That night, Ebizō came alone to Kizaru's room.
Knowing the position Kizaru held with Danzō and Konoha, Ebizō had prepared himself to make one last attempt for his sister and Sasori.
He knocked on the door.
The moment it opened, Ebizō had already put on a polite smile and was about to speak.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A ball of sand shot out like water from a spray gun and struck Ebizō squarely in the face.
Ebizō, who had just opened his mouth, swallowed a mouthful of sand.
"Gehahaha! You shinobi of Sunagakure should learn just how fearsome Lord Shukaku is!"
Shukaku had opened the door on his own and was now dancing around in delight.
After spitting the sand from his mouth, Ebizō raised his hands and calmly brushed the sand from his face and clothes. He did not get angry. Instead, he kept the same smile on his face.
"My apologies for disturbing you so late at night."
Ignoring Shukaku, Ebizō kept his gaze fixed on Kizaru, who was sitting on the sofa.
"Oi, Suna geezer! You planning to pretend Lord Shukaku isn't here?"
Like a little rocket, Shukaku launched himself forward and slammed his head into Ebizō's calf.
"Shukaku, come inside."
Matatabi, who had been crouching beside Kizaru, called out to the noisy Shukaku.
"Tch!"
Shukaku folded his paws in front of his chest and turned his head away in displeasure.
He was clearly unhappy, but he did not continue causing trouble. With his head held high, he dragged his paws along the floor and slowly followed Matatabi into the inner room to rest.
It was not because Shukaku had suddenly become obedient.
It was because Kizaru really knew how to discipline beasts.
And when he hit, it truly hurt.
Watching the two Tailed Beasts enter the inner room and close the door, Ebizō finally turned his eyes back to Kizaru, who remained seated on the sofa without saying a word.
To be able to make savage monsters like the Tailed Beasts behave this obediently…
As expected of the Yellow Flash, Kizaru.
A monster among monsters.
With that thought in his heart, Ebizō walked into the room and closed the door behind him.
"Kizaru, do you remember the child you met two days ago?" Ebizō asked as he walked over and sat down on the sofa to Kizaru's left. "A red-haired boy named Sasori."
Hearing Ebizō's words, Kizaru more or less guessed why he had come.
He smiled and nodded.
"Sasori… He's a cute kid."
"He is my elder sister Chiyo's grandson. His parents died on the battlefield in the Land of Rain."
At that point, Ebizō paused for a moment, and a trace of sadness appeared on his face.
"Sasori and my sister depend on each other. It would be difficult for them to separate. I beg you, let Sasori remain in the village."
"I do feel for Sasori," Kizaru said lightly. "Unfortunately, I'm not the one in charge of the negotiations."
"With your influence, Elder Danzō of your village will surely listen to your suggestion."
"I can't interfere with the village's official affairs because of my personal feelings."
Kizaru refused with a smile and shook his head.
Taking Sasori back to Konoha to study was not only the village's request, it was also something Kizaru himself wanted to see.
So naturally, he would not agree to Ebizō's request.
Against Kizaru, who already had his own plan, Ebizō's words had no effect.
After speaking with Kizaru for several dozen minutes, Ebizō discovered that the boy in front of him was even more skilled with words than he was.
What a troublesome brat.
How old was this boy, really?
He was not a child at all.
He was an old bastard wearing a young face.
Realizing the truth, and knowing that he could not persuade Kizaru, Ebizō took the initiative to say goodbye.
The next day, after Ebizō's visit, Kizaru, who did not want to be disturbed again, informed his uncle Danzō and left Sunagakure with Matatabi and Shukaku.
As for Kizaru taking Shukaku away, Sunagakure neither objected nor agreed.
They simply pretended that nothing had happened.
When one lacked strength, one endured.
When one became strong, one changed the situation.
This was the thought in the minds of Sunagakure's higher-ups.
Right now, they did not have the strength to stop Kizaru from taking Shukaku. They could only watch helplessly as their Tailed Beast was taken away by an outsider.
However, Sunagakure still left itself a sliver of hope.
A sliver of hope to reclaim the Tailed Beast in the future.
They did not dare to voice their opposition, but they also did not openly express agreement. They simply acted as if they knew nothing.
In the future, as long as their strength recovered, or as long as something happened to Kizaru, they could use the excuse that Konoha had stolen the One-Tail and take the Tailed Beast back from Konoha.
Kizaru would grow old one day.
As long as Sunagakure endured long enough, they would eventually have a chance to retrieve the One-Tail.
At worst, they would wait forty years, fifty years, sixty years, even seventy years.
Sunagakure could afford to wait.
At the gates of Konoha, the same two chūnin were still standing guard.
