Four-Tailed Son Goku

Chapter 245 Four-Tailed Son Goku

"The rebirth mechanism of the Tailed Beasts. Why do they reform after death, carrying complete memories and consciousness? I want to understand its principles."

Old Zi frowned slightly. "You're seeking that kind of immortality?"

"Not entirely." Izumi's smile deepened slightly. "For most people, immortality is equivalent to being immortal."

"But for me, immortality is about figuring out the rules. Everything has its rules, and the revival of the tailed beasts is no exception."

"Since any phenomenon exists, there must be traces to follow. What I'm looking for are these traces."

Old Zi looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

He neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply turned his gaze back to Shisui.

"I have been cultivating in the crater for three years," he said. "During these three years, apart from the occasional supply deliveries from the Hidden Rock Guard, no one has come looking for me."

"I initially thought your arrival today would be a nuisance. But I am not like Yukito."

"Yugito is the Jinchuriki of Kumogakure. In her position, refusing an outsider to ask a Tailed Beast for chakra is to protect the interests of Kumogakure."

"I left Iwagakure long ago—not because I betrayed the village, but because of political differences."

"The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, has always treated the Tailed Beasts as weapons," but I believe that weapons should have the right to choose.

"So we couldn't reach an agreement, and I chose to leave. Now that the Tailed Beast's chakra is also part of my body, whether I give it to them or not is entirely up to me."

He paused, then extended his right hand, palm open, facing upwards.

A ball of dark red chakra slowly condensed in his palm, carrying the high temperature of lava, yet it remained stable under his control.

"What you need is a sample, right?" Old Zi's tone was calm, as if he were confirming a detail.

The dark red chakra in Lao Zi's palm did not extinguish, but he did not immediately hand it over.

He glanced at Shisui, then turned his gaze to Izumi, who was leaning against the volcanic rock ten steps away.

Izumi was observing this side with his Byakugan. When he saw Old Purple looking over, he tilted his head slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, as if waiting for something to say.

"I can give you chakra." Old Man Shizuru turned back to Shisui, his voice low and steady, "but before that, I have one condition."

Shisui didn't rush to reply, but simply nodded, signaling him to continue.

"My relationship with the Four-Tails is different from that of Yugito and the Two-Tails." Rōshi slowly gathered the chakra that had been spread out in his palm.

He closed his fingers again, and the dark red light flickered between his fingers before going out.

"The Two-Tails is Yugito's partner since childhood, but for her, the Tailed Beast Chakra is first and foremost the village's property, and only secondly her own power."

"This is the way of education in Kumogakure, and I will not judge it. But I am different from the Four-Tails. Back then, Onoki wanted to use the Four-Tails as a weapon, but I disagreed."

"After months of arguing, I finally chose to leave. Not with my weapons, but with my companions."

His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something that happened to someone else.

But Shisui noticed that when he mentioned the word "companion," the fingers resting on his knees tightened slightly.

He tapped his knuckles lightly on the volcanic rock, as if making some subtle confirmation of the weight of the two words.

"So your condition is that you need the consent of Yotsuba himself," Shisui said. This wasn't a question, it was a confirmation.

"It's certainly easier to talk to smart people." A faint smile appeared on Old Purple's lips. "The Four-Tails is not my possession."

"Its chakra is its own domain. If you want samples, I can pass them on."

"But if the Four-Tails doesn't agree, then there's nothing I can do. You'll have to talk to it yourselves."

Shisui turned his head slightly and glanced at Izumi. Izumi had already straightened up from the volcanic rock, lowered his hands from his chest, and casually placed his right hand on his waist.

He rolled his eyes at Lao Zi, confirming that the location of the sealing structure inside the other's body had not changed as previously observed, and then gestured for Shisui to "continue".

"Alright." Shisui turned back and nodded to Old Purple. "Please make the arrangements."

Lao Zi didn't make any extra preparations. He simply closed his eyes again and formed a noon mudra.

