RNP Chapter 56 Guarding the Crane
Chapter 56 Guarding the Crane
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure, Maki wore a helpless expression, his brows furrowed, his hands unconsciously clenching and unclenching. Frankly, handing over an entire village's Jinchuriki to Konoha ninjas for resealing was somewhat shameful, but the One-Tailed Beast had indeed hindered Gaara's growth, and that plan…
Maki believed Uchiha Gen's claim because a mysterious ninja had previously made outrageous statements, saying he wanted to take the One-Tailed Beast as a pet. Even after the Sand Village had taken precautions, he entered the village as if it were empty... If that person hadn't seemed to have something wrong with his head, the One-Tailed Beast of the Sand Village would have been gone long ago.
Meanwhile, on Uchiha Gen's side, in order to prevent him from making a mistake that would cause the tailed beast to go berserk, almost everyone in Sunagakure who had some understanding of sealing was arranged to observe and guard him.
"..." Uchiha Gen really wanted to say that if even he couldn't seal Shukaku, then they were useless here, but after thinking about it, he decided against it and just gave them some psychological comfort.
After making preparations, Uchiha Gen saw Gaara sitting cross-legged in front of him. At this moment, Gaara was much calmer, and his temperament was much gentler, which was in stark contrast to the expression he had when he wanted to kill Gaara in Konoha.
Subconsciously, I touched my nose. I remembered that I seemed to have promised to owe this child a favor. I wondered how Toshen was doing.
Just as Uchiha Gen was about to make a move, he looked at Gaara's forehead and couldn't help but frown slightly, asking, "Is it natural?"
The atmosphere was tense, and all preparations were complete, but upon hearing this, Gaara looked puzzled and followed Uchiha Gen's gaze. "Are you talking about the words on my forehead?"
"No." Uchiha Gen shook his head and asked earnestly, "Why don't you have eyebrows on your forehead?"
"..."
Gaara's face lit up when he heard this, but seeing that Uchiha Gen was not mocking him but simply asking, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down before saying, "Yeah, it's innate."
Seeing that Uchiha Gen's mouth was slightly open, as if he wanted to say something speechless, Gaara's eyelids twitched, and he presciently interrupted, "I'm ready, please begin, senpai."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gen nodded with a regretful expression. He had originally wanted to improve Gaara's aesthetic sense to prevent him from growing up badly, since Gaara was not bad-looking either, and with a little dressing up, he could be a handsome young man who would make girls' hearts flutter.
Gen Uchiha draped his arm over Gaara's shoulder, his consciousness gradually sinking into a slumber. When his vision dimmed, he saw a colossal, earthen-yellow creature with cursed markings appear before him. Upon closer inspection, it was Shukaku. At that moment, Shukaku was sleeping on its back in the sealed space.
This space was filled with a vast expanse of golden desert. The so-called seal looked like nothing more than a few chains binding Shukaku, and the chains were so thin that they seemed to break with the slightest effort.
It has to be said that this sealing technique is far inferior to that of Konoha. It's amazing that Gaara could endure it for so long under such circumstances. He was so worried about sleeping. Anyone would go crazy in that situation.
Meanwhile, under the deliberate arrangement of Uchiha Gen, Gaara entered this space for the first time. Upon seeing Shukaku, Gaara's expression turned solemn. Was this the monster who had caused him to be assassinated and ostracized?
Gaara and Shukaku's relationship with Naruto and Kurama is different. During this period, they have had almost no communication. Moreover, given Shukaku's arrogant and bad temper at this time, you can't expect to reason with him unless you are Naruto.
Gaara looked at Uchiha Gen, wondering what he would do.
Seeing that Shukaku was sleeping soundly, showing no intention of waking up, Uchiha Gen thought for a moment, then jumped onto its belly and bounced around. However, each bounce was powerful enough to shatter rocks, and even if Shukaku was sleeping soundly, it should have woken up by now.
Seeing that Shukaku seemed to be stirring, Gen Uchiha jumped back a distance to avoid being crushed. Shukaku's massive body finally slowly stood up, feeling some pain, and instinctively used its huge hand to shield its stomach.
Gen Uchiha amplified his voice with chakra, adopting a 'kind' demeanor, and said to Shukaku with a smile, "Shukaku, I can give you two choices now. First, you listen to Gaara now, and the two of you get along well. Second, I'll beat you until you submit, then you'll listen to Gaara, and the two of you can get along well then."
"?" Gaara was filled with questions. Wasn't it supposed to be just a seal? Why was Reikawa-senpai directly going up against Shukaku?
Upon hearing this, Shukaku became somewhat annoyed and finally lowered his gaze to observe the two little ones who had barged in. Shukaku's gaze swept over Gaara, finally settling on Uchiha Gen.
During his examination, Shukaku suddenly noticed Uchiha Gen's red hair. Remembering the threat Uchiha Gen posed, he immediately felt apprehensive. Could it be that clan?! Thinking of the suffering Kurama had endured against that clan, the words of mockery he had intended to utter turned into a show of weakness: "Who are you? Even if you can defeat me, why should I listen to that brat?"
Uchiha Gen didn't seem to care much, still smiling and intending to be polite first, "I'm Uzumaki Reikawa, I just want you two to get along well. Look at Gaara, you've made him so miserable, his dark circles are impossible to get rid of. Don't you feel guilty?"
Shukaku was somewhat intimidated by Uchiha Gen, but it didn't care when it looked at Gaara. It slowly shifted its gaze and saw that Gaara had the same dark circles under his eyes as it did. It muttered softly, "...Isn't this pretty?"
"..." Gaara's eye twitched slightly, but then again, this guy can actually communicate?
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gen coughed twice as if to cover up his lapse in composure, then straightened his smile and said seriously, "Never mind whether it looks good or not, just please don't cause trouble in the future, okay?"
"No." Shukaku arrogantly turned its head away. "If you want to reseal me, go ahead. You'll never be free anyway. Humans are just a bunch of greedy creatures chasing after the power of tailed beasts."
"And what about sharing the blessings?"
Upon hearing this, Shukaku was speechless for a moment. "Then let's just say we have to share the good fortune."
Seeing that Shukaku was completely unmoved, Gen Uchiha rubbed his cheek. He thought to himself, "I'll just repay Gaara's favor later. It's better to leave the talk-no-jutsu to Naruto."
However, after hearing this and roughly understanding the relationship, Gaara, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "Shukaku, is that right? If you promise not to cause trouble, we can coexist peacefully. I can't set you free because I would die if I did. But if you want to leave, you can tell me, on the condition that you don't destroy the village or cause trouble everywhere. If possible—I would like to become your friend." Gaara's tone was very sincere when he said this.
Having been inside Gaara's body for so long, Shukaku could naturally sense whether those words were sincere or not, and fell silent for a moment. With this seal, he could occasionally escape to get some fresh air, but a different seal wouldn't be so comfortable. "...Let me think about it."