Yoruha was a bit surprised. When did Naruto become like this? "When did I ever tame the Nine-Tails? Don't make things up. I haven't really fought with it."
"The last time we clashed, I was seriously injured, you know that." Seeing Yoruha still in denial, Naruto explained
"During the Chunin Exams, the Nine-Tails once took control of my body, defeated the One-Tail from the Sand Village, and saved the Leaf Village. It came out because of you, and it didn't take the opportunity to control my body because of you."
Yoruha was bewildered. His interactions with the Nine-Tails were minimal, just a single conversation. Why did Naruto make it sound like he had made some deal with the Nine-Tails?
Jiraiya, standing nearby, stepped in to confirm, "Naruto isn't lying. I was there at the time. The Nine-Tails did come out, defeated the One-Tail, and then went back. And when it went back, it said some strange things.
But I could tell from those words that it came out to save the village because of you. It didn't want your village to be destroyed." Yoruha frowned.
He couldn't believe it was true. He distinctly remembered that after he left Naruto's sealed space that day, the Nine-Tails seemed quite displeased with him. How could it possibly come out to save the village because of him?
Of course, if it were the current Yoruha, he was confident he could exchange a few blows with the Nine-Tails. Yoruha had confidence in that. But Naruto's story sounded too fantastical; he simply couldn't believe it.
After all, it was the Nine-Tails. How could it possibly do such a thing? Shizune, standing to the side, looked at Yoruha, shocked by Jiraiya and Naruto's words.
"What kind of power does this child possess to make even the Nine-Tails come out to help him?" In the eyes of everyone in the Leaf Village, the Nine-Tails was a powerful demon beast, an uncontrollable and formidable evil spirit.
Yoruha glanced at Naruto, who said, "I'm telling the truth. The situation was urgent at the time, and the Nine-Tails kept asking where you were."
Yoruha was silent for a long time before he said, "Was it afraid I'd seal it back? It wouldn't have mattered if it came out."
Naruto thought for a moment and said, "I don't think so. If it were afraid of that, it could have just ignored everything."
Exactly, the Nine-Tails could have completely ignored the situation back then. Why bother to intervene? Moreover, with the Nine-Tails' personality, how could it possibly help humans?
It might have been possible in ancient times, but after being harassed by humans repeatedly, the Nine-Tails only harbored hatred for them.
However, Yoruha was only a bit surprised and didn't find it particularly strange. After all, the Nine-Tails wasn't his tailed beast.
It could do whatever it wanted, think however it wanted. "The power of a pure tailed beast and the power of a jinchuriki utilizing a tailed beast are on completely different levels."
"A pure tailed beast is just a stronger beast, but once a tailed beast acknowledges a jinchuriki, the jinchuriki's power will immediately surpass that of a pure tailed beast."
"That's what the Nine-Tails told me, so if you can gain the Nine-Tails' recognition, you'll wield power far beyond that of a pure Nine-Tails," Yoruha added.
He didn't want Naruto to keep focusing on him in the future. Naruto, however, smiled and said, "Of course, I won't give up, but I also know that's impossible."
"Rest assured, I can focus on improving my strength," Yoruha sighed in relief. As long as Naruto wasn't fixated on him, Yoruha had no intention of interfering with whatever he wanted to do.
Jiraiya chuckled from the side, "So, you're admitting that the Nine-Tails acknowledges you, right? Otherwise, why would it tell you such a secret? You know, people didn't realize before that gaining a Tailed Beast's recognition would grant power beyond just the beast itself."
Yoruha looked speechless. "How did you come to that conclusion from what I said?"
"The Nine-Tails harbors a deep hatred for humans, yet it was willing to share this secret with you. This is a method to control it, after all."
"If it didn't acknowledge you, why would it reveal such a secret?" Yoruha was left without words. He felt Jiraiya's imagination was running wild.
Talking more was pointless. Tsunade, who had been observing for a while, finally spoke up, "Alright, regardless, it's beneficial for the Leaf Village. Yoruha, you'll be my bodyguard from now on."
"This was the Third Hokage's dying wish; you wouldn't refuse, would you?"
Yoruha glanced at Tsunade and smiled, "Why would I refuse?" He knew Tsunade's personality well and didn't mind being her bodyguard.
After all, Tsunade wasn't a workaholic and often slacked off. Being her bodyguard meant he could slack off too, which seemed perfectly reasonable.
If it were to be the Third Hokage's bodyguard, Yoruha would definitely refuse, but being Tsunade's bodyguard, knowing that he could slack off without much oversight, made him too happy to refuse.
Tsunade, on the other hand, thought Yoruha agreed without hesitation because he highly regarded her. She patted Yoruha's shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry, following me, you'll have a great chance to become Hokage one day."
Tsunade was delighted that Yoruha agreed without hesitation. Yoruha smiled too. It wasn't because he saw a chance to become Hokage, but because he knew being Tsunade's bodyguard would be an easy job.
It would even mean fewer tasks than he had now. After all, he had already earned 10 million ryo in the Land of Snow, and in the future, he would only need to occasionally take on missions to cover daily expenses. Thinking about the days ahead, Yoruha was overjoyed.
How could he refuse? Thus, Tsunade and Yoruha, two people with completely different thoughts, happily acknowledged each other. Meanwhile, after leaving the Leaf Village.
Uchiha Itachi and Kisame were carrying out a mission assigned by the Akatsuki in the Land of Earth. A ninja lay at Kisame's feet. Uchiha Itachi sat on a rock, lost in thought.
Kisame, carrying his Samehada, said, "Itachi-san, your brother is growing fast. Are you really not going to kill him? I think he might surpass you in the future." Uchiha Itachi recalled the time Sasuke attacked him, with such speed and strength, and felt gratified.
He had always hoped Sasuke would grow strong and become a hero who could protect the Leaf Village.
To that end, he even planned for Sasuke to kill him in the future and become a hero of the Leaf.
Naturally, he wasn't worried about Sasuke becoming too strong to the point of killing him.
Of course, this was his inner thought, but outwardly, Uchiha Itachi maintained his cold demeanor. "The mission is complete. Let's take him and head back," Uchiha Itachi said, not answering Kisame's question.
Kisame, used to Itachi's attitude, picked up the dead ninja with Samehada and carried him off.
As they walked, Kisame couldn't help but comment, "If your brother's jutsu had hit, it would have been a terrible death."
Just like in the original story, when Kisame and Itachi went to the Leaf to make their presence known, they encountered Kakashi and Sasuke.
Kakashi, just like in the original, was trapped in the Tsukuyomi. However, unlike the original, Sasuke accompanied Kakashi in searching for Itachi.
Since Sasuke's strength was already at a jounin level, Kakashi felt comfortable bringing him along.