Inside Naruto's subconscious, which had begun to feel a little 'warmer' since part of his seal was opened, Hana, who was observing Might Guy's intervention at the hospital, suddenly lifted one corner of her lips, forming a mysterious smile.
She closed her eyes slowly, focused her consciousness, and sank her thoughts into a much deeper place, a dimension accessible only to the Bijuu.
In a special, formless space, a mental landscape that could only be entered and understood by the consciousness of the Bijuu, Hana opened her eyes.
Her elegant human form now looked more ethereal, surrounded by a faint orange-red chakra aura.
With Kurama's old characteristic cynical expression, she looked at the giant sandy entity that appeared before her.
"I knew it, it was you, you fat Tanuki."
"Tch, you smelly fox! Even from this distance, I can already smell that pungent fox scent on your Jinchuriki's body!"
Shukaku the One-Tail's voice was still as sharp and harsh as usual, full of annoyance and hostility.
He looked Hana up and down with displeasure, his yellow eyes with shuriken-shaped pupils narrowing.
"Hey, hey, hey! Since when did that Konoha Jinchuriki become so obedient and easy to talk to? You're even willing to lend your precious chakra to that snot-nosed brat? And more importantly... WHY ARE YOU IN THE FORM OF SUCH A WEAK HUMAN, KURAMA?!"
After all, even though their chakra was perfectly sealed within their respective Jinchuriki, the essence of Bijuu chakra could connect to the heart and mind of anyone who had a certain bond or resonance.
It was because of this characteristic that the Bijuu could communicate with each other through this dimension of consciousness, even though their physical bodies were far apart.
This time, because Gaara and Naruto simultaneously released a small portion of their Bijuu Chakra during the confrontation at the hospital earlier, it opened a temporary 'channel' that allowed Kurama's consciousness (who was now Hana) and Shukaku's to meet and communicate directly in this mental space.
Under normal circumstances, when their seals were tightly locked and their chakra inactive, they wouldn't even be able to see or sense each other's presence.
This was also one of the reasons why Hana was so 'kind-hearted' and enthusiastic about lending her chakra to Naruto when facing Gaara earlier.
Besides genuinely loving and wanting to protect her prince, she also had a hidden agenda: she wanted to speak privately with Shukaku.
As for her purpose, it certainly wasn't just to merely mock or pick a fight with that sand-smelling Tanuki... although, admittedly, the idea of 'teasing' Shukaku a little did cross her mind and felt quite amusing.
"Your mouth still stinks of sand and has never been brushed, you reeking raccoon,"
Hana retorted without the slightest hesitation, her tone just as sharp.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at Shukaku with disdain.
"You must have been locked in your sand cage for too long that you feel so lonely and pathetic, huh? So, as soon as you see someone else appear, you immediately bark loudly hoping others will pity you and want to comfort you? How pathetic."
Shukaku's giant sandy face immediately turned darker and wrinkled with anger.
"GRRRR! YOU DAMN SHARP-TONGUED FOX! After all this time we haven't met, your mouth has become much more venomous and annoying than before, huh! You're the one who should be pathetic! Look at yourself! You only have HALF your chakra left! Pathetic! Weak!"
"Yes, I am indeed very pathetic,"
Hana grinned broadly, completely unfazed by Shukaku's mockery.
"I do only have half my chakra left now, but funnily enough, my half chakra is still far more abundant and stronger than all of your intact chakra, Tanuki-chan. And look at my Jinchūriki, my prince Naruto. He's far more normal and much more pleasant than that weird Jinchūriki of yours. At least my prince never calls sand 'mother' and cries bawling like a baby deprived of affection, don't you think so?"
Shukaku growled angrily, the sand around him beginning to churn.
"DAMN YOU, KURAMA! CLEARLY, MY JINCHURIKI AND I ARE MORE NORMAL THAN YOU AND THAT BLOND BRAT! LOOK AT YOUR WEIRD APPEARANCE NOW, KURAMA! YOU TURNED INTO A WOMAN! I WOULDN'T EVEN HESITATE OR BE SURPRISED IF I SAW YOU WANDERING AROUND THE RED-LIGHT DISTRICT LOOKING LIKE THAT! MAYBE YOU'RE IN THE WRONG PLACE TO LOOK FOR CUSTOMERS HERE!"
"Ah, speaking of names,"
Hana cut in casually, as if not hearing Shukaku's last taunt.
"From now on, please call me Hana. I've decided to change the boring and overly masculine name 'Kurama'. Hana is much cuter and suits me better, right?" She winked.
"HANA?! WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT FOR A BIJUU LIKE YOU?!"
Shukaku became even more agitated.
"YOU'VE REALLY GONE MAD, FOX! YOU LOST YOUR IDENTITY AFTER BEING SEALED IN KONOHA!"
"At least I didn't lose my sanity and consider sand my mother," Hana replied calmly.
"Besides, being 'mad' because of love for my prince is far more enjoyable than being 'mad' because of loneliness and hatred like you, poor Tanuki."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING POOR, YOU WEIRD CROSS-DRESSER!"
"Who else but you, who can't even let your Jinchuriki sleep soundly at night?"
The two Bijuu continued to exchange taunts and insults fiercely, as if participating in a god-level verbal sparring contest.
Their voices echoed in that mental dimension, full of anger, sarcasm, and a bit of... strange familiarity?
They quarreled like siblings who hadn't met in a long time but still held deep-seated grudges against each other.
The verbal battle lasted for quite some time until they both began to feel a little... tired?
Or maybe just bored.
"TSK! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BOTHER TALKING ANY LONGER WITH A SMELLY FOX LIKE YOU!"
Shukaku's sandy face turned pitch black from suppressed anger. He snorted loudly, ready to break the connection and flee after uttering one last harsh sentence.
The lifespan of tailed beasts like them was not like humans who could only reach a hundred years or a little more.
They would have plenty of time to curse, mock, and perhaps fight each other again in the future.
'Huh! I'll give this person one more chance to insult me now. After this, I'll go back and learn some new swear words before competing again with this smelly fox another time!'
Shukaku thought to himself, trying to console himself.
"Shukaku, wait a moment."
Suddenly, Hana's voice sounded different.
She stood upright, dropping her mocking smile, and her facial expression turned serious.
"There's an important matter we need to discuss."
She was done bickering and playing around.
Now it was time to get back to real business.
Shukaku, who was halfway 'gone', paused for a moment and looked at Hana with a furrowed brow and a suspicious gaze:
"Business? What business could you possibly have with me, Kurama... uh, Hana?"
Although he was very, very unhappy with Kurama (or, should he start getting used to calling her Hana now?), the Bijuu, the nine siblings, had a strange bond.
They could always 'make friends' again or at least cooperate after a fierce fight or scolding each other harshly. After all, technically the nine of them were still siblings, part of the same entity in the past.
And they all had some sort of 'mission' or unwritten legacy from the Sage of Six Paths, Rikudō Sennin.
So, they usually wouldn't deliberately fight or bring each other down if the situation was really serious and concerned their collective survival.
Alright... let's just assume that's true, even though they often preferred to fight.
Although Shukaku still felt very unhappy and annoyed now, he knew that if Kurama (Hana) said this was serious business, then it must be truly serious.
He just snorted loudly in response.
"Hmph. Quickly say what you want."
Hana also knew this Tanuki's stubborn character, so she didn't beat around the bush anymore and said directly:
"Have you ever heard of an organization called Akatsuki?"
"Akatsuki? Dawn? What's that? Some kind of new music group or a farmers' association?"
Shukaku said with a mocking tone that he knew nothing about it.
Currently, the Akatsuki organization was still in the early stages of secretly gathering members and wealth.
Except for the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, which often dealt with mysterious mercenary groups like them, other major countries like the Land of Wind or the Land of Fire were not yet fully aware of Akatsuki's existence and danger.
So, it was natural that Shukaku, trapped within Gaara in Sunagakure, didn't know about them.
Hana continued in a more serious tone,
"The main goal of this Akatsuki organization is to capture all the tailed beasts, from the One-Tail to the Nine-Tails, to then revive the ancient Ten-Tails monster, Juubi. And guess who will be their first target because you're the easiest to 'access' and perhaps considered the weakest? Yes, it's you, Shukaku. When that time comes, I want you to exert all your best abilities and try to hold out for as long as you can. Don't let them capture you easily."
Shukaku's previously small and angry pupils suddenly narrowed even more sharply, and his large sandy face was filled with unconcealable shock:
"Those damn humans... they actually plan to target and revive the Juubi, the Ten-Tails?!"
As part of the chakra separated from the Juubi in the past, Shukaku certainly knew very well the existence and terrifying power of the Ten-Tails.
He also knew that at that time, the Ten-Tails' physical body, the Gedō Mazō, had also been sealed on the moon by Rikudō Sennin himself.
"Wait a minute."
Shukaku looked slightly disbelieving, his voice trembling.
"The Ten-Tails' body is on the moon... How could they possibly..."
"Nagato, who claims to be the current leader of the Akatsuki organization, possesses a pair of eyes identical to Rikudō Sennin's, the Rinnegan." Hana's eyes darkened slightly, recalling information from her future.
"Through the power of those cursed eyes, he has the ability to summon and send the Ten-Tails' body, the Gedō Mazō, down from the moon to this Ninja World."
Shukaku's eyes widened, he fell silent, and didn't know what to say for a moment.
This information was too shocking and terrifying.
Hana looked at Shukaku with a serious gaze:
"I know you must be very surprised now, and perhaps find it hard to believe. But I can't explain it to you more clearly and in detail right now. There isn't enough time. What's certain is, if you someday encounter two ninjas wearing long black cloaks with red cloud motifs, never hesitate to fight them with all your strength. Those people are definitely no match for ordinary ninjas, even their strength might not be far behind us Bijuu."
"Remember this well if you don't want to become the Ten-Tails' first meal and disappear forever."
Hana also didn't want to see the Ten-Tails reborn. She had clearly seen the consequences of the rebirth of such a terrifying creature in the anime, and it wasn't something she wanted to experience.
"Kurama... or should I call you Hana now?" Shukaku narrowed his eyes, his expression now looking more serious and contemplative. "You..."
Of course, he believed what Hana (Kurama) said. All nine Bijuu knew whether something this important could be joked about or not.
No wonder this person (Hana) tried so hard to 'trick' her Jinchūriki into releasing some chakra from his seal earlier.
This news was very important and had to be immediately conveyed to the other tailed beasts.
Shukaku saw the situation more clearly in an instant.
His previously sharp and angry voice now became more normal and calm: "The problem is, I can't easily inform the other tailed beasts."
He and his Jinchuriki, Gaara, were always at odds and never got along.
Gaara's mental state was also not very good and stable.
So, basically, he didn't have many opportunities to meet or communicate with the other Jinchūriki.
The Five Great Ninja Villages also always tried their best to prevent Jinchūriki from their respective villages from meeting each other, fearing they would conspire or undesirable things would happen.
So, Shukaku really had no way to meet and inform the other tailed beasts about this Akatsuki threat.
"I will go and try to inform the other tailed beasts,"
Hana said, taking responsibility.
"But I also don't know for sure where Son Gokū the Four-Tails and Kokuō the Five-Tails are right now."
Hana wasn't too worried about this problem; she had some plans.
'Matatabi the Two-Tails and Gyūki the Eight-Tails are currently in the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure. My prince and I might have business there someday. The location of Isobu the Three-Tails will be shared with Konoha by the Land of Water, Kirigakure, in the future, so there will be an opportunity for that. And there will be a possibility that Naruto will meet the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails, Utakata, in the future. The Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails, Fū, will also appear in the joint Chunin Exams in the Sand Village someday. So, only Son Gokū and Kokuō's locations are still a complete mystery to me,'
Hana thought.
"What we need to do now is ensure you, Shukaku, are not captured by Akatsuki. As long as a One-Tailed Beast like you hasn't been successfully captured by them, then their plan to revive Juubi will never succeed, no matter how many other tailed beasts they manage to capture later."
"Oh yes, there's one more thing I almost forgot,"
Hana said suddenly. She looked at Shukaku with a slightly... cunning smile?
"Give me some of your chakra, Tanuki."
Shukaku was instantly stunned and frowned unconsciously:
"What do you want my chakra for, Fox?! Better tell me, with your condition of only having half chakra, can you really accept it if I give it to you now?"
Shukaku actually didn't have a big problem releasing a small portion of his chakra if he wanted to.
The sealing technique used by the Sand Village on Gaara was very poor and imperfect.
He could break through the seal's gaps with a little struggle if he wanted to.
However, the sealing technique on Naruto was the Uzumaki clan's very strong four-symbols sealing technique, which even after all these years, Hana alone hadn't been able to penetrate or weaken.
Hana just smiled ambiguously, full of meaning.
"Just prepare some of your best chakra. I'll contact you again later when the time is right. Just give me the chakra without asking too many questions."
"And remember," Hana added with a mock-threatening tone, "don't try to trick me by giving me leftover chakra that will disappear after two uses, okay! I know your tricks!"
Tailed beast chakra was indeed magical and unique.
They could give a small portion of their chakra essence to others.
The given chakra might not make the person as strong as a Bijuu, but that chakra would continue to exist and would never run out, usable repeatedly.
Just like the case of Sora, Kazuma's son, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Fire Nation's daimyō, who accidentally had a small portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra in his body since birth.
With just that chakra, he could even reach the transformation level up to the Four-Tails chakra cloak.
There was also the case of Kinkaku and Ginkaku from Kumogakure, who were once eaten by Kyuubi but managed to survive by eating the flesh inside Kyuubi's stomach, thus gaining some of Kyuubi's chakra and power.
They could even use some of Rikudō Sennin's treasured weapons and never ran out of that chakra source after years of using it.
This was truly a cruel and unfair thing.
Of course, the special circumstances of these two people couldn't be used as a general benchmark.
"Tsk. You cunning Fox!"
Shukaku snorted unhappily. Besides, he himself didn't have much chakra he could share in the first place, and it was rather uncomfortable for him to have to expend that much chakra for someone else.
He would need time to recover his 'blood' later.
"Alright, but there's a condition! Give me some of your chakra too in return! Fair, right?"
"No problem at all,"
Hana chuckled twice, looking very satisfied.
For her, giving a small portion of her current chakra level was just a matter of time and willingness.
She could have as much chakra as she wanted.
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[Author: Hello my beloved readers! So starting today, I will give a little 'leak' about a scene in the future! Which will be shown every... hmm... I don't know how many times a week? The point is when I'm in the mood, then I'll give spoilers.. hehe (^^)]
Kushina, on the other hand, stared at the beautiful orange-haired woman in front of her with a very confused and scrutinizing gaze.
In terms of physical appearance, this woman named Hana should be around the same age as her when she died, perhaps in her early twenties.
Her face was beautiful, her body exquisite, and her aura... very strong.
"Um... Miss Hana, is it?"
Kushina finally spoke, her voice sounding a little hesitant.
"With all due respect, don't you look a bit... too mature to be a 'prospective daughter-in-law' or a partner for my son, Naruto, who is only twelve years old?"
she asked carefully, trying to choose the most polite words.
Hana just chuckled softly at Kushina's question.
She tightened her embrace on Naruto.
"Fufufu~ My wise Mother-in-law Kushina, age is not a barrier for true love, is it? Besides,"
she winked playfully at Naruto,
"I can patiently wait for my Prince Naruto to grow up first. I have plenty of free time."
Kushina became even more confused.
"Your Prince Naruto? And... who exactly are you, Miss Hana?"
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