Shukaku still held deep respect for Naruto.
After all, this blue-eyed youth had been personally acknowledged by the Sage of Six Paths. He was also the one who had ended the Fourth Great Ninja War and defeated Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, an act that could be considered saving the tailed beasts themselves. Because of this, Shukaku's attitude toward Naruto had always been relatively good.
However, the situation was completely different when it came to the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto.
Within Naruto's body, Kurama seemed to sense Shukaku's arrogant remark. He snorted coldly, slowly raised his massive head, and said with clear disdain, "You stinky tanuki… I didn't even greet you, yet you dared to greet me first?"
The moment Shukaku heard this, his temper exploded.
"You damned fox! If you've got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one! If you don't, then stop hiding inside Naruto's body like a coward!"
Kurama snorted again, lazily lying back down. A faint, mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth, as if Shukaku's rage wasn't even worth acknowledging.
Seeing that Kurama ignored him completely, Shukaku assumed his words had struck a nerve. He sneered coldly and continued, "Hmph! I hit your sore spot, didn't I? You can only hide inside Naruto's body and act tough!"
Kurama replied indifferently, his tone calm but full of contempt, "You've only got one tail. How dare you shout in front of me? I just don't feel like dealing with you. Otherwise, I'd come out and blow you away in a minute."
Shukaku roared, "What did you say?!"
Sensing that Shukaku was about to go berserk, Gaara immediately flew forward and blocked him, shouting, "Shukaku, calm down!"
Naruto laughed helplessly and spoke to Kurama in his mind. "Hey, Kurama, don't start arguing with Shukaku the moment you meet."
Kurama tilted his head and snorted. "I don't even care to argue with this one-tailed guy. He's the one who keeps provoking me. What do you want me to do?"
Hearing Kurama emphasize the number of tails again, Shukaku was furious.
"Naruto! Let this stinking fox out! I want to fight him!"
Kurama stood up inside Naruto's mindscape, raised his head proudly, and said coldly, "Hmph. You're not without chakra inside Naruto's body either. If you've got the guts, come in. I'll satisfy you and give you a proper fight!"
Seeing that the two tailed beasts were on the verge of clashing, Naruto hurriedly stepped in to mediate. "Alright, alright! We're all family here. Why are you two fighting like this?"
As he spoke, Naruto first soothed Kurama, persuading him to lie back down. Then he turned to Shukaku and said seriously, "Shukaku, I came here this time because I have something important to ask you. Do you know about Gaara being attacked by Ōtsutsuki Urashiki?"
Hearing Naruto mention Urashiki, Shukaku calmed down temporarily. He nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. I sensed that guy's chakra the moment it erupted. I wanted to go find Gaara immediately, but Gaara told me what you had said before—that their target was the tailed beasts. So I hid myself right away and completely sealed my chakra."
After Shukaku finished speaking, Gaara looked at Naruto and nodded firmly. "Yes, Naruto. That's exactly what I told Shukaku. If something unexpected happened, I told him not to come save me and to hide himself instead."
Shukaku looked at Gaara with complete trust in his eyes.
At this point, Gaara's relationship with Shukaku was very similar to Naruto's relationship with Kurama. The two had truly become companions and friends.
Because of that trust, Shukaku had given Gaara a large portion of his chakra. That decision was what caused Urashiki to mistakenly believe that a tailed beast was still sealed within Gaara's body.
As a result, the chakra mass Shukaku left inside Gaara was hooked away, while Gaara's own chakra remained intact. That was how Gaara managed to escape safely.
After listening to Shukaku's explanation, Kurama sneered. "So you were scared and didn't dare to come out. Figures. With only one tail's worth of chakra, you can't fight anyway. Hiding was the smart move."
Shukaku roared angrily, "That's enough, you damned fox!!!"
Naruto quickly comforted Shukaku, then shot Kurama a sharp look and said, "Kurama, stop making fun of him over the number of tails."
Kurama raised his head and laughed loudly.
