Shi, and Namikaze Minato, the Kīroi Senkō, and the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. I am not seventeen physically but rather seven and have come here alone to find you."
"Chōmei says that you are not lying," Fū replied with surprise, not knowing about the rest of the bijū because Naruto had replaced the seal.
Going slightly off-topic (information for reference)...
The two versions of Kurama, one Yang while the other was whole, merged since they were just chakra. That made Kurama four times as powerful as he had been when he was born. When his chakra was split, each of the two halves gradually built up their chakra back to full strength, causing it to multiply by one another after being recombined (albeit there was no difference then). That was by considering each half of Kurama's chakra as a single unit of power, meaning that they were each at two units of power at the point of time right before they recombined.
That meant that they multiplied to form four units of power, though it was easily misunderstood as it seemed that they added up. After the Yang half of Kurama from this timeline was included, which was two more units of power, the four units multiplied by two and became eight units of power. However, yin and yang were unequal. Two-thirds were yang while only one-third was yin. That meant that the power had to once again increase to compensate for the imbalance. Four-thirds of eight units was not whole, so it rounded up to eleven. Technically, Kurama was now five-and-a-half times as powerful as he had been in the beginning.
If Yin Kurama of this time was added in, Kurama's power would multiply by two again and yang has to grow to even it out again. This means that the total eleven units would then be multiplied by two to form twenty-two before being multiplied by six-fifths since the ratio of yin to yang was three to two and yang needed to be increased to three. That ends with a value of twenty-seven when the chakra increases to form a whole unit once more. That would add up to Kurama being thirteen-and-a-half times as powerful as he was in the beginning. That also meant that his power would have increased exponentially.
Naruto still has yet to summon the Shinigami to retrieve it, though. Moreover, Naruto originally intended to make a decoy that also possessed the Kyūbi's chakra to throw the Akatsuki off while concealing the Kyūbi's chakra within the new seal as well. That would mean that he got to remove the large and very obvious seal on his belly. He did not understand why his father was unable to use more seals to shrink it down and conceal its existence. Minato was supposed to be a seal master, so how did he make such a fundamental mistake?
Returning to the story... (Do excuse my terrible math. Please feel free to correct any miscalculations you see.)
Naruto began to explain without taking breaths in between, "The thing is, war is coming. I am assembling an alliance of jinchūriki and you are the last one I am approaching. A madman seeks to extract all our bijū to recreate the Jūbi, which is a mindless beast whose only goal is to take back all chakra from humanity. The madman thinks that doing that will bring peace. However, this man is being manipulated by one that he believes is his pawn. The real mastermind seeks the resurrection of the Jūbi which his 'mother' had fused with and will go to any length to do it."
Fū's jaw had dropped.
"You mean that you think that I can help?" the eight-year-old asked hesitantly but hopefully at the younger-but-seemingly-older boy.
Naruto answered confidently, "Definitely."
"Then I'm in -ssu!" Fū cheered.
Naruto smiled, pulling out a parcel from his cloak. This one was not wrapped in silk since he knew that the girl was close to bugs and would not appreciate it, whether or not he got it from silkworms. Instead, it was just wrapped in pure white linen.
Fū accepted the gift with trembling hands, carefully pulling aside the smooth fabric and gasping loudly when she saw what was inside. The centrepiece of Fū's pendant was a circular colour-change diaspore that matched the minty green colour of her hair in the fluorescent light. When under incandescent light, however, it becomes a fantastic blood orange that matches her eyes. It was surrounded by small teardrop-shaped shards of colour-changing sapphire. These were the opposite of the colour-changing diaspore in that they were blood orange in fluorescent light but mint green in incandescent light. How Naruto managed to get such a large yet clear colour-change diaspore of such rare colours will forever remain unknown to her. It was attached to a ribbon made out of satin dyed soft indigo to matched the colour of Chōmei's armoured shell with gold embroidering of various insects including the butterfly, the beetle, the ant and many more. It was made to be tied at the neck, though she could use it as a sash because of how long the ribbon was.
Tears of joy escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks as she murmured while still examining the pretty trinket, "It's beautiful... No one's ever given me anything like this -ssu. I've never received a present before, you know?"
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as a single thought ran through his mind, 'Shibuki didn't give her anything?'
"He used to spoil her to bits!" Chōmei agreed from within Naruto's mindscape.
"Want me to help you put it on?" Naruto asked, a soft and reassuring smile on his face as he set his mind to find out exactly what had changed with this world.
Fū nodded sheepishly, explaining, "I don't know how -ssu. I've never gotten to wear jewellery before."
Naruto nodded, scooping the delicate-looking piece of art up and tying it gently into an artful butterfly bow. He added golden trim too, noticing that it looked rather plain. Fū looked at her reflection on the television screen and beamed, spinning on her heel and hugging the younger blond tightly.
"Thank you so much! I love it -ssu!" Fū cried.
"No one will be able to take it from you. Only other jinchūriki can even touch it. To others, it is practically illusionary. I suggest that you keep it on at all times," Naruto explained.
"Then can you help me make it so? I am very clumsy, so I would probably end up losing it," Fū admitted, sounding embarrassed.
"Sure," Naruto smiled, sewing the bow into place with invisible thread.
"This pendant allows us to communicate telepathically and protects your memory from being rifled through. It also acts as a pass to enter our future base. Try to remember this: We are jinchūriki, the power of human sacrifice. That is what we are, and will be up to the day we die. It will be very important in the distant future. Please try not to forget," Naruto said sternly.
Fū nodded vigorously, parroting, "We are jinchūriki, the power of human sacrifice. That is what we are, and will be up to the day we die. Got it."
"Good. You may also want to know that my physical age is not my mental age. I am actually from the future and had gone through the war already. I survived, but unfortunately, humanity did not," Naruto said in an almost-happy tone, which honestly scared the jinchūriki before him.
"Are you talking about the rest of mankind, or are you talking about your own humanity?" Fū asked quietly.
"The rest of mankind. I don't look like a heartless killer to you, well do I?" Naruto asked pitifully, sounding hurt.
"No! You're a nice person!" Fū said quickly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Good!" Naruto smiled brightly, discarding the facade of disappointment, "I will train you personally. Well, my clone will. You should be at least jōnin level by the time I am done with you."
Fū gulped as a clone appeared next to Naruto, transforming into Seijī again before becoming translucent.
"You will address my clone as Seijī. It will stay here with you to train you but will be known to everyone else as your civilian friend. When it looks translucent like it does now, it is invisible to everyone else," Naruto told his new friend.
"That's great -ssu! I've always wanted a friend! So I assume that 'Seijī' is going to be with me at all times, then? He will only be playing the role of a helpless civilian when I am in the village and will stay invisible when he's training or following me, right?" Fū exclaimed.
"Indeed. I have to go now. Bye," Naruto replied, using Hiraishin to get back to his campsite where he quickly packed up before returning to Konoha.
He would think more about why this world both seemed the same and yet different from their original world later.
Naruto established the telepath link with his two teammates and spoke,
"I'm back, people!"
Author's Note:
This chapter has (finally) been edited.
I decided not to delete the calculation part. It was originally meant for personal reference, but everyone seems to get hung up over it.