What Are Tailed Beasts?

"Big bro, could you summon a different toad next time? I'm not grown yet!"

The tadpole kept hopping around.

Just as it was about to disappear, Naruto suddenly reached out and grabbed it tightly.

"Go back and tell a Great Toad named Gama Bunta that I'll summon him in one minute."

"If he doesn't come out, his chrysanthemum had better watch out!"

The tadpole shuddered violently!

What kind of toad was Gama Bunta? He was Mount Myōboku's number two, second only to the Great Toad Sage!

If it delivered those words and Gama Bunta got upset, wouldn't he skin it alive and swallow it whole?

It hurriedly wagged its tail.

"No, no, I don't dare pass that on. Find someone else!"

"Someone else?" Naruto gave a wicked grin, then pointed at Shukaku in the distance.

"If you don't listen, I'll summon you again in a minute and feed you to the cat!"

The tadpole trembled even harder. Why was this damn human so cruel?!

Now it could neither advance nor retreat.

After thinking it over, it decided to go back and find Gama Bunta.

Maybe Gama Bunta would spare its life for the sake of their shared clan!

"All right, I'm sure you've got your answer. I'll give you one minute at most!"

Naruto flicked his hand and tossed it aside.

The tadpole vanished as quickly as it could.

Meanwhile, Shukaku seemed to have gone mad, screeching without pause.

With every swing of his arms, not a single intact patch of forest remained in sight.

Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Bathhouse!

"Lord Bunta! Lord Bunta!" The tadpole hurried over.

Gama Bunta puffed out a smoke ring and asked softly, "What is it? Why are you in such a rush?"

The tadpole swallowed nervously.

"Just now, some kid summoned me out and told me to pass on a message!"

"He'll summon you again soon. If you don't go out, your chrysanthemum had better watch out!"

At those words, Gama Bunta's pipe fell straight into the large pool.

The splashing water smacked the tadpole directly against the wall.

The tadpole trembled, not daring to move at all.

"What did that kid look like?" Gama Bunta turned and asked.

"He... had yellow hair, looked kind of sleazy, and wore orange clothes..."

Before the tadpole could finish, Gama Bunta raised a forepaw and let out a long sigh.

"No need to say more. I already know who it was!"

After two seconds of silence, he suddenly slapped the water. "What a sin!"

The resulting wave smacked the tadpole against the wall again.

Then Gama Bunta fished his pipe from the pool and threw on a coat.

"You are not to tell anyone about what happened today, or I'll split you in two!"

Gama Bunta shot the tadpole a sidelong glare.

The tadpole nodded frantically in terror.

Just then, the summoning signal came again.

Gama Bunta did not even have time to remove his towel before grabbing his sword and heading out!

"Lord Bunta, are you going to teach that bastard a lesson...?"

The little tadpole murmured thoughtfully.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, Gama Bunta appeared beside Naruto, holding a gigantic short sword.

Naruto clapped and laughed.

"Great Toad Boss, you actually came! Hurry up and help me kill that big tabby cat up ahead!"

Gama Bunta's eyelids instantly drooped.

It was just a cat. Did Naruto really need to summon him for that?

Still, he was curious what kind of cat could make this brat use Summoning Jutsu.

He followed the direction of Naruto's finger and looked over.

A flock of crows flew across the sky.

"How the hell is that a big tabby cat?!" Gama Bunta suddenly roared.

His pipe tipped over by accident, and an entire bowlful of bathwater poured down, giving Naruto a thorough bath without wasting a single drop!

"Kid, let me tell you, that thing over there is a Tailed Beast!"

"A Tailed Beast! Do you understand what that means?"

He kept shouting.

Naruto scratched his head and asked innocently.

"Um... what's a Tailed Beast?"

Not far away.

Hearing the argument, Shukaku slowly turned around and raised a claw.

Gama Bunta leaped into the air and shouted midflight.

"Go ask Jiraiya!"

"Kid, remember this: if there's work like this again, don't come to me!"

"Even if my chrysanthemum suffers, I'll still refuse this job!"

Naruto shook his head helplessly. "I can't tell what a Tailed Beast is!"

In the blink of an eye, Shukaku's claw was already bearing down on them.

Gama Bunta decisively drew his blade and blocked it head-on.

By chance, he noticed Gaara on top of Shukaku's head, pinned down by Wood Release.

Gaara was currently fast asleep.

"Kid, that sleeping person is this Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki. Go wake him up, and the Tailed Beast should disappear!"

Naruto rolled up his sleeves excitedly.

"Wake him up? That's easy. Just find a way to get a little closer to the big tabby cat!"

Gama Bunta's face darkened, and his pipe dropped straight to the ground.

"Kid, I'll say it one more time. That thing is called a Tailed Beast, not a big tabby cat!"

Naruto shrugged and gave a foolish grin.

"Um... what's a Tailed Beast? I don't know!"

Gama Bunta was completely defeated and could not help lamenting his life as a toad.

Why did he keep running into such weirdos?

"Forget the Tailed Beast for now. Think of any way you can to wake him up, understand?"

Naruto let out a heavy breath. "Okay!"

Gama Bunta sprang forward and landed directly in front of Shukaku.

But before he could get a firm grip, Shukaku violently swung an arm and knocked him away.

"This won't work! I don't have claws, so I can't hold on to him at all!"

Naruto lay atop his head and asked anxiously, "Then what do we do?"

"Transformation Jutsu! Can you use Transformation Jutsu? As a Summoned Beast, you can use Transformation Jutsu on me!" Gama Bunta said in a low voice.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "That's easy. Watch me!"

He clenched his fists confidently and roared, "Behold Naruto's self-created Summoning: Great Harem Technique!"

Boom!

A thunderous crash rang out.

Gama Bunta instantly transformed into a gigantic, seductive beauty.

Shukaku froze for a moment, then charged straight at them.

"Kid, are you sick? That's a Tailed Beast, not Jiraiya!"

Gama Bunta flew into a rage!

In the distance.

Sakura, who was pinned to a tree, immediately blushed and lowered her head.

Naruto shrugged. "You still haven't told me what a Tailed Beast is, so how am I supposed to know what it likes or fears?"

"Listen to me. Just turn into something with claws, okay?"

"Ora, ora!" Naruto transformed again.

With another loud crash, an orange-red claw emerged.

When the smoke cleared, a Nine-Tails fox had appeared above the forest out of thin air.

"That's more like it," Gama Bunta muttered.

"I'm going in. Once I grab the Tailed Beast, you have to wake that Jinchuriki kid up!"

"Got it!" Naruto agreed readily.