On the lush green grass, Chizhao lay sprawled on the ground, powerless.
She had almost exhausted all the laughter of her life, and the muscles in her cheeks had become sore.
Chizhao, looking utterly despondent, turned her head to gaze at the empty bento box, her stomach rumbling.
Looking up, Shukaku was letting out satisfied burps, making her shed tears of hunger in helplessness.
"That was delicious. Since you treated this lord to a meal, this lord can forgive your actions."
"Who treated you?! You snatched it yourself, didn't you?!"
Shukaku chose to magnificently ignore Chizhao's accusations.
Unable to retrieve her bento, Chizhao sat up, feeling dejected. She checked the position of the sun; it was almost afternoon.
And Shukaku, who had been full of energy just moments ago, was now sprawled out under the shade of a tree, fast asleep.
She recalled how Jiraiya also used to fall asleep right after eating, making her wonder how this person and this Beast could be so strikingly similar.
Shaking her head helplessly, and enduring the hunger, she went to the wooden house foundation not far from the river, pulled out her cang luan blade, and continued her training.
Consider it a test of her training!
Hearing the movement, Shukaku opened his yellow eyes and silently observed the girl swinging her blade.
From the moment he first heard the words 'White Bird', he had already been suspicious.
He took the opportunity to touch her body with his tail and clearly felt that this girl had no Chakra.
Could she be the one the old man once mentioned, the one who might change the fate of the Tailed Beasts?
He withdrew his gaze and rested his tail behind his head.
It doesn't matter. Anyway, this lord is no longer inside that brat's body. As for the future, this lord doesn't care about it now.
Without Keiko's bento to sustain her, Chizhao quickly became famished and weak, even her sword practice started to become distracted.
In the clear river water, several plump fish splashed out, drawing her gaze.
Such big fish! They must smell delicious when roasted!
Hunger controlled Chizhao's mind as she stood by the river. She took a deep breath, and the cang luan blade in her hand faintly glowed blue.
The cang luan blade spun coolly in her hand once, and she gripped one end of the hilt with both hands, plunging it into the clear river water.
A blue ripple on the lake surface quickly darted across a small area, following the expanding ripples.
With a "bang," several small water columns burst from the riverbed and rose into the air, with three fresh, plump fish wriggling in the transparent water columns.
Chizhao, with lightning speed, threw the cang luan blade. The blade, like a fully drawn arrow, passed through the three large fish one by one, firmly embedding itself in the tree trunk ahead.
Shukaku, startled awake, sat up in alarm, looking at the short blade stuck above his head with three fish impaled on it.
"What happened! Is it an enemy?!"
Chizhao slowly walked over, a triumphant look on her face, and took down the cang luan blade.
"Of course there's an enemy."
"Hmm? Where?!"
Shukaku looked around cautiously, only to see Chizhao pointing to her stomach.
"Hunger is the greatest enemy."
The "crackling" sound of burning wood occasionally echoed in the firelight.
Shukaku sat silently by the campfire, the aroma of roasted fish wafting past his nose, making him involuntarily swallow.
To hide his craving, he twitched an ear and spoke as if making small talk:
"So, what happened before this lord appeared here?"
"I thought you didn't care."
"Tch! Impolite brat, this lord was just waiting for the right moment!"
Chizhao picked up one of the roasted small fish and offered it to Shukaku, asking him kindly.
"Want some?"
Looking at the fragrant roasted fish in front of him, Shukaku gave an arrogant snort, but his adorable paw honestly took it: "I'll reluctantly give it a try."
After taking the roasted fish, Shukaku eagerly and happily began to eat.
It wasn't in vain that Chizhao often watched Keiko cook in the kitchen; her skill in controlling the heat was becoming increasingly proficient.
She picked up the other two fish and flipped them in her hand.
"A year ago, Gaara, stimulated by Rasa's emotions, caused you within him to go berserk. Do you remember that?"
Shukaku chewed the fish in his mouth while recalling, then shook his head:
"When I went berserk, I was also in an unconscious state, so I don't remember what happened at all."
This answer was within Chizhao's expectations. She blew on the fish in her hand and continued:
"Precisely because of Gaara's rampage, I extracted you from his body and sealed you inside this."
