"Stupid monk, is this really worth it? Just for those humans who locked you up in a cell for life?"
Bunpuku didn't answer Shukaku. Instead, he slowly raised his two hands. On his palms were written the characters for "Suffer" and "Heart."
Then, trembling but resolute, he pressed his hands together.
At that moment, Suffer and Heart combined into Love.
Perhaps, that was Bunpuku's true answer to Shukaku.
The One-Tail grew silent. Its massive tail swayed gently, as if in a final farewell.
…Yeah, right.
Shukaku did think Bunpuku was a decent guy — his character was even close to the Sage of Six Paths himself.
But facts were facts.
It didn't hate Bunpuku. But it sure as hell wasn't about to die with him either. Everyone knew: when a Jinchūriki died, their Tailed Beast vanished as well.
Sure, chakra doesn't disappear, so the One-Tail would revive after some years. But who the hell knew if the one who revived would still be it?
That swaying tail wasn't a farewell gesture at all. It was gathering chakra.
Its fat, stubby paws were now forming the Ram seal.
Among the Tailed Beasts, Shukaku was one of the rare intellectuals. With Bunkupu+'s body crumbling outside, it could release the sealing jutsu on its own and break free.
And outside — under the watchful gaze of Mitsuki's Six Eyes — Bunkupu's body, engulfed in the blaze of the rasengan, suddenly revealed complex sealing formulas that shattered apart like broken chains.
A malignant, ominous chakra erupted from within him.
Finally, a massive tanuki covered in purple markings emerged.
The One-Tail, Shukaku — had arrived!
Its first act was a beastly roar to the sky. But instead of joy at its release, the cry carried a tone of sorrow.
It was a farewell.
Because though it didn't show it, in the decades spent alongside Bunkupu, it had learned much from this gentle human.
Its emergence now meant only one thing—Fūnfuku was truly gone.
After all, Bunkupu wasn't an Uzumaki like Kushina, blessed with monstrous life force.
The moment Shukaku broke the seal, his soul had already departed.
Mitsuki sighed inwardly. He hadn't held back in his last attack — under normal circumstances, any Jinchūriki would have died.
Only Shukaku, a master of sealing, was the exception.
"This is troublesome…" Mitsuki frowned slightly.
The One-Tail wasn't exactly a world-ending threat. To ordinary shinobi, sure, Tailed Beasts were natural disasters. But to true powerhouses, you didn't start worrying until you were talking Eight-Tails and up.
Mitsuki's real concern was the dozens of wounded Konoha shinobi scattered around. Even if he avoided unleashing wide-scale ninjutsu, Shukaku wouldn't exactly cooperate to keep them safe.
Just as he was thinking of how to end things quickly, he noticed movement behind him.
Tsunade had recovered some chakra. Biting her finger, she formed hand seals and slammed her palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsuu!"
With a puff of smoke, the massive slug appeared once again.
"Tsunade-sama" Katsuyu responded in its soft, syrupy voice.
Without hesitation, Tsunade commanded,
"Katsuyu, split up and carry every unconscious Konoha shinobi away from the One-Tail."
"Understood, Tsunade-sama."
Katsuyu split into countless smaller slugs, each wrapping around the fallen ninja and quickly pulling them away from the battlefield.
"Nice! Tsunade!"
Mitsuki grinned. Tsunadereally was reliable.
Now he could finally cut loose.
On the other side—
Shukaku, who had watched everything while still inside Bunkupu, was perfectly aware: the human standing before it was Suna's enemy.
If it had been any other Tailed Beast, it would have already gone on a rampage, unleashing destruction regardless of human factions.
But Shukaku, the "scholar" among the Bijū, decided not to act rashly.
The human in front of it was… different. From his stance alone, it was obvious—he wasn't afraid of Shukaku at all.
And after decades with Bunkupu, it had begun to understand that there were good humans. Maybe that was what the Sage of Six Paths had wanted them to realize.
Besides, after being trapped for decades, finally breaking free, Shukaku figured it was best to keep a low profile for now.
So, as Katsuyu carried away the humans, it didn't interfere.
Its copper-ringed eyes fixed on Mitsuki.
"Human, you, uh… that…"
"Crap."
Shukaku cursed itself inwardly.
It had only ever spoken with Bunkupu. Now, suddenly having to talk to a stranger, it didn't know how to put words together.
Mitsuki noticed something odd. After roaring once upon release, Shukaku had just been standing there.
It hadn't reacted even when Katsuyu moved the Konoha shinobi. And now it was stammering like it didn't know what to say.
Well, as a reincarnator, Mitsuki held no prejudice against Tailed Beasts.
So he spoke calmly:
"I don't know what you're trying to say, but it looks like you don't want to fight, right, Shukaku?"
The beast paused. That was… exactly what it meant. So it nodded.
"Yes, that's—wait. How do you know my name?"
It froze halfway through its words. It had never told any human its name. So how the hell did this one know?
Mitsuki, seeing its lack of hostility, decided not to press it. In his past life's memories, this era's Shukaku was still under the influence of Bunkupu's kindness.
Later, after Bunkupu's death, Suna would replace him with another Jinchūriki, but none could contain Shukaku properly. Time and again it would break free, fight, be resealed, break free again… until eventually it was sealed into Gaara.
But for now? The beast was still softened.
And the Bijū, despite being called natural disasters, had simple hearts. At the very least—they didn't lie.
"It's good you don't want to fight. I'm not much of a brawler myself. You can go your own way. I've got other business. Oh, and as for your name…"
Mitsuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then looked up with a lighthearted smile.
"I can't exactly explain it right now. Let's just say it evens out. My name is Shimizu Mitsuki. Now you know mine too. Fair trade, right…?"
He turned, ready to rejoin Tsunade and plan their next move.
But Shukaku quickly called out,
"Wait! Why aren't you afraid of me? Why would you even talk to me? Shimizu… Mitsuki."
It knew very well the hatred and fear humans held for the Tailed Beasts.
Yet from this one man, there wasn't the faintest trace of malice.
Shukaku couldn't help but wonder — what kind of person was this, the third human in its life willing to speak to it as an equal?
Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, chuckled softly, and replied:
"Afraid of you? Why should I be? You're not some mindless beast. Talking to you isn't strange at all. What—no one's ever wanted to talk to you before?"