Blue Star · Tailed Beast Containment Zone · Desert Region
The simulated sky cast down warm golden sunlight, bathing the entire artificial desert in a layer of warmth.
This enclosed containment zone, spanning several square kilometers, was Rabbit Nation's custom-built new home for the Tailed Beasts.
Deserts, lakes, forests, caves—every kind of terrain was available, and each Tailed Beast could choose a habitat according to its preferences.
At that moment, a massive stone table stood on the flat sand at the center of the desert, surrounded by four specially made alloy stools.
Every stool had been specially reinforced, with welds several meters thick, lest a Tailed Beast sit down and crush one beneath its rear.
A set of equally gigantic mahjong tiles sat neatly arranged on the stone table, each tile weighing a full two tons.
The tiles were engraved with circles, bamboo, characters, winds, and dragons, their markings crisp and raised—an entertainment facility Rabbit Nation had commissioned specifically for the Tailed Beasts, the world's first mahjong set made for Tailed Beasts.
Shukaku sat in the east seat, his round belly pressed against the table's edge. He held a tile in his paw, squinting as his grin stretched from ear to ear.
Behind him stood an extra-large cup of Snow King milk tea, condensation beading on its surface while ice cubes clicked softly inside.
The straw even bore the words "Snow King," though it had already been chewed out of shape.
His luck had been exceptionally good today. Since the game began, he had either drawn winning tiles himself or won off a kong draw, leaving the other three with no room to fight back.
He glanced at the Nine-Tails across from him. That stinking fox wore a gloomy expression and had not won a single hand. The "chips" before