Black Zetsu was once again dumbfounded.
So… Kitahara Kaede isn't a terrifying member of the Otsutsuki Clan?
After puffing up his cheeks in frustration, Black Zetsu decided to keep hiding in the shadows a while longer.
But then—
[Ding!]
[Due to the small number of members in the group, a new member has been added.]
[Inviting One Tail - Shukaku to the group chat.]
[Group name: Descendant Chat Group (^_-) ]
[Also known as: The Tiny Group That Streams Kitahara Kaede]
[@Shukaku, come on out. Shukaku, your old friend is here.]
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Hm?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Old friend? What old friend do I have?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Hold on… you stinking fox! I can smell your scent!
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Let me see… Oh, this little group is kind of interesting, huh? It can pull in this many members.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Hold it.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: You dumb tanuki, you're already yelling the moment you join.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Take a good look around you.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: ????
Shukaku froze.
All the members in the group were soul forms.
And Shukaku's soul form looked exactly like his body—a fat tanuki. He twisted his stubby neck, looked around, and his eyes widened.
Sweat began to drip down his face.
Because—
[One Tail - Shukaku]: The First… First Hokage… the Second Hokage… the Fourth Hokage…
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Heh, that's not even the half of it.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Huh?
Shukaku took a deep breath.
Because he also saw the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Ōnoki… and then that one is…
He stared at Mei Terumi.
[Future Mizukage - Mei Terumi]: Oh, me? I'm the Future Mizukage of Kirigakure. Since Kitahara-kun rejected me, I became the next Mizukage anyway.
[Future Mizukage - Mei Terumi]: So I should be the Fifth Mizukage now.
[Future Mizukage - Mei Terumi]: Or rather… I already am.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to Mei Terumi for obtaining the new title: Fifth Mizukage - Mei Terumi]
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …
[The Man Who Can Kick Uchiha Madara with Eight Gates Released]: You can just become a Kage like that?
Might Guy was full of curiosity.
[Kakashi Hatake]: You idiot, Guy. Think it through—she came on behalf of Kirigakure to sign an alliance treaty with the Third Hokage. That means she has to be the Mizukage.
[Kakashi Hatake]: So yeah, she's already the Mizukage.
[The Man Who Can Kick Uchiha Madara with Eight Gates Released]: …
[The Man Who Can Kick Uchiha Madara with Eight Gates Released]: Oh… I see.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …Wait a sec. There are… so many Kage here!
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Yep.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: It's been a long time, Shukaku.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: %... Hashirama Senju…
[One Tail - Shukaku]: You stupid fox! Isn't that guy terrifying?!
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: He's not gonna hit you now.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Speaking of which, Fox, what's with your weird state?
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Hm?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Your fur is all puffed up.
Everyone looked at Kurama, and sure enough, he was still fluffed up.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: …
Kurama, still puffed up, started grooming himself like a cat.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: You really know how to hit a nerve. I got beaten up.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Hahahaha…
At that, Shukaku began laughing so hard he hugged his round, squishy belly.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: I'm dying! Stupid fox, you actually got beaten up?!
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Why don't you try getting hit and see how it feels.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Actually… you might get hit.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: ???
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Look—
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: This group is livestreaming right now. The stream is called That Man Kitahara Kaede, and I'm the one who got beaten by him.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: And you… aren't you also right in front of him now?
Everyone looked at the livestream video.
It showed Kitahara Kaede and two others encountering a Sand ninja squad entering from the village gate.
This time, during Konoha's Chūnin Exams, many came from other ninja villages—both small and great.
Ōnoki, being the coward he was, sent some Iwagakure candidates. And now Sunagakure had sent their own people.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Now that I think of it, those three are the children of the Fourth Kazekage.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Oh, so the three siblings came to Konoha together to participate in the Chūnin Exams?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: But wait, why did Nine Tails say that Shukaku is in front of Kitahara Kaede?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: What's wrong, you dumb tanuki?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Uh… N-nothing.
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Definitely something.
As soon as Kurama said that, everyone stared at Shukaku.
Even though the tailed beasts were once feared… in front of the Kage, they were nothing.
Shukaku was feeling the pressure.
Long ago, Hashirama and Uchiha Madara roamed around capturing tailed beasts and then distributed them to the Five Great Nations.
That's how tailed beasts were sealed into jinchūriki.
But…
They were treated like living weapons—just tools.
Because they couldn't beat Hashirama, or Madara… or even the Kage of the major villages.
Struggling was pointless.
And now… it wasn't just one Kage—but a whole group of them watching him.
How could he not feel crushed?
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …N-no big deal.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: Ahem… Actually, Gaara is the One Tail's jinchūriki. I'm sealed inside him.
Shukaku sounded unusually honest.
Because.
He couldn't win, but he wasn't going to pretend to be scared.
And… he was just being real.
[Minato Namikaze]: Sending out a One Tail jinchūriki outside the village… this Fourth Kazekage is bold.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: But didn't we say earlier that Sunagakure had signed a peace treaty with Konoha?
[Minato Namikaze]: Yeah, they did.
[Minato Namikaze]: The Third Great Ninja War happened because Sunagakure's Third Kazekage went missing, and Kumogakure took advantage of that.
[Minato Namikaze]: I wasn't dead yet back then, and I signed the peace treaty with the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
[Minato Namikaze]: We were both newly appointed Kage at the time.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Haha, so that means Sunagakure sending their Kage's kids to Konoha for the exams means they're coming with goodwill?
[Minato Namikaze]: That's very likely.
[Tobirama]: So now Kirigakure and Konoha are allied, and Ōnoki's side…
[Cowardly - Ōnoki]: Iwagakure and Konoha—40-year alliance!
Ōnoki hurried to speak up.
He didn't want Tobirama turning his attention on him.
He definitely didn't want to get blamed again for anything Konoha-related.
Or rather…
Who the hell could've expected Hashirama to come back after dying?
If anyone had known that, who would've dared start anything?
So now… the mess left behind by the First and Second Tsuchikage—he had to clean it up.
Sigh. Life was hard. Ōnoki let out a long breath.
[Tobirama]: So that means… among the Five Great Nations, only Kumogakure hasn't expressed goodwill toward us.
Because time had passed differently inside Kitahara Kaede's illusion space, Tobirama's restless emotions had calmed quite a bit.
And now looking at it all…
Maybe there was still hope?
Yes.
Hiruzen and the others had made many mistakes, but… Konoha still had a future.
Kitahara Kaede, Naruto, and the others—they could still hold up the sky that was collapsing over Konoha.
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Chapter 055+ in patreon.com/dzeref887