In the empty, deathly silent basement, Tobirama Senju's cold, hard voice echoed between the walls, sounding especially grating.
At the faintly arrogant opening remark, the Nine-Tails' eyelids twitched sharply. It had been pinned to the floor, feigning sleep. A moment later, its massive head lifted slightly, and its tightly shut eyes snapped open.
Those scarlet, slit-pupiled eyes brimmed with savagery and icy killing intent as they fixed on Tobirama Senju, standing at the edge of the raised platform.
At the same time.
Without any warning, chakra even more violent than what the two had sensed in the passage erupted from the Nine-Tails' enormous, restrained body.
A tailed beast was still a tailed beast, after all.
Even in its utterly wretched state, with all nine of its prized tails pinned to the floor by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Nine-Tails possessed power that transcended the gulf between species. Before such strength, humans seemed far too insignificant.
For an ordinary ninja, this chakra, steeped in a tailed beast's immense will and pure hatred, was nothing short of a bottomless abyss.
Anyone whose resolve was not firm enough could suffer a mental breakdown simply from spending too long in contact with a tailed beast.
Fortunately, Tobirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki were no ordinary ninja. They soon adapted to this malicious chakra.
"Nine-Tails, calm down. I came here today with no ill will toward you."
"I am Konoha's Second Hokage. I came here in person specifically to negotiate with you and seek your cooperation."
o
Tobirama Senju spoke without the slightest change in expression.
Yet to the Nine-Tails, those words sounded utterly absurd.
"Negotiate...?"
"You imprison me in this underground hole where daylight never reaches... and you humans call that... having no ill will?!"
"Hmph... that hypocrisy of yours runs right down to the