"You say you're a perfect Jinchūriki, and that makes you one?"
"Then tell me—what exactly counts as a perfect Jinchūriki?"
Yugito Nii was a proud girl by nature. There was no way she'd lower her head so easily, let alone believe something Chizan said.
Hearing her question, Gekko Chizan smiled faintly.
He was always most motivated when facing kids like this—stubborn and full of pride.
Wasn't Kakashi just like that back in the day? And how did that end up? Eventually, he had to bow his head politely and respectfully say: "Hello, sensei."
So respectful to his teacher!
Kakashi: Please. If I so much as skipped a "Hello, sensei," that Thousand Years of Death of yours would be coming straight at me! How could I not be respectful?
Too bad Yugito was a little girl—otherwise, she'd be even easier to handle.
Still, that wouldn't stop Chizan. All he had to do was push her enough, show her his power, and sooner or later she'd be drawn in and willingly become his student.
After all, kids admire the strong—especially little girls.
"Hehehehe. Since you want to see it, I'll show you what a perfect Jinchūriki really looks like. And while I'm at it, I'll give you a proper lesson on being one."
"But not here. Last time Matatabi and I transformed at the same time, the forest got pretty messed up. We're still living here, you know. Let's go—out to sea."
Chizan grabbed Yugito and dashed toward the edge of Island Turtle.
At the same time, he gave the giant turtle an order to temporarily stop moving.
Once they reached the island's edge, Gekko Chizan set Yugito down and leapt out over the sea.
"Yugito, what is a Jinchūriki?"
Yugito looked out at Chizan standing on the surface of the water and answered without hesitation:
"A person who has a tailed beast inside them is a Jinchūriki."
"Then in your opinion, what qualifies as a perfect Jinchūriki?"
"Obviously, it's being able to freely use the tailed beast's power."
Hearing her answer, Chizan smiled slightly.
"Correct—freely using the power of the tailed beast."
"But you need to understand that a tailed beast's power manifests in different stages depending on the Jinchūriki."
"Watch closely, Yugito. This is what it means to be a perfect Jinchūriki."
"Chōmei—cloak."
His last words were barked with force, startling Yugito. But she was even more shocked by what followed.
As soon as the words left his mouth, red chakra erupted from Chizan's body, rapidly forming a chakra cloak that enveloped him. At the same time, a chakra tail appeared behind him.
The terrifying chakra stirred the sea around him into a raging swell.
"A Jinchūriki, with their tailed beast's help, can access three forms."
"This is the first—borrowing a small amount of the tailed beast's chakra to form a chakra cloak."
With the power of the tailed beast surging through him, a trace of madness appeared on Chizan's face.
Yugito's mouth hung open as she took in the overwhelming chakra—but she couldn't form any words.
"My partner is the Seven-Tails, named Chōmei."
"As for you, you have the Two-Tails, named Matatabi."
"Kid—remember this. If you want to become true partners with your tailed beast, the first step is respect."
"Like me."
"Chōmei, increase chakra flow."
A good lesson needs demonstration, and Chōmei was fully cooperative. The chakra output surged.
Soon, another tail appeared on the cloak.
"In this cloak mode, the number of tails increases as you draw on more of the tailed beast's chakra."
"But that doesn't mean much for you. Matatabi only has two tails."
"Of course, you don't have to enter the chakra cloak. You can also just borrow power from your partner in a simpler form."
"Like this."
The cloak vanished, and two wings sprouted from Chizan's back—Chōmei's wings.
"These are Chōmei's wings—a clear sign I'm using his chakra."
"If you borrow Matatabi's chakra, a blue tail will appear instead."
Yugito subconsciously nodded. At this point, she hadn't even realized how focused she'd become on Chizan's lesson.
"Next is the next stage up—Partial Tailed Beast Transformation."
A terrifying surge of chakra exploded outward. Chizan's skin flaked away piece by piece, replaced by crimson flesh.
The surrounding sea roared violently.
In that moment, Chizan's voice grew heavier and carried a chilling pressure.
"Partial transformation means covering the body in tailed beast chakra, enhancing your physical abilities further."
"In this form, Jinchūriki don't need to fear injury. Our entire bodies are cloaked in chakra—any normal wounds will be automatically healed."
"And finally, the full transformation!"
"Chōmei! Come out and say hello!"
Massive wings instantly enveloped Chizan, and in the next second, Chōmei's colossal form erupted into view.
With a powerful flap of his six wings, Chōmei soared into the sky.
He spun once midair before descending to hover before Yugito.
"Tsk tsk. Good afternoon, kid. I'm Chōmei, the Seven-Tails."
"Say hi to Matatabi for me! Hahahaha!"
Amid his booming laughter, Chōmei's enormous body dissolved into crimson chakra, then quickly compressed until he returned to human size—Gekko Chizan stood before Yugito once more.
"Did you see that? That is what it means to be a perfect Jinchūriki."
"To use your partner's power at will, without losing your mind—and to shift between forms freely."
"Yugito, you've got a long road ahead of you."
Yugito stood completely frozen, fully immersed in what she had just witnessed.
The different forms of tailed beast power had opened her eyes.
"So this... is what a perfect Jinchūriki looks like..."
"I'll reach that level too!"
At her words, Gekko Chizan smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
"What's this? Ready to call me sensei?"
"I promise I'll teach you well."
Yugito let out a small hum of protest, but didn't argue. Instead, she asked:
"Which village are you from, exactly?"
"If you're from Kumogakure too, then I'll be your student."
Ah, still stuck on Kumogakure, huh?
That won't do. Chizan scoffed and said:
"What's so great about Kumogakure? Neither the Raikage's son nor Killer Bee are any match for me."
"Kid, give up on Kumogakure. You're never going back there."
Yugito opened her mouth to snap back—but stopped herself at the last moment.
After what he just showed her... it was clear he wasn't someone ordinary.