This movement is small, but for a Jinchuriki who can precisely control the Tailed Beast's chakra to the critical point, it is a lock.

He deliberately closed the channel between his own chakra and the tailed beast's chakra, leaving only a very thin gap, just enough for his consciousness to move back and forth between the sealed space and the real world.

"Give me your hand," Lao Zi said.

Shisui extended his right hand. Old Purple drew a very simple talisman on Shisui's palm with his index finger.

There is only one circle, and two intersecting lines are drawn inside the circle. The intersection of the lines is exactly at the center of the circle.

After the talisman was drawn, the skin on Zhishui's palm felt slightly hot. It wasn't a burning sensation from high temperatures, but a deeper heat that emanated from within the meridians.

"Flow the chakra into this seal, and your consciousness will enter the sealed space." Old Purple withdrew his finger. "The Four-Tails is inside. After you finish speaking to it, use your mind to cut off the chakra supply to the seal, and your consciousness will return."

"I'm reminding you, no matter how the talks go, don't fight it. It's not an enemy. At least not to me."

Shisui glanced down at the talisman in his palm, then looked up at Izumi and said, "I'll go in alone."

Izumi had already leaned back against the volcanic rock, his hands folded in front of his chest, resuming his spectator's posture.

"Suit yourself. If you can't reach an agreement, come out and let me take your turn." He paused, the corners of his mouth curving into a wider smile. "But I suggest you prepare yourself mentally for negotiating with a tailed beast."

"They are all ancient monsters that have lived for thousands of years, and their logic is sometimes different from that of humans."

Shisui didn't reply. He took a deep breath, slowly channeling chakra into the seal in his palm, and closed his eyes.

The real world around him—the dark red glow of the volcano, the smell of sulfur, the figure of Izumi leaning against the rock wall, and the steady breathing of Old Purple—were all within his perception.

It fades away layer by layer, as if submerged by a warm stream of water.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a different dimension made entirely of chakra.

This space was different from the sealed space he had seen in Izumi River. There was no flowing river of chakra light, no boundless darkness.

On the contrary, it's so bright here it's like standing under the midday sun.

The ground beneath my feet is dry, cracked red rock, and in the distance stretches a range of volcanoes.

Thick smoke billowed from the summit of each volcano, and orange-red lava flowed slowly down the slopes, weaving a scorching net of light in the air.

The air was thick with the scorching smell of burning food; with each breath, I could feel my lungs tightening slightly from the heat.

At the foot of the largest volcano sat a giant, scarlet ape.

It was twice as big as the two-tailed fox, with two thick arms crossed in front of its chest. The muscles on each arm were bulging, and the surface of its skin was covered with obsidian patterns formed by the cooling of magma.

It has two backward-curving horns on its head, the tips of which gleam with a dark red luster.

Its face is unlike that of an ordinary ape; its eyes are deep and calm, and it has a thick tuft of white beard on its chin, the tips of which flutter slightly in the hot wind.

It was sitting there watching him, its gaze not wary, not hostile, but scrutinizing.

That kind of scrutiny was even more difficult to deal with than the breath of the two tails.

Two-Tails' reactions are instinctive and direct. It gets angry when its territory is invaded, and it whines when it is suppressed. All its emotions are written on its face.

The giant ape before it reacted calmly and evaluatively, as if judging whether this tiny human was worthy of its first words.

"Four-Tails." Shisui stopped and looked up at the other person.

The Four-Tailed Beast lowered its head slightly, bringing its calm eyes closer, so close that Shisui could feel the hot breath exhaled from its nostrils, carrying a smell of sulfur and magma.

It stared at the still water for a long time, then slowly opened its mouth. Its voice was like an earthquake wave coming from the depths of the mountain, deep and heavy, with each word carrying the weight of geological ages.

"Old Zi gave you the talisman. That means he acknowledges you." Its voice resonated subtly within Zhi Shui's chest. "At least it acknowledges your right to speak. Tell me, what do you want?"

