"Bunpuku, you are really here..." Shukakus's eyes widened In surprise as he stared at the dark eyes of the old man that was raised from the dead against his will…

Bunpuku was the first Jinchuriki of Shukaku, and this tailed beast was sealed inside of him right after he was born, quite the unfortunate child, yet he was so talented to the point that he didn't find any difficulty in withstanding the corrosive properties of a tailed beast's chakra and soon mastered it completely.

However, as he showcased more and more of his power, people in the land of the sand started to grow fearful of him to the point that they started to shun him and call him a monster, while some started to even think that he was the incarnation of Shukaku... A monster! A similar fate to most Jinchuriki...

So, he ended up leading a lonely life with only the demon sealed inside of him keeping him company, and they eventually grew close to the point that Shukaku even felt that Bunpuku was similar to Hagoromo who can be considered as his father and Bunpuku took great pride in that complement and thanked Shukaku for it as he felt it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him…

Now, Shukaku was faced with this same old man and he could see that the area was covered in his seal to prevent him from escaping and he couldn't help but yell "Old man! Use your seals to remove their control over your body!"

Bunpuku calmly shook his head before he pointed at Izuna and said "Not to mention my seals being ineffective, even Madara Uchiha's brother who has some understanding over a similar Jutsu that can be used to summon the dead still wasn't able to do anything to dispel it even after the collaboration of many clans that takes pride in their seals' mastery such as the Uzumaki…"

"T-This what should I do to free you?" Spoke Shukaku still not losing all hope but Bunpuku simply shook his head again and said "Only by killing the caster can you stop this Jutsu, although that appears to be impossible otherwise, the dead hunters that have been fighting us all this time would have already done it…"

Shukaku froze in shock and he couldn't bring himself to accept this crazy reality but Izuna suddenly spoke at this time "As this old man said before, you shouldn't have come here, but since you are already here, then you should stay… "

Then, just as his words died down, the crowd of ninjas started to rain attacks on Shukaku from all directions in the form of ninjutsu and deadly projectiles but he shielded himself with sand and successfully defended against them prompting Bunpuku to say "Sorry old friend… Dharma power sealing technique: Sen no Ryo"

Right after, he started playing a Biwa causing a few purple chains to emerge from his body and charge at Shukaku while avoiding his sand defense and exploiting any holes in it.

Although, Bunpuku soon came to find out that he couldn't break through the defense of Shukaku's body armor so easily

However, a man suddenly came charging from the crowd while covered in a lightning chakra cloak and yelled "HELL STAB"

"T-this is?" Shukaku could barely react and manipulate his sand to create a barrier in front of him, but the man covered in lighting easily pierced through his defense with his hand that was covered in lightning and even made a hole in his armor which Bunpuku's chain instantly pierced through and started sucking Shukaku's chakra and showed his true form, a giant skeleton!

"What's this?" Wondered Bunpuku and the others silently... They were confused by the clear aura of the tailed beast and thought he only took a human form but it seemed that the matter was far much more complicated than they thought...

"AGHH…" Shukaku stumbled slightly but he quickly swung the giant ax that was on his back and cut the chain away before he eyed the man that broke through his defense "You are the third Raikage…"

'It seems like I should have really listened to Bakorio's advise and waited until I get used to this new humanoid body…' Was the thought on Shukaku's head as he stared at the countless legends that kept appearing one after the other…

Izumo didn't require any flesh or DNA to summon people, so the immortal army he accumulated was terrifying to say the least, and now Shukaku was the second person to witness them in their full terrifying view…

"Where do you think you are looking?" Spoke Izuna eerily as Shukaku locked eyes with him only to find himself losing control over his body… This was the Genjutsu of a Mangekyo Sharingan!

"Tch, what an idiot… but he will be a great addition to our forces" muttered the second Mizukage while staring mockingly at Shukaku who couldn't help but mutter 'Is this really the end…'

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a group of masked figures started to rain attacks on the revived monsters, and he clearly knew this attack as he saw one person use it before… It's Bakorio's dark rain combined with his Undodgeable throw!

"CAREFUL, THE DEAD HUNTERS ARE HERE, DON'T LET THEM TAKE SHUKAKU AWAY!" Yelled Izuna at the top of his lungs while swinging his sword to deflect the rain of deadly Kunais, and right after, a terrifying battle ensued between the two groups under the constant fall of the dead rain which was the signature move of the dead hunters…

One of them landed beside Shukaku and said "Leave, we will handle the situation here"

"Who are you people? Why are you saving me?" Shukaku couldn't help but wonder, but that dead hunter simply stared at him coldly while reeking with killing intent before he said "Thank the man that gave you your current body…" Then, without waiting for Shukaku's response, that dead hunter directly sent him flying with a strong wind release before directly retrieving a Kunai and clashing with someone attacking him, It was Izuna with his sword!

Tens of clashes later, Izuna made some distance away from the dead hunter and said "Are you sure you want to keep interfering with our plans?"

Izuna watched as anyone who tried to run after Shukaku ended up facing the terrifying assault of the well-coordinated Dead hunters, but the one facing him simply stared at him coldly and said "Puppets shouldn't talk about plans"

Then all of the dead hunters started retreating at the same time to an area that was filled with all kinds of traps that they prepared beforehand which forced the immortal army to halt its assault as some of them were being sealed and captured if they act even a little bit carelessly!

….

Later that day, Shukaku with his half-destroyed armor found himself returning to the small house he left earlier in the day, and he could see a little kid training tirelessly despite how late it was while Bakorio was calmly watching over him, although he had a clearly lost look in his face as if his mind was in a completely different place, but the moment he approached further he instantly detected his presence and stared at him with a smile

"You are back, it seems like you learned the hard way not to mess with those dead people…"

Shukaku frowned slightly before he said "That's right, I should have followed your advice, I'm not ready yet to deal with them…"

"OH...So, what do you want from me after failing to free your old friend, you know you are free to go wherever you want right?" Spoke Bakorio with a smile while Gaara couldn't help but pause his training and stare at them curiously

"I've been observing how you train Gaara and I can tell you are a great teacher, Please teach me how to control this body properly and maximize my strength, I will give you anything in exchange!" Spoke Shukaku with determination clear in his now visible face thanks to the broken helmet… He finally understood the potential of his current body, because if he was in his old one, he wouldn't have survived even with the help of the dead hunters...

"Teacher…" Gaara stared at Bakorio worriedly, but Bakorio simply patted him and replied "I don't need anything from you, I just hope you help Gaara tame the giant reserves of chakra of your main body"

"That's all? Are you sure?" Asked Shukaku again surprised that Bakorio wasn't going to ask anything out of him especially when he saw how greedy the army of undead was as they clearly wanted his power… However, the smile on Bakorio's face couldn't be any more genuine and it made Gaara's eyes tear up slightly since this was the first time someone appeared to care so much for him…

So, after some silence, Shukaku spoke seriously "Fine, I agree", and right at that moment, Bakorio received a notification from the system…