Chapter 249: I Want You to Call My Name
After speaking, Uchiha Hikari immediately turned, alert, to look at [Konan] beside her.
When she realized that [Konan] hadn't started telling another story like before, Hikari felt both relieved and slightly disappointed.
Relieved, because if [Konan] didn't say anything, then it remained unknown.
And unknown meant there was still hope.
Disappointed, because the unknown didn't only represent hope. It could also mean something even more twisted.
"Do you want to know?"
[Konan] noticed the change in Uchiha Hikari's mood and asked.
"Hm? Didn't you say you didn't know?"
Hikari looked confused.
"I do know. I sensed your emotions. You seemed to have difficulty accepting these things, so to avoid upsetting you further, I didn't say it outright."
"If it becomes necessary, I can explain when we actually encounter it."
[Konan] spoke with complete sincerity.
"So that's how it is?"
Hikari froze for a moment.
She hadn't expected this world's [Konan] to be so perceptive, so understanding of others' feelings, so considerate.
She really… Hakari is going to cry.
"We're here. Looks like this is the place."
While Hikari was still lost in thought, [Konan] tapped her lightly on the shoulder.
The three of them looked down.
In the forest beside the volcano's crater stood two humanoid figures.
"Huh?"
What puzzled them was that the two figures were roughly the same size.
Uchiha Hikari guided Susanoo down.
It shrank smoothly in midair, becoming smaller and smaller before landing lightly on the ground without causing the massive disturbance it once did.
Meanwhile, the two humanoid beings ahead were completely immersed in their own intimate world.
"Come on, Rōshi. I want to hear you call my name. Go on. Say my name."
The humanoid Four-Tails embraced Rōshi from behind, its monkey head resting on Rōshi's shoulder.
"Go… Gokū."
Rōshi spoke shyly.
"Ah, Rōshi… I want you to call my name every single day."
The Four-Tails hugged him tightly, eyes closed, rubbing its cheek against Rōshi's face with an expression of bliss.
"..."
Shiromo and the others were speechless.
In the real world, the Four-Tails had been dissatisfied because Rōshi couldn't remember its name. As a result, it had remained perpetually resentful, never reconciling with him.
Rōshi himself was notoriously stubborn. Given his poor relationship with Ōnoki, it was entirely possible he had deliberately refused to remember the Four-Tails' name.
The name had become the unresolved knot between them.
Only after death, when they were revived through Impure World Reincarnation, had that emotional barrier finally been broken.
But in the Infinite Tsukuyomi world…
The name had become the very bond that connected them.
"So this is the Four-Tails?"
Uchiha Hikari took a deep breath, calming herself before asking [Konan].
One couldn't blame her for doubting.
This Four-Tails was far too small.
And more importantly, as a Tailed Beast, why was it so casually separated from its Jinchūriki?
Wasn't it said that even male Jinchūriki could only interact with their Tailed Beasts inside the sealing space?
"It is the Four-Tails. According to ancient legends, the Sage of Six Paths once read a novel titled 'Journey to the West.' The Four-Tails' name originates from a demon monkey in that story, a being capable of freely changing its size."
The well-informed [Konan] provided the answer without hesitation.
"I see. In that case, let's begin."
Hikari flicked both arms outward, and Susanoo's twin blades materialized in her hands.
"Hm? Rōshi, enemies!"
The Four-Tails noticed Uchiha Hikari charging toward them, with Shiromo and [Konan] behind her.
"Don't tell me Ōnoki sent more people again? That guy just won't give up. I already told him I don't like white-haired lolis like that."
Rōshi frowned deeply.
"Probably not. There's an evil aura about them. My fellow Tailed Beasts have likely already fallen victim to them."
The Four-Tails spoke gravely.
"Oh? In that case, it's time for me, Lava Release Rōshi, to make my entrance! Yo!"
Rōshi vanished in a Body Flicker and reappeared behind the Four-Tails.
Then he thrust forward.
The Four-Tails let out a roar.
Immediately afterward, the volcano began to tremble.
Clusters of blazing magma burst outward, raining down in every direction.
"What?"
Uchiha Hikari narrowed her eyes, observing the violent upheaval around her.
Despite its small appearance, this Four-Tails possessed such power?
She had only seen something similar once before, back in the Land of Demons when Kurotsuchi transformed using the natural energy stone Shiromo had given her.
At that time, Kurotsuchi had harnessed the power of the earth itself to trigger volcanic eruptions.
But now…
Sizzle.
"Ahhh~"
Hikari swung her blade at a chunk of magma falling toward her. The molten mass split cleanly in two, and a scream emerged from within.
I see now.
The Four-Tails hadn't controlled the power of the earth at all.
These magma projectiles were merely living creatures in disguise.
"No!"
"My children! The children of Rōshi and me!"
Watching Uchiha Hikari whirl through the fiery rain, her twin blades dancing like a deadly performance, cutting down the monkeys one after another, the Four-Tails cried out in anguish.
"You're certain the Four-Tails can freely change its size?"
Shiromo asked [Konan], watching the enraged Four-Tails charging toward Hikari in the distance.
"Well… that's only a legend. It may not be accurate."
[Konan] looked slightly embarrassed.
Even in its fury, why hadn't it grown larger?
Perhaps it wasn't that it didn't want to.
Perhaps it simply couldn't.
Other Tailed Beasts might produce one or two offspring at most.
But this Four-Tails and Rōshi had produced an entire mountain of monkeys.
How much chakra had been divided away?
What was this, some kind of chakra-based inheritance policy?
Fortunately, each monkey killed returned its chakra to the Four-Tails.
Uchiha Hikari had clearly noticed this as well.
After marking the Four-Tails with the Yachihoko seal, she chose to prioritize eliminating the smaller monkeys.
"Why?! Why are you doing this to us?!"
"Why can't humans just be killed and eaten?!"
Realizing he could not stop Hikari, the Four-Tails dragged an Iwagakure ninja from a nearby tree hollow—one of Ōnoki's earlier scouts.
Under the ninja's terrified gaze, the Four-Tails bit down.
"..."
Hikari's blades paused for a brief moment.
Just as the Four-Tails thought he had intimidated her…
She activated Susanoo.
Her entire form spun violently, transforming into a whirling storm, shredding the surrounding monkeys into pulp.
With the monkeys nearly wiped out, all chakra flowed back into the Four-Tails.
"You humans only know how to harm small animals! You know nothing about love!"
"All you do is eat animals. Cruel. Evil. I will destroy you in the name of all creatures!"
Beating his chest, the Four-Tails' body rapidly expanded.
"All you do is eat fruit, devour trees and plants. I will destroy you in the name of vegetation!"
Uchiha Hikari simultaneously unleashed her Complete Body Susanoo.
Now, her fully formed Susanoo rivaled the size of Hashirama's Thousand-Hand Buddha, large enough that a single hand could restrain the Nine-Tails.
Faced with such overwhelming scale, Susanoo simply stepped forward and crushed the Four-Tails beneath its foot.
Then the Yachihoko activated.
Absorbing from below, draining layer by layer.
With each portion extracted, Hikari swung her massive blade, severing another piece of the Four-Tails' body.
"AAAH!"
The Four-Tails screamed.
Though Rōshi felt an odd sense of comfort from the separation, hearing the agonized cries still tore at him.
"Waaah… Gokū, don't go! I don't want you to die! Why?! Why!!! Is it because I have no power~~~"
(End of this chapter)