Becoming Friends

"...And then Shibuki told me that making 100 friends is the first step to peace, so I am currently trying to make as many friends as possible."

[Ohh, so that is how it is. That Shibuki guy must be really smart to come up with a plan like that. My father always told me how important it is to bond with other people as well.]

"Hahaha, of course, he is smart. By the way, I didn't know that you had a father. Was he a giant insect as well?"

[No, he wasn't an insect. He looked somewhat similar to a normal human. Mhhh~ I believe you humans call him... The Sage of the Six Ways or something like that?]

"Oh? I've never heard that name before, but I'm not really interested in historical stuff. What about your mother?"

[Strictly speaking, I don't have a mother. Father took the chakra of the Jubi and created us nine from it.]

While Chomei casually revealed world-shaking knowledge to Fuu and neither Fuu nor Chomei understood its significance, Yuna and Kurama looked at the duo blankly.

"Do you think Chomei has noticed our presence, Kurama?"

[No, I don't think she has. If she gets excited about something, she loses her awareness somewhat quickly. And she gets excited about a lot of stuff.]

"Yeah, I noticed. However, I really want to applaud whoever sealed Chomei into Fuu for his choice. Those two have pretty much the same personality and are incredibly compatible. I might as well unseal Chomei right now; I don't think there will be any complications."

[I agree. Chomei is trustworthy and won't go back on her words, so there should be no problem if she promised not to hurt Fuu. By the way, is it really fine for Chomei to tell all that stuff to Fuu?]

Yuna shrugged her shoulders in indifference when she heard Kurama's question.

"Probably not, but I will manage somehow."

Kurama simply nodded his head when he heard Yuna's words and started walking towards Chomei. Although he was happy that Chomei became friends with her host, he also wanted to talk with Chomei. From his eight siblings, the one he got along with the best was undoubtedly Chomei, so he wanted to chat with her for a bit, as well.

[Oi, Chomei, could you stop ignoring me?]

Chomei was startled when she suddenly heard Kurama's voice. Although her insect face wasn't very good at expressing emotions, it was still evident that she was happy to see Kurama.

[Kurama! Why are you here? Did you also get sealed in Fuu? How are you? What has happened to you since the last time I saw you? Did you enjoy yourself? I hope you did! Ah, I accidentally said your name in front of a human! I know you don't want to reveal your name to humans, so I will stop using it. Sorry about that, Kurama... AH! I used it again. I am so sorry, Kurama!]

Meanwhile, Kurama felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation when he heard Chomei bombard him with questions. If Chomei had a different personality, he would have been sure that she was trying to rile him up by constantly using his name while claiming that she wouldn't use it anymore, but Chomei wasn't that kind of person. She was simply an airhead, so there was no point in getting angry about her behavior.

[Calm down, for now, Chomei. Fuu already knew my name, so it is acceptable to say it. I am here because I thought the meeting between you and Fuu would be interesting, and I am not sealed inside her. A lot of things happened, so let's talk about that at a later time. As for me enjoying myself... well, I guess I did enjoy the last few years.]

"Oh my, are you suddenly getting sentimental, Kurama?"

Kurama glared at Yuna before snorting in disdain.

[Mmph, what I enjoyed was beating up Hashirama and not your presence.]

"Haha, sure, I believe you."

While Yuna and Kurama were talking, Chomei couldn't help but look at Yuna in wonder. She wasn't sure why, but Yuna felt incredibly ancient and mysterious to her. Or at least she felt like that until Kurama slapped the back of Yuna's head.

[Could you stop pretending? What are you even trying to impress Chomei for? Do you want her in your harem as well?]

"Damnit, Kurama! Can't you let me peacefully mess around with people?"

[Normally, I couldn't care less who you want to mess around with, but I definitely won't allow you to trick Chomei!]

"What the hell!? When did you turn into an overprotective sibling, Kurama?"

Chomei looked at the quarreling duo in confusion. Although it has been quite a while since the last time she saw Kurama, she could still remember his personality rather well, and she was sure that it wasn't like what she was currently seeing.

[How weird, to think that Kurama would ever talk with a human like that.]

Fuu heard Chomei's words, and a huge smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Yuna is Kurama's host, and they are actually really good friends. After seeing their friendship, I decided that I wanted the two of us to reach the same level of friendship."

[Ohh! So Kurama actually became friends with a human. And she is even is his host. Kurama and I are really lucky to be sealed inside friendly people.]

Although Yuna was still talking with Kurama, she still heard Chomei's words, causing a small smile to appear on her face.

"Kurama is no longer sealed inside me, Chomei. I removed the seal years ago. That is also why he can come here to meet you. What do you think, Fuu, Chomei? I can remove the seal for you two as well, but I need Chomei to promise that she won't try to escape or manipulate Fuu since that could lead to her death."

Fuu and Chomei were stunned when they heard Yuna's words, and Fuu was the first to recover. A wide smile appeared on her face as she eagerly looked at Yuna.

"You can remove the seal on Chomei!? Okay, do it! Since she is my friend, I don't want her to be sealed anymore."

Even the happy-go-lucky Chomei couldn't help but be stunned when she heard Fuu's words.

[A-Are you really fine with that? Without the seal, I can easily leave your body while killing you in the process.]

"Ohh, will you do it?"

Yet again, Chomei was stunned by Fuu's words, but moments later, she chuckled a little.

[Hehe, I see. That was a stupid question from my side. Since you are my friend, I don't want to harm you, so I obviously won't do it.]

When Yuna heard Chomei's answer, her smile widened, and she started approaching Chomei's seal. Seeing this, Chomei couldn't help but panic a little.

[Please be careful! I don't understand much about seals, but I know that mine has multiple safety mechan...]

"Okay, I am done unraveling the seal."

"[Eh?]"

Before Fuu or Chomei could understand the situation, Yuna casually unraveled the seal with a swipe of her hand.

The moment she did so, Chomei's chakra started flooding Fuu's body, almost causing her to faint. Chomei was too surprised by Yuna removing the seal so easily and only noticed that her presence was overwhelming Fuu after a few seconds. She quickly restrained herself and stopped her chakra from flowing into Fuu.

[I'm sorry, Fuu. I was so surprised from suddenly becoming free that I didn't properly control my chakra. Are you alright?]

Although Fuu was staggering a little, a massive smile appeared on her face as she looked at Chomei.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's good that you are free now, my friend."

[HAHAHA, YES, LET'S GET ALONG, MY FRIEND!!!]