"Alright, that's enough, stop arguing!"
Arisu slightly raised his hand.
Hearing this, Nine-Tails and Shukaku immediately quieted down.
Arisu slowly walked to the wooden chair and sat down. His green robe swayed gently with his movement, and his gaze swept over the nine Tailed Beasts in front of him, each with a different form.
After decades of growing up, these Tailed Beasts had become about the same size as the giant toads of Mount Myoboku.
The faintly serious look on Arisu's face gradually softened, and he spoke calmly, "How many years have you been with me?"
As soon as he said this, the noisy square instantly became silent. The nine Tailed Beasts all fell into deep thought at the same time, tilting their heads and counting with their claws, tentacles, or tails.
Shukaku scratched circles in the sand, Kurama flicked his tail and counted the fur, Isobu sank into the water blowing bubbles. The scene was rather funny.
After a moment, the Two-Tails Matatabi flicked her flaming tail and spoke first.
"Teacher, we've been with you for exactly twenty-six years!", Matatabi said.
Arisu smiled when he heard this.
"Twenty-six years. Time really flies. So, after all these years with me, how much have you learned?", Arisu asked again.
"Me first, me first!", The Eight-Tails Gyuki immediately waved his octopus tentacles and moved forward, his tone full of respect.
"We've learned so much! Teacher, you taught us how to read and write, you taught us how to tell right from wrong, and you taught us not to rely on our strength to do whatever we want, but to understand restraint and respect!"
"Mm, me too!", Kurama nodded heavily at the side. His fluffy nine tails rested obediently in front of him.
His usual proud attitude was completely gone, and only pure respect remained in his eyes. Even though he didn't speak, that look said everything.
"And cooking!"
"The barbecue you taught us, I can make it better than Gamamaru now!", The Four-Tails Son Goku held his wine gourd and smiled brightly.
"You also taught me how to control Water Release precisely, so I won't flood half of Mount Myoboku whenever I get excited like before.", The Three-Tails Isobu poked his head out of the water and added in a muffled voice.
"You taught us how to control our own power!"
"In the past, we would lose control as soon as we got angry. Now, no matter how angry we are, we can still keep ourselves in check.", The Seven-Tails Chomei said.
The Six-Tails Saiken and the Five-Tails Kokuo also nodded one after another, their eyes full of gratitude.
Arisu listened quietly and nodded slowly.
After thinking for a moment, his tone suddenly changed, and his eyes became serious. He said word by word, "You've learned well, and you've grown up. Now, it's time for you to leave."
"What?!"
These words were like thunder out of nowhere. The expressions of the nine Tailed Beasts changed instantly. The joy and pride they had just now disappeared, replaced by shock and confusion.
Shukaku and Kurama looked at each other and immediately panicked.
They thought it was because of their earlier fight that they had made their teacher angry, so they hurried to rush in front of Arisu.
"Teacher! I was wrong!", All the sand on Shukaku's body drooped down. He rubbed against Arisu's chair with a pitiful look.
"I shouldn't have fought with Kurama. I won't dare do it again! Please don't drive us away, okay?", Shukaku pleaded.
Kurama also lowered himself for once. His tails were tightly wrapped together, and there was a hint of panic in his voice, "Teacher, it's my fault. I shouldn't have mocked Shukaku, and I shouldn't have argued with him."
"We won't make trouble again. Please don't let us leave, alright?"
The other Tailed Beasts also gathered around, begging all at once.
Gyuki waved his tentacles and spoke up for them. "Teacher, we can't bear to leave you! Mount Myoboku is our home!"
Son Goku threw his wine gourd aside and scratched his ears anxiously. "Yeah, Teacher, we still want to learn more from you!"
Kokuo's eyes were even red, looking like she was about to cry.
"You…"
Arisu looked at their panicked faces and gently shook his head. "Don't panic. It's not because you fought."
Arisu paused, remembering the agreement he had made with Hagoromo back then, and slowly explained, "I once made a promise with someone."
"You were originally one whole mass of chakra. He split you into nine parts. He hoped that you would leave Mount Myoboku, try to understand humans, blend into human society, and if you are willing in the future, help them."
The nine Tailed Beasts gradually quieted down, their eyes filled with confusion.
Arisu had indeed mentioned these things to them decades ago. But at that time, they were just tiny furballs, and their memories were already blurry. Hearing it again now, their feelings were mixed.
"Of course...", Arisu's tone softened a lot. "I won't force you."
"You have the freedom to choose. You can decide not to help humans, but don't rely on your strength to do evil or bully the weak."
The atmosphere in the square instantly turned sad. The Tailed Beasts all lowered their heads and fell silent.
"Teacher, then… can we see you again in the future?" Kokuo, who was the most sensitive, carefully moved closer to Arisu, her voice trembling.
"Of course."
Arisu stood up and gently patted Kokuo's head. The warm touch made her rub against him unconsciously.
Arisu looked at all the Tailed Beasts and spoke gently, "You are all my good students. Every one of you is outstanding. Mount Myoboku is good, but the world is vast. You deserve to see a more wonderful world."
"As for whether you help humans or not, don't feel pressured. Just follow your heart."
These words made the sadness even heavier.
Kurama turned his face away. He was never good with words, but at this moment, the reluctance in his heart surged out. His eyes slowly turned red, and clear tears swirled in them.
"Hey, Kurama, why are you crying?" Shukaku immediately noticed and asked without thinking.
"Idiot!"
"Who's crying! You're too close to me. Your stupid sand got into my eyes!"
Kurama immediately flared up, turning his head and roaring at Shukaku.
As soon as he said that, the sad mood was instantly broken. The other Tailed Beasts wanted to laugh, but their tears kept falling anyway.
Son Goku wiped his tears and said in a hoarse voice, "Damn it! Shukaku, it must be your sand! It got into all of our eyes!"
"Yeah! I can barely keep my eyes open!" Saiken cried as he agreed. It was clearly because he couldn't bear to part, yet he insisted on blaming Shukaku.
Shukaku looked confused. He glanced down at the sand on his body, then at his companions crying together, and jumped angrily. "Nonsense! My sand isn't that powerful! You just want to cry yourselves!"
Even so, his own eyes slowly turned red.
Arisu watched the scene of them crying and arguing, and a trace of reluctance rose in his heart.
Twenty-six years of being together day and night. These little ones had long become like his own children. Now that he had to send them away, how could he not feel emotional?
Gamamaru squatted to the side, secretly wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes.
Pretending to be bold, he shouted, "Don't worry! If you get bullied outside in the future, just say my name, Gamamaru! I guarantee no one will dare touch a single hair of yours!"
"Waa… Gamamaru…"
Isobu cried and said, "Before, when I was in Mount Myoboku, it was because I said your name that those old toads beat me even harder…"
Gamamaru, "....."
Gamamaru's face froze instantly. He scratched his head awkwardly and stubbornly argued, "Th-that was before!"
"Wait a few hundred years and then say my name again! When all those senior toads retire, it'll be my turn to be the boss! Then I'll definitely protect you!"
The Tailed Beasts were amused by him and laughed through their tears. The sadness lightened a bit.
Arisu looked at them, sighed softly, and then smiled. "Alright, there's no feast that lasts forever. We will meet again someday."
"After you leave, take good care of yourselves."
"Waa… Teacher! We will definitely repay your kindness in raising us!"
Matatabi cried as she spoke, her eyes firm.
Arisu's expression became a little complicated when he heard that.
He understood these Tailed Beasts too well. Each of them had a strong sense of justice and could not tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes. But human society was complicated. It was never simply black or white, but a large gray area.
With their personalities, once they went out and saw wrongdoing, they would definitely step in. There would surely be a lot of trouble from acting on impulse.
"What are you talking about, repaying kindness. In the future, if you cause trouble, just don't mention me as your teacher. That will be enough." Arisu spoke in a deep voice.
Seeing that the atmosphere was about to become heavy again, he added half-jokingly, "I'm afraid if you mention me, no one will dare to cause trouble for you."
"Huh?"
The Tailed Beasts were stunned for a moment. Then they understood and burst out laughing, tears still hanging on their faces. They looked both crying and laughing at the same time, very funny.
Arisu looked at them and smiled slightly. "I usually stay at Mount Myoboku. If you run into something you can't solve, you can also go find my other disciple."
"His name is Hagoromo. He is the one who split you into nine parts. He will help you."
The nine Tailed Beasts immediately stopped laughing and nodded heavily, their eyes full of seriousness.
———
Arisu taught them the method of the Tailed Beast Ball so they could use it for self-defense.
Then he sent them one by one to different parts of the world to begin new lives.
What shocked Arisu was that on this land, belief in him had actually become popular.
This was something Arisu had not expected.
He never thought that what he did back then would cause such a huge ripple.
It directly turned his small temple into the number one religion in the world.
This was also thanks to Kaguya's establishment, as well as Hagoromo preaching continuously in the ninja world over the years.
"If this keeps going, the Sage of Six Paths won't be Hagoromo, it'll be me…", Arisu could not help but sigh.
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