The desert fell into a deathly silence. There was only the wailing of the wind sweeping across the dunes and the heavy, ragged breathing of Shukaku, who was pinned to the ground by the sage art iron sand spears, writhing in pain and unwillingness. Its mountain-like body could not move; every attempt to struggle triggered a backlash of the Natural Energy contained within the sage art iron sand spears piercing its body, bringing even more intense pain and a deeper sense of helplessness.
The sage art gundam, Mirage, stood towering before Shukaku's massive head. The green sage art patterns flowing around its body gradually dimmed, returning to its primary silver-white and azure color scheme, but its immense pressure and cold gaze still pressed upon Shukaku's heart like a physical weight. The natural energy puppet core in its chest hummed steadily, emitting a low drone as if declaring absolute power.
Sayo's voice emanated from the gundam, calm and rippleless, yet more intimidating than any roar: "Now, have you calmed down? Shukaku."
Shukaku's massive, dark yellow eyes struggled to rotate, staring fixedly at the steel giant before it, filled with anger, humiliation, and a hint of undisguisable terror. It snorted two streams of scorching, dusty air from its nose, emitting a dull, unwilling growl: "...Damn it... damn brat... what kind of power is that?!"
It could not comprehend how a human, relying on a hunk of metal, could wield a power so close to, and in some ways even suppressing, its own Origin (the suppression of Tailed Beast Chakra by Natural Energy).
"This is a brand-new possibility born from the Fusion of knowledge and power. It is also a necessary safeguard for upholding our agreement." Sayo did not explain the principles of sage art and the natural energy puppet core in detail; he simply maneuvered the gundam to lean down slightly, its massive azure electronic eye nearly touching Shukaku's own: "Now, answer me. Do you admit that you have violated the agreement between us?"
Shukaku's eyes flickered, wanting to talk back, but the intense pain radiating from its body and the sage art pressure that could erupt again at any moment made it swallow its words. It snorted a few times and mumbled extremely reluctantly: "...Hmph! It was just... just stretching my muscles... who knew you humans were so fragile..."
"Stretching your muscles?" Sayo's voice carried a hint of coldness. "Your'stretching' is enough to destroy trade routes, bury oases, displace countless people, and even bury them in the sea of sand. Is this the 'protection' you promised? Is this the 'freedom' you wanted? What difference is there between freedom built upon the suffering and destruction of others and being trapped in a Seal? It is even worse!"
Shukaku was left speechless by the questioning and could only turn its head away indignantly, refusing to look at the cold electronic eye.
Sayo continued: "I granted you freedom, believing you could become the guardian of this land, not a new natural disaster. The bidirectional constraints of our contract are no child's play. If I can pin you here today, I will have ways to make you pay an even more painful price if you offend again. Perhaps permanent imprisonment would be more suitable for an existence incapable of keeping its word than limited freedom."
Upon hearing "permanent imprisonment," Shukaku's massive body visibly shuddered. It had finally tasted the flavor of freedom, and even if it was limited, it absolutely did not want to return to that dark, sunless Seal.
"...Stop nagging! I get it!" Shukaku finally conceded, its voice filled with defeat and a hint of compromise. "Later... I, this lord, will be more careful in the future... Is that enough?! Hurry up and remove these damn nails!"
Sayo did not immediately dispel the Ninjutsu. He knew that physical suppression and threats alone were not enough; he had to make this Tailed Beast truly understand that keeping the agreement was not just about avoiding punishment, but about its own survival.
"Shukaku, do you think I went to such great lengths just to restrict you from destroying a few oases and trade routes?" Sayo's voice turned deep and serious.
Shukaku turned its eyes back in confusion.
"I tell you this because you, and other Tailed Beasts like you, will very likely face a true, massive crisis that will sweep across the entire Ninja World in the future." Sayo said slowly, throwing out a shocking piece of information: "A conspiracy far beyond your imagination, targeting all Tailed Beasts."
Shukaku's pupils constricted slightly: "...A conspiracy? Targeting us? Hmph, who would dare?"
"An organization calling itself the 'Akatsuki Organization'." Sayo stated, based on fragmented memories from his past life and in a way Shukaku could understand. "They hide in the shadows, and their strength is unfathomable. Their ultimate goal is to capture all the Tailed Beasts, including you, Shukaku."
"Capture us? With them?" Shukaku scoffed, the pride of a Tailed Beast making it hard to believe.
"To resurrect... the Ten-Tails." Sayo spat out this ancient and forbidden name.
"The Ten-Tails?!" Shukaku's massive voice spiked, filled with unprecedented shock and... fear! "Impossible! The Ten-Tails was long ago by the old man Six Paths... we clearly already..."
"Nothing is impossible." Sayo interrupted it. "The leader of the Akatsuki Organization possesses the legendary Rinnegan. They are secretly operating, collecting Tailed Beast Chakra. Once they succeed, the consciousness of all Tailed Beasts will be erased, and they will be fused back into that monster that destroys everything—the Ten-Tails. By then, the freedom you seek and the self-awareness you cherish will cease to exist, turning into pure energy, becoming tools for others to realize their ambitions."
This news was like a bolt from the blue, striking hard at Shukaku's heart. It finally put away all its cynicism and irritability, its huge eyes wide and round, filled with disbelief and deep fear. As a part of the Ten-Tails, it knew better than anyone what the Ten-Tails meant; it was total annihilation and the end!
"You... how could you know this?!" Shukaku's voice even carried a hint of trembling.
"You don't need to know that. You only need to know that what I have said is a future that is extremely likely to happen." Sayo said in a deep voice. "And now, abide by the agreement with me, remain in the Land of Wind, and Sunagakure will become your barrier. I will do my best to stop the conspiracy of the Akatsuki Organization. Between us, it is not enslavement and being enslaved, but mutual aid and symbiosis under a common threat."
"You help protect the Land of Wind, and I, along with Sunagakure, will provide you with shelter to face the future crisis together. This is the true weight and value of this contract. Now, do you still think those constraints are merely shackles?"
After Sayo finished speaking, he said no more, just quietly watching Shukaku.
Shukaku fell into a long silence. Its massive body stopped struggling; only its eyes shifted violently, showing the intense inner conflict within. Sayo's words and the terrifying prophecy about the "Ten-Tails" had completely shattered its remaining arrogance.
Freedom is certainly precious, but the meaning of existence is more important.
After a long time, Shukaku finally let out a long, heavy breath filled with sand, its voice becoming unprecedentedly deep and serious: "...this lord... understands."
It raised its head and looked at the sage art gundam again, its eyes complex, but the previous anger and defiance had vanished, replaced by a sense of gravity and... preliminary approval.
"The agreement... remains valid. this lord will guard these sands... but, brat," it stared at Sayo, "if that 'Akatsuki' you mentioned really comes, you had better really have a way!"
"Of course." Sayo replied affirmatively. "Then, consensus has been reached."
The sage art gundam raised its hand, and those sage art iron sand spears piercing through Shukaku's body instantly decomposed, turning into the most primitive particles and dissipating into the air. The gravity field was also lifted.
Shukaku let out a muffled grunt, its massive body finally regaining its freedom. It slowly stood up from the sand pit, sand flowing to repair the wounds on its body. It took a deep look at Sayo and his gundam, no longer roaring or provoking, just silently and slowly sinking into the desert, disappearing from sight.
This time, its presence became stable and restrained, like a giant beast that had retracted its claws and fangs, beginning to truly examine its territory and think about the future.
Sayo stood inside the gundam, looking at the desert that had returned to peace, and let out a soft sigh of relief.
Physical persuasion combined with a prophetic warning had finally made this unruly Tailed Beast truly realize the seriousness of the problem.
The future crisis remained unresolved, but at least beneath the desert of the Land of Wind, there was now an ally who had truly begun to think about what "protection" meant, rather than just a restricted nuisance.