After nightfall.
Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fu was lying in the mine, eyes closed, but not asleep.
She is waiting.
She didn't even realize it - she had begun to "anticipate" what would happen in the evening.
This change of mentality made her feel ridiculous.
A man who was being hunted and on the run was actually expecting supernatural events in the mine.
If this were told, people from Takigakure would probably think she was crazy.
After waiting for about half an hour, nothing happened.
Fu turned over, a little disappointed.
Just when she was about to really fall asleep--
The rock walls of the mine were lit up.
Not a glowing flower.
Not a paper bird.
Writings appeared on the rock wall.
Word by word, it's like an invisible hand is carving words on stone.
Fu sat up and stared at the wall.
The first line of words slowly emerged--
"Does today's apple taste good?"
Fu's eyes suddenly widened.
She stared at the line of words for five seconds, then quickly scanned the entire mine.
No one.
Absolutely no one.
"Chōmei!!!"
"No." Seven-Tails answered first, "I know what you want to ask. It's the same as before, but nothing can be found."
Fu bit her lip and looked at the wall.
The words continue to appear.
Second line--
"Remember to go to bed early."
Fu's breath stopped for a beat.
Go to bed early???
Who is kidding her?
But she couldn't remember the last time someone said something like this to her. Maybe it was when she was very young. Maybe it had never happened before.
Fu's hands unconsciously clenched the straw mat beneath her body.
The third line of words appears--
"Good night!!!"
There was something inexplicable welling up in Fu's throat.
Not fear. Not wariness.
It was an emotion she didn't know how to name.
She stared at those three lines of words for a long, long time.
Until the writing slowly fades away, like ink being absorbed by the rock wall.
The mine became dark again.
Fu lay back and buried her face in her arms.
She didn't cry.
But her shoulders shook.
"Chōmei."
"Hmm."
"Who do you think these words... could be written by? Could it be the man who brought me food!"
"Fu, I suggest you leave immediately! No matter who the other party is, I have never been able to detect any Chakra coming from the outside world. This proves that the other party's methods are beyond the scope of my knowledge."
"Leave..."
Chōmei was silent.
It is also thinking about this issue.
If it was really the person who calls himself Senju Chen who did it, then the ability he possesses - being able to do all this without being noticed by Chōmei - this level of power is too outrageous.
A person who can casually conjure words, flowers, and paper birds out of thin air in front of others, actually just comes to deliver rice balls to himself every day?
This doesn't make sense.
But if he didn't do it - it would make even less sense.
"Fu." Chōmei spoke.
"Huh?"
"Whatever the origin of these things, one thing is for sure."
"What?"
"So far, nothing has hurt you. It can even be said that they are taking care of you."
Fu lifted her face from her arms.
"Take care of?"
"The glowing flowers make you less afraid of the dark, the paper birds allow you to see light spots, and the words on the wall ask you what you want to eat and remind you to go to bed early." Chōmei's voice became deeper, "Fu, I have lived for so many years and have seen countless kinds of power. There are many powers that can kill people, but they will use unknown abilities beyond my knowledge to ask you 'What do you want to eat tomorrow'..."
It paused.
"This is the first time."
Fu buried her face in her arms again.
This time, her shoulders shook even more.
[Ding! The target creature 'Fu' has been detected to have violent mood swings... The list of stealable abilities has been refreshed!]
[Ding! The target creature 'Fu' has been detected to have violent mood swings... The list of stealable abilities has been refreshed!]
[Ding! The target creature 'Fu' has been detected to have violent mood swings... The list of stealable abilities has been refreshed!]
For three consecutive weeks, Senju Chen teased Fu in various ways, and finally got Seven-Tails out!
On the cliff, Senju Chen looked at the refreshed list and tapped his fingers on the rock wall.
[Ding! The target creature 'Fu' has been detected to have violent mood swings... The list of stealable abilities has been refreshed!]
[A: Seven-Tails·Chōmei]
[B: Tailed Beast Transformation]
[C: Scale Powder Hiding Technique]
It's finally out.
"System, choose A."
[Stealing successful! The host obtains: Seven-Tails·Chōmei×1]
[Seven-Tails has been automatically transferred to the system warehouse and sealed.]
Panel refreshes.
Three-Tails×1[Sealing]
Six-Tails×1[Sealing]
Seven-Tails×1[Sealing]
Eight-Tails×1[Sealing]
Nine-Tails×1[Sealing]
Five of them.
Senju Chen leaned against the rock wall and looked at the night sky above his head.
The number of Tailed Beast in the system warehouse has grown steadily, and five of the nine have been taken.
It is said that once the goal is achieved, we can call it a day.
But Senju Chen looked at the information on the panel and then looked at the direction of the mine.
"Seven-Tails got it. But people can't take it."
A fourteen-year-old girl was used as a weapon by her own village. After escaping, she hid in an abandoned mine for more than a month.
Senju Chen turned the booklet to a new page and wrote a few words.
"Let's continue delivering food tomorrow."
He is not soft-hearted.
He just felt that after spending more than twenty days with one person, it would be too uneconomical to just take one thing and leave.
A ninja with extremely high mental talent and Tailed Beast experience, if properly trained, is worth much more than a copy of Seven-Tails.
As for those "supernatural events"--
Senju Chen yawned.
He closed his eyes and was already thinking about tomorrow's new program in his mind.
"How about letting the stream arrange itself into the words 'Good morning'?"
"No, it's too straightforward."
"Then when she eats, make a smiling face appear on the apple?"
"That's okay, but it has to appear before she takes the first bite. After she takes the bite, she'll be gone."
"..."
Senju Chen danced alone on the cliff twice, then wrapped his coat tightly and closed his eyes to sleep.
As for Fu in the mine - she tossed and turned for a long time, and finally fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw those spots of light again.
A warm point of light that comes from nowhere and dissipates when it falls in the palm of your hand.
In her dream, she reached out to pick it up, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
The night sky outside the mine was as clean as if it had been wiped by someone.
The stars are shining one by one, and no one knows what outrageous things will appear in this abandoned mine tomorrow.
But for Fu, this broken mine that she had been hiding in for more than twenty days made her Jinchūriki feel like "home" suddenly after so many years of Jinchūriki life...