Making Friends

Gaara slowly opened his eyes, awakening inside the mysterious seal within his body. He took a deep breath, then looked at everyone with determination and began to explain Shukaku's request.

"H-how can that be? Absolutely not!" Ebizo cried, eyes wide with shock. "If that vicious thing gets out, won't our village suffer tremendous destruction all over again?"

Just then, a sharp, grating voice suddenly came from inside Gaara. "Hmph! Hey, you stinking old man! How dare you say that about me!"

In the next instant, a shocking sight unfolded—half of Gaara's face transformed into Shukaku's. With its hideous expression and bizarre shape, it looked downright ridiculous.

"You... you can actually talk!" Ebizo and Chiyo cried in unison, staring in disbelief at the half-man, half-beast before them.

"Ha ha ha ha! Of course I can talk, you ignorant humans!" Shukaku laughed smugly. "Remember, I am the mighty Sand Shukaku!"

Then he turned toward Jimo and taunted him. "Hey, kid, that fight we had last time wasn't nearly enough fun! If you've got the guts, let's have a proper rematch sometime!"

Jimo, however, remained unusually calm in the face of Shukaku's challenge. He smiled faintly and replied at an unhurried pace, "Sure. We'll do that next time! But before then, don't you and Gaara still have an important agreement to settle? Let's take care of that first."

With that, Jimo shrugged as though Shukaku's threat meant nothing to him.

"Except for you lot! If Gaara can make friends with any three people from the village while looking like this, then he'll have passed my test!"

"No problem!"

Jimo answered with complete confidence.

While Gaara had still been in the consciousness space, Jimo had already sent out a thousand shadow clones to spread the word throughout the village. When everyone heard that Gaara was going to control Shukaku's power, they were initially terrified. Fortunately, Jimo had spent a lot of time with Naruto and had become quite skilled at talking people around.

That was how the many residents of Sunagakure agreed to the plan.

On a bustling street, the crowd suddenly scattered to either side like a startled school of fish, leaving a wide path. Gaara stood in the middle of the road, and his body began to undergo an astonishing transformation.

His skin gradually turned yellow, blue markings appearing across it. In the blink of an eye, Gaara had transformed completely into a huge, fearsome Shukaku. His appearance was terrifying.

Although Shukaku's appearance filled the people with fear, they forced down their trembling and steeled themselves to greet the gigantic beast. Some spoke with quavering voices, some had faces drained of color, and others could barely stay on their feet.

Looking at the villagers trembling before him, Shukaku couldn't help finding them ridiculous. His low, hoarse voice rang out. "How boring! You lot greet me to my face, but you're scared stiff inside! That kind of hypocrisy doesn't meet the requirements of my test!"

Hearing Shukaku, Jimo shook his head helplessly. "I completely forgot that you can sense the malice in people's hearts!"

Shukaku glanced at Jimo, sounding a little surprised. "Well, look at you! You know quite a bit. You even know that we Tailed Beasts can sense the malice in human hearts. Hmph, even so, hardly anyone dares to face the darkness in their own heart." He let out a low roar, as if declaring his might to the entire village.

After that roar, the villagers could no longer hold out and scattered in every direction.

"Ha ha ha! This is the might of the great Sand Shukaku!"

Shukaku laughed, his shrill, hoarse voice growing even more grating.

"Big tanuki! It's a big tanuki!" A delighted little girl with her hair tied in twin ponytails caught sight of Shukaku and immediately turned to run. She kept glancing back as she fled, as if the terrifying figure might chase after her at any moment.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Just as I thought, everyone's afraid of me! You puny humans dare to disrespect the great Shukaku! Why would I ever lend my power to someone like you? Once you're done using it, are you going to seal me away without a shred of mercy, just like those people did before?"

Shukaku burst into wild laughter, his voice deafening as it echoed through the entire area. His emotions grew increasingly agitated, and powerful waves of energy radiated from his body, making the air seem to freeze.

At that tense moment, Jimo and several other senior ninja nearby were already on high alert. Their faces were grave as they gripped their weapons and watched Shukaku closely, ready to respond to any danger.

But then the unexpected happened. The little girl who had just fled came running back, followed by several children around her age. They hurried over, panting, and stopped in front of Shukaku.

"Wow, what a cute big tanuki!" one of the children exclaimed excitedly, pointing at Shukaku, eyes shining with delight.

"I'm Sand Shukaku! I'm no tanuki!" Shukaku roared furiously. He widened his eyes, opened his enormous jaws, and bared his sharp fangs, trying to scare off the children who didn't know any better.

But the children weren't frightened by Shukaku's threats at all. They thought he looked even more interesting when he got angry. "Oh, look! The tanuki can talk!" another child cheered, clapping.

"I told you I'm not a tanuki! Get off my tail!" Shukaku roared, but to no avail. A mischievous little boy had boldly wrapped his arms around Shukaku's thick tail and started playing with it, tugging it this way and that.

"Lord Shukaku? Doesn't this count as them not being afraid of you?" Jimo asked, seizing his chance. A glint of sly hope shone in his eyes. Hearing him, Shukaku paused, thinking it over. Jimo was right. Though they were just little kids, they showed no fear at all in front of him—in fact, they seemed eager to get closer.

Shukaku slowly looked over the children's innocent faces, trying to find even the slightest trace of fear in their hearts. But to his surprise, all he found was curiosity and excitement.

"Well..." Shukaku hesitated for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "Fine, I underestimated you brats. Maybe that saying is true: 'Newborn calves aren't afraid of tigers!'" As he spoke, his huge, fearsome form began to blur, and the powerful aura surrounding him slowly faded.

As Shukaku's appearance gradually vanished, Gaara's form slowly reappeared. The sandy body that had held its shape suddenly lost its structure, as though its supporting bones had been pulled away. It crumbled apart, scattering across the ground.

Just then, one of the children blinked his big eyes and asked in confusion, "Big brother... where did the tanuki go?" At once, the other children gathered around, peppering him with questions.

Looking at the adorable children before him, Gaara couldn't help smiling gently. He crouched down, softly patted the head of the child who had asked, and replied in a warm voice, "The big tanuki got tired from playing, so he went home to rest!"

The children nodded, only half understanding. Then another child asked in a childish voice, "Will the big tanuki come play with us again?"

Gaara smiled and nodded, answering firmly, "Of course! The big tanuki will come play with you often from now on!" He stood up and looked at the children's happy faces, a warmth he had never felt before swelling in his heart.

Everyone returned to the sealing barrier, and Gaara summoned Shukaku.

"Although this test didn't go as well as I'd hoped, you passed, at least! I'll lend you my power!"

The next second, Gaara transformed into the gigantic Shukaku.

"So this is... the power of a Tailed Beast?!"