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Kaguya glanced calmly at the Tailed Beasts standing behind Manji, then looked at him.
"Manji, are they the Tailed Beasts Hagoromo split from the Ten-Tails?"
She could easily sense her own chakra. Even without her full strength, she recognized the familiar aura, since they had all once been part of her. No matter how much time had passed, she could still feel that connection.
"Yes." Manji nodded and turned to the nine puzzled Tailed Beasts next to him.
He gestured toward Kaguya to introduce her. "This is Kaguya. In a way, you could all be called her children. The chakra inside you originally came from her."
"..." The Tailed Beasts were stunned.
The Tailed Beasts immediately stopped whispering and stared at Kaguya in shock. Now they understood why she felt both familiar and intimidating. She seemed close, but also hard to approach.
The source of their chakra had come from this woman, who seemed gentle on the surface.
"You've all become much cuter."
Kaguya smiled softly.
She walked over to Matatabi, bent down, and gently picked up the small cat, who was still too surprised to move. "What a cute kitten. I remember the Tailed Beasts used to be huge, big enough to block out the sky. Why are they so small now? Did you make them shrink?"
She ran her fingers through Matatabi's soft fur and looked back at Manji, her smile growing wider.
Manji nodded again. "They lived in the human world for a long time. Their real forms are too big, so I taught them how to shrink. Now they can change their size whenever they want."
Matatabi tensed up in Kaguya's arms. She narrowed her eyes in clear annoyance and turned her little head away in protest.
The more Kaguya looked at her, the more she liked her.
Still holding Matatabi, she turned to Manji and said, "She's just too cute. Why not let her stay with me? I get bored, and having a cat around would make things more interesting."
Manji paused.
Before Manji could reply, Matatabi's fur stood on end.
"WHAT?? YOU REALLY SEE ME AS A PET?"
She wriggled out of Kaguya's arms and jumped right back into Manji's. "Teacher, you absolutely cannot agree to that woman's request!"
"I am the Two-Tails, a Tailed Beast. I am not some pet for people to play with. I refuse to be locked in a cage and treated like a toy for the rest of my life!"
Matatabi looked up at Manji, both worried and upset.
Manji smiled and shook his head. He gently petted the tense little cat in his arms, then looked at Kaguya.
"That won't do, Kaguya."
"They might be Tailed Beasts, but each one has their own will, thoughts, and choices. They aren't things you can just give away."
"Oh?" Kaguya crossed her arms, and her eyes showed a hint of annoyance.
Her reaction was no surprise. That was just how Kaguya was.
For a long time, she thought she could control everything. When she ruled over people, she saw them as weapons, tools, or things to use up.
She never cared much about life or free will.
To her, the Tailed Beasts were just forms of her own chakra. Keeping one around for fun felt normal to her.
"Exactly!" Matatabi poked her head out from Manji's arms and glared at Kaguya. "We are free and equal. Teacher taught us that a long time ago."
"Don't think you're better than us just because you look human."
"Hah." Kaguya gave a cold laugh. A subtle but strong aura spread from her as she stared down at Matatabi. "Manji, is this how you teach your students?"
"Back when I was the Ten-Tails jinchūriki and ruled everything, you Tailed Beasts did not even have complete consciousness yet. You were only fragments of my chakra."
"A cluster of chakra talking about free will. How amusing."
"You—" Matatabi shrank a little under Kaguya's pressure, but she still looked ready to argue.
Manji raised a hand and stopped her. "That's enough. You all live on Mount Myōboku now, so you're family. There's no need to fight about who's better."
He looked at Kaguya and spoke firmly.
"I can't let you take a Tailed Beast. They should decide for themselves where they go and who they stay with."
Seeing how firm he was, Kaguya didn't push the issue.
Everyone knew that Manji cared deeply about his family.
Whenever the Tailed Beasts, Gamamaru, Fukasaku, Black Zetsu, Indra, or the others asked for something, Manji usually tried to help.
Kaguya was different, and she knew it.
To Manji, she didn't have the same importance.
Her status might even be lower than a Tailed Beast's...
Kaguya turned her head a little and asked, "Then can you find someone else to keep me company?"
"I want a girl. Not those boring White Zetsu, and not the toads on the mountain. They're no fun."
Manji paused, thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
Kaguya already seemed to have someone in mind. She said right away, "When you cleansed the world and ended the chaos, wasn't there a nameless girl from the Uchiha Clan who was used as a tool?"
"That girl looked so pitiful. Did you kill her back then? Bring her to Mount Myōboku and let her stay with me."
"From the Uchiha Clan?"
Manji frowned a little. He pictured a thin, fragile figure in his mind.
Uchiha Hikari.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Back during the chaos, he had destroyed the battlefield in a single move. Hikari had been caught up in it too. By now, her soul had already gone to the Pure Land.
Looking back, Hikari had suffered a fate she didn't deserve.
She had only just been used by the Uchiha. She was still young, and hadn't done much wrong. Still, Manji had killed her along with the rest of the army.
Uchiha Hikari truly had a hard life.
She hadn't gotten much love from her parents, and she was born during the Uchiha Clan's decline.
After Uchiha Sa died... the Senju Clan, with help from Tsuru and Black Zetsu, put so much pressure on the Uchiha that they could hardly survive. Hikari was born in that time.
Later, she awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as a child and was targeted by the Uchiha leaders. Before she could enjoy life, they gave her different powers and sent her to help catch the Tailed Beasts.
In over a thousand years, Manji had only acted on a large scale twice.
Once against Hagoromo.
The other time during the purge.
Hikari had the bad luck to get caught up in the second one.
After she died, she was even sent to the Pure Land to work.
Uchiha Hikari wasn't even twelve, but she kept getting caught in one disaster after another.
Her bad luck was almost unbelievable.
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