Chapter 136: Shukaku: The Nine-Tails and I are Brothers!
In the service area, Kushina slowly opened her eyes.
"Minato..."
"Shh! Kushina, let's head outside first. The others are already facing off at the perimeter of the service area."
"Oh, okay. Then Minato, let's get over there quickly."
After saying that, she grabbed Minato's hand and rushed toward the perimeter... At the perimeter of the service area.
Two thousand Sand Ninja, led by Bunpuku, had completely surrounded the service area. On Bunpuku's shoulder, a Tanuki head was peeking out.
"Old Man, won't it be a bit unsafe for just the two of us to go?"
Watching Bunpuku walk step by step into the service area, Shukaku couldn't help but speak up.
"Two people? Isn't there only This Humble Monk alone?"
Shukaku: "..."
"Besides, don't we have you, the one who can trample the Nine-Tails? Shukaku, are you afraid?"
Shukaku: "???"
Hearing what Bunpuku said, Shukaku's small head was filled with big question marks.
No way! Old Man!
You weren't like this before!
Seeing the shock and disbelief in Shukaku's eyes, Bunpuku felt a bit uneasy under his gaze.
Lately... he really had changed quite a bit.
Ever since the Kazekage took office, the environment of the Hidden Sand Village had been getting better and better.
Even Shukaku was gradually being accepted by the people of the Hidden Sand Village; the world of his ideals was arriving bit by bit.
Coupled with the fact that he had become younger... his temperament had also undergone a huge change.
He could even crack jokes now.
"Shukaku, I have something I'd like to ask of you in a moment. It's very important."
Shukaku: "???"
"As you know, I am but a Monk and not very good with words."
"So if I can't handle things in a moment..."
"Got it, got it."
"Old Man, you're afraid you won't be able to out-talk them, right?"
"Don't worry, leave this small matter to yours truly."
Seeing Shukaku regain his vitality and slap his chubby little belly with his short arms, Bunpuku also revealed a slight smile.
[As expected, Shukaku is just a child after all!]
..."I presume your Excellency is the Hidden Sand's One-Tail Jinchuriki. What great courage, to dare come alone."
Looking at Bunpuku walking toward them step by step, the leader, Burubi, spoke up.
"Benefactors, this Monk..."
"Hey! Who do you think you are? How dare you act wild in the Hidden Sand Village!"
Bunpuku: "..."
Tailed Beast Corps: "???"
The other Tailed Beasts: "???"
A certain red-haired girl who just arrived: "???"
A certain sneaky Nine-Tails: "!!!"
[Is the One-Tail really that brave?]
"Heh, is this your Excellency's spokesperson?"
"I didn't..."
"That's right! The Old Man isn't good with words, so he's letting me speak for him!"
"What? Is my status not high enough?"
"Heh... is that what you told the One-Tail?"
"I... I..."
Seeing Bunpuku stammering, Burubi knew what he wanted to say and immediately retorted.
"Hmph! You think you're so great just because you have more people!"
"Watch out, or we'll enter Tailed Beast State, and then there won't even be enough of you for us to kill!"
"Oho! You're not very old, little guy, but you've got quite a temper!"
"You think your Grandpa Shukaku was raised on threats!"
"When I was born, your grandpa's grandpa's grandpa... grandpa hadn't even been born yet!"
"Who do you think you are?"
"But~, I'm in a good mood today!"
"As long as you kneel down and kowtow to me... mmm... mmm..."
Hearing Shukaku's increasingly inappropriate words, Bunpuku's face finally filled with panic.
For the first time, he rudely covered Shukaku's mouth and communicated with him mentally.
[Shukaku, you'll start a war immediately like this!]
[What's there to fear, Old Man! Didn't you say reinforcements are coming soon!]
[But they haven't arrived yet!]
[It won't make a difference for this little bit of time.]
[But...]
[Old Man! When it comes to being a vegetarian and praying to Buddha... I'm not as good as you!]
[But when it comes to the human heart and war... you're not as good as me!]
Bunpuku: [...]
[This negotiation isn't suitable for you anyway; let me handle it for you!]
[...]
[Are you sure about this?]
[Don't worry, Old Man!]
[I've lived for a thousand years, after all!]
[My experience is definitely richer than yours!]
[...]
[Alright then!]
...They talked for a long time in their inner world, but only a brief moment had passed in the outside world.
