I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 574 If time allows, will another me type the same line?

After completing the hand seals, Tatsuma gently placed his hand on Bunpuku's forehead, not daring to use too much force, for fear that he would fall over if he did. At the moment of contact, he also implanted a Wood Release seed into Bunpuku's body.

Tatsuma took two steps back, and Shukaku strained to open his beady green eyes. Soon, Bunpuku's body began to change.

Roots sprouted from his body and took root in the ground. At the same time, new buds emerged from the forehead that Chenma was pressing down on, their tender green leaves gently unfurling as if absorbing nutrients from the sunlight.

Seeing this, Shukaku opened its mouth wide, as if it wanted to say something, but in the end it closed it, since it couldn't change Tatsuma's actions anyway.

Perhaps it would be acceptable if this stinky old man turned into plant nutrients?

As Shoukaku had predicted, as the tender seedling stretched out, Fenfu's already withered body became even thinner, and even its height and width were subtly shrinking.

The useful nutrients in his body were all drawn away by the Wood Release technique and turned into a catalyst for growth, with tender leaves appearing one after another, but flower buds did not grow. However, at this time, there were no more nutrients in his body that could be extracted.

A layer of dull, dry, and cracked skin covered a body of hard bones, but that face still felt strangely familiar to Shukaku.

"Boom!"

But just as Shukaku was watching, a ghostly blue flame suddenly burst into flames on Bunpuku's body. The flames scorched Bunpuku, his clothes instantly caught fire, followed by his eyebrows and skin.

The seedling also grew rapidly during this process. Its roots and flower stems seemed unaffected by the flames and continued to grow, with more and more roots intertwining and covering the plant.

At this moment, a small flower bud is revealed at the very top of the seedling.

As the temperature dropped, the flower bud finally bloomed, turning into a sunflower. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but it was full of vitality.

"Phew~"

A gust of wind blows, and the flowers sway, bowing and raising their heads, scattering golden pollen in the process, which is then carried by the wind towards the distant sea.

"This is the last ray of blessing."

Tatsuma suddenly spoke, and Shukaku's gaze unconsciously followed Tatsuma's words, looking at the pollen drifting away, radiating a shimmering golden light.

There is a saying.

Tatsuma gazed at the departing pollen and said, "The ocean is the cradle of life. All life originates from here. Fenfu's life has returned to its origin."

"A dead person is a dead person; there's no point in saying anything."

Shukaku's tone was very low, but Tatsuma said, "Actually, everything in this world may be repeating itself over and over again. Everything that makes up Fenfu may also happen in the distant future."

By chance, his image will reappear, so he won't really die; he'll just be leaving the stage for a while.

"Nonsense! I've lived for a thousand years, and I've never seen another strange old man like him."

Shukaku didn't believe Tatsuma's words. Tatsuma wasn't angry. Instead, he said, "In the long river of time, a thousand years may not be much different from a year, a month, a day, or even a second."

The reason why it feels long is because of the different points of reference. The life you see, whether it is human or animal, is pitifully short compared to a thousand years, so you feel that a thousand years is a long time.

In fact, the passage of time is also a kind of "I think, therefore I am" in a sense. Time only becomes long when "I" am thinking, and it passes very quickly when "I" am not thinking.

"The night passes in the blink of an eye; compared to the time spent awake, the time spent sleeping is negligible."

"How do I know if you're telling the truth or not? I haven't slept at all, and that strange old man Fenfu doesn't sleep either, he won't let me experience what it's like to sleep."

Shukaku muttered, "People say it comes out when the Jinchuriki is asleep, and of course, that's true."

However, at that time, it hated Bunpuku, so whenever Bunpuku showed signs of falling asleep, it would come out and cause trouble. Moreover, the sealing technique that Sunagakure used on the Jinchuriki was related to the Jinchuriki's spirit.

Therefore, when Shukaku falls asleep, the sealing power is at its weakest, and at that time, the seven or eight resentful Shukakus will naturally come out to cause trouble.

After only a few times, Bunpuku stopped sleeping. Even in the period before Bunpuku died, when Shukaku stopped making a fuss, Bunpuku still wouldn't sleep, as if he had forgotten how to fall asleep.

Shukaku had never experienced what it felt like to fall asleep. In fact, he had the opportunity, but he missed it.

"Too."

Tatsuma nodded and said, "Then let me put it another way: it's like being distracted. When you're distracted, time flies by."

"How long has that strange old man been dead?"

"One day and two nights."

"It seems so."

Shouhe seemed to be deep in thought. In its memory, Fenfu had just died not long ago. It took Fenfu with it and rushed here all night, arriving at dawn. Then, Chenma arrived shortly after dawn as well.

However, it didn't expect that a whole day had passed, and it still thought that Chenma had arrived here right after it.

Why are we talking about this?

Shukaku couldn't remember why the topic had turned to this. Tatsuma didn't answer directly, but simply said, "There aren't many whys. We just happened to be talking about it. After all, it's too difficult to find a topic to talk about when communicating with you tailed beasts. It's good enough that we have something to talk about."

Why talk about topics I'm not interested in?

"How about we talk about something you're interested in?"

"Hmph! I don't want to chat with you, you bastard. If that weird old man hadn't finished flying, I would have left long ago."

"Let's talk about your prejudice against me. It's a misunderstanding of me by you tailed beasts. I've talked it out with Kurama, and it no longer misunderstands me."

Tatsuma spoke casually, but Shukaku's features tightened slightly before he said, "Then I have even more reason to hate you. Who told you to get along so well with that Nine-Tails?!"

"When my relationship with it was bad, you didn't treat me any better either."

"Tell me how you tricked that bastard Kurama!"

Shukaku changed the subject, realizing that it was no match for Tatsuma in the realm of debate, and since it didn't want to resort to violence today, it decided to chat for a while while it still had something to talk about.

"You mistakenly believe I am the Ten-Tails, but I am not, so you have misunderstood me."

Tatsuma's explanation was unusually brief, even shorter than the preceding topic. Shukaku curled his lip and said, "That guy actually believed your nonsense?"

"I beat it up, almost turning it into an idiot, then cured it, and it started to believe me."

"Oh"

Shukaku responded "calmly," but its lips twitched incessantly as it pursed them tightly.

"Hahaha~ Hahaha~"

Finally, it laughed so hard it rolled around in the sand, saying, "That guy, he finally got beaten up! Hahaha~ I'm dying of laughter!"

On the ground, the yellow sand formed from the rest of Shukaku's body was also jumping around, as if it were hopping happily.

Chenma waited until it had laughed enough before saying, "So, are you going to believe me, or should I give you a good beating too?"

"Burp~"

Shukaku's laughter stopped abruptly, and his beady green eyes scrutinized Tatsuma, as if trying to determine whether Tatsuma was joking.

Tatsuma looked too calm. There was no playfulness in his eyes when he was joking, nor was there any ferocity when he was making threats. It was as relaxed as if he was just discussing whether to add a fried egg to lunch.

After observing for a long time, Shukaku still couldn't come up with an answer, but when it did, its voice seemed a little weak.

"So what if you believe me, or you don't? Is there anyone in the ninja world who can stop you now? The Nine-Tails is the tailed beast of your Konoha, so you have to clear up this so-called misunderstanding."

"And you don't mean to kidnap me and take me to Konoha? I'm warning you, if I go to Konoha, I'll bully the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki every day!"

Tatsuma immediately saw through Shukaku's bluster and said with a smile, "I didn't originally plan to do this, but now I suddenly want to see who is stronger, you or the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki."

Shukaku sensed that Tatsuma's smile was malicious and instinctively wanted to shrink its neck, but it was too fat to have a neck.

Looking at its silly appearance, Tatsuma laughed even more. Since he got Sadaharu, although he often disliked Sadaharu, he had indeed learned how to appreciate the cuteness of small animals.

"You're actually quite clever; you managed to see through my intention to reconcile with Kurama. But I do intend to reconcile with you now."

Tatsuma's smile faded slightly, but he still maintained it. Shukaku's beady eyes darted around as he turned and said, "I won't do anything for you. Give up."

"It's not for me. When you were inside Fenfu's body, you should have been able to sense the outside world, right? Then you should know that Rasa has a political enemy named Yekura. I hope you can become Yekura's assistant in the short term."

"Why can't you?"

"Watch your words. What do you mean I'm not good enough?"

Suddenly, Shukaku felt itself enveloped in killing intent. The yellow sand on the ground trembled and made a sound like a startled rattlesnake. It even explained in a somewhat flustered manner:

"I mean, you should have the ability to help her defeat Rasa, right? You could have even done it that night."

"I don't intend for her to defeat Rasa. I hope she and Rasa are evenly matched, at least for a while. But I don't have that much time to waste here. So... are you willing to become my partner, hmm... a tailed beast?"

For some reason, Shukaku was very unhappy with Tatsuma's change of address. Other humans would occasionally use "human" to refer to it, which made it very unhappy. It felt that putting it together with humans was an insult.

But Tatsuma gave Shukaku the feeling that it, the dignified Shukaku, was not worthy of being lumped together with humans!

"I, this great one, would never do something so pointless!"

Shukaku said with dissatisfaction, and Tatsuma shrugged and said, "I can give you some benefits."

"What are the benefits?"

"I'll give you one chance to ask me for help."

"I need help?! If you don't lend a hand, who else can I ask for help from?!"

Shukaku flew into a rage, but Tatsuma ignored him, simply approaching it and raising his fist, saying, "Only once."

"Hmph! Anyway, I've been bored lately."

Shukaku reluctantly raised his fist and lightly touched Tatsuma's fist. The unique chakra of the tailed beasts established a special connection between the two.

"Let's go, I'll take you to meet the other partner."

"snort!"

Shukaku snorted, and the yellow sand on the ground gathered, transforming into a mountain-like shape. Tatsuma jumped onto its head, and just as Shukaku was about to shake its head in dissatisfaction, Tatsuma said:

"The Golden Shukaku must be quite imposing, right?"

Upon hearing this, Shukaku quieted down, letting Tatsuma stand on its head. Then, looking at the gold dust covering its body, Shukaku couldn't help but smile.

Indeed impressive!

(End of this chapter)