Watching Chizhao, as if performing magic, produce a transparent object in her hand, Shukaku roared in disbelief:
"Nani!! You mean this lord was sealed inside such a thing?! This is too insulting to a Beast!"
Suddenly, Shukaku realized something and anxiously asked: "Then is Gaara dead? Without my Chakra, he surely wouldn't have been able to survive."
Chizhao raised an eyebrow in surprise, leaned closer to Shukaku, and smiled slightly: "Oh? I didn't expect you to care about Gaara so much..."
"Tch! He's just this lord's Jinchuriki..."
Knowing Shukaku's contradictory words, Chizhao didn't press further, nodding cooperatively.
"Don't worry, I injected most of your Chakra into his body. He should be fine now."
"No wonder my body became so small. That explains everything..."
The bright firelight flickered in the girl's eyes as she ate the fish with a happy smile on her face.
Shukaku looked at the messy roasted fish he had gnawed on, paused, and his heart became complicated.
"How did you do that with that thing...? It sounds too incredible, no matter how I hear it..."
Chizhao stopped her actions and looked at Shukaku's suspicious face. After thinking for a moment, she decided to give him a demonstration.
She pulled out a blank Membrane Card, looked around, and set her gaze on the roaring waterfall cascading down the cliff.
That one will do. Anyway, she had plenty of Membrane Cards.
Chizhao stood up and threw out the transparent card in Shukaku's eyes.
Instantly, the turbulent water flowed into the glowing Membrane Card. The waterfall was cut as if by invisible scissors, and it seemed as if time had been paused.
The smooth, bright rock face was magnificently displayed before their eyes.
A few seconds later, time resumed its flow, as if someone had turned on a tap at the top of the cliff.
The white curtain of water instantly fell again, concealing the rock face, and the majestic natural waterfall returned to its original appearance.
The glowing Membrane Card slowly returned to Chizhao's hand. The faint glow gradually faded, and the picture on it became clear.
"Nature. Turbulent River."
Looking at everything before him, Shukaku's jaw almost dropped to the ground, and he immediately made up his mind.
He would stay by this girl's side. He wanted to personally verify if she was the person the old man spoke of.
"Now do you believe me?"
She shook the Membrane Card in her hand, looking innocent and naive, as if what had just happened was merely a small trick of hers.
"Although it's impressive, it's still a little bit inferior to this lord."
Shukaku arrogantly turned his head away, unaware that in his heart, he was already imagining the scene of the two of them teaming up to take down Kurama.
Chizhao shrugged, put the Membrane Card back into her bag, and looked up to see the setting sun shining through the trees, realizing that another day had quickly passed.
Shukaku, squatting by the campfire, was still lingering, fiddling with the last roasted fish.
Chizhao, with her hands on her hips, scratched her hair, looking a bit troubled. After some deliberation, she decided to put him back.
"Sorry, Shukaku, you need to go back."
"Go back? Where? Are you talking about turning into that thing in your hand?"
"Yes, I can't leave you alone... no, leave a Beast here."
Shukaku jumped up from the ground, protesting indignantly: "I don't care, I'm not going back. It's not easy to finally be out, I don't want to be locked up again."
"But you're a Tailed Beast! What if you're discovered?"
"I've become like this, isn't it simple to just hide?"
Chizhao scrutinized Shukaku on the ground, pinching her chin and nodding skeptically.
"True, anyway, in your current form, others would just think you're a strange-looking tanuki."
"You're the tanuki!!!"
Ignoring Shukaku's exasperation, Chizhao handed him a blank Membrane Card.
"If anything happens, you can use this to contact me. In an emergency, I'll also use this to come to you immediately."
Shukaku numbly took it with his paw.
He flipped it over and over, wondering why such an amazing thing looked so ordinary.
"Alright, this lord understands."
"By the way, if there are other people present, I will still put you away for safety."
"Got it, got it! This lord is already like this, what kind of trouble could I possibly cause? You can rest assured."
The impatient Shukaku walked to the wooden house foundation, let out a big yawn, and lay down sprawled out.
Although there was no roof, it was good enough for shelter.
"Please don't go out into the forest!"
Chizhao called out from a distance, worried. Shukaku rolled over and wagged his big tail, as if in response.
Sigh, never mind.
After all, he's been cooped up for so long. Let him have some freedom for a while. Anyway, I can always take him back whenever I want.