After covering Shukaku's mouth for a short while, Bunpuku let go.
Shukaku's attention returned to the dark-faced Burubi and the group behind him.
"Two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine... What? Old Seven didn't come?"
Burubi: "???"
"We intend to invade the Hidden Sand..."
"I know that!"
"..."
"Aren't you nervous? We are seven Tailed Beasts in total!"
"I know that!"
"Then why are you reacting like this?"
"I have a backer; do you?"
"???"
"What? Not convinced?"
"Believe it or not, I'll call someone over to beat you up!"
"What are you looking at!"
"I'm talking about you!"
"Redhead!"
Kushina: "???"
[I'm involved too?]
Kushina, who was watching the show from the back of the crowd, was stunned when she saw Shukaku's short arm pointing at her.
What's the situation? What's going on? I'm just a bystander, and now I'm the target?
But after a brief moment of confusion, the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero's" temper flared up. Earlier today, the Nine-Tails inside her had suddenly gone berserk for no reason, followed by a bunch of Tailed Beasts having a party inside her, and now she was being pointed at by a one-tailed Tanuki.
If she didn't teach him a lesson, he probably wouldn't know what her name was!
"What did you just say about me!"
"Uh..."
Seeing her baring her teeth and claws, Shukaku was momentarily intimidated.
[Hiss! This woman... isn't one to be trifled with!]
[That Nine-Tails guy... must be suffering terribly!]
"I dare you to say that again!"
While Shukaku was lost in thought, Kushina's voice came again, and the source of the sound was even closer than before.
Facing the imminent danger, Shukaku's big belly trembled slightly, but then he thought of something and spoke up.
"Did I say anything about you! I was referring to that red-haired fox, the Nine-Tails. Why are you butting in? Are you a fox too?"
"Uh..."
"But... the Nine-Tails is inside me!"
"Long hair, short wits! What do you know?"
"We Tailed Beasts have a connection at close range. He can hear me when I speak!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Shukaku's words, Kushina was clearly taken aback.
Then she spoke uncertainly.
"Can't you communicate mentally at close range? Why do you need to speak out loud?"
Shukaku: "???"
Now it was Shukaku's turn to be stunned.
What?
Mental communication? How come I didn't know about that?
Could it be... the Old Man kept a trick from me!
That damn Old Man was actually so biased!
Although Shukaku's thoughts had wandered off to who-knows-where, on the surface, he still looked like he was looking at a country bumpkin.
"What do you know? It's because you're in the way!"
"Oh, so that's how it is? No wonder the other Tailed Beasts had to send their Chakra into my Sealing Space."
Shukaku: [???]
[Did I miss something?]
At the thought of this, Shukaku felt uneasy all over, so he asked indirectly.
"How is the Nine-Tails doing in there?"
"You know, we're brothers!"
"So it's normal for me to be concerned, right?"
"Yeah, it's normal."
"Don't worry, he's doing great in my stomach!"
[Doing great? Dammit! Looks like I need to do something!]
"Let me tell you, the Nine-Tails is famous for being the most cunning among the nine of us!"
"If you let him have it too easy!"
"I'm afraid... you'll be in danger yourself!"
"You have to tie him up tight!"
"Are... are you and the Nine-Tails really good brothers?"
"Nonsense! Of course we're good brothers!"
"It's precisely because we're good brothers..."
"...that I can't bear to see him go astray!"
"Besides... that kid Rumei treats me pretty well."
"And you... are Rumei's junior."
"So... you're basically like a great-granddaughter to me."
"I'm just looking out for you!"
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
Hearing Shukaku's words, Kushina's round eyes suddenly lit up, her smart brain seemingly figuring something out.
Minato Namikaze, standing by her side, was stunned and wanted to say something but didn't know what.
"Exactly! That's it!"
Seeing that he had successfully confused Kushina, Shukaku nodded in satisfaction.
"Then should I loosen a few chains?"
"Hmm... how many should I loosen?"
Shukaku: "???"
"Wait! Loosen chains? What chains!"
"The chains holding the Nine-Tails!"
"The Nine-Tails originally had fourteen chains."
"But when the Eight-Tails and the others came in earlier, they said the Nine-Tails enjoyed that feeling, so I added two more to his mouth."
"It seems I can't let the Nine-Tails be too comfortable."
Shukaku: [!!!]
What did I just hear?
Fourteen chains!
You could tie me up twice and still have two left over!
So Kurama... is living such a "good" life!
Although he was very 'envious' of the Nine-Tails' fulfilling life, Shukaku reacted quickly.
"No! Let him keep being comfortable!"
Kushina: "???"
"Didn't you just say..."
"I was too narrow-minded just now!"
"I'm not a decent beast!"
"I am guilty!"
"I apologize to you!"
"I'm sorry!"
Kushina: "???"
Listening to Shukaku's contradictory words, Kushina's brain simply short-circuited.
Finally.
Minato Namikaze really couldn't watch anymore.
He leaned in and whispered into Kushina's ear.
"Kushina! He's playing with you!"
"What! This stinking Tanuki is playing with me!"
"Yeah, did you forget the statues we saw earlier?"
"If they were good brothers, would he be trampling the Nine-Tails?"
Hearing Minato's explanation, Kushina immediately realized, and her red hair stood up once again.
"You damn stinking Tanuki! Go to hell!"
After saying that, she punched the Tanuki head in front of her.
"Bang!"
Shukaku's small clone, condensed from Chakra, was directly shattered by Kushina's punch.
Finally, a new Shukaku head popped out from Bunpuku's shoulder again.
"Aaaah! You little redhead! You actually dared to hit me!"
"Just you wait! I'm going to tell that kid Rumei to deal with you!"
"You bastard One-Tail! Come here and die!!!"
With that, four chains condensed behind her and lunged toward Bunpuku.
And it was this move that completely signaled the start of the battle.
"Now's the time! Attack!!!"
Seeing Kushina take action, Burubi also shouted and followed suit. The other Jinchuriki also attacked, charging toward Bunpuku together.
If they could capture the Hidden Sand's Jinchuriki first, the Allied Forces would have a hostage.
Whether for a retreat or to exchange for a Kage later, it would be excellent.
Every Jinchuriki knew this.
Including Bunpuku and Shukaku.
As the chains appeared, two masses of sand in the shape of palms emerged.
One large mass appeared in front of Bunpuku, blocking the Allied Forces' advance.
A smaller one appeared behind Bunpuku, pulling him back forcefully, moving him out of the service area's range.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Seeing Bunpuku trying to escape, Burubi hastily extended octopus tentacles from his back, attempting to pull him back.
But just as the tentacles were about to touch Bunpuku, an invisible Barrier stood in front of him, blocking their path.
"What's going on?"
Seeing this, Burubi let out an exclamation of surprise.
But before he could check the surroundings, the loud laughter of a certain Tanuki came from the other side of the Barrier.
"A-jie-jie-jie... You didn't expect this, did you? When this service area was built, I covered it with Barriers!"
"Did you think I was just reminiscing with you earlier?"
"Wrong!!!"
"I was waiting for the Barrier to charge up!"
"A-jie-jie-jie..."
As he spoke, Shukaku felt it wasn't enough. He condensed another clone from Bunpuku's body and landed in front of the Barrier.
He aimed his butt at those inside and slapped it with his short arms, mocking them.
"Come on come on hit me!"
"O-ho-ho-ho..."
The others: [Grrr!!!]
[What a despicable Tailed Beast!]
"In this world, you rely on your background! And your brain!"
"What's the use of power? Even with power, weren't you still locked up by me?"
"Farewell, my good brothers! I'll miss you!"
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!!!"
With that, he fully activated the Sealing Jutsu within the service area. The entire area began to sink, followed by an endless surge of sand.
No matter how the Allied Forces inside attacked the Barrier, the sand continued to pour in relentlessly.
Soon, a pyramid rose from the ground, wrapped in a series of sealing formulas.
Seeing his masterpiece complete, the grin on Shukaku's face widened even further.
"O-ho-ho-ho..."
"In ancient times, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara sealed the Tailed Beasts."
"Today, I, Shukaku, have sealed seven Tailed Beasts while laughing and talking!"
"Me, Shukaku = Uchiha Madara = Senju Hashirama!"
"O-ho-ho-ho..."
"As expected, I, Shukaku, am the strongest!!!"
"You stinking Tanuki, you really are cunning!"
Just as Shukaku was standing smugly in front of the pyramid, a familiar female voice rang out beside him, scaring him so much his fur stood on end.
"Who! Who is it... Ouch!"
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