Boom!
The Nine-Tails, upon seeing Kyoichi, immediately began to pound furiously against the seal.
It roared and raged, trying to cow him with sheer ferocity, but Kyoichi merely picked at his ear, then sighed.
"As a tailed beast with wisdom, greeting me in such an unintelligent way is really quite rude."
"Hmph. This great lord has no interest in dealing with the Senju clan. Get lost!"
Kurama curled up, his whole demeanor saying he wanted no part of this conversation.
But Kyoichi was in no rush.
He stepped up to the seal, sat down before it, and quietly regarded the Nine-Tails. Then, with a faint smile, he said:
"So it seems you've got absolutely no interest in Uchiha Madara either."
"Uchiha Madara? Hmph, wasn't that guy already dead?"
The beast straightened up at once.
Without question—Madara was the one it hated most, bar none.
Once, it had lived peacefully, keeping the Sage of Six Paths' words in its heart. But then, out of nowhere, Madara had forcibly bound it by contract.
After that, it had been driven into battle against Senju Hashirama.
And then… sealed with a single fist.
In truth—every misfortune could be traced back to Uchiha Madara. If not for that old monster, it would never have ended up in Konoha, never have been imprisoned inside the Uzumaki clan's sealing vessels for decades on end.
So at the mention of that name, the Nine-Tails immediately perked up.
Now this was a topic that kept sleep far away.
"He's dead, but not entirely."
"Don't talk in circles. You're just as annoying as that white-haired one before."
Kurama blew out a blast of air.
No doubt—"that white-haired one" referred to Senju Tobirama.
"He looked dead at the time. But according to recent intelligence, he may have used the secret art tied to the Sharingan—Izanagi—to escape death and ultimately survive."
Kyoichi spoke evenly.
The Nine-Tails was silent for a long moment.
Izanagi? Never heard of it…
But the Sharingan was indeed a strange and dreadful thing, and Madara possessed the Eternal Mangekyō. Perhaps it was possible.
It bared its teeth and then lay down again. "And what's that got to do with me?"
"Oh? You've no interest in severing the contract within you that binds you to him?" Kyoichi asked.
"Hmph. What difference does it make? Even if it's broken, I'm still imprisoned inside your so-called jinchūriki. Freedom remains an illusion. For me, there's no difference at all."
The beast's tone was stubborn—but the truth was far from those words.
Its claws pressed hard against the ground. If not for this being a sealed mindscape, there would already have been deep gouges left in the earth.
"Why are you sighing?"
"Nothing much. Just that bodies are often more honest than mouths. You say you don't care, but you look plenty angry to me."
"Damn it! I'm not angry at all!"
The Nine-Tails roared in fury, its paw slamming against the seal, shaking the entire mental space.
Kyoichi stayed seated.
"If you're not angry, why rush to deny it? Sit. Talk slowly. I can tell you a great deal about Madara. You've heard of the Rinnegan, haven't you?"
"Hm?"
Kurama blinked, not understanding why Kyoichi had brought up the Sage of Six Paths' eyes.
"Those eyes once belonged only to the Sage. But now, there's a second pair. We suspect Madara somehow advanced the Sharingan into the Rinnegan."
Kyoichi's words struck it dumb.
The Sharingan… evolving into the Rinnegan?
"I don't believe it…"
"Believe or not, that's your choice. We also found instructions among the Uchiha's stone tablets—methods for controlling the tailed beasts. No doubt, that's how Madara bound you."
Kyoichi went on, describing much of the stone tablet's content.
"Ugh…" Truth be told, Kurama almost believed him.
He spoke with such detail, so vividly. Much of it matched what Kurama already knew, with only a few discrepancies. The rest was dead on.
"And that's not all. Using Hashirama's cells, Madara bred strange beings, nearly undetectable even by normal sensing techniques. Even for me, finding them takes effort…"
"Enough…"
"I suspect he's still scheming to gather the tailed beasts."
"Enough! Damn brat! You're just like that white-haired one—both of you devils! What do you want to know?"
Kurama finally broke.
Its mindset had shifted.
First—Madara being alive and even wielding the Rinnegan? That alone was unbearable. Knowing that Madara lived better than it did, while it had rotted away in captivity for decades… it was infuriating.
Especially because—Madara wasn't just living well. He was creating servants, plotting to gather the tailed beasts.
How the hell was that a dead man? He was practically trying to reach the heavens!
"The tailed beasts' origins. Did you know the Sage of Six Paths?"
"The tailed beasts… we were created by him."
"I knew it…"
Kyoichi wore a face of feigned non-surprise.
Kurama snapped, "Don't act like you already knew! If you did, why ask me?"
"Maybe I don't know Madara's full plan, but the stone tablet did mention a certain project. It also explained how to control the tailed beasts. Clearly, the Sharingan and Rinnegan are deeply connected to you all."
"Hmph. And then?"
"And then? Though I don't know how exactly you were created, the Rinnegan clearly possesses extraordinary powers. If someone were to gather all of you together… wouldn't something unimaginable occur?"
"Ugh…" Kurama fell silent.
Was this truly written on the tablet, or merely deduced? If it was the latter, then this human was terrifying indeed.
"By the way—there's a legend the Sage created the moon. True or false?"
"Of course true." Kurama answered without hesitation.
"And what's up there?"
"Don't know."
It was blunt.
The tailed beast had lived long enough to know many things, but not everything. Still, after a moment, it added: "But I'm certain there's some kind of secret there."
"If I were to let you out… would you cooperate with us?"
"Hm?"
Kurama's head jerked up, but then lowered again. "Tch. You think me a fool? If a jinchūriki loses the tailed beast, they die. You'd never release me."
"Not all of you. Just a part of you. For instance… your Yang chakra half."
"Wha—?!" Kurama's eyes went wide, staring at Kyoichi in disbelief.
He knew about the split…
Incredulous—and yet, it had to admit, tempted.
Even if only a fragment were freed, like sending out a clone, it was still far better than being wholly imprisoned.
But then—its thoughts turned back to Madara.
To be outside now… wouldn't that just be throwing itself into the fire?
Damn it!
It looked like there was a choice… but really, there wasn't one at all.
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