"Sigh… Chōmei, have you forgotten how you got captured in the first place?"
Matatabi was clearly unimpressed. Even sealed inside a Jinchūriki, Chōmei still managed to be so confident.
Back when all the tailed beasts were still together, Chōmei—who started out in a cocoon form—would usually hide quietly in a corner, barely making a sound. It had hardly any presence. Anytime Kurama and Shukaku got into a fight, Chōmei would instantly wrap itself up in chakra and cocoon itself.
Years later, after everyone had been separated, Matatabi once went looking for Chōmei with Saiken. To their surprise, Chōmei had evolved into a giant flying insect. Ever since then, Chōmei had started to embrace its freedom—often flying to Matatabi's maple forest just to show off its flying ability.
"But didn't Hashirama Senju die already?"
Chōmei's voice dropped a few notches when reminded by Matatabi. Back then, just as it had taken off into the sky, Hashirama's jutsu had caught it mid-flight with a net of wood branches. It didn't even get to fire off a Tailed Beast Bomb before being knocked unconscious.
"You don't know anything!"
Kurama snapped. "Sure, he's dead. But there are others in the ninja world now who have their eyes on us."
"Others…?"
Kurama's shout made Chōmei's voice even more timid. After a moment, it asked nervously, "You mean that Akatsuki organization that's been rumored across the ninja world in recent years?"
"I heard from the Takigakure villagers that it was just fearmongering—just a rumor…"
"It's not a rumor!"
"They're even more dangerous than Hashirama ever was!"
"Isobu's Jinchūriki is already dead—did you know that!?"
"…"
While the tailed beasts were busy arguing, Naruto tossed a kunai down into the dense forest below, and together with Chōmei's Jinchūriki, ascended higher into the sky. The young girl flew alongside him excitedly, asking endless questions. Naruto responded casually while leading her steadily upward.
"You're not worried I might be a bad guy?"
After she introduced herself, Naruto paused.
"No way! Chōmei said you're its friend. I only came out because of that. You're not a bad guy, right?!"
The girl circled around him, voice full of curiosity.
Naruto chuckled. "Bad guys don't admit they're bad guys."
"Then are you a good guy?"
"I'm someone who can help you."
"Help me?"
She was confused at first, then her face lit up. "Then you're here to be my friend, right?!"
"You could say that, but…"
Before he could finish, glowing specks of light began drifting toward them—like fireflies, but with awareness. They quickly gathered into a fist-sized orb in her hands.
"Eh? You're even wearing a mask!"
She lifted the glowing orb toward Naruto's face. Spotting his mask, she looked even more intrigued.
"Oh right! You haven't told me your name yet!"
"You can call me Menma," Naruto replied, removing his mask. The face underneath wasn't his real one.
"Nice to meet you, Menma-kun!"
The girl's bright orange-red eyes sparkled as she extended her hand.
Naruto smiled and shook it. "I'm going to take you somewhere else—to help prepare you for any potential danger."
"Somewhere else?"
Her smile vanished, replaced by sudden nervousness. "Shibuki-sama told me not to leave the village!"
But then she froze, a bit dazed.
"Is it really okay?"
"Can I bring Kegon and Yōrō too?"
"But… I only just met him…"
She began mumbling to herself.
Naruto's smile remained unchanged, but inwardly he was already speaking with the three tailed beasts sealed inside him.
"Kurama, are you sure about this? I'm planning to use a memory suppression technique on her. Chōmei and Kaede already have a solid bond. If I just mark her with the Flying Thunder God seal and use a remote link jutsu to stay in touch, it should be enough."
"No."
Kurama's voice was firm. "Even though we've received intel from Itachi, the one targeting Chōmei is Kakuzu, who defected from Takigakure. Ever since Isobu's Jinchūriki was killed, Akatsuki hasn't held any meetings. Itachi has no idea where Kakuzu is. Each team reports directly to Pain now."
"To be safe, we need to ensure Chōmei can contact you the moment danger arises."
"But didn't you all just tell Chōmei about the Ten Tails' escape and Akatsuki's plans?"
Naruto frowned. "Now that Chōmei knows how serious the situation is, wouldn't it just have Kaede escape if something happens?"
"Unless the entire Akatsuki shows up, I doubt they'd even have to call for help."
"That's exactly the problem," Matatabi interjected, its voice solemn. "Chōmei's situation is different from the rest of us. Even though it has bonded with its Jinchūriki, Takigakure can't protect it. If Akatsuki invades, Kaede might use Chōmei's power to protect the village at all costs."
Isobu stayed quiet, blinking its eyes back and forth between Kurama and Matatabi, as if it wanted to say something but didn't know how.
"We've been together a long time now," Naruto said calmly. "And we've already linked our chakra. You can speak freely."
Kurama smirked. "As expected—you figured it out. Fine. I'll be blunt: once you fulfill your promise to me, we want you to do the same for Chōmei. To be precise—we want all tailed beasts who desire it to gain their freedom from the Jinchūriki system."
"To achieve that, we must eliminate risk. This is Chōmei's will, too."
Naruto smiled wryly. "So you want me to stand against the entire ninja world?"
"Heh!"
Kurama straightened up and declared, "We'll stand with you. So what if the whole world's against us?"
"I've heard this kind of speech before…" Naruto replied dryly. "Kurama, are you saying you're speaking for all the tailed beasts?"
"Damn right!"
