KAGE

My mother stared into the distance without answering my question.

I remained silent as well.

"Now that all of you have found out... there's no point in keeping it a secret anymore," she finally said after a long pause.

She turned to me.

"Ren, what do you know about the Tailed Beasts?"

Her eyes were calm, carrying a quiet depth.

"They're living beings, just like us," I replied firmly. "They probably wouldn't have paid humanity any attention if it weren't for human greed. Their power is practically limitless, so people decided to turn them into weapons to use against one another."

Are you kidding me?

I know the future.

I know that in a few years my nephew, Uzumaki Naruto, will turn the entire ninja world upside down.

If mentioning Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki wouldn't make the Bijū suspicious of me, I'd already be giving everyone a history lesson.

My mother looked at me in astonishment.

From her expression, she clearly hadn't expected that answer.

"I'm honestly surprised by how much you've changed," she said.

"You didn't use to think that way."

"Me? What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Over the years, I tried to learn what all of you thought about the Tailed Beasts and the Jinchūriki."

She smiled faintly.

"Out of everyone... you were always the most intolerant."

"That's why your change in perspective surprised me."

Silence settled between us once again.

I slipped up.

Even though I possessed the original Ren's memories, there were still small habits and subtle details that I couldn't perfectly imitate.

"Maybe I've grown up," I answered, trying to change the subject.

She didn't pursue it.

Instead, she continued her explanation.

"Like you said..."

"The Tailed Beasts haven't always had such terrible reputations."

"Long before the Great Ninja Villages were founded, they roamed the world freely."

"Some slept in the mountains for years. Others wandered through deserts, forests, and across the seas."

"People viewed them as natural disasters."

"Wherever a Bijū passed, rivers changed course, forests were destroyed, and entire villages fled in terror."

She paused.

"Not all of them were violent."

"Many simply wanted to live in peace."

"But humans feared their power, and ambitious warlords constantly tried to capture them to gain an advantage in battle."

"Every attempt ended in tragedy."

She sighed softly before continuing.

"As generations passed, the wars only grew larger."

"The Tailed Beasts stopped being seen merely as monsters and became military assets."

"The great nations competed to see who could control them."

"That was when the masters of Fūinjutsu appeared."

"They discovered that it was possible to seal a Bijū inside a human being."

"At first, the goal wasn't to create weapons."

"It was simply to prevent the Tailed Beasts from destroying cities during wartime."

"But as time went on..."

"The rulers transformed the Jinchūriki into tools of war."

She lowered her gaze.

"Our clan—the Uzumaki—was entrusted with guarding some of those creatures."

"Not because we hated them..."

"...but because we were one of the few clans capable of containing their power without killing them."

Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

"One of the main reasons every nation invaded our homeland..."

"...was because we possessed two Tailed Beasts."

"It's also why we're still being hunted to this day."

After a brief silence, she smiled gently.

"To be honest..."

"Being a Jinchūriki isn't as terrible as people believe."

"Saiken and I have been partners for many years."

"To me..."

"She's like an older sister."

I blinked.

"Saiken?"

"The Six Tails?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Your Bijū actually gets along with you?"

"Yes."

She answered without hesitation.

"Not every Tailed Beast hates humanity."

"And even if they did..."

"They would have more than enough reason to."

"They existed long before chakra spread throughout the world."

"Throughout history, there were times when people worshiped them as gods."

"They even protected humanity."

"And what did humanity give them in return?"

She smiled warmly.

"Saiken chose me."

"To me..."

"She's family."

"We've been together since I was five years old."

I fell silent.

This was too much information.

My mother wasn't merely a Jinchūriki.

She was a Jinchūriki who had formed a genuine bond with her Tailed Beast.

I had always believed Killer B was the first person to accomplish something like that before Naruto.

Apparently...

I had been wrong.

Wait a second...

Then why don't we have whisker marks on our cheeks like Naruto and his children?

Shouldn't that be a trait unique to the children of Jinchūriki?

I hesitated before speaking again.

"I have another question..."

She remained silent, signaling for me to continue.

"As an Uzumaki, you possess incredible chakra-sensing abilities."

"You can detect anyone approaching from an enormous distance."

"Thinking back..."

"That explains why we kept relocating without anyone ever telling us the reason."

I looked directly into her eyes.

"Now I've also learned that you're Saiken's Jinchūriki."

"That gives you far more chakra than almost any ordinary ninja."

I clenched my fists.

"With all of that..."

"How were we discovered?"

"...And why did my father have to die?"