Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess

Riku, who had returned to Konoha, was immediately sent out again on a mission by Tsunade.

She wasn't worried about his safety. With Riku's current strength, there was no one in the shinobi world who could pose a threat to him.

It was just that, truthfully, there were no missions that absolutely required his presence.

The mysterious ghost army hadn't affected Konoha, and the destroyed border cities had already been repaired by the daimyo.

So Riku spent most of his time in the Hokage's office, reading.

Despite his frequent presence there, Riku and Tsunade had never had anything personal happen in the office.

That sort of thing usually only happened at home.

One day, after returning from the Land of Demons, Riku happened to be in the Hokage's office when Naruto and the others returned as well.

Naruto looked disappointed—it was clear their mission to retrieve Sasuke hadn't gone well.

After Yamato and Tsunade gave a full report of the mission, Tsunade looked directly at Naruto.

"It seems Riku was right. After three years of training, Sasuke's strength has increased significantly."

"And you still can't control the Nine Tails' chakra within you."

Naruto lowered his head, clearly upset. He felt that Sasuke's Sharingan now had enough power to partially suppress the Nine Tails.

He, along with Sai, Sakura, and Yamato, had been effortlessly overwhelmed by Sasuke.

Yamato was an elite Jonin. Both Sakura and Naruto had strength approaching Jonin level, and Sai—at least in pure combat ability—might have even surpassed Naruto.

At least for now.

But when they faced Sasuke, they were completely helpless.

It had even looked more decisive than when they faced Riku.

Sasuke was now far stronger than Naruto.

If Naruto couldn't master the Nine Tails' chakra, or learn Sage Mode, or develop the Rasenshuriken, he wouldn't be Sasuke's match.

Riku had always thought Sasuke's title as a "genius" wasn't quite accurate.

But after arriving in this world and analyzing Sasuke's track record, he noticed something strange—Sasuke always tried to fight above his level.

But he didn't have the protagonist's halo, so he usually ended up badly beaten.

Which was honestly realistic. If your strength doesn't match your ambition, how can you win fights above your level?

Now, Sasuke's strength had undoubtedly reached the level of a borderline Kage, just one Mangekyō Sharingan short of being Kage-tier.

Naruto, on the other hand, was currently at best Jonin level. But if you added the variable of his Tailed Beast chakra, his potential became unpredictable.

Naruto's greatest advantage was his foundation. If he could master even one or two high-level techniques, or unlock Sage Mode, his strength would skyrocket.

But the best route would be mastering the Nine Tails' chakra.

If he could do that, his strength would jump from Jonin to Kage-level instantly.

And if he could fully harness Kurama's power, he could reach the very peak of the Kage-class.

Riku stood up and walked over to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder.

In that instant, they were both transported into Naruto's inner world.

The moment Riku appeared, the Nine Tails roared in defiance, sending a violent shockwave toward him.

But a layer of Lightning Style chakra armor flickered around Riku, deflecting the force easily.

He looked up at the towering beast. "So I heard you went berserk recently?"

Kurama, realizing he couldn't intimidate Riku, lay back down behind the bars and muttered, "That had nothing to do with me. This brat's emotions went out of control, and the chakra ran wild. I couldn't stop it."

Kurama still remembered how thoroughly Riku had suppressed him last time, so he didn't even try to argue.

Riku folded his arms. "Can't you just cooperate with Naruto already? Don't you know the Eight Tails and Two Tails in Kumogakure live in peace with their Jinchuriki? Stop making things harder for Konoha."

Kurama's eyebrow twitched at Riku's tone. He opened one eye, glaring. "You want me to become some human's pet? Not a chance."

Riku didn't flinch. He casually stepped past the gate sealing Kurama and looked up at the fox. "No, I'm not asking you to be a pet. I'm saying you should face reality. You were summoned by Uchiha Madara, got thrashed by the First Hokage, and you've been sealed inside Konoha shinobi for decades."

"It's been long enough. You're not getting out. Especially with me around. At least while I'm alive, you won't escape."

"Instead of wasting away in here, why not cooperate with Naruto and help him grow stronger? Konoha gets a powerful ninja, and you get some freedom."

"If you agree to work with him, I'll even loosen the seal. How's that?"

Kurama glared but didn't roar.

Seeing Riku's calm expression made it hard to stay mad.

He closed his eyes again, but Riku appeared in a flash—this time sitting right on Kurama's head.

"I'm being generous here. If you don't agree, I'll relocate your seal to a molten rock chamber with a one-room layout and no ventilation."

"Do you really want to go back to the kind of sealing Mito-sama and Kushina-sama put you through?"

Kurama opened his eyes, thinking silently.

He didn't rage. He knew there was no point arguing with Riku.

"I'll never become some human's slave," he finally said. "The Eight Tails and Two Tails are weaklings for letting themselves be tamed. I won't stoop to their level."

Riku laughed. "Who said anything about being tamed? I'm talking about cooperation. You know just as well as I do—if we let you out, the other villages would come for you in an instant."

"You think I don't know how valuable the Nine Tails is? Others won't treat you the way we do. You'd suffer worse than you did with Mito or Kushina."

Kurama didn't answer. It was clear Riku hadn't convinced him.

Riku narrowed his eyes. "You know the Akatsuki is coming for you, right? Their goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts. They've already captured One Tail from Sunagakure. Do you know how?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"The Gedo Statue."

Kurama shot up, eyes blazing. "How do you know about that?!"

Riku smiled. "Don't worry about how I know. Just know that the Akatsuki used the Gedo Statue to extract One Tail."

"And if they get their hands on you, they'll do the same—rip out your chakra and erase your consciousness. You'll become nothing but a weapon."

---------------------

Join my Patreon and get access to 50+ early chapters before anyone else! 🔥

/UK21

Your Support is Truly Appreciated

--------

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!