When Kizaru returned to the village with two Tailed Beasts, the two chūnin once again felt their common sense being shattered.
Good news.
Kizaru was back.
Even better news.
Kizaru had brought back another Tailed Beast.
Not-so-good news.
The Tailed Beast Kizaru brought back belonged to Sunagakure, the ally Konoha had gone to rescue.
Could it be that the rescue had been too late, and Sunagakure had already been destroyed?
The two chūnin looked at each other in a daze, and at the same time, an awful guess appeared in their minds.
It could not be that Kizaru had robbed Konoha's ally, Sunagakure, right?
"Please register him. One-Tail Shukaku, my new partner and summoning beast."
Kizaru smiled as he placed the miniature Shukaku on the registration table.
"You bastard! Let go of Lord Shukaku!"
The two gate guards stared blankly at Kizaru, then looked curiously at Shukaku, who was struggling and protesting on the table.
Their heads were filled with questions.
"This…"
"Secret."
With that single word, Kizaru sealed both of their mouths.
Left with no other choice, the two chūnin could only suppress their curiosity and truthfully register Shukaku's information.
"We'll talk when there's time."
After completing the registration, Kizaru lifted Shukaku back onto his shoulder and waved goodbye.
"You bastard! Don't call me a summoning beast next time! And don't carry me like that!"
Shukaku sat on Kizaru's shoulder alongside Matatabi, protesting in dissatisfaction.
"Yeah, yeah… got it."
Kizaru answered lazily, wearing that unserious smile of his.
After returning to the village with the two Tailed Beasts, Kizaru immediately headed to the Hokage Building to report the situation to Sarutobi-sensei.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been in an excellent mood recently and was happily smoking his pipe.
The development of the Hashirama cells had succeeded, and practical use was already being arranged.
Sunagakure had fallen into trouble and was about to completely lean toward Konoha.
The village's situation could be called excellent.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Slowly blowing out a mouthful of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a proud smile.
Just as Hiruzen was feeling satisfied, the door to the Hokage's office suddenly opened.
Carrying the two Tailed Beasts, Kizaru walked into the office with a smile.
"Ooh… I'm back, Sensei."
The smile on Hiruzen's face brightened even more. He left his seat and stood up happily.
"Kizaru, about Sunagakure…"
Before he could finish, Hiruzen walked out from behind the desk and froze in place.
"Then that one is…"
"Kizaru, this old geezer froze up! Gehahaha!"
Shukaku pointed a paw at Hiruzen and laughed mockingly.
Clatter.
The pipe in Hiruzen's hand fell directly to the floor.
He stared at the One-Tail Shukaku sitting on Kizaru's left shoulder, and for a moment, he felt a little dizzy.
Why had Sunagakure's One-Tail been brought back by Kizaru?
Had Danzō ignored his instructions and directly led Kizaru and the Uchiha forces to wipe out Sunagakure?
Thinking of this, a drop of cold sweat slid down Hiruzen's forehead.
"Kizaru, what exactly is that on your shoulder?" Hiruzen asked quickly, unable to hide his unease.
Kizaru lifted Shukaku and casually tossed him onto the floor.
Seeing Kizaru's movement, Hiruzen's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
That was a Tailed Beast.
Not some kitten or puppy.
It could go berserk at any moment.
"You bastard! Lord Shukaku is going to get angry!"
Shukaku raised his paw and pointed at Kizaru, shouting loudly.
"Believe it or not, I'll destroy this place!"
"Ooh… how scary."
Completely ignoring Shukaku's threat, Kizaru walked up to Sarutobi-sensei with a lazy smile.
"This is a tanuki I picked up in the desert."
Facing Hiruzen's confused and cautious gaze, Kizaru gave an explanation with absolutely no sincerity.
"I'm so angry! I really want to kill you!"
Hearing Kizaru say that he had picked him up, Shukaku became even angrier.
"Shukaku, be quiet."
Matatabi jumped down from Kizaru's right shoulder and said calmly, "I'll take you to see Kurama later."
Faced with Kizaru's ridiculous explanation and the casual conversation between the two Tailed Beasts, the corners of Hiruzen's mouth could not help twitching.
I'm tired.
I don't want to do this anymore.
The thought of retiring suddenly appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
Never mind how Kizaru had taken the One-Tail from Sunagakure.
These two unsealed Tailed Beasts were going to wander around in front of Kurama every day.
Hiruzen could already imagine the result.
The Nine-Tails sealed inside Kushina would probably become so furious that he would try to break out.
"Kizaru, what is the situation in Sunagakure?" Hiruzen asked with concern, suppressing the heaviness in his heart.
