"I don't know." Saiken shook her head slightly. "My Jinchuriki has very strong control over the seal."
"I basically have no access to outside information."
"If you had learned even a little bit of sealing jutsu, it wouldn't be like this," Shukaku grumbled.
Saiken stared at him intently, saying nothing.
"Communicate with your Jinchuriki as soon as possible," Gyuki also said with a sigh.
The conflict between Jinchuriki and Tailed Beast was truly difficult to articulate.
Take himself and Killer Bee, for example. Before they established their mental communication, he wanted to kill his own Jinchuriki more than anyone.
But after truly establishing communication, their bond became stronger than anyone else's.
"I understand." Saiken sighed faintly and withdrew from the mental space.
"Yugito, you three also need to be careful," Naruto said.
Not long ago, Yugito, having nothing better to do, had gone to find the Three-Tails Isobu to broaden her horizons.
"Understood." The woman and two beasts nodded slightly.
"Yugito, Big Bro asked me to ask you, are you still planning to go back?" Killer Bee asked, looking at the cool older sister figure standing atop Matatabi.
"It's not bad out here either. I don't plan on going back for now," Yugito said, her voice filled with resentment. "Compared to you, my existence is dispensable to Kumogakure."
Having been out for so long, all she received was a single inquiry from Killer Bee.
Once again, she clearly understood her standing in the Fourth Raikage's heart compared to Killer Bee.
Killer Bee looked sheepish. He could naturally sense Yugito's resentment, but as a vested beneficiary in the situation, he was the least qualified to speak.
"Next time, I'll definitely beat you so badly you won't be able to get out of bed for a month, yo!" he said to Naruto.
His tone held no hatred, more a sense of unwillingness to accept defeat.
After all, the other party hadn't resorted to any underhanded tactics; he had been defeated in a direct confrontation. If you lose, you lose with dignity.
"Alright," Naruto said, nodding with a smile.
Gyuki had a dark line across his forehead. He flicked his Jinchuriki with a finger.
The two also vanished from the mental space.
"If you want to go back, then go back," Naruto said, looking at Yugito's melancholic expression, offering comfort.
When Yugito had followed him away from Kumogakure, it was more out of anger that her status in Kumo was inferior to Killer Bee's.
So Naruto hadn't expected Yugito to fully commit to the Dragon Heritage.
"I…" Yugito was about to shake her head when Naruto interrupted her.
"That place is your homeland, after all, the place that gave birth to you and raised you. There's no need to make the relationship between you two so strained."
"Thank you…" Yugito said.
Sensing her Jinchuriki's mood, Matatabi nodded slightly to the others and withdrew from the mental space.
"Isobu, if you encounter anyone from Akatsuki, you must notify me immediately," Naruto said to Isobu.
Compared to Yugito's wavering, Gaara and Isobu's identification with the Dragon Heritage had never faltered.
He also considered them his comrades.
Honestly, he wasn't concerned about the safety of the other Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki.
Only this one person and these two beasts—he vowed that before his own death, he would absolutely not let any harm come to them.
"Roger!" Isobu seemed to sense his sentiment, his eyes curving slightly as he raised a foreclaw.
"Gaara, you and Shukaku too," Naruto nodded slightly, turning his head to look at the other two.
"I understand," Gaara nodded.
"Got it!" Shukaku scratched his belly.
Land of Birds.
Beside a stream, a handsome young man with bangs obscuring one eye, dressed in a blue, open-chested kimono, held a slender bamboo pipe to his lips, blowing countless colorful bubbles towards the river's surface.
He gazed at the drifting, popping bubbles, his thoughts unknown.
"Hey!"
A gentle voice appeared in his mind.
Utakata was no stranger to this voice. His current predicament was entirely because of this fellow.
"What is it?" Utakata's tone was somewhat impatient.
The Six-Tails disliked him, and he, in turn, disliked the Six-Tails.
"There's a group called Akatsuki capturing Tailed Beasts. You, being outside a ninja village, will become a target." Hearing his impatient tone, Saiken also got worked up.
After dropping that statement, she directly went offline.
"Akatsuki?" Utakata was taken aback. He tried to contact the Six-Tails again to ask for more information about Akatsuki, but no matter how he asked, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean, without a trace of response.
"Forget it. I just need to be a little careful."
After a moment, Utakata thought to himself.
He still had some confidence in his own strength.
Akatsuki, an organization he had never even heard the name of—how strong could they be?
Besides, the Six-Tails had always been sealed within him, with no contact with the outside world. Where would it have learned about Akatsuki?
Thinking of this, Utakata's expression relaxed.
Just then, an authoritative voice came from the forest behind him.
"The Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails."
"Who are you people?" Utakata asked in a deep voice.
"We are creating a new world. For that, we need you—no, we need the Tailed Beast within you," Yahiko's figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the forest.
"I see. So you must be the so-called Akatsuki organization." Utakata slowly brought the bubble pipe to his lips.
"The Six-Tails, I'll be taking it!" Pain declared, pointing at him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several missiles whistled out from the forest.
Seeing this, Utakata hurriedly retreated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several fiery explosions lit up the area, sending countless fragments of stone and wood flying.
Utakata stood on a tree, his chest heaving slightly. He looked at the six figures walking out from the forest, his gaze hardening.
The chakra within his body began to draw upon the Six-Tails' chakra. To his surprise, this time the Six-Tails didn't interfere.
The process of drawing chakra was exceptionally smooth.
"ROAR!"
The Six-Tails' chakra instantly formed a dark red chakra cloak around his body, and behind him, six dark red tails danced.
"Very good. This is the power we desire," Pain said, his expression unchanging.
Suddenly, the six tails behind Utakata shot out violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Six Paths leaped backward. Where they had just been standing, the dark red tails, like sharp swords, were now deeply embedded in the ground.
The Animal Path formed hand seals and slammed its palms on the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Several massive white puffs of smoke erupted.
"ROAR!" A colossal three-headed dog burst forth from the smoke.
Watching the Animal Path retreat into the mouth of a chameleon and slowly disappear from sight, Utakata was just about to launch an attack.
Several missiles came speeding towards him.
Helpless, he could only dodge backward.
"Those missiles he's using…" Utakata's gaze locked onto a burly, bald ninja.
The abilities of the other four are still unknown, especially that one…
Utakata looked towards the Deva Path Pain, who was standing on a tree branch, apparently with no intention of moving.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The ground shook violently. A rhinoceros, large enough to rival a small mountain, lowered its head slightly, its horn ramming fiercely towards him.
"Three large summoning beasts… is that the ability of that female ninja…?"
An image of the female ninja who had hidden inside the chameleon's mouth appeared in his mind. Utakata's partially transformed Tailed Beast body suddenly turned purple.
His body, like a slug, suddenly elongated, and the instant the rhinoceros's horn struck the ground, he wrapped himself around the summoned rhinoceros.
A corrosive liquid secreted from the surface of his body.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
White smoke instantly rose from the rhinoceros's body, and a pained roar echoed.
"ROAR!!"