"Wow, so cute!" Several girls surrounded Shukaku in Ino's arms, turning into a swarm of "itchy hands" as they touched him all over.
"Hey! Brats! Show some respect!" Shukaku was starting to get annoyed with the excessive touching. He put his hands on his hips and shouted, "I am a dignified tailed beast! How dare you treat me like this?!"
"Awww~~~"
Unexpectedly, the moment Shukaku put his hands on his hips, the girls got even more excited and began pinching his chubby cheeks until his face was distorted.
"Hey, is this real?!"
Elsewhere, Kankuro and Temari, who had picked up Gaara's unconscious body, widened their eyes in disbelief at what they were seeing.
Was that really the same Shukaku who almost destroyed Sunagakure?!
How could he be letting people rub and cuddle him like that?!
Countless Sunagakure shinobi had lost their lives because of this thing's rampage!
For a moment, the two siblings couldn't accept the absurd scene in front of them.
"Hmph!" Shukaku glanced at the stunned duo and snorted. "Bunch of idiots."
Having been sealed in Gaara's body for many years, Shukaku naturally knew who they were. Seeing their expressions, he immediately understood what they were thinking.
"Do you think I gave in that easily?"
"If this guy named Haruto weren't so terrifying, I wouldn't have thrown away my dignity like this!" Shukaku grumbled in his mind.
Although Shukaku had only one tail and appeared to be the weakest among the tailed beasts, that wasn't exactly true.
The strength of a tailed beast couldn't be measured just by the number of tails.
Tailed beasts were immense chakra entities. In their eyes, the number of tails didn't matter unless you were talking about Eight Tails or Nine Tails—whose chakra was so vast that quantity became quality.
That's why Eight Tails and Nine Tails had always stood at the top of the tailed beast hierarchy.
As for the rest, most were generally equal in rank.
Still, there were disparities within that level.
For example, Six Tails Saiken and Seven Tails Chōmei weren't as strong as Four Tails Son Gokū or Five Tails Kokuō, and they were only marginally stronger than Three Tails Isobu.
As for Isobu himself, he was an embarrassment among the tailed beasts.
Despite having three tails, he was known for being clumsy and chaotic in battle. He wasn't even on par with support-type Seven Tails.
Seven Tails could overpower him purely through chakra quantity.
Then there was the Two Tails. Though smaller in size, it was agile and skilled in close combat, making it quite formidable.
Shukaku, however, was a complete outlier among the nine.
Even with only one tail, he boasted the strongest defense of all the tailed beasts.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Shukaku was the only one among the tailed beasts able to go head-to-head with the Gedo Statue for a time and even mount a counterattack.
More importantly, Shukaku had one of the highest IQs among the tailed beasts. Unlike others who were often silent and temperamental, Shukaku frequently plotted and pranked humans.
Even while sealed, he made his jinchūriki suffer insomnia.
Among the nine jinchūriki, the traits of One Tail's host were the most distinct.
While Naruto had whisker-like marks on his face due to the Nine Tails being sealed in him as a baby, that was only because his young body couldn't suppress it.
By contrast, Shukaku's previous jinchūriki was already an old man and still bore the dark circles from his influence.
Shukaku's intelligence had also shined in combat.
In the Fourth Ninja World War, One Tail made the most tactical contributions aside from Eight Tails and Nine Tails—all thanks to its high intellect.
So when it heard Haruto mention the name "Hagoromo," it immediately recalled something and chose to submit.
Even if its guess was off, survival took priority.
After all, to live was better than to die proud.
"Compared to life, what does dignity mean?" Shukaku muttered internally as he endured the girls' overwhelming affection. He kept consoling himself.
"I really am a genius!"
With that matter settled, Haruto turned to head toward the Hokage battlefield.
"Hey, wait!"
Just as Haruto was about to leave, Temari suddenly called out and stopped him.
"Hmm?"
Haruto turned to look at Temari, puzzled by her urgency.
"Um…" Temari found herself flustered.
Even though Haruto looked ordinary, the overwhelming strength he had just displayed left everyone in shock.
Standing before him, Temari felt intense pressure and even dizziness.
But what she wanted to say was crucial—concerning both her village and Gaara's life. She couldn't back down.
"What can I do for you, little sister Temari?" Haruto asked with a smile.
Black stockings on girls were always charming!
"L-Little…sister?" Temari felt like something struck her heart. Her mind went blank.
Had Haruto just called her "little sister"?! Oh my god!
Temari's face flushed red instantly.
"Ahem!" Kankuro coughed twice behind her but failed to snap her out of it.
"That!" Kankuro stepped forward. "Shukaku belongs to Sunagakure! You can't just take him!"
His tone was hesitant.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Haruto raised an eyebrow and asked loudly.
"I said…" Kankuro thought Haruto hadn't heard him and tried to repeat it, but when he met Haruto's cold gaze, he immediately froze.
"You seem to misunderstand something," Haruto said calmly.
"Your Sunagakure shinobi have attacked Konoha. That makes this a war."
"And Shukaku is now Konoha's war trophy. What right do you have to demand it back?"
"Frankly, if it weren't for the fact that you're just Chūnin Exam candidates, I would've killed you already."
"You're alive only because the Third Hokage requested it personally."
"Do. You. Understand?" Haruto said slowly, staring coldly at Kankuro.
"Yes, yes, I understand!" Kankuro backed away in terror, his clothes soaked in sweat.
"But!" Temari said anxiously, "If you take Shukaku away, Gaara will die!"
No matter what, Gaara was her little brother.
Even if Haruto was overwhelming in strength, she had to fight for him.
"Haha, that's nothing," Haruto said with a laugh. "It's no big deal."
"???" Temari was confused. Her brother might die—how was that nothing?
"If you want to solve this problem, come to my Golden Egg Shop."
Haruto walked off toward the Hokage battlefield, not looking back.
"Golden Egg Shop?!" Temari echoed in confusion.
End of the Chapter.
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