Chapter 50: The Tailed Beast's Judgment.
Arc: Against Foreign Powers
Disclaimer:
I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.
"Gaara," Naruto called out, his eyes containing a crafty light. On the other hand, Gaara's eyes were a bit hazy as he opened them.
Pale blue-green stared into lustrous lavender as the wind blew on their hair of similar color, swaying like synchronized twins. For the first time ever, the Jinchuriki of the One Tail and the Nine-Tails gazed at each other's eyes with no malice or hate, but rather indifference and a sprinkle of compassion.
Both of them experienced the lows of life, so they can roughly understand each other's pain.
Seeing the sun reflect behind the Uzumaki's back, Gaara squinted his eyes, almost making two, large dots of ink on his face. After a few seconds, his eyes slowly widened back into their normal shape as he opened his mouth to speak.
"It's you," Gaara stated, his voice calm as he had expected. Though he didn't recall anything after his loss of control, he was confident that the other Jinchuriki in front of him wouldn't let him go that easily and he was right. Gaara watched as Naruto inspected his expression, though he wasn't quite sure what the other was looking for as his face was as bland as water.
"Yes, it's me," Naruto said and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing for a bit as his face slowly darkened, a result of facing his back toward the sun. For a moment, Naruto's figure seemed to turn into black ink as his eyes glowed in a vibrant hue. With a solemn face, Naruto opened his mouth.
"What do you say? Though we were interrupted in the middle, my offer still stands. Do you agree to our deal?"
Gaara listened as Naruto extended his arms. He recalled what Naruto said before, and remembered that all Naruto wanted was his cooperation, help, and protection. Aside from those three things, the other boy didn't seek anything else from him, making him suspicious for a bit but he wasn't hesitant.
"I accept."
Because when Naruto extended his arms, his protective sand that could sense negative emotions didn't protect him from the boy as he reached out his hand.
As porcelain-like touched golden tan, the two's hands firmly shook, signifying the start of a new alliance and the beginning of something grand. Countless years later, this tale will be recounted among the new generations.
Naruto, who was clueless to the waves he had cast, smiled in satisfaction, his face finally easing for a bit since he had unsealed Gaara. In fact, he was a little apprehensive that Gaara would attack him in a fit of panic, or that his sand would automatically strike at him, but now he wasn't worried.
"We'll talk more later. For now, let's meet the One-Tailed Tanuki."
Watching as Naruto approached him, putting two fingers on his forehead, Gaara was a little doubtful. "Trust me and relax. We're entering your mindscape," Naruto chuckled seeing his confusion and he channeled a thin strand of chakra to Gaara's brain, putting him under a harmless Genjutsu that forced them two to enter Gaara's mindscape.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Gaara's fingers twitched, his pale blue-green eyes narrowing in surprise and awe as he took in the picture of his mindscape. Perhaps he should've expected it, but his mindscape was an endless desert.
"UZUMAKI!"
Chained down with hot, red chains with tiny spikes all over them, the Giant Tanuki bellowed out, his eyes glaring at the two jinchuriki in front of him with hate. His piercing glare was hot enough to replace the sun, melting the cold ice and setting fire to green forests.
"LET ME FREE, UZUMAKI!"
He threatened, but his appearance was far from that of a hunter and more that of a cornered rabbit. Seeing the One Tail's temper, Naruto chuckled and waved his hands.
"Okay," he said as chakra pulsed from his palms, "I'll set you free."
Like water falling from a rock, the red chains wrapped tightly around the Giant Tanuki's body fell to the ground. The Giant Tanuki was stunned and speechless for a moment, feeling like a little child throwing a tantrum despite knowing he wouldn't achieve anything yet he somehow received his wish, making him stare dumbfounded as the red chains melt into chakra, dissipating like a mist.
"You… actually freed me?"
"Why not? I'm here to talk, to discuss in peaceful terms on equal grounds. I'm not here to force you to do anything, but I want you to at least listen to what I'm about to say," Naruto said, his eyes staring solemnly at the Giant Tanuki's golden pupils.
For the first time in years, the Giant Tanuki felt his anger fizzle out like a deflating balloon.
'He calmed down the… the Sand Demon?' Gaara's body turned rigid, like a frozen statue with a sealed spirit inside.
"What do you want to talk about?" The Giant Tanuki asked. Even he was shocked at how mellowed his tone had become. 'This feeling is strange, I haven't felt this way for years,' he thought.
"I want to talk about our goals, dreams, and aspirations," Naruto said, and before both the One Tails and Gaara could say something, he kept talking.
"My goal is to become a god. A god that is stronger than any other god. As for the reason? Just because. You don't need a reason for wanting to live and thrive, and likewise, I have no reason for wanting to become a god, but there was one thing I want to do before I become a god," Naruto smiled, his eyes looking far beyond what Shukaku and Gaara could see. It was as if he was standing in a different place, a place that only he can see.
"I want to create a holy place, something like a sanctuary, something similar to the three holy lands of the toads, snakes, and slugs. There, I want to make it so that outcasts like me can live peacefully, and beasts like you who'd been wrongly treated can roam around, not fearing the fate of being captured or used for selfish desires."
Hearing Naruto's dialogue, the One Tails paused to think. 'What an arrogant guy,' he thought, 'but with so much arrogance, why does he care for others, so much so that he wants to build a sanctuary of all things? Damn, this is confusing, what's going on inside his head, exactly?'
The One Tails inwardly clutched his head, trying to stop the incoming headache as a glimmer of light passed through his eyes. 'More importantly, what the hell was the Nine-Tails teaching his host?'
Doubtful, the One Tails entered a separate mindscape. A mindscape that no one had entered for a while since the Nine Tails' capture by Hashirama Senju.
"Oi, you stinky fox, come here and stop hiding!"
Yelling out inside the pitch-black mindscape with gloomy blue air and red floor, the One Tails spread his chakra and molded it into a special structure, using it to call out a specific person… or beast.
"Shukaku, god damned it, I'm sleeping! I swear, I hate every Uchiha alive!"
The reason he was lethargic in the first place is because of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami used by Danzo.
"Scratch that, I hate the human world. I just want to take a fucking break, why do I have to deal with all this shit?"
"Bastard, why are you complaining all of a sudden? Did you develop a split personality or something?" Shukaku mocked. The fox was all arrogant outside, but he suddenly turned so whiny inside the Tailed Beast's Midscape. 'Ridiculous,' Shukaku thought.
"Shut up. If you have to use most of your chakra just because of an Uchiha's god-forsaken genjutsu, not only that, the god damned mangekyou sharingan was used instead of the regular sharingan, I wonder if you can stay calm," Kurama scoffed.
"Tsk, I'm not here to argue, Kurama, I'm here to ask you a question."
"Oh?" Kurama actually froze, his demeanor instantly changing. The giant fox and the giant tanuki had always maintained a terrible relationship. For a second, Kurama doubted his ears. 'It makes sense. Maybe I heard wrongly, that accursed genjutsu is still showing me some illusions about some undying loyalty to that damned old man after all,' Kurama concluded.
"Say that again, I heard you wrongly."
Shukaku's eyes twitched. "What heard wrongly… tsk, you're really testing my patience, huh? Whatever. I'm just going to ask. What do you think about your host?"
"Holy shit…" Startled out of his mind, Kurama stood up straight, wondering if the heavens had fallen out in the real world. 'Did Father come down and teach this guy a lesson or something?'
"Are you… an impostor?"
"YOU DAMNED FOX!"
'All right, he's not an impostor,' Kurama sighed, recounting his tale with the unique, sometimes weird, Uzumaki.
"When I first heard his goal of becoming a god, I was skeptical."
Recalling that day, Kurama sighed. Such a long time has passed, he didn't realize just how much Naruto has grown.
"Back then, the little kid was as arrogant as a damned Uchiha," Kurama chuckled.
"Not only did he have arrogance, but he was also infinitely bold and brave, recklessly even," Kurama closed his eyes, recalling how the little redhead dared to challenge Konoha's ROOT division and even tried to face Orochimaru, one of the three legendary Sannin and a Fuinjutsu Master.
"I've got to say, the kid has luck. He managed to avert every disaster he's faced so far," Kurama said, making the Giant Tanuki a little impatient.
"So you think he's arrogant?"
"Yes. He is very arrogant, although his arrogance has mellowed considerably by now. And do you want to know something funny?" Kurama teased his little brother.
"That guy hated the idea of love and friendship at first, and he said that he'd only have me as his partner and friend. His reasoning was that love was unnecessary and will get in the way of his goals, yet look at him now. He changed like a spider molting, and now he added another goal to his list of impossible goals," Kurama laughed aloud.
"Him becoming a god, I can see. But him creating a holy sanctuary? That's a little too much. It's not impossible, but for someone like Naruto, whose nature leans more toward destruction and indifference, it will be a true challenge. Perhaps it can be called a tribulation," Kurama said.
"So you don't agree with his goal?" Shukaku raised his tone in doubt.
"No, I agree and support him. I just don't know if he'll be able to do it, but I believe in him. He's arrogant and cold, but only to his enemies. His exterior is hard, cold, and riddled with thorns, but his interior is as soft as a persimmon. He's trustworthy, to say the least. Now, I'm going to go back to sleep, don't disturb me again, Shukaku," Kurama warned.
It wasn't that he didn't like seeing his brother, but he was just too tired. Staying awake caused him a headache thanks to the residual effects of Kotoamatsukami, but if he can help Naruto a little built to achieve his goals, he didn't mind spending extra effort.
Obviously, as Kurama and he had "bonded" very "close" before, Shukaku saw through Kurama's inner thoughts but said nothing in response. He only bid farewell to Kurama and returned to Gaara's mindscape. Gaara and Naruto didn't suspect him a bit, as he put on a "thinking" posture before he froze in Gaara's mindscape, his soul traveling to the Tailed Beast's mindscape.
"Naruto, I respect you." You even remind me of the person that Father told us about.
Shukaku said, omitting the last part of his sentence. 'Uzumaki, I hope you don't disappoint me and bring change to this world as that old man said through this sanctuary of yours.'
"I respect you because you are trying to bring what good you can to the world by bringing peace to us tailed beasts, and I trust you because you are able to gain that damned fox's trust," Shukaku held himself from scowling.
"However, I understand that you want me to cooperate with Gaara, my jinchuriki, but I can't agree with you."
Before Naruto could say anything, Shukaku spoke first. "Before I can cooperate and respect Gaara and recognize him as my partner, I want to observe him first. I want to judge his character," Shukaku stated, his voice firm.
Hearing this, Gaara came out of his shock and spoke for the very first time since he came into the mindscape, "That's fine with me. I also want to take the time to form a bond with you, One Tail. You have brought me great pain and sorrow, but I know that you are also a victim at the end of this," Gaara said while looking at Naruto.
"I've learned that through forgiveness, one can see a different world. I am hoping that by becoming friends, we can help each other out," Gaara offered, his arms crossed. In truth, Gaara only wanted to have more people he could bond with, human or beast, he didn't care, and though Naruto didn't know this, Shukaku certainly did.
"Hmph," Shukaku snorted and kicked Gaara from the mindscape, looking toward Naruto.
"It was nice talking with you, Naruto Uzumaki. This one's name is Shukaku," he said.
"I share the same sentiment. Anyway, I have to say goodbye for now, I hope we can have a good friendship," Naruto smiled as he waved his hand, slowly disappearing from Gaara's mindscape.
As Naruto's consciousness returned to his physical body, he patted Gaara's back.
"Gaara, I know you've been starved of love, but I want to tell you something. Something you've never realized due to your own attempt at protecting yourself," Naruto said making Gaara tilt his head.
"No one ever loved me before," Gaara firmly stated, making Naruto shake his head.
"You're wrong, there are two people who had always loved you and will keep loving you," Naruto smirked, pulling out a scroll.
"Unseal."
POOF! POOF!
Seeing the two figures that emerged from the scrolls, Gaara widened his eyes.
"You…"
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