The four-tailed Son Goku's gaze lingered on Shisui for a long time, and after hearing his request, he showed some interest.

"You need chakra." Its voice resonated within Shisui's chest for a moment, then slowly dissipated. "Fine. But my condition is the same as Rōshi's: you must answer one question first."

It leaned down slightly, bringing its ape face to within three feet of Zhishui.

Heat waves emanated from its nostrils, carrying the smells of sulfur and volcanic ash, causing Zhi Shui's robes to billow backward.

Those calm, vertical pupils appeared even more profound up close, with his own reflection faintly visible deep within them.

"Uchiha—what is your relationship with that person standing outside who didn't come in? And what do you need chakra for?"

Zheng Shui neither retreated nor avoided its radiant light. He stood still, letting the scorching heat wash over him.

He simply closed his eyes briefly, feeling the warmth emanating from the talisman in his palm. Then he opened his eyes and answered the question.

"That person's name is Izumi Kawa." His voice was steady, neither deliberately raised nor lowered, simply stating a fact.

"Strictly speaking, I am not his comrade. There is no organizational relationship, no contract, and no superior-subordinate relationship between us."

"But we have a common goal—or rather, we each have our own goals, and for now we're on the same path."

He paused, realizing he needed to explain the matter from the beginning.

The Four-Tails is not Yugito, not Rōshi, not any human that can be dismissed with a few words.

Lying or giving evasive answers to such a person is not only disrespectful, but also a waste of each other's time.

"He needs to collect chakra samples from all the tailed beasts to study their regeneration mechanism."

"One-tailed, two-tailed, three-tailed, four-tailed, and all the way up to nine-tailed. He has already obtained several of them and is now continuing to advance."

"My goal is different from his; I hope he won't harm the Jinchūriki."

"If I can persuade him to hand over his chakra before he makes a move, he won't have to fight. If I can't persuade him, he'll take it himself."

He met the Four-Tails' gaze without flinching. "So far, there have been no successes, only failures."

"The Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails refused me. He made a move, but only took her chakra and did not harm her."

"Lao Shi, your comrade, gave me this opportunity, which is why we are standing here now."

As Shisui finished speaking, the expression on his face softened slightly, as if he had remembered something interesting.

A very faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "As for Izumi Kawa—I can't see through him, but I'm sure that what I do is in accordance with my heart, and that's enough."

Something flickered slightly in the four tails' vertical pupils.

"He's very strong," Shisui continued, "so strong that I still don't fully understand how much more he's hiding."

"He possesses at least four different bloodlines and secret techniques, but he never fully reveals all his trump cards to me."

"He has a harsh way of speaking, does things unconventionally, and is sometimes so arrogant that you want to punch him. But he will keep his promises."

He paused, his tone shifting from calm to slightly deeper, as if speaking to himself something he had been thinking about for a long time: "In a place like the ninja world, to find someone who keeps their word is already more trustworthy than most people."

Four-Tails slowly straightened up, lowering its two arms that had been crossed in front of its chest.

This action made Shisui instinctively alert for a moment; lowering both arms meant that it was no longer maintaining a defensive posture.

But this non-defensive posture could be relaxation, or it could be preparation for doing something that doesn't require defense.

It took a step forward, leaving a deep dent in the red soil beneath its feet, and then it squatted down.

The four-tailed beast, crouching down, still had horns several heads taller than Shisui, but at least he didn't have to crane his neck to speak.

"I have lived for a thousand years." Its voice was softer than before, no longer like earthquake waves, but more like the low rumble of magma flowing inside a distant mountain.

"I existed even when the Sage of Six Paths was still alive."

"In the past thousand years, no more than twenty humans have entered my sealed space."

"Half of them came to seal me away, and the other half came to borrow my power to fight."

"You are the first person to take the initiative to come in and chat with me, so as not to let others get beaten up."

Shisui didn't speak. He didn't know what to say.

The four tails' words carried a gaze that was somewhere between approval and sympathy, a gaze that could only be formed after a long period of time.