There was no helping it. Ever since the tailed beasts were born, Kurama had taken great pleasure in teasing Shukaku. It never got old.
Naruto then looked at Shukaku and said sincerely, "Shukaku, your decision was absolutely correct. There was nothing wrong with what you did."
Turning to Gaara, Naruto continued, "Gaara, you've already fought that guy once, and I've explained his abilities to you. From now on, be extremely careful. Ōtsutsuki Urashiki prefers sneak attacks. He won't act unless he's confident."
Gaara nodded solemnly. "I understand. When he attacked me, it was also a sneak attack. By the time I reacted, he had already exchanged several blows with me and then retreated. He didn't fight to the end. That surprised me."
Naruto smiled faintly. "That's normal. Even though Ōtsutsuki Urashiki acts crazy at times, he's actually very cautious when it comes to his actions."
After giving his instructions, Naruto prepared to leave.
Gaara looked at him with clear reluctance and asked, "Naruto, where are you going next?"
Naruto replied, "I'm going to visit the other tailed beasts. I'll let them know what's happening and also inform the ninja guarding them. That way, I'll feel more at ease."
Gaara nodded after hearing this.
After exchanging a few more words, Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared in a flash. His first destination was the Eight-Tails and Kumogakure.
Aside from Naruto himself, the Eight-Tails possessed the greatest amount of chakra.
Kumogakure
"Hey, Naruto!!!"
"Uncle Bee!"
The moment Naruto met Killer Bee, the two immediately bumped fists. In just a few seconds, Killer Bee understood everything Naruto wanted to convey.
"So that's how it is," Killer Bee said. "Naruto, you didn't call me in for that fight, huh?"
Killer Bee looked at Naruto with a hint of complaint. During their brief exchange, he had already sensed the battle between Naruto and Sasuke on the moon through Naruto's chakra.
Naruto smiled calmly. "Sasuke and I could handle that battle, so I didn't ask for your help. By the way, Gyūki, have you sensed any strange chakra recently?"
The Eight-Tails shook his head. "Not yet. Ever since you warned us that someone might target the tailed beasts, the Raikage-sama put Killer Bee and me inside this barrier."
Naruto looked around and laughed softly.
It was clear that Kumogakure was doing everything possible to protect the Eight-Tails.
Killer Bee sighed. "I haven't gone out to have fun in a long time. Since you're here, let's go. I'll take you to see my big brother. Just say you're taking me on a mission, and we'll head out!"
Killer Bee tried to drag Naruto away, but Naruto refused. He didn't need Killer Bee's power for now.
Killer Bee was furious about that.
Naruto laughed, then met with the Fourth Raikage, A, and answered several questions regarding Ōtsutsuki Urashiki. After offering some final advice, Naruto left once again.
After that, Naruto visited the remaining tailed beasts:
The Two-Tails, Matatabi.
The Three-Tails, Isobu.
The Four-Tails, Son Gokū.
The Five-Tails, Kokuō.
The Six-Tails, Saiken.
The Seven-Tails, Chōmei.
He gave each of them the same instructions. If they encountered Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, they were not to fight him head-on. Instead, their priority was simple: escape, preserve their strength, and summon Naruto immediately.
After delivering these warnings, Naruto instantly returned to Konoha.
His next objective was to find Sasuke and carry out the next step of his plan.
Somewhere on Earth.
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki concealed himself using a powerful Yin–Yang Release barrier, preventing Toneri from detecting him with the Rinnegan from the sky.
After learning that Momoshiki and Kinshiki had failed, Urashiki realized that facing Naruto alone again would be nothing more than courting death. Instead of rushing into danger, it was better to lie low and slowly grow stronger.
Urashiki took out the chakra mass he had stolen from Gaara—the portion that belonged to Shukaku. He examined it carefully, then recalled the overwhelming amount of chakra possessed by the Nine-Tails within Naruto.
Urashiki frowned slightly, feeling puzzled.
Earth's humans were truly interesting creatures.
Was this really how they divided chakra?
Could there really be such an enormous difference between one tail… and nine tails?
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