Nine-Tails

Although the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal prevented Yakushi Nonō from saying many things, she still briefly recounted her experiences over the past few years.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew even more silent.

In the end, Uchiha Shisui was the one to break the silence. Although Yakushi Nonō had just been hunting him down, she had not only treated his wounds but also let him understand her hardships. He could not help but feel some sympathy for her.

"Isn't Shimura Danzō afraid of being punished by the Third Hokage for doing this?"

Uchiha Shisui spoke through gritted teeth, filled with rage toward Shimura Danzō. After all, the man had just taken one of his eyes.

His thinking was clearly far too naive, though. He actually believed Sarutobi Hiruzen could come out of this clean.

Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment. After seeing Naruto's memories, the goodwill he once held toward Sarutobi Hiruzen had vanished as well. "Shisui, Danzo is only an advisor, and Root is merely a part of the Anbu."

"Fourth Hokage, you mean...?" Uchiha Shisui clearly had not grasped Minato Namikaze's meaning. After all, his trust in Sarutobi Hiruzen had been unquestionable.

Yakushi Nonō looked at Minato Namikaze with complicated eyes. She could tell that he was deeply dissatisfied with the Third Hokage.

Minato Namikaze was somewhat speechless as he looked at Uchiha Shisui. Hadn't the guy just been played by Sarutobi Hiruzen?

"Shisui, Shimura Danzō is merely an advisor. He does not have much authority, so nothing he does can be hidden from the Hokage. The Hokage knows everything he does. In other words, many of his actions are carried out with Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacit approval."

"And Root exists only to secretly carry out things that the Anbu cannot do, just like how Danzo suddenly ambushed you and took your eye."

"That's impossible!" Uchiha Shisui instinctively refuted Minato Namikaze. Then he said, "I clearly proposed using my eye to resolve the conflict between the clan and Konoha. The Third Hokage already agreed to my plan. The Third Hokage also wants to change all this. Maybe... maybe the Third Hokage has his own difficulties too. Perhaps it was Shimura Danzō who interfered behind the scenes."

"..."

Seeing Uchiha Shisui looking almost obsessed, neither Minato Namikaze nor Yakushi Nonō knew what to say.

"Heh, what a foolish fool."

A cold laugh suddenly rang out, and a pair of blood-red vertical pupils, crimson like blazing torches, lit up beyond the door.

Yakushi Nonō looked over and found that the previously dark space had suddenly brightened. A massive fiery-red fox appeared before her.

"N-Nine-Tails?!"

Yakushi Nonō cried out in fright, but she immediately realized her lapse and hurriedly covered her mouth. Her eyes were full of disbelief and unconcealable worry.

The fiery-red fox that had suddenly appeared was far larger and more vividly colored than anything ordinary. Its ferocious face and the nine tails trailing behind it all proclaimed its identity: the Nine-Tails.

Although she had not been in the village during the Nine Tails Rampage, she had heard plenty of rumors. The devastation Konoha suffered afterward was still vivid in her memory.

Yet the Nine-Tails Demon Fox before her did not seem to show any hostility or intent to destroy. It simply lay there, its eyes full of disdain and contempt.

Yakushi Nonō, wearing glasses, suddenly noticed what seemed to be a book beneath the Nine-Tails' paw. So the sound of pages turning earlier had been made by the Nine-Tails.

A Tailed Beast could read too?

"Hey, woman, what's with that look in your eyes?"

The Nine-Tails suddenly glared viciously at the stunned Yakushi Nonō, frightening her into hurriedly lowering her head.

"S-Sorry."

That was the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts. Even the Fourth Hokage could only seal it away at the cost of his life. With it glaring at her so fiercely, it was still rather terrifying.

But she quickly noticed something else. This strange space, the Fourth Hokage, and the Nine-Tails... Could this be the Sealing Space where the Nine-Tails had been sealed?

They were sealed together with the Nine-Tails! Could this be the Nine Tails Jinchuriki?

As expected of an outstanding intelligence operative, she had deduced their current situation from just a few simple clues. Yet she still felt uncertain. If she remembered correctly, the current Nine Tails Jinchuriki was only around six years old. Could a child really accomplish something like this?

"Kurama, don't scare her."

Minato Namikaze spoke up. Since Naruto had specifically sealed her in here, he surely had a reason. It would be better for the Nine-Tails to restrain itself.

"Fourth Hokage! Do not call this old man by that name in front of outsiders!"

As if someone had struck a sore spot, the Nine-Tails shouted at Minato Namikaze. That name really did spoil the image of the strongest Tailed Beast somewhat.

Watching the Nine-Tails suddenly bristle, Yakushi Nonō found it even more unbelievable. The legendary Nine-Tails seemed far livelier than she had imagined.

"The Nine-Tails is here? What is going on? Fourth Hokage, wasn't the Nine-Tails already sealed?" Uchiha Shisui, whose mind had been overloaded by the flood of information, came back online, only to nearly get overloaded again.

"Hmph, you foolish little Uchiha brat, and you're still being kept in the dark by that old fart Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

The Nine-Tails' tone grew even more disdainful. It suddenly thought of that detestable Madara Uchiha. To think that this Uchiha descendant with the same eyes as him would be so foolish. It was hilarious.

"What exactly do you mean?" Uchiha Shisui felt his head aching.

"Hmph, Uchiha brat, that old fart Sarutobi Hiruzen is not nearly as righteous and glorious as you imagine. That old fart knows every single thing old fart Shimura Danzō has done. Human experiments, experimenting on ninjas from the same village, colluding with Amegakure—Sarutobi Hiruzen knows all of it. But that old fart does not care. So long as it does not affect his great and glorious image, does not threaten his power, and helps him remain firmly seated as Hokage, he will tacitly approve of Shimura Danzō's actions."

"Perhaps one day, when the Uchiha Clan threatens him, he might even tacitly approve of Shimura Danzō wiping out the Uchiha. Hahahahaha! Watching Madara Uchiha's clan be destroyed would make for quite an entertaining spectacle."

A malicious smile appeared on the Nine-Tails' face. Minato Namikaze looked at it in surprise. Only now did he realize that the Nine-Tails possessed so much intelligence about Konoha—and that it was so sharp-tongued...

Yakushi Nonō was also rather puzzled. Aside from a few Konoha Higher-ups, only Root should have known this intelligence. Every Root ninja had been branded with a curse seal, making it impossible for them to leak information. Where had the Nine-Tails learned all this?

The source of the information was naturally Naruto. Before, the Nine-Tails had been the only one Naruto could pour out his heart to. Since the two were originally one, they naturally talked about everything, cursing out whoever they caught.

Uchiha Shisui's mind crashed once again. Human experiments, experimenting on fellow Konoha ninjas, colluding with Amegakure... Had Konoha really done such things?

Just as Minato Namikaze was about to offer a few more words of persuasion, another voice rang out.

"Haha, I never expected my Sealing Space to become so lively."

Everyone turned toward the voice. A blond-haired boy, somewhat resembling Minato Namikaze, appeared out of thin air, holding two eyeballs in his hands.