Yuki Seisui had no idea what Minato or Hatake Sakumo were discussing.
Minato was off with Sakumo, intercepting supplies, while Seisui was in the forest outside Konoha.
"Kyuubi… do you really think that Nine-Tails is stronger than you?"
Seisui leaned against a large tree, looking up at the towering One-Tail, Shukaku, with genuine curiosity.
Though you're way bigger than me, you look like you've got your pride too…
Shukaku's voice carried a tinge of frustration.
"I hate to admit it, but that stinky fox is indeed stronger than me… and the other seven of us combined."
Shukaku sounded almost choked up.
To the outside world, he was a living calamity.
But since arriving in Konoha, all he wanted was a proper nap in this forest.
Before he could even settle down, that Nine-Tails fox showed up—mocking him.
Mockery would have been bad enough, but it wouldn't leave!
A whole month! An entire month of this nonsense—who knew how it survived that long!
And that stinky fox had a mouth on it, and Shukaku couldn't even fight back.
It was heartrending to hear, tear-inducing to see.
A living calamity, reduced to such humiliation.
Seisui glanced at Shukaku, feeling a bit of sympathy, but cleared his throat and asked,
"Ever thought about giving that Nine-Tails a good beating?"
Shukaku froze for a moment, suspicion flashing across his eyes.
Wait… isn't this kid the fox's Jinchuriki?
When the Sand ninja had released him, they had beaten him up alongside that stinky fox.
And now… this kid was asking if he wanted to beat up Nine-Tails?
Something's off. Very off.
Shukaku's alertness instantly heightened.
He couldn't risk getting hit instead of the fox—it would be totally not worth it.
So, he didn't respond immediately, instead glaring suspiciously at Seisui, wondering why he would even ask such a thing.
Seisui, of course, noticed Shukaku's suspicion, but didn't care.
He cleared his throat lightly and continued,
"So… you want to?"
"Could it be that you're scared?"
"W-wait, no… I'm not scared… really!"
Shukaku hesitated, but seeing Seisui so determined, he finally nodded.
Well, if I'm going to die, might as well die trying. Even if I didn't want to, I do now!
Seeing the nod, Seisui's lips curved into a small smile.
"Tell me… why can't you beat Nine-Tails?"
Shukaku didn't hesitate.
"What other reason is there? His chakra is just way more than mine!"
He recalled something Seisui had said on the way back to Konoha and pouted.
The old man really bullies us tailed beasts!
Why does that stinky fox, so rude and ill-tempered, get all that chakra?!
Shukaku grumbled, and Seisui looked at him with a strange expression.
You? Ill-tempered? Nine-Tails is just tsundere. You, my friend… you're the real hothead.
He kept that thought to himself and asked further,
"So it's just a matter of chakra?"
Shukaku nodded fiercely.
If I had enough chakra, I would've beaten that stinky fox ages ago!
Ignoring Shukaku's foul mouth, Seisui nodded thoughtfully.
He wasn't asking out of boredom.
Back in the Uchiha clan's territory, after seeing Uchiha Renka's corpse, he had the idea to have Orochimaru study the Sharingan.
And now, speaking with Shukaku, the same thought came to mind.
Tailed beasts were chakra reservoirs.
When the Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails, it gave birth to the nine tailed beasts.
Not as powerful as the Ten-Tails, but it split an infinite energy source into nine interfaces.
Seisui shuddered to imagine how fast this could advance if utilized.
And as the Hidden Leaf's top scientist, Orochimaru would surely be interested.
Nine tailed beasts as clean, infinite energy… what a dream.
Hand over a three-tomoe Sharingan to Orochimaru to study, along with some chakra from a tailed beast…
A better world, just within reach.
Seisui gazed at Shukaku, continuing his inquiry.
"So your chakra determines your strength?"
"Speed, power, technique… it's all secondary?"
Shukaku's eyes darted sideways, sheepishly admitting,
"Of course. Our chakra decides everything."
His guilty demeanor was painfully obvious to Seisui.
Yet he didn't press the point.
If Shukaku's chakra truly decided everything, then speed and strength wouldn't matter—but that was impossible.
Still, Seisui was only after their infinite chakra.
As their conversation deepened, Shukaku revealed more about the tailed beasts.
Seisui's knowledge of them was no longer limited to the lore from his previous life.
When the Sage of Six Paths split the Ten-Tails into nine, he distributed chakra based on tail number.
But this wasn't simple chakra allocation—it was dividing the Ten-Tails' essence.
Before this world, chakra didn't exist.
Not only did it not exist, it was fundamentally absent.
Otsutsuki Kaguya planted the God Tree, and from it, chakra was born.
In a sense, chakra was the product of the God Tree—the Ten-Tails.
And the nine tailed beasts, born from its split, were embodiments of the Ten-Tails, with inherently infinite chakra.
Yet each beast's essence differed; the Nine-Tails had the most.
All tailed beasts had infinite chakra stock, but their output was limited.
One-Tail Shukaku's output was 1; Two-Tails, 2; Three-Tails, 3…
Eight-Tails, 8; Nine-Tails' output was 90.
The Sage of Six Paths' favoritism was glaringly obvious.
Seisui could understand it—after all, only young Nine-Tails was cute among the nine.
A little favoritism isn't so bad.
As Seisui pondered, Shukaku began to sense something off.
Suspicious, he looked at Seisui again.
"You're not tricking me, are you?"
Although the details were minor, if Seisui tricked him, Nine-Tails would mock him endlessly.
Seeing Shukaku's expression, Seisui realized he needed to reveal a bit more—or Shukaku would clam up entirely.