Kurama swished its tails proudly. "Trust me, Naruto—chakra gifted by us tailed beasts is unmatched. You won't regret it!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You can speak for the others?"
"Why not?!"
Kurama's eyes gleamed. "Matatabi! Isobu! Can I be our spokesperson?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
They answered quickly.
"Don't get so worked up," Naruto chuckled. "I'm just surprised. Chōmei and Kaede are already perfectly in sync. I didn't expect Chōmei to want to leave her."
"At first, it didn't," Isobu said quietly. "But after Kurama explained the current threat—Akatsuki and the Ten Tails—it realized staying in Takigakure would be dangerous."
"And it didn't give Naruto its chakra because Kurama told it to—it did it willingly. After hearing Matatabi's story, it made the choice on its own."
Naruto now understood—Chōmei prioritized Kaede's safety above all else. Still, he felt this whole "partnership" thing was being made way more complicated than necessary.
Just then, Kurama's ears perked up. "Time to go. Chōmei's already said goodbye to her."
At that moment, Kaede once again reached out and held Naruto's hand.
Her eyes were full of trust now. "So Menma-kun… you're like me, huh?"
"Are you ready?" Naruto asked calmly.
"Yup!"
Before she could finish speaking, her vision blurred. The next thing she knew, she was standing on soft, icy ground.
"Where… is this place?"
She blew out a cloud of phosphorescent powder, illuminating the surroundings—nothing but white snow in every direction.
"I'll tell you next time we meet," Naruto said, forming a hand seal.
He held out his fist.
"Let's begin. If you're gone too long, your village will panic."
"Mhm."
Kaede stepped back and red chakra bubbles began rising from her body. In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded by a translucent red aura. Seven tail-like chakra extensions fanned out behind her like a peacock.
Boom!
Her fist met Naruto's. In that instant, the chakra covering her surged into Naruto's body at a visible rate. Within a few seconds, it had all disappeared.
At the same time, a six-winged, one-tailed beetle appeared inside Naruto's seal—larger even than Matatabi.
"No rampage this time!"
After they withdrew their fists, Kaede poked Naruto's arm with curiosity.
"It's time to take you back."
After greeting Chōmei inside the seal, Naruto gently placed his hand on Kaede's shoulder. She instantly went limp, falling into his arms.
Naruto activated Flying Thunder God and teleported to a secret lab in the Land of Snow. He sat her down on a chair and applied a memory suppression seal. Then his consciousness entered the seal space.
"Chōmei, does the seal affect you?"
"Yes."
The deep voice replied as the beetle flew above Naruto. "My main body and Kaede both lost all memory of today. If I hadn't established contact just in time, I might've lost control and forced her into a Tailed Beast transformation."
"I'll send her back now. You'll need to explain things afterward."
"Um… Naruto, was it?" Chōmei turned toward Kurama. "Didn't you forget to place that Flying Thunder God mark?"
"Pfft—"
The other tailed beasts burst out laughing.
"You didn't notice?"
"Naruto marked her ages ago!"
"It was during their very first handshake!"
Chōmei froze. "You… put the mark on her hand? What if someone finds it?"
"Don't worry," Naruto said with a grin. "My FTG marks are hidden—they only become visible when I activate the seal through direct contact. Same concept as summoning contracts."
"Besides, I also marked her shoulder. If you want, I can mark her headband too."
"Uhh… no thanks," Chōmei replied awkwardly.
"I'll return her now. You can familiarize yourself with the mirror world later."
With that, Naruto exited the seal space, lifted the still-sleeping Kaede, and vanished again.
Three days later, around noon—
Team 7 arrived at the foot of a spectacular waterfall—the entrance to Takigakure.
"Hey, protecting you up to this point is enough, right?" Sasuke asked their client, Shibuki.
"Yes."
Shibuki's earlier anxiety had vanished. He stood tall with new confidence. "We're here."
Just then, two kids—around eight or nine years old—burst out from behind the waterfall.
"Shibuki-sama!"
"Bad news! The village is under attack!"
"What?!"
Shibuki's confidence evaporated.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. This event is happening early...
He entered the seal space—but the four tailed beasts were missing. Entering the mirror world instead, he found Chōmei mid-battle. After a quick explanation, Chōmei exited with him immediately.
Meanwhile, the two children had run up to Shibuki in panic.
"This morning, a man named Mizukiri led an attack on the village!"
"Everyone's been captured—except us!"
"He said to tell you: bring the Hero Water or they'll start killing hostages!"
"The Hero Water?!"
Shibuki's heart trembled. That traitor Mizukiri—resorting to something so vile?
"What do we do?!"
"Shibuki-sama," Kakashi spoke up from behind, "this matter—"
"Wait! You're Konoha ninja!"
Shibuki turned excitedly to Kakashi. "Captain Kakashi, please help us! I'll pay extra!"
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and nodded. "Alright. We accept the mission."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, bodies began falling from the waterfall—clearly unconscious.
It looked like someone had thrown them out.
Splash—
A blue-haired girl emerged, dragging someone by the collar. Accompanied by a low buzzing sound, she flew into view—revealing insect-like wings behind her back.
Shibuki's eyes widened. "Kaede! You left the sanctuary without permission?!"
Thud!
Before she landed, Kaede tossed the unconscious man aside. With a bright smile, she landed in front of Shibuki.
"Shibuki-sama! I've already taken care of all the intruders!"
Author's note: I didn't finish the full arc yet—Kakuzu and Hidan's part will come tomorrow!
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