The Sealed Kunai by Kenchi618

Part 43 - Diplomatic Vulnerability

Diplomatic Vulnerability

Naruto and his support, Maki and Sai, sat in a waiting room inside of what Naruto deemed as the building that the office of the Mizukage was situated. While they were all being watched like hawks by a squad of Kiri ninja, he couldn't be bothered to be offended or unnerved by that fact. They were strange foreigners who were all shinobi and one of them was a known jinchuuriki. It would be suspicious if they weren't watched at all.

Sai was simply drawing to pass the time and Maki was simply sitting patiently with her cheeks in her hands. Maki turned her grey eyes to Naruto and decided to try and engage her captain in a conversation, "So Naruto-senpai, what was it like? Having all of your skills sealed away. I couldn't imagine it." She said miserably as she thought about it, "You were nothing like the senpai that worked with me after it happened."

Naruto looked at his hands and flexed his fists, "In the Academy I was never able to focus... because I had already learned all of that stuff. My brain knew that I knew all of that stuff already, it just wasn't able to access that knowledge properly and it tuned it out. That's why it was so hard for me to learn the basic ninjutsu in the Academy. Well there was also the fact that I had too much chakra for the Bunshin." He noticed her raptly listening to his every word, "It isn't really a big deal Maki-chan... did you really miss me that much?"

A frown crossed her face as she turned away from him, "You were the only constant I had in my life when I was a little girl, period. Even though you don't think so I felt really close to you. I knew you better than anyone even though you don't think you knew me. And then you were gone, and then you come back, only I can't see you, let you know who I am... It felt terrible. You were the only person I knew."

"You didn't need me anyway." Naruto said confidently as he put a hand on her shoulder, "Look at you. You turned out to be a great ninja. Even without me there you still became awesome."

"It was still all you..." She said bitterly, "I kept training and got stronger so that by the time we became genin I could destroy you in the chunin exams and see if I could bring the old senpai back. After the exams that led to the invasion when you unsealed yourself I kept training so that I could work with you one day after finding out how strong you were and how far ahead of me you still were, but you never came back to Root, and then I learned that you couldn't return."

Sai took this moment to cut in, "Naruto-senpai's mission and responsibilities kept him from returning Maki-san. If he had returned, chances are he would have returned to being your partner, but you didn't get promoted to chunin until senpai began taking the mission to sack Orochimaru's bases. I had to meet with him in secret until recently."

The door to the office opened up to reveal a man with blue hair and an eye-patch over his right eye. He had earrings of talismans in each ear and wore striped brown pants and shirt with a long green robe over them. He looked over at the three teens from Konoha and motioned them over, "The Mizukage is ready to see you now. Please follow me."

The three young Root ninja all stood and followed him inside of the office where the doors shut behind them. The man that had allowed them entrance took his place on one side of the fully robed Mizukage. On the other side of the fully concealed figure stood a boy that seemed around the age of the Konoha ninja in attendance. He had short blue hair, glasses, and headphone looking appendages on his ears. He wore a blue striped shirt and white and black camouflaged pants with a holster across his chest holding a bandaged sword on his back.

Naruto and his entourage bowed to the Mizukage until a feminine voice spoke, "Please rise Konoha ninja. I'm honestly curious as to why you came all this way unannounced like this, and to be a well-known jinchuuriki. It's quite a surprise to see Naruto Uzumaki here." The Mizukage removed the hat, actually getting the two visiting males Naruto and Sai to blink. While most people wouldn't have figured their single blinks for much, to Maki that was the equivalent of both of their jaws hitting the floor, "I am Mei Terumi, the Godaime Mizukage."