"It's safe. The negotiations are going smoothly," Kizaru answered truthfully.
"Then how did you bring the One-Tail back?" Hiruzen asked, looking at Shukaku.
"The Sunagakure jinchūriki was beaten half to death by the Third Raikage. For Sunagakure's safety, I brought the One-Tail back. From now on, he's my summoning beast."
Good grief.
Other people's summoning beasts were dogs, monkeys, toads, snakes, or at least fairly normal creatures.
When it came to his disciple, the summoning beast had directly become a Tailed Beast.
And there were two of them.
At this rate, his student might not become the new God of Shinobi.
He might become the new Madara of the shinobi world.
"Ahem!"
After coughing a few times, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru and tried to persuade him earnestly.
"Kizaru, the pressure on the village is already heavy enough. Don't do something like this again in the future."
"Yeah… probably not. The others don't look very good."
Kizaru replied with a smile.
You captured a Tailed Beast just because it looked good?
Hiruzen shook his head helplessly. He first picked up his pipe, then returned to his seat and sat down.
"Sit."
As he spoke, Hiruzen refilled his pipe with tobacco and lit it again.
Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling smoke, Hiruzen looked at the disciple sitting across from him and continued, "What do you plan to do with the One-Tail?"
"The same as Matatabi," Kizaru said directly.
Hiruzen nodded, then looked at Shukaku, who was still chatting with Matatabi.
"There won't be any problems, will there?"
"As long as I'm here, it'll be fine," Kizaru said with confidence.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Out of trust in Kizaru, Hiruzen did not say anything more.
After giving his teacher a great shock and reporting the matter regarding the One-Tail, Kizaru explained the situation in Sunagakure in detail.
Once he finished speaking, Kizaru left the Hokage's office with the two Tailed Beasts, leaving behind a deeply troubled Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen's wonderful day had ended the moment he saw Kizaru.
Compared with the elegant and gentle Matatabi, Shukaku had a much livelier personality.
And a much worse mouth.
That afternoon, on the very day he returned to the village, Shukaku could not wait any longer and told Kizaru that he wanted to meet his old friend, Kurama.
Shukaku did not want to see the Nine-Tails for any serious reason.
He simply wanted to run his mouth.
As the saying went, when the mouth was truly foul, the joy was pure.
Now that Shukaku was free, he wanted nothing more than to show off in front of Kurama and mock him properly.
"What an embarrassing request…"
Kizaru, who was drinking afternoon tea, spoke lazily after hearing Shukaku's demand.
"Once! Just once!"
Shukaku raised a paw excitedly.
Matatabi, who was sitting at the side, sighed.
As a Tailed Beast, she naturally understood the grudge between those two.
Kurama liked to judge the strength of Tailed Beasts by the number of tails they had.
That had always irritated Shukaku, who only had one tail.
In truth, the strength of a Tailed Beast was not decided solely by the number of tails.
Because of that, Shukaku disliked Kurama very much and was extremely dissatisfied with Kurama's view.
Now that he finally had a chance to mock Kurama, Shukaku would never let it pass.
"Kizaru, take Shukaku to meet Kurama," Matatabi said, taking the initiative to help. "He won't settle down until he sees him."
"Got it."
Kizaru agreed and stood up from the tatami.
"Let's go."
It was now close to the end of the year, and the Ninja Academy was on break.
Kizaru figured that Kushina, who did not have many friends in the village, should be staying at the Senju clan compound.
With the two Tailed Beasts standing on his shoulders, Kizaru left home and walked toward the Senju clan grounds.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Kushina, wearing an apron and holding a spoon in her hand, heard the knock at the door and trotted into the living room.
Opening the door, Kushina smiled and said, "Tsunade…"
"Ooh… sorry to disappoint you, Pepper."
Kizaru raised his hand and waved with a smile.
Bang!
Kushina slammed the door shut and placed her hands on her hips in annoyance.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking sounded again.
Kushina shouted, "No one's home!"
"That stinking tanuki is here!"
Inside Kushina's mindscape, Kurama's voice suddenly rang out.
Under Kizaru's guidance, Kushina had been trying to become friends with the Nine-Tails.
Although she had not yet gained Kurama's complete recognition, the relationship between one person and one beast had improved greatly.
At the very least, they could now communicate normally.
"Stinking tanuki? Who is that?" Kushina asked Kurama through her consciousness.
"The One-Tail. That bastard with the fewest tails and the weakest strength among the Tailed Beasts," Kurama said in a disdainful tone.
"Stinking fox, Lord Shukaku came to see you! Gehahaha! After all this time, you're still locked up? Hahaha!"
