Uchiha Ren stepped onto the bridge of Matatabi's nose. He raised a hand and placed it on the center of her forehead. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind and sank his consciousness into Matatabi's mental space.
"Damn it... Who the hell are you?!!"
Matatabi's voice was gentle, like that of a kind older sister next door. Yet her tone right now was far from calm—there was anger in it, mixed with a hint of embarrassment.
Ren could understand her mood.
After all, being pinned in midair by several massive chakra spikes in such a humiliating pose—her body spread open and her vulnerable areas exposed—would make anyone furious.
Snap.
Ren snapped his fingers and released the Sharingan's control over Matatabi.
"ROAR!"
The moment she landed, Matatabi let out a furious roar and crouched into a combat stance.
However, wary of Ren 's strength, she did not attack immediately. Instead, she remained on guard, watching him cautiously.
"Not bad. If it were Shukaku, that brainless guy would've already tried to slap me."
Ren nodded with satisfaction.
Compared to brute-force creatures, he preferred summons with intelligence.
"Shukaku… Wait—what did you do to me?! Who exactly are you?"
Matatabi initially thought of Shukaku's reckless personality and was about to respond, but suddenly she sensed something strange.
Her expression changed instantly.
At first, due to tension, she hadn't noticed it. But after staring at Ren for a while, Matatabi suddenly realized that there was an extremely tight connection between herself and the man before her.
A deep sense of unease rose in her heart.
"Good news and even better news," Ren said with a smile.
"The good news is that from now on, you're free."
"And the better news is… from this moment onward, you're my summoning beast."
Matatabi's eyes widened in disbelief.
But after carefully sensing the connection between them, she confirmed that it was indeed a Summoning Contract.
She had once heard that the Nine-Tails had been captured and turned into someone's summon.
She simply hadn't expected that one day she would face the same fate.
And just like the person who had formed a contract with the Nine-Tails, the man in front of her was also an Uchiha with the Sharingan.
After a long silence, Matatabi finally muttered:
"…The Uchiha clan truly is born evil."
Ren didn't bother responding to the remark.
"Compared to spending your days trapped in a dark sealing space, being my summon shouldn't be that unacceptable."
"At the very least, I won't restrict your freedom during normal times. You can go wherever you want."
"And if you ever run into someone who says things like 'Two-Tails, your power is too dangerous' while casually grabbing you like a kitten with one hand—"
"You can always come find me."
"And if you're willing to help me when needed, I won't control your consciousness during battle. You'll have basic respect and autonomy."
Matatabi didn't respond immediately. Instead, she asked something else.
"You've already separated me from Yugito, haven't you? What happened to her?"
Although she had sensed the truth, she still wanted confirmation.
She had liked that cheerful girl.
After all, Yugito Nii had been the first person in Kumogakure who was willing to speak to her as an equal.
Ren fell silent for a moment before answering.
"We're enemies right now. You should know what happens to a jinchūriki once their Tailed Beast is extracted."
"I see… That's unfortunate."
Matatabi's voice carried a trace of sadness, though her reaction wasn't extreme.
Having lived since ancient times, she had witnessed far too many partings and deaths.
She couldn't pour too much emotion into the loss of a girl she had only known for a short time.
"There are no 'ifs,'" Ren said calmly.
"From the beginning, I never intended to let her live."
"If she survived, Kumogakure would never let this matter go. And I'm not willing to spend excessive energy dealing with that."
As a strategic weapon, Kumogakure would never willingly abandon a Tailed Beast.
And within Konoha, Ren did not yet hold absolute authority.
To avoid war with the Cloud Village, the final outcome would likely be allowing Kumogakure to pay a ransom to retrieve Matatabi.
But if Yugito died, things became much simpler.
Ren could simply claim that Matatabi had died alongside her.
Under normal circumstances, Kumogakure wouldn't start a war with Konoha over this.
Instead, they would wait for the Two-Tails to resurrect naturally.
Just like the situation with the Three-Tails.
Kirigakure believed the Three-Tails had died together with Nohara Rin, so they had never investigated further. They were simply waiting for the Three-Tails to revive before capturing it again.
And by the time that happened, Ren and Namikaze Minato would have already resolved all internal threats within Konoha and consolidated the village's power.
At that point, the opinions of Kirigakure and Kumogakure would no longer matter.
The Three-Tails and Two-Tails could appear openly before the world.
"You're surprisingly honest," Matatabi said, giving Ren a curious look.
"Aren't you afraid that because of Yugito, I might refuse your proposal?"
"I'm not," Ren replied, shaking his head.
"Because I'm your best option."
"The power of Tailed Beasts is far too great for ordinary shinobi. Without a powerful protector, your fate will almost always be the same—captured and sealed by some village."
"And I, Uchiha Ren , am the best choice you have."
He paused before adding calmly:
"Besides, the Uchiha clan are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths."
"From the perspective of lineage, the relationship between the Tailed Beasts and the Uchiha… was always meant to be like this."
"Wasn't it?"
Matatabi's eyes widened.
"You… know about that?!"
Ren smiled mysteriously.
"Even though a thousand years of change have altered the shinobi world beyond recognition, the inheritance of the Uchiha clan has never been broken."
"Knowing a few ancient secrets shouldn't be surprising."
Matatabi was stunned.
When she thought about it, Ren 's words actually made sense.
And as he had said—since the Uchiha were descendants of the old man, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, it wasn't unreasonable for Tailed Beasts to form summoning contracts with them.
After a moment of silence, she asked:
"So what do you plan to do with me?"
"I probably can't appear openly in the world yet, can I?"
Ren smiled.
"Have you ever heard of the Ninja Cat Clan?"
"They just happen to be missing a Cat King."
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