The truth of what happened back then
The wooden cabin's door stood ajar.
Sōji did not knock. He simply sat on the stone steps outside, his back to the cabin, facing the cedar forest blanketing the mountain.
By late September, autumn colors had begun to spread across Mount Katsuragi. The edges of the cedar needles had yellowed slightly, and the distant ridges showed varying shades of blue-gray beneath the afternoon sun.
His Six Eyes clearly picked out the chakra silhouette of the person behind the door. Pale blue chakra flowed steadily on the surface, but an abnormally immense power churned at its core.
That power had a different texture from ordinary chakra, carrying a thick, clammy quality.
The Six-Tails!
Sōji could clearly see that the Tailed Beast Chakra was contained within an intricate, multilayered seal.
The seal's markings came from a variant of the Hidden Mist's traditional Sealing Techniques, but there was an extra, somewhat different layer holding it shut—the Jinchūriki's own will was suppressing it.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring food up here, old man?"
A lazy, heavily nasal voice came from behind the door, as though its owner had just been roused from an afternoon nap.
"It's me!"
Sōji did not turn around. His steady voice carried through the door. "En no Gyōja should have told you why I came, shouldn't he?"
Silence followed from behind the door—a long, long silence.
The door slowly opened a crack, and a young man emerged wearily.
Utakata looked younger than his actual age, appearing to be in his early twenties. Long, dark brown hair hung loose down to his waist, and his delicate features bore the aloofness of someone who had lived alone for years.
He wore a loose yukata that exposed his smooth chest, its sleeves hanging slack,