"Stinking tanuki! I'll kill you!"
"Gehahaha! Then come out! Lord Shukaku is waiting right outside the door!"
Tailed Beasts could communicate with each other through their chakra.
A wooden door naturally could not stop them.
"Kushina, open the door!" Kurama said, unable to endure Shukaku's mockery any longer.
"Kurama, is he your enemy? I'll help you beat him up!" Kushina said.
As Kurama's jinchūriki, and someone who had already established communication with him, Kushina naturally stood on Kurama's side.
"Use my power and beat that stinking tanuki properly!"
Kurama spoke angrily, and his chakra gradually flowed through the seal into Kushina.
"Got it!"
Kushina replied seriously and opened the door again.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Standing on Kizaru's shoulder, Shukaku sprayed a stream of sand at Kushina the moment she opened the door.
"Ah!"
Kushina, caught off guard by the sudden attack, cried out.
"Gehahaha! Stinking fox, your jinchūriki is so weak!"
Laughing proudly, Shukaku pointed at Kushina and mocked loudly.
"She's as weak as you! Hahahaha!"
"I'm going to kill this stinking tanuki!"
After wiping the sand from her face, Kushina looked murderously at Shukaku on Kizaru's shoulder.
This time, it was not because of Kurama.
It was because Kushina herself was angry.
"Gehahaha!"
Just as Shukaku was laughing proudly, four Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out from Kushina's back.
"This has nothing to do with me, Kushina."
As he spoke, Kizaru raised both hands in surrender.
"Kizaru, you're a disgrace to Lord Shukaku! Damn it! Let me go!"
The Adamantine Sealing Chains wrapped around Shukaku's body and lifted him into the air.
"Let me go, you brat! I'll kill you!"
Shukaku shouted while using his claws to pull at the chains binding him.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains were formed from chakra combined with sealing techniques. They were a sealing jutsu inherited through the Uzumaki clan's bloodline and had an extremely strong restraining effect on Tailed Beasts.
With the chakra inside his body suppressed by the chains, Shukaku found it difficult to gather and use his power. He could not increase his size or break free.
"Lord Shukaku is really going to get angry, you tomato brat! Let me go!"
Kushina became even angrier when she heard Shukaku call her a tomato.
Veins bulged on her forehead.
Controlling the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Kushina dragged Shukaku, who was bound in midair, right in front of her.
Filled with anger, Kushina raised her right hand, now wrapped in Nine-Tails chakra.
"Hahaha! Stinking tanuki, now you understand how powerful this jinchūriki is!"
Inside Kushina's body, Kurama gloated and mocked him.
"Stinking fox, come out here!" Shukaku shouted, unconvinced.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Kushina glared at Shukaku and swung her right fist, which was wrapped in Nine-Tails chakra.
"Kizaru, save me!"
Shukaku, who was not stupid, quickly shouted for help.
Standing nearby, Kizaru simply watched Shukaku's plea for help like he was enjoying a performance.
Boom!
Kushina's right fist, wrapped in Nine-Tails chakra, landed solidly on Shukaku.
"Ahhh, that hurts!"
The moment the fist connected, Shukaku's entire body deformed from the impact.
"Ooh… how scary."
Seeing the scene, Kizaru lowered his hands and sighed softly.
"Kizaru, you… ah!"
Before Shukaku could finish complaining, Kushina punched him again.
"Hit him! Hit that stinking tanuki as hard as you can!"
Inside Kushina's mindscape, Kurama shouted happily.
"I know, so be quiet!"
Kushina shouted loudly.
The Nine-Tails chakra on her right fist had completely taken the shape of Kurama's claw.
Following Kushina's movement, the crimson fox claw stayed clenched like a fist and struck Shukaku fiercely.
The force of the blow was so great that Shukaku, who was still bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, flew backward and slammed into a tree trunk several meters away.
"Come back!"
Kushina yelled, grabbing the chain with her left hand and pulling hard.
Shukaku was dragged back again.
"Ahhh!"
With a miserable cry, Shukaku slid rapidly through the air and returned in front of Kushina.
"Stinking tanuki! Go to hell!"
Kushina shouted, and more Nine-Tails chakra continued to pour out from her body.
Kizaru watched Kushina thoughtfully.
The Tailed Beast cloak had already formed around her body, yet she was not being affected by the negative emotions in Kurama's chakra.
It seemed…
He had found the proper way to use Shukaku.
Thinking this, Kizaru decided to make better use of Shukaku's strengths.
He took a step forward and stretched out his right hand, which was coated in Armament Haki, stopping Kushina's fist.
"Kizaru, get out of the way!"
Kushina looked up at Kizaru angrily.
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