The old monk's name was Bunpuku. From the moment he was born, he had been the jinchūriki of the One-Tail, imprisoned by Sunagakure for his entire life.
As the years passed, even the name "Bunpuku" had faded into obscurity. People no longer called him by his own name, but instead referred to him by the tailed beast sealed within him—Shukaku.
Now, this frail, unremarkable-looking old monk stood before them… yet to Hyuga Hayakumo, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Megumi, he felt like death itself drawing near.
"Run!"
The three of them didn't even entertain the thought of resisting. They turned and fled at once, dragging their companions with them in a frantic retreat.
But such a sudden, seemingly baseless escape left the hot-blooded Guy completely bewildered. "Hey—what's wrong with you guys? That old man is just—"
"He's not human," Hayakumo cut in sharply. "No human could possess that level of chakra."
By now, Shisui's usual gentle smile had vanished, replaced by rare seriousness. "I don't know what he is either… but I could see it—chakra pouring out of him like a flood. That's not something we…"
He paused, then corrected himself quietly. "…No. Even jonin would be nothing in front of him."
In the next instant, a violent gale roared toward them without warning.
"Hold on to each other! Don't let go!" Asuma shouted, his eyes squeezed shut against the raging wind, yet still thinking of his teammates.
In that critical moment, despite their inexperience, the group of young shinobi displayed remarkable composure—no one panicked, no one fell behind.
The storm raged for more than a dozen breaths before finally subsiding, giving them a brief chance to catch their breath.
"What the hell was that?!"
They turned back toward the direction they had fled from—
And what they saw froze them in place.
Standing there was a strange beast, over two meters tall, resembling a tanuki. Its entire body was a sandy yellow, marked with violet patterns across its surface.
"…A summoning beast?"
"No—that's the old monk!" Hayakumo's Byakugan saw through it instantly. The chakra within that creature was identical to the monk from before.
"Go alert the others! There's a monster inside Kikyo Castle—!"
"A monster? You mean this tanuki?"
A cold voice interrupted them.
Only then did they notice the Konoha shinobi who had appeared without their awareness. In the next instant, he opened his mouth and spat out a sword—its blade crackling faintly with lightning—as it shot forward and pierced straight through the creature's left arm.
"It didn't cut through?" he muttered, slightly surprised.
"Orochimaru-senpai!"
"Sensei!"
Then, in the very next moment, a streak of green light descended from above—
Slash!
"Why are you still standing there? Move!" another voice barked sharply.
The creature's left arm slid cleanly off its body.
Too fast.
And overwhelmingly powerful.
"Yes!"
The group of young shinobi snapped out of their daze at once, scattering quickly to find cover and observe from a safe distance.
"What was that green light?"
"That's wind-nature chakra. That sword is a chakra blade," Hayakumo said, his Byakugan tracking everything clearly.
At that moment, Shimizu stood with the tip of his sword pointed directly at Shukaku, a trace of confusion flickering in his mind.
Even after having its arm severed, the creature showed no reaction whatsoever.
Too quiet…
And that form—it was unmistakably the One-Tail, Shukaku.
A jinchūriki, then…
"Uzuki-kun, your attacks are as sharp as ever," Orochimaru remarked lightly.
"Thanks to your Kusanagi blade, the results speak for themselves," Shimizu replied.
Even knowing this was a jinchūriki, Shimizu felt little concern.
From what he remembered, the One-Tail hadn't seemed particularly overwhelming—Naruto and Gamabunta had once managed to hold it off. Even the Akatsuki had captured jinchūriki with alarming ease.
Besides… if the sky were to fall, someone taller would bear it first.
And right now, Orochimaru was standing right beside him.
"Konoha shinobi, I had no intention of killing you," the creature said calmly. Its voice carried neither anger nor killing intent.
"But I have given my word to the Third Kazekage. I must do my best to fulfill it."
"So… forgive me."
There was even a trace of regret in its tone.
"If you're going to fight, then fight. Enough talk," Shimizu said coldly as he launched forward again, lightning-fast. The creature's reactions didn't seem particularly quick.
"Uzuki-kun, this is a jinchūriki," Orochimaru reminded him, following closely behind.
"Yeah, I know."
In the blink of an eye, a streak of blue and a streak of green crossed paths—
Their blades slicing cleanly across the creature's neck.
"It's still just a jinchūriki."
This time, even the creature's head slowly slid off its body and fell to the ground.
"Senpai, be careful! It's not dead!" Hayakumo shouted.
Under the penetrating vision of the Byakugan, the monster's chakra showed no signs of weakening—if anything, it remained just as vast and terrifying as before.
"Retreat!"
Shimizu and Orochimaru retreated instantly.
Boom—!
A visible shockwave erupted outward from the creature's body, blasting in all directions.
Right before their eyes, its severed head and left arm began to regenerate… slowly, but unmistakably.
No vital point?
"AAAHHHHHH—!"
The creature threw its head back and roared at the sky.
"Watch out!"
BOOM!
An even more overwhelming surge of chakra burst forth, flooding the battlefield.
At the same time, the massive sandstorm vortex finally reached Kikyo Castle.
...
A world of utter darkness.
Within it, an old monk sat quietly in meditation. Behind him loomed a colossal beast, its form resembling that of a giant tanuki.
This was the One-Tail—Shukaku.
"I've gotta say, old monk… those Konoha brats really underestimated you," Shukaku's voice echoed through the void.
"I've always wondered—why would someone like you agree to a request like that from the Third Kazekage? Don't tell me it's just because he remembered your real name."
The old monk spoke slowly, his tone calm and steady.
"Even without us, Sunagakure would have waged war against Konoha sooner or later. As long as nations exist, conflict between people can never truly disappear."
"The Third Kazekage's idea—to unify the shinobi world through war, and thereby end conflict to establish lasting peace and order… I do not think it is entirely without merit."
"Heh. Too bad he's already dead," Shukaku sneered.
"A promise is still a promise. Once given, it must be fulfilled."
"A promise, huh…? Humans really are strange—binding themselves to things with no real force behind them," Shukaku muttered, unable to comprehend such emotions.
"It's no different from a beast's loyalty to humans," the monk replied gently. "The bond you feel toward the Sage of Six Paths… that, too, is something you cannot erase."
The old monk slowly raised his hands.
On one palm was written the character for "heart," and on the other, "accept."
When he pressed them together, they formed a single word—love.
"Tch… that's just because that old man earned my respect," Shukaku scoffed, though his tone carried a hint of reluctance.
The monk chuckled softly. "Then by that logic… haven't you come to acknowledge me as well?"
"…Yeah. You're the second human I've ever acknowledged," Shukaku admitted openly.
This old man reminded him of the Sage of Six Paths—so much so that the resemblance was almost uncanny.
Both were beings who sought to create and uphold peace and order in the world.
And perhaps… such humans would never appear again.
Which meant—this time, he could not allow this old monk to die.
"So now, I need your power to fulfill my vow," the monk said quietly.
"Hah! If that's all, then take it!"
...
A colossal sandstorm vortex slammed into Kikyo Castle.
Gale-force winds and swirling sand blinded everyone, forcing them to shut their eyes against the storm.
Then—
A deafening explosion rang out.
In the next instant, a violent surge of chakra swept across the entire city.
Through the haze of sand and wind, people could just barely make out the silhouette of something enormous… something terrifying… descending upon Kikyo Castle.
And in that moment, an overwhelming sense of fear ignited in every heart.
The perfect jinchūriki—
The One-Tail, Shukaku of the Sand—had appeared.
..
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