One-Tail Shukaku

Ever since that chance encounter when he got lost, Shaye often found himself thinking about the old monk at that secluded temple. Grandpa Bunpuku's serenity, kindness, and those eyes that seemed to see through the ways of the world gave him a warmth utterly different from the mechanical coldness of the maintenance crew. So, whenever he had the chance in the days that followed, he would quietly slip off to that little temple.

Shaliu seemed to have noticed his son's little "secret," but he did not stop him. Perhaps he considered Elder Bunpuku a safe person, perhaps he was too busy with work to spare attention elsewhere, or perhaps, deep down, he also hoped his frail child could have a quiet place to go. He merely silently counted the little bit of clean water or food rations Shaye occasionally brought along as part of the Household expenses.

That day, Shaye came to the temple again. Familiar with the way, he lifted the cloth curtain and saw Grandpa Bunpuku still seated on a meditation cushion as usual. Yet today, something about him seemed different.

The old monk's body was more hunched than before, fine beads of sweat seeped across his forehead, and his brows were slightly furrowed. His hands were tightly pressed together, his knuckles white from exertion. The aura around him was no longer like a tranquil lake; instead, it was as though something violently churned beneath its surface, sending unnatural ripples across the water. An extremely faint yet deeply unsettling restless presence filled the air, carrying the roughness of sand and a savage brutality.

Shaye softened his footsteps and asked quietly, "Grandpa Bunpuku, are you feeling unwell?"

Bunpuku slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Shaye, he tried to force out a gentle smile like usual, but it looked somewhat difficult. "Little Shaye... this old monk is fine. It is only... only that my old friend has quite a temper. Did he disturb you?"

"Old friend?" Shaye blinked, remembering that Grandpa Bunpuku had mentioned that term before. He looked around. Aside from the two of them, the simple temple was completely empty.

At that moment, Bunpuku's body suddenly trembled, as though he were desperately suppressing something. A thread of dark yellow chakra, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, burst from his body like a wild horse breaking free of its reins. Though it was only a wisp, it carried an immense, heart-pounding weight and an evil aura!

The strand of chakra twisted in the air. Rather than attacking, it seemed to possess consciousness, gathering into a vague, resentment-filled roar. "Stinking monk! You locked me up for decades! I'm bored to death! Let me out! Or I'll tear you apart!!"

The voice was hoarse and violent, filled with endless hatred and the desire to destroy.

Shaye jumped in fright, his little hand instinctively clenching. Yet he did not scream or run away like an ordinary child. His thirty-year-old soul and immense spiritual power meant that, instead of fear, the first thing he felt was... curiosity.

So this was the "old friend" Grandpa Bunpuku had mentioned? What kind of existence was this? An energy life-form? A consciousness aggregate? The texture and density of this chakra far surpassed that of any ninja he had sensed in the maintenance crew! It was like a wisp of volcanic ash leaking from an about-to-erupt volcano!

That thread of dark yellow chakra seemed to notice the little one beside it as well. Twisting, it hurled its savage intent toward him. "Hm? A brat? What are you staring at?! Keep looking, and I'll crush you into pulp! Hehehe..."

An ordinary child would likely have been scared out of their wits by such malicious threats. But Shaye only frowned slightly. What he sensed was not fear, but... a very childish irritability. It was like that old instrument in his previous life's laboratory that had malfunctioned and kept blaring noise and error alarms. It looked frightening, but its core logic was actually simple and direct.

Tilting his head, he looked at the snarling wisp of chakra. Instead of retreating, he took a small step forward and asked in his still-childish yet unusually calm voice, "What are you? Why are you locked inside Grandpa Bunpuku's body? You look... very unhappy."

"???"

That wisp of Shukaku's chakra clearly froze, even its violent twisting halting for a moment. It seemed not to have expected such a response. No fear, no screaming, no disgust—only a calm question carrying a hint of inquiry? As ordinary as asking, "Have you eaten today?"

For a thousand years, whenever humans saw it, they either feared it intensely, greedily wanted to use its power, or tried to reform and lecture it like that stinking monk. This was absolutely the first time anyone had simply treated it as an "unhappy" being and asked it equally! And it was just a little brat!

"Un... unhappy?! Of course I'm unhappy! I'm going insane from being trapped!" Shukaku's chakra snapped out of it and twisted even more frantically. "I am One-Tail Shukaku! A great tailed beast! I'm not some thing that got locked up! It's that stinking monk! It's you damned humans!!"

It roared, radiating even stronger malice.

But Shaye's eyes lit up. One-Tail Shukaku? Tailed beast? Those words stirred vague fragments of memories from his previous life. They seemed to be extremely powerful creatures made of chakra in the world of Naruto? Something like... a mobile, disaster-level energy source?

The engineer's soul instinctively began to analyze: a high-density chakra aggregate, possessing independent consciousness, apparently extremely emotionally unstable, sealed inside a human body... How advanced must this sealing technique be? How complex must the energy circuits be?

"Shukaku..." Shaye repeated the name, maintaining that same equal tone of conversation, even carrying the seriousness of discussing a technical problem. "Staying in there all the time must indeed be suffocating. But when you lose your temper like that, Grandpa Bunpuku feels very uncomfortable. Also, your voice is a little loud."

"Loud?! You say I'm loud?!" Shukaku's chakra nearly scattered from rage. What was this brat made of?! "I..."

"Shukaku." Bunpuku's voice rang out. Though weak, it carried a calm strength that brooked no doubt. The escaped thread of chakra abruptly froze, as if caught by invisible reins. It let out several unwilling snarls before finally slowly withdrawing back into Bunpuku's body.

The temple returned to silence, though the aftershocks of that agitation still seemed to echo through the air.

Bunpuku let out a long breath, and his complexion improved somewhat. He looked at Shaye, his eyes filled with unprecedented surprise and deep scrutiny.

"Little Shaye... aren't you afraid?"

Shaye shook his head and answered honestly, "I was a little surprised at first. But it seemed like... it was just very angry, and very lonely?" He could not accurately describe that feeling. He only felt that beneath that immense malice, something else was hidden.

Bunpuku fell silent. He looked at Shaye as though he were truly seeing this child for the first time. After a long while, he slowly said, "It... truly is this old monk's old friend, and also an existence this old monk must watch over. Its words are full of violence, but your words... perhaps they have touched upon some of its state of mind."

He paused, and his tone grew deeper. "Child, you possess a pair of... very special eyes."

Shaye did not quite understand the deeper meaning of Grandpa Bunpuku's final words. He only felt that the big fellow called Shukaku, though it looked fierce, perhaps... was not as unreasonable as he had imagined?

He looked at Grandpa Bunpuku, his eyes clear. "Grandpa Bunpuku, if it causes trouble again next time, can I still talk to it? I think talking things out works better than losing your temper."

Bunpuku looked at the child's pure, earnest face. After a long time, a truly relieved yet slightly incredulous smile slowly bloomed across his face.

"Amitabha... perhaps it truly can."