"This is terrible, terrible!"
Gozugetsu Hozuki poked his head out of the waterfall, shouting as he ran to Orochimaru's side.
"Teacher, there's a terrifying dragonfly in the sky above Takigakure."
"It's as big as a fox when it transforms into its true form, and it looks very strong. Just one glance at it gave me the feeling I couldn't possibly defeat it."
Gozugetsu Hozuki animatedly described the intelligence he'd gathered by slipping into Takigakure down the waterfall, which immediately drew a dismissive laugh from the Nine-Tails.
"Kid, you're too cowardly!"
"One Seven-Tails scares you this much? If I went all out, wouldn't you wet your pants from fear?"
Orochimaru chuckled and patted the Nine-Tails' head, giving Gozugetsu Hozuki a deliberate questioning look.
"Did you find the entrance?"
Gozugetsu Hozuki angrily bared his fangs at the scoundrel Nine-Tails, then nodded.
"I found it!"
"Past the waterfall ahead, there's a cave at a higher elevation. You can enter Takigakure from there."
Madara Uchiha took a step forward, then suddenly remembered Orochimaru's earlier words and retracted the small distance he'd moved.
"Lead the way!"
His voice was still gruff, but it lacked the imposing authority that had previously made Gozugetsu Hozuki tremble from the bottom of his heart.
Confused, Gozugetsu Hozuki scratched his head, stealthily glanced at Madara, who was staring at the entrance to Takigakure, then hummed and leaped into the waterfall.
Orochimaru felt like laughing, but he was afraid that a laugh might extinguish the effort Madara Uchiha had made to shed his authority and attempt to communicate with a junior.
So, without looking back, he flashed and followed Gozugetsu Hozuki into the waterfall.
"Boring!"
Madara Uchiha let out a soft snort with an enigmatic smile playing on his lips, and then followed.
"He actually smiled..."
The Nine-Tails stared at the spot where Madara's figure had disappeared, murmuring in a daze.
...
"Where did you go just now? I was just about to look for you!"
This was the first sentence Orochimaru heard after passing through the waterfall.
It was Chōmei, who had descended from the sky after sensing Isobu's chakra in Gozugetsu Hozuki's arms. She was asking Gozugetsu Hozuki, who was holding Isobu and trembling.
"Isobu, Isobu, wake up quickly, guess who I am!"
Her voice was ethereal and clear, sounding much like a young maiden.
But it would have been better if this voice wasn't coming from the belly of a dragonfly the size of a small mountain.
Gozugetsu Hozuki swallowed, then tossed his sleeping friend in his arms away.
*Thump!*
The turtle shell rolled a considerable distance before being stopped by Chōmei's head-mounted horn.
"Mmm..."
"Gozugetsu, you threw me away again..."
"Hm?"
Sanbi, awakened from his slumber, grumbled about his unreliable younger brother Gozugetsu, and hazily opened his eyes.
Before he could finish his complaint, he suddenly sensed a somewhat familiar chakra fluctuation.
"Are you... Chōmei?"
Isobu poked his head out of his shell, looking up at the giant insect hovering overhead for a moment, and asked tentatively.
"Aha, you found me out!"
"I thought you wouldn't recognize me after I changed my appearance!"
"I sensed your chakra just now and hurried down from the sky to find you, but I was still a step too late."
"I thought you had left!"
"Weren't you in the Land of Water? How did you suddenly come here with humans?"
"And also, how did you end up with this little human?"
Seeing that her adult form had been recognized by Isobu, Chōmei's voice became even more cheerful, and she chattered excitedly to her long-lost brother.
"Ah..."
"You're still so talkative..."
Isobu felt a headache coming on. This older sister, who used to nag by his pond when they were young, had changed her appearance but not her personality.
"I don't really want to talk. If you have any questions, ask Kurama later."
"He's here too!"
"Kurama?"
"Where is he?"
Chōmei didn't seem offended by Isobu's dismissive attitude. Upon hearing the name Nine-Tails, her voice immediately rose with excitement.
"Chōmei, you're still so ugly even after growing up!"
A flash of orange-yellow light appeared, and the Nine-Tails stood before Chōmei with a look of disdain.
"I thought that green fat bug with seven tails would look a bit better after shedding its skin."
"Now it seems, it's still the ugliest one..."
"Tsk tsk!"
This time, Chōmei, who had been happily chattering, was not pleased. A hazy phosphorescent powder swirled around her, and with a *bang*, she reverted to her childhood form.
Just as the Nine-Tails had described, a green fat bug with seven tails.
"Nonsense!"
"I've become much prettier!"
"Even when I was a child, I was better looking than Isobu!"
Chōmei straightened half her insect body, leaning against the now-sleeping Isobu, trying to prove to the Nine-Tails that she wasn't the most unattractive.
"And now I have wings, which none of you have, so be envious!"
The Nine-Tails looked at the two of them, considered the "peak" of the nine tailed beasts in terms of appearance, and felt a wave of disgust.
"As long as you're happy..."
"However, seeing the two of you like this, I suddenly don't dislike Shukaku as much anymore."
"So... just change back."
Chōmei huffed angrily and transformed back into her adult insect form.
"Stinky Kurama, I hate you the most!"
Facing Chōmei's disdain, the Nine-Tails shook his head indifferently.
"Then keep hating me! There's still a lot of time ahead..."
"I came to find you this time because I want to take you away from here and live somewhere new. Come with me!"
Chōmei flapped her wings and lifted off the ground, huffing dismissively.
"No way!"
"I've settled down here, and I'm not going anywhere!"
The Nine-Tails chuckled, his voice a low threat:
"That's not up to you!"
"I came prepared this time. Do you see who's behind me?"
Chōmei blinked slightly and followed the Nine-Tails' gaze towards the cave entrance of Takigakure, just as she saw Madara Uchiha walking out with Orochimaru.
His wild, untamed hair, though much lighter in color, still felt familiar.
His red armor, carrying the heavy and ancient aura of the Warring States period, felt even more familiar.
His blood-red eyes, slowly moving three tomoe, and his powerful Yin release chakra...
At this moment, the name that was buried in the hearts of all tailed beasts, the name that evoked the most fear and hatred, instantly surfaced in Chōmei's mind.
"Madara... Uchiha?"