The summer heat was scorching.
The residents of Cloud Village had also changed into cool, short outfits, exposing their proud dark skin to the open air.
Killer Bee slung two brand-new tantō across his back, took several deep breaths, and mustered his courage before stepping out of his home.
As he walked onto the streets of Cloud Village, Killer Bee's young heart was filled with trepidation. His eyes, hidden behind small sunglasses, darted around, observing the reactions of those around him.
As expected, it was the same as yesterday.
The villagers, who had been chatting and laughing moments before, suddenly changed their expressions upon seeing Killer Bee. He bore a bull horn mark on his left cheek and a tattoo on his shoulder, the character for the Iron Armor Seal.
"This brat..."
"It's that beast!"
"Don't show yourself outside, you're not welcome here!"
"Get lost!"
...
Some might ask, shouldn't the information about Jinchūriki be the highest secret of a ninja village? Why would the common people of Cloud Village know?
Under normal circumstances, that would be the case.
But Cloud Village was different; it was impossible to keep secrets!
From the first, Fukai's father, to the second, Fukai's uncle, to the third, Fukai himself (a tragic family!), and now Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails had changed Jinchūriki four times.
Each time a Jinchūriki was changed, the Eight-Tails would incite a riot in Cloud Village.
Although the current Raikage would always intervene and suppress it, it still caused heavy casualties in Cloud Village.
Furthermore, every Jinchūriki who went berserk, controlled by the tailed beast within them, had the same outward characteristics as Killer Bee.
The bull horn mark, the iron character tattoo.
Over time, the information that people with such marks harbored that terrifying beast became known throughout Cloud Village.
Despite having mentally prepared himself, when Killer Bee truly saw the villagers, who were usually so hearty, repeatedly hurling the most insulting and angry words at him, the young Killer Bee still felt a pang of sadness.
"Ah..."
"It's really not that big of a deal..."
"I've been acknowledged by Lord Third Raikage and my elder brother himself as B!"
"These..."
"I'll just consider them the villagers' encouragement!"
Killer Bee smiled, trying to comfort himself. A flicker of tears flashed and disappeared in his eyes behind the sunglasses.
Remembering the gestures his teacher, A, had taught him yesterday, Killer Bee struck a pose common among rappers. Humming a tune that seemed to have come from nowhere, he shook his head and swaggered through the crowd, which stared at him with hateful and angry eyes.
"Why?"
"Why is it you?"
From a corner, a boy with his face hidden in his hood growled, his teeth clenched, as he watched Killer Bee's retreating back.
"You know my father was killed by that monster, so why do you have to become it?"
A look of deep hatred flashed in the boy's eyes under the hood. He tightened his grip on the sharp kunai hidden in his sleeve and quietly followed Killer Bee, who was lost in his own world.
...
"Yo yo..."
"Teacher A, the rap master."
"Small in size, but very smart!"
"Boom boom boom, strange and peculiar."
"Silly and foolish, you'll turn into a pig in the future, Oh yeah!"
Killer Bee rapped about his rap teacher, A, while dissing the teacher's raccoon, which was as fat as a pig. He was completely unaware of the kunai thrusting towards his back.
"B, you betrayed our friendship first by becoming a monster!"
"You..."
"Die!"
The river reflected the two boys' figures as two distorted ripples. Killer Bee, with his peripheral vision, noticed the reflection behind him in the water.
The identical height instantly reminded him of his best friend.
He stopped rapping, turned around abruptly, a big smile on his face, and extended his hand to his friend, whom he thought was trying to startle him.
"Aki!"
"Come and fist-bump me!"
"I have a new name, it's..."
"Clang!"
The sudden turn caused the kunai, which the boy held unsteadily, to strike Killer Bee's scabbard. With a crisp sound, the kunai spun and fell into the river.
Killer Bee's smile froze on his face.
He forced himself not to look at the ripples the kunai made as it fell into the water.
"Aki..."
"My good friend, come and..."
Aki, startled, quickly hid his empty hand behind him and took two trembling steps back, letting out a cry like a wounded animal.
"We are no longer friends!"
"You..."
"Monster!"
...
"The villagers' attitude lately..."
"This child..."
"Will he also, like Fukai, be unable to bear this..."
Three figures stood at a high vantage point, witnessing everything that had happened to Killer Bee.
Dodai, one of the pillars of Cloud Village, the chief examiner for the A and B combination, and the instructor for the "Raikage's Lightning Blade" technique, looked at Killer Bee's predicament with great concern.
The hardest part for any Jinchūriki was not accommodating the tailed beast's chakra within their body, but rather maintaining inner calm amidst endless hatred and slander.
Though ninjas possessed strong will, as humans, their emotions were equally fragile.
Fukai could be considered the most resolute of the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, yet he couldn't reach a reconciliation with the Eight-Tails. How could six-year-old Killer Bee possibly endure it?
"I believe in B!"
The young Ayel stood beside his father and teacher, looking at Killer Bee walking towards the small house by the riverbank with a serious expression.
"He is the B we both acknowledged, he is my brother!"
"He will overcome all difficulties and achieve the strongest A and B combination with me!"
The Third Raikage, Ayel, nodded gently.
"I am also willing to believe in this child."
"Among all the children participating in the selection for the A and B combination, only his eyes were the most determined."
Dodai, seemingly moved by the conviction of the two Ayels, felt his worries lessen.
The future Fourth Raikage, Ayel, was straightforward. Never worrying about his brother, he found something questionable after hearing his father praise B.
"Father, B always wears sunglasses, how could you tell his eyes were the most determined?"
Silence fell upon the scene.
Dodai subtly took two steps back, fearing that blood might be spilled on him later.
Indeed!
The Third Raikage, Ayel, with a dark expression, grabbed his son by the collar.
"It's time to test your recent progress in Taijutsu!"