"However, teacher, our true bodies are currently far too large. Even though Mount Myoboku is vast, daily movement would probably still be quite inconvenient. If we accidentally crash into buildings, it would only cause trouble instead.", The Three-Tails, Isobu, said.
"Yes, so could teacher please shrink us?", The Six-Tails, Saiken, said.
"Oh? Alright.", Seeing this, Arisu couldn't help but chuckle.
"No need to worry. If you feel your original forms are too large and restrict your movement, I just happen to have a shrinking technique here. It allows you to control your body size at will. I can pass it on to you."
As soon as the tailed beasts heard this, they immediately nodded.
Arisu gave a slight nod and said no more. With a thought, he took the lead in withdrawing from the mental space.
His figure returned to the stream in the remote forest, still holding the small Two-Tails, Matatabi, in his arms.
He stood in place, silently chanting in his heart, 'Summoning Jutsu!'
With a low shout, the spatial rift suddenly expanded. Eight massive figures wrapped in surging tailed beast chakra were instantly drawn out from the void and landed in the clearing of the forest.
BOOM!
The ground trembled violently. The towering trees around them shook, leaves scattering everywhere.
Suddenly being summoned here, the eight tailed beasts were all filled with deep shock.
They were scattered across different parts of the ninja world, separated by thousands of miles!
Yet teacher had summoned them all here in an instant without using any medium. This level of spatial technique and control over chakra had already far surpassed their understanding, making them feel even more that their teacher's strength was unfathomable.
"Teacher, your strength now is even more unfathomable. We can't even perceive a trace of your aura."
The Nine-Tails, Kurama, looked at Arisu, whose presence seemed calm yet merged with heaven and earth, and couldn't help but speak in sincere admiration.
"Exactly!"
"Teacher's strength is terrifying."
The other tailed beasts also nodded, their eyes full of reverence. They could clearly feel that their teacher's power had grown countless times stronger since they last parted, already standing at a height they could not reach.
Arisu merely smiled faintly and did not explain further.
He knew clearly that with his current strength, even if he faced Otsutsuki Hagoromo from back then, he could achieve a three-seven split.
Meaning: if Arisu made three moves, Otsutsuki Hagoromo would be split into seven pieces.
"Sage Art: Shrinking Technique."
Arisu raised his hand and waved lightly. Six Paths sage power turned into a gentle golden light that instantly enveloped all the tailed beasts present.
As the golden light flowed, the enormous tailed beasts that once blocked out the sky and radiated ferocity began shrinking at a visible speed.
The Nine-Tails' dazzling golden-red fur drew inward, its massive body shrinking into a chibi form no taller than half a person, with round ears and small fluffy tails.
Shukaku turned into a round, tiny dumpling, completely losing its fierce aura, instead looking somewhat silly.
Even the usually imposing Eight-Tails, Gyuki, became chibi-like, its octopus tentacles turning short and stubby, no longer carrying their former ferocity.
In just an instant, all the tailed beasts had completed their transformation. The gigantic beasts that once shook forests had all turned into soft, cute chibi forms.
Their oppressive presence completely vanished, leaving only pure adorableness.
"Alright, let's go."
Arisu clapped his hands.
In the next moment, the nine tailed beasts appeared at Mount Myoboku's Longevity Peak.
As soon as the nine tailed beasts steadied themselves, they slowly opened their eyes.
When their gazes swept over this mountain peak, both familiar and carrying a faint sense of time's distance, they all revealed deep nostalgia at the same time.
"Looking back, it's already been hundreds of years. Truly familiar… hundreds of years, a full several hundred years since we last returned to this place."
The Nine-Tails, Kurama, looked at the familiar mountain scenery and couldn't help but sigh softly.
The other eight tailed beasts nodded in agreement.
Shukaku curled its body, its gaze sweeping across every corner of the peak.
Saiken, Matatabi, Kokuo, Chomei, Son Goku, and Gyuki also quietly looked at this land, their thoughts instantly pulled back several hundred years.
It was exactly this time, hundreds of years ago.
Back then, they had stayed by Arisu's side, listening to him teach knowledge of the world and the principles of life on Longevity Peak.
There was no conflict. Every day was free. Eating, playing, living together, it was one of the few peaceful and beautiful memories in their long lives as tailed beasts.
Just as the nine tailed beasts were immersed in their memories, a graceful figure with a unique presence suddenly appeared not far from the peak.
A woman in a flowing apricot-colored dress stood there. Her silver-white hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail, with a few loose strands framing her cool and delicate face.
It was Otsutsuki Kaguya.
She had been walking on Longevity Peak when she sensed the sudden appearance of immense tailed beast chakra along with a familiar aura.
She instantly turned her head, and saw Arisu bringing a group of fluffy creatures here.
Kaguya's cool eyes immediately filled with surprise and joy, and her steps unconsciously quickened.
"Arisu, you've finally returned."
Kaguya walked up to Arisu, her eyes fixed tightly on the person she hadn't seen for five years.
Arisu hadn't seen Kaguya for five years either. Seeing her so enthusiastic now, he first raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
After not seeing her for five years, why did it feel like the way Kaguya looked at him had changed? Could it really be that she had been too bored?
Arisu then spoke calmly, "After a few years apart, you've gotten better at dressing up."
Hearing this, the corners of Kaguya's lips lifted slightly, revealing a rare hint of pride.
She even spun lightly on purpose, letting the hem of her apricot dress flare out in a soft arc, clearly pleased as she showed off her outfit.
"Hmph, these past few years I've had nothing to do, so I specifically had Mount Myoboku's clothing workshop custom-make several outfits of different styles for me."
"I've been learning how to dress. This one is my favorite.", Kaguya said with a soft hum.
Arisu looked at her girlish manner and simply nodded faintly.
He didn't find it strange at all. Loving beauty was a woman's nature. Even Otsutsuki Kaguya, after shedding the restraints of being a god, would have such ordinary preferences.
After five years, Kaguya had gained a bit more of a lively, human-like presence.
Meanwhile, the nine tailed beasts nearby, looking at the suddenly appearing Kaguya and listening to her conversation with Arisu, all showed strange and confused expressions, their beast eyes full of puzzlement.
They looked at each other, then lowered their voices and began whispering among themselves...
"Who is this woman that suddenly appeared? I've never seen her before. How is she on Longevity Peak?"
Shukaku shrank back slightly and asked in a low voice.
"Could it be Gamamaru? I remember that long ago, the only one living on Longevity Peak was that old toad. Could he have transformed into a woman?"
Isobu tilted his head as he guessed, his tone uncertain.
"No way. It's been hundreds of years. That old guy probably moved away long ago. How could he still be here?"
Gyuki immediately shook his head, rejecting the guess.
"Judging by how the two of them are talking, so close… could she be… teacher's wife?", Kokuo lowered his voice and said tentatively.
"Teacher's wife? That woman, does she deserve our teacher?", As soon as those words fell, Matatabi immediately cast a dissatisfied glance at Kaguya, feeling an inexplicable resistance.
For some reason, this seemingly gentle woman gave off a faint but powerful pressure.
That presence subtly suppressed their tailed beast chakra, making Matatabi feel very uncomfortable.
"I don't know why, but this woman not only gives me a strong sense of pressure, there's also a faint sense of familiarity, as if… our chakra origins are somehow connected to her."
Kurama frowned, his expression unusually serious as he spoke softly to the other tailed beasts.
He was the most sensitive to chakra. The aura around Kaguya made him feel vaguely close, yet also carried an indescribable pressure.
What the nine tailed beasts didn't know at all was, from the perspective of chakra origin and bloodline bonds, all nine of them were actually Kaguya's children.
Back then, the Ten-Tails had originally been Kaguya's incarnation. Later, its chakra was separated, forming the nine tailed beasts. In a sense, Kaguya could be considered the first jinchuriki of the tailed beasts.
It was precisely because of this deeply rooted bloodline and chakra connection that when the nine tailed beasts saw Kaguya, they felt both her overwhelming pressure as an Otsutsuki and an unnoticeable sense of familiarity from deep within.
But this hidden connection was something they still didn't know at all, as they knew very little about Kaguya's history.
And Arisu had no intention of telling the nine tailed beasts about his relationship with Otsutsuki Kaguya.