Opening Her Heart

Matatabi's calm words were like a heavy hammer striking hard against Gyūki's chest.

For a moment, he could barely breathe.

Although he was in the mindscape, and his very nature was merely a body of chakra energy, so breathing was unnecessary.

His chest still felt unbearably stifled.

"So this cage was something I had always used to bind you myself?"

He looked at his enormous body and muttered to himself.

But soon, a sharp gleam burst from his eyes!

"No! What about you?! You're no different! You merely escaped from Yugito Nii's body, which meant escaping one cage only to enter another."

"All this talk of yours is just to reassure me, to make me see Killer B as a cage while making this place feel more familiar and like I belong!"

"How ridiculous! In the end, you still betrayed yourself!"

Gyūki felt that he had made a very insightful argument.

The Two-Tails Matatabi's expression did not change in the slightest.

Since none of what he said had hit the mark, there was naturally nothing for her to care about.

"You're wrong, Gyūki. Do you think I went from one cage to another?"

"Isn't that so?"

"I came to find you of my own accord this time. Otherwise, have you ever seen a ninja with two Tailed Beasts inside them? Two Tailed Beasts keeping each other company would basically never be able to reach an understanding with a Jinchuriki."

"Without the oppressive environment of loneliness, Tailed Beasts would not crawl into cages on their own and put collars around their necks."

"Then why are you here now?"

Gyūki immediately shot back.

Matatabi calmly continued, "Because he trusts that I won't do anything else."

"No," she reconsidered and changed her wording, "he is extremely confident. He doesn't believe I can do