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Years slipped by like sand through an hourglass.
Nearly several decades had passed since that earth-shattering battle.
And in that time—the world had changed in more ways than one.
The most notable development? Sage Manji had become the world's dominant faith.
The reason was simple. Before the final battle, the civilians who survived had done so because they'd heeded Manji's divine decree and evacuated in time.
Everything that followed only reinforced their devotion.
Those who listened to the Sage's warning escaped the cataclysmic aftershocks unscathed. The Temple of Manji grew—larger, grander, multiplying across every corner of the globe.
With the collapse of both Divine Tree worship and Goddess Kaguya's faith, Manji's following naturally rose to fill the void.
An entire religion formed around his name.
And Hagoromo deserved no small share of the credit.
Over the years, Hagoromo had traveled the world—demonstrating miraculous abilities, preaching a philosophy of mutual understanding and compassion. And he always introduced himself as the direct disciple of Sage Manji.
Which, of course, poured even more fuel onto the fire of Manji's legend.
Old gods die. New ones take their place.
Kaguya vanished—and Manji stepped into the light.
.....
"You stinking fox! You think you can mock my sand and get away with it?? I'll FLATTEN you!"
"Just because you have more tails doesn't mean you're the strongest! I'm One-Tail and I'm NOT afraid of you!!!"
Shukaku—the One-Tail—erupted in a storm of sand, sculpting a fist dozens of meters tall and slamming it toward Kurama's head.
"Hmph—I'm just stating facts! Look at that sand of yours—rough as Gamamaru's foot calluses. Meanwhile, my nine tails? Luxuriously fluffy. Premium-grade fur. There's simply no comparison."
Kurama sidestepped the blow with effortless grace.
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
"I'll show you what the great Lord Shukaku is really capable of!"
Shukaku's sand manipulation went haywire—the ground erupted into towering walls of sand that encircled Kurama, bristling with razor-sharp spikes.
Kurama let out a contemptuous snort. Chakra surged across his body as one swipe of his paw shattered the entire formation. "That's the best you've got? I'll turn your pathetic sandbox into dust."
"Stop fighting, you two! Lord Manji is going to be furious!"
Gyūki—the Eight-Tails—came barreling over, octopus tentacles flailing as he tried to separate them. A stray sand spike from Shukaku nicked one of his tentacles, and he yelped in pain.
"OW! Hey—keep your lovers' quarrel away from the bystanders!"
Gyūki rolled to safety.
Matatabi—the Two-Tails—lounged on a nearby tree branch, lazily flicking her flaming tail while providing commentary. "Shukaku's sand manipulation is getting slower. And Kurama's claws are sluggish today. Boring."
Son Gokū—the Four-Tails—sat with a sake gourd cradled in his arms, shaking his head between sips. "We're all Tailed Beasts here. Why waste energy fighting when you could spend it drinking and philosophizing?"
Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, and Isobu formed a loose circle off to the side—watching the spectacle like an audience at a theater, with Isobu occasionally slapping his fins together in applause, sending water splashing everywhere.
The outcome was predictable. Shukaku couldn't beat Kurama.
"KURAMA, YOU'RE FINISHED! I'm telling Lord Manji!"
With that, Shukaku bolted toward Manji's quarters at full speed.
"Shukaku—you sore LOSER!"
Kurama's expression shifted instantly. He scrambled to intercept.
"Ohhh—now who's scared?"
Shukaku taunted over his shoulder with a devious grin, already at Manji's door.
Just as the two were about to collide again—
Gamamaru emerged from Manji's room.
"ENOUGH!"
Instant silence.
Gamamaru swept a slow, menacing gaze across every Tailed Beast present—then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward Manji's door.
"The boss is taking his afternoon nap in there. So which one of you suicidal little beasts wants to take one more step?"
The effect was immediate. Every single Tailed Beast went still as stone.
Their feelings toward Manji were a unique blend of deep respect and genuine terror.
They thought they were powerful—but in Manji's hands, they were no more dangerous than newborn kittens.
Then, the door swung open.
Manji, freshly roused, draped in a simple blue-green robe—strolled out with the unhurried air of a man who had all the time in the world.
"..." He raised his gaze—and found nine Tailed Beasts staring back at him.
Hm.
Over the past few years, he'd been personally tutoring these creatures—naming them just as in the original story, teaching them, mentoring them.
"Mount Myōboku is turning into a zoo… we've got every species under the sun at this point."
Manji cast a sweeping glance across his charges.
A tanuki. A nine-tailed fox. An octopus-bull hybrid. A turtle. An insect. An ape. Good grief—he could open the Mount Myōboku Wildlife Exhibit.
"Lord Manji!"
The instant he appeared, Kurama and Shukaku shouted in perfect unison—then immediately launched into simultaneous complaints.
"Lord Manji—this stinking fox started it! He said my sand was ugly and called me a glorified dirt clod!"
Shukaku got there first, his voice trembling with theatrical indignation.
"That's a LIE! I did no such thing!" Kurama fired back. "I made one honest observation about the coarseness of his sand, and he went berserk—launched his entire sand arsenal at my face!"
"That was SELF-DEFENSE!"
"You insulted me—of course I retaliated!"
Shukaku puffed up stubbornly.
"You're so thin-skinned!"
Kurama matched his energy. "One factual comment and you explode like a powder keg filled with beach sand!"
"YOUR tails look like mops—don't you DARE talk about me!"
"A walking sandcastle like YOU has no right to critique MY tails!"
They were back at each other's throats again—verbal shrapnel flying everywhere—while the other Tailed Beasts hastily retreated to a safe distance.
Manji listened to the entire exchange and felt his temples throb.
It was only because he'd lived long enough to develop near-superhuman patience that he didn't lose his composure.
Were these two hard-coded to antagonize each other? They were like this in canon, and apparently nothing has changed.
Gamamaru sidled up next to Manji, hunkered down, and started cracking sunflower seeds. "Master—look at these two. Decades together and still the same routine. Like a couple of kids who never grew up."
Manji rubbed his brow and looked at the squabbling pair. "Alright—one at a time. What happened?"
Shukaku drooped, his ears hanging low. "Lord Manji, I was just trying to reshape my sand into something nice today. Then this fox strolled past and called it ugly. I got mad and tried to talk it out, and he escalated, so I had no choice but to defend myself."
"I did NOT escalate!" Kurama protested. "I casually mentioned that the sand 'wasn't great,' and he immediately went full Sandstorm on me. What was I supposed to do—stand there and take it?"
"Your tone was mocking!"
"It was NOT!"
"It WAS!"
"Was NOT!"
The bickering resumed at double volume. Manji's frown deepened as he studied their sizes—considerably larger now than when they'd first arrived.
He did some quick mental math.
"Come to think of it… isn't it about time to send them out into the world?"
Manji counted the years on his fingers. Yeah—it was just about time.
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