Danzo tapped his cane on the ground, "I do not want the boy. I simply wish to ensure his safety, with all of the business of the Akatsuki that you and I both know will do whatever it takes to obtain him it is of the utmost importance to keep his well-being as a priority of sorts." He hadn't overstepped any boundaries, laced his words with any subtle threats, and he had been speaking the truth the entire time. Tsunade could afford to continue to hear him out, "Please continue."
Danzo nodded and did just that, "I would like to assign one of my personal best to work alongside Uzumaki. I can assure you that he is the brightest shinobi I have trained besides Uzumaki himself, but then again being a jinchuuriki that would make it hard for him to compare to."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "Do not attempt to jerk me around Danzo. I'm warning you, let that boy be. I don't need any treachery against him from within the village when we have more than enough against him from outside of it."
Danzo kept his face steady, "I agree, which is why I am putting this offer on the table. I do not want to cut back Uzumaki's growth or hold him back in any way. He is a jinchuuriki and is destined to be one of the most powerful men in existence with the biju imprisoned inside of him. Having him be captured by a group of rogues simply because he had insufficient backup would not keep our village safe or powerful in any way, especially when that power ends up turned on us and the rest of the world."
Seeing that she had her eyes firmly on him, but not saying a word, the elderly man stood up and turned to leave, "Well I will leave the final decision up to you. Until the next time Tsunade-hime." With that, the only sound in the room was the sound of Danzo's cane thudding off of the floor as he left.
XxX
(Two Days Later – Gates of Kumogakure no Sato)
After Naruto and Jiraiya were confronted at the entrance to the village by posted sentries, Jiraiya flashed a message from Konoha that he was to deliver to the Raikage, important information necessary for Kumo's consideration he called it. With that, both Konoha ninja were watched carefully as they made their way to the main building.
Naruto simply peered around their surroundings and took in the village. Nothing that he could see had changed over the course of the time he had been away from Kumo, but being here for business he passed that thought off to the side. Jiraiya was getting sick of walking in silence, "You need to stop worrying about the Akatsuki gaki. Calm down a bit."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "It's going to be kind of hard to pull that off when we're about to talk about it with the Raikage isn't it? And they really don't care whether I'm in a hidden village or not, if they want me badly enough they'll find a way in."
Jiraiya sighed, "I've got your back if anything goes down you know that. Now focus, we need to convince the Raikage what a threat the Akatsuki are and how joining forces with Konoha and compiling our collective forces alongside Suna would be the best thing to handle this."
Naruto shook his head, "No way. No way in hell this is going to work. We have about a snowball's chance in hell of getting one village to work with us. Iwa already basically told us to go fuck ourselves, Kiri's just getting over the civil war, no way we're getting help there, and Kumo is basically the only shot we've got, but this isn't going to work either."
"And why not you skeptical brat?" Jiraiya asked as they neared the tower.
Naruto rolled his shoulders, "The same reason that the Tsuchikage told us off; because as of now it isn't his problem. Kirabi and Yugi-chan haven't been targeted yet so the Raikage won't make a move or else it might upset the status quo."
Jiraiya shook his head, "There has to be a leader out there with some foresight. If they come for you what's to stop them from going after someone else? But you're right… the problem is going to be in explaining it to him."
XxX
(Three Hours Later – Raikage's Office)
Standing in the background, Naruto listened as the conversation between the two elder shinobi droned on.
A sat at his desk, decked out in the traditional Raikage garb of Kumo, listening to Jiraiya intently. The sannin in question was seated in front of the desk with a look of seriousness on his face, "The organization is beginning to make emboldened moves. They have made three attempts on Naruto since I've uncovered their existence and may have the Nanabi of Takigakure and the Gobi of Iwagakure as I speak. Soon enough they will come for either your Nibi or Hachibi jinchuuriki. Some of the most notorious ninja in the world gathering together to capture demon vessels, you know that this can't possibly be for a good reason."
The Raikage sat in thought for a moment before sighing, "Jiraiya-dono, as grateful as I am that you have brought this concern to me instead of keeping the threat to yourself I don't think I can put my support behind an alliance just for the sake of stopping a group of less than nine shinobi, no matter how talented they may be. Kirabi and Yugito are powerful enough to defend themselves and their comrades in case they are attacked, and clearly Uzumaki-san is to if his still being alive and in one piece right before me is any indication."
Naruto frowned from his spot in the background by the door. This was going roughly the way that he expected it to, and from the look on Jiraiya's face he wasn't expecting things to go much better when they walked in himself. The two Konoha ninja shared a glance before turning their attention back to the Raikage, "I cannot commit Kumogakure to a coalition at this point in time for this reason. I'm afraid you have both come here for nothing."
XxX
(That Night – Kumogakure Hotel)
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