"Don't go!"
"Let's talk some more!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was getting anxious. It was genuinely afraid Uchiha Nan would just leave.
The most terrifying thing wasn't darkness without end. It was seeing a glimmer of light in the darkness, only for that light to vanish in an instant.
When any creature was trapped in an abyss, as long as it could see hope, it would show incomparable patience.
It was only another decade or so inside Mito Uzumaki. It could bear it. Just hang in there, and it would be over.
A bright future was still waiting for it!
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox encouraged itself, its chance to regain freedom right before its eyes. It absolutely couldn't let this chance slip away.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"You can accept it?"
Uchiha Nan sneered inwardly. The giant fox had finally taken the bait.
"I can accept it!"
"It's only another ten years or so. I can handle it!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox patted its chest, showing that it was still strong and could overcome this little problem on its own.
Uchiha Nan nodded. Since the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had begun to give ground, this was the time to press for more. He now had the upper hand in the negotiations.
If he didn't set terms now, when would he?
"Let's make a three-part agreement. I promise to set you free after Mito Uzumaki dies. In return, you'll live near Konoha as its guardian Tailed Beast."
"Of course, Konoha will provide you with suitable protection and ensure you have everything you need!"
Uchiha Nan couldn't simply release the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and let it roam around as a wild Tailed Beast.
Even if he became Hokage, he couldn't just set the strongest Tailed Beast in the Ninja world free. The other village leaders wouldn't agree. That would shake the very foundations of Konoha's survival.
For all he knew, the moment he let the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox go, it could disappear—only to be captured by Madara Uchiha, hiding in some cave, and made to serve as his beastly mount again.
No matter how he looked at it, Uchiha Nan felt he was thinking of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's best interests. He just didn't know if it would understand his good intentions.
"What?"
"I still have to stay near Konoha?"
"That wasn't part of the deal!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was getting furious. Why had another condition suddenly been added? Damn that evil Uchiha!
"What did I say just now?"
"I did agree to free you from Mito Uzumaki and give you your freedom. I'm doing you such a huge favor. Don't I deserve something in return?"
"That's pretty ungrateful of you. You're not going to be as stingy as One-Tailed Shukaku, are you?"
"If that's the case, I'll respect your decision. I suppose I was wrong about you, Tailed Beast."
Uchiha Nan pretended to be unhappy, acting as if he'd misjudged it. Every word made the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox feel as though it had committed some terrible wrong and let Uchiha Nan down.
Especially since Uchiha Nan had just brought up One-Tailed Shukaku. Of the other eight Tailed Beasts, it was the one the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox got along with worst. They were always fighting.
To be lumped in with Shukaku? The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox couldn't accept that!
It was the strongest Tailed Beast. It would rather die than sink to Shukaku's level.
Thinking it over, living near Konoha wasn't necessarily so bad. The vast forests nearby weren't much different from the place it had lived before.
As for protecting Konoha, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox ignored that part without a second thought. It could just pretend to help when the time came!
It could fire off a couple of Tailed Beast Balls to show willing. Any enemy who couldn't withstand a Tailed Beast Ball wouldn't make it to Konoha anyway.
And if an enemy could casually withstand a Tailed Beast Ball, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox figured it probably couldn't deal with them either. Firing off a couple of Tailed Beast Balls before fleeing would be more than enough to repay Uchiha Nan.
If it didn't run when that time came, then all those years in prison would have been for nothing!
Whatