The Tanuki Was No Cat

Xuanye made a good point. If a pet misbehaved, it probably just hadn't been beaten enough. One thorough electrocution would set it straight.

Yae Miko had already grown too powerful for that. Otherwise, Raiden Ei had been planning to take her first familiar back to Teyvat for a complete overhaul.

When Shukaku heard Kurama's screams and pleas for help, he immediately grasped the fox's situation.

That fox was insufferable. He liked judging the Tailed Beasts' strength by their number of tails and insulting Shukaku as the weakest of them all.

But Kurama really was the strongest Tailed Beast. There was no denying it.

If even Kurama had been driven to a mental breakdown and was begging Shukaku for help, the space he was trapped in had to be hell.

Shukaku immediately shrank. His vicious face twisted into a fawning smile as he said,

"My lord, I hear the Uchiha Family uses all kinds of Ninja Cats as Summoning Beasts."

"How about me? A tanuki's a cat too! I want to be your Summoning Beast!"

The wise knew when to yield. If Shukaku wanted to avoid Kurama's fate, he would have to sell out his dignity as a Tailed Beast and keep Uchiha Genya company in his old age.

Besides, he would get to laugh at Kurama. What was there to lose?

Suddenly, Shukaku saw the light. The moment he decided to surrender, the whole world seemed to open up!

Matatabi gave him a look of unmistakable contempt.

"A tanuki isn't a cat."

Shukaku had truly thrown away all shame to save his own hide.

A little-known fact: a tanuki was actually a raccoon dog, a member of the canine family.

In other words, Shukaku was more closely related to Kurama the fox than to Matatabi.

"Matatabi, screw you! What did