Chapter 152: The Tailed Beasts, Each One Loyal and Righteous
"Ahhh!!!"
Inside the Kamui dimension, the masked man, who had gone back to sleep, was once again jolted awake by a nightmare.
What had he dreamed this time?
Another one, back-to-back?
In the dream, after Kakashi stole his balls, he was rescued by Madara once again, then informed once more that Kakashi and Rin were in danger. He rushed over at full speed.
And then he saw a scene so horrifying it made his blood run cold.
Kakashi was holding a blade. He dug out Rin's heart, along with the flesh in front of it, and threw everything into a sealing scroll.
The sight was far too terrifying and shocking.
What the hell was that bastard Kakashi trying to do?
Was taking his eye still not enough? Did he even want to transplant Rin's organs into himself as well?
Was he trying to play some kind of three-in-one fusion?
Even though he knew it was a dream, an illusion, the masked man did not let down his guard.
People dream of what they think about during the day. But the problem was, he had never even had thoughts like this before. So how could he possibly have such a dream?
There was only one possibility. This was information being transmitted through the Sharingan that remained on Kakashi's side.
The masked man didn't know what exactly was happening over there, but if it was enough to give him such a perverse nightmare, he had no choice but to head to Konoha and investigate the situation personally.
….
Outside Konoha Village, at the mountain estate.
"Yakumo will come back to Amegakure with us. Once her body has fully recovered, we'll think about the tailed beasts again. Konoha has no objections to this, right?"
Shiromo turned his gaze toward Tsunade.
"That's fine."
This time, Tsunade finally stopped suspecting anything and agreed to Shiromo's suggestion directly and succinctly.
Over on Yuhi Kurenai's side, she hesitated, wanted to speak but held back.
She wanted to accompany Kurama Yakumo as her guardian.
But her responsibility wasn't limited to Kurama Yakumo alone. She was also the jōnin in charge of Team 8.
Of the three members of Team 8, Shino was fairly mature and calm. As for the other two, Kiba and Hinata, they clearly weren't at a level where they could stand on their own yet.
At a time like this, she couldn't abandon three people just for the sake of one.
That, too, would be irresponsible.
"Sigh."
Hashirama squatted in a corner, sighing deeply.
"What's wrong with you?"
Shiromo found it strange.
"Once the identity of the masked man was confirmed, big brother realized he has no way to refute what I said about 'the Uchiha being naturally evil.'"
When Tobirama said this, his tone carried an inexplicable hint of pleasure.
"Sigh."
Hashirama lifted his head dejectedly and glanced at his younger brother Tobirama, offering no rebuttal.
Because that really was the reason.
He never imagined that the Uchiha boy Kushina had described, one who aimed to become Hokage, who was sunny, innocent, kind-hearted, and helped elderly women cross the street, could end up doing something like this.
Logically speaking, based on what Kushina had described before, even if Konoha hadn't done him a favor, they certainly hadn't wronged him.
Yet he had mercilessly murdered the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and even caused the deaths of countless comrades in the village.
If one were to say that Konoha had wronged him, like in Nagato's case where his parents were indeed killed by Konoha ninja, then that would at least make sense.
But the problem was, Nohara Rin wasn't killed by Konoha.
So this wasn't revenge.
Was it for a cause, then?
To capture the tailed beasts and create the Ten-Tails?
That didn't add up either.
Shiromo had clearly told them that the Akatsuki's original plan to gather the tailed beasts and revive the Ten-Tails required collecting them in order.
They had to start from the One-Tail.
So the masked man couldn't possibly have been acting to capture the Nine-Tails for the plan, choosing to "sacrifice his own family for the greater good."
Hashirama racked his brains and still couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for the other party.
In the end, he could only despairingly accept his younger brother Tobirama's claim that the Uchiha were "naturally evil."
"First Hokage, since we're on this topic, can you guess what I'm thinking right now?"
Shiromo let out a light laugh.
"Thinking about what?"
Hashirama looked at Shiromo in confusion.
"I'm thinking about the tailed beasts you captured back then. Each and every one of them was loyal and full of feeling, yet they were all sealed away and became the root of hatred."
"The tailed beasts, loyal and full of feeling? You're joking, right?"
Tobirama was taken aback.
"When Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation to revive you in Amegakure, didn't you sense the chakra of the Seven-Tails, Chōmei, in Amegakure?"
"The Seven-Tails is living in harmony with its jinchūriki right now."
"…It does seem like we did."
Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged glances and confirmed it with each other.
They hadn't intentionally tried to sense it, but their sensory abilities were simply too exceptional.
And since the Seven-Tails and Fū were coexisting harmoniously, there was no longer any need for a seal that forcibly suppressed chakra, so the tailed beast's chakra presence was completely exposed.
"Can tailed beasts really reconcile with humans?"
Both Hashirama and Tobirama looked full of curiosity.
Even Senju Hashirama, the reincarnation of Asura who habitually saw the good in people, had once said to the Nine-Tails, "Your power is too strong. You must be sealed."
The "power is too strong" here wasn't in comparison to himself or Madara, but to ordinary people.
That meant that in Hashirama's eyes, the Nine-Tails was still an uncontrollable beast. Possessing such immense power would only bring disaster, so sealing it was necessary.
But now, it seems that might not actually be the case.
After Shiromo gave a brief explanation, Hashirama slapped his palm against his forehead in remorse.
"So that means I did it wrong? If I'd known earlier, I should have sworn brotherhood with the Nine-Tails and teamed up to take down Madara, then had it help guard Konoha after I died."
It could only be said that under Shiromo's guidance, Hashirama Senju had finally learned how to draw inferences and figured out how to raise someone else's favorability.
Indeed.
At that time, the Nine-Tails was under Madara's Sharingan control and hated Madara the most.
If Hashirama had simply released it from that control and then properly treated the Nine-Tails, approaching it like a tsundere heroine, then the Nine-Tails, which hadn't yet been filled with hatred due to sealing, could have been completely won over.
If the Nine-Tails was willing to sacrifice itself in Baryon Mode for the next reincarnation of Asura, then being moved by this generation's reincarnation of Asura and becoming Konoha's guardian beast was not impossible.
"Yes. The tailed beasts now are filled with hatred toward all ninjas because of being sealed. If you want to earn their recognition again, you have to start from negative favorability and slowly work your way up, step by step. It's extremely difficult."
"On top of that, jinchūriki themselves don't have much goodwill toward the tailed beasts to begin with. The mental and physical pressure brought by the tailed beast makes it very hard for a jinchūriki to 'win over' a tailed beast."
Shiromo spoke calmly.
"No wonder you want to use tailed beasts from the illusionary world as substitutes. These tailed beasts really are good kids… uh, good animals. They shouldn't die."
Hashirama sighed deeply.
"…"
Tsunade listened from the side and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
First, due to a mistaken understanding, the favorability dropped into the negatives. Now, she had no choice but to slowly work her way back up from below zero.
Wasn't that exactly the situation she was in with Shiromo right now?
Good grief. Could this be a Senju clan tradition?
"Well then, things are finished here. If you're not in a hurry, how about staying in Konoha for a few days before leaving?"
After thinking this over, Tsunade made an invitation to stay.
"…Let's stay a few days. Big brother and I would like to take another look at Konoha. And I can also help with one more thing."
Senju Tobirama made his request to Shiromo.
This was a bit strange.
From the look of it, the Second Hokage clearly had some other purpose in mind.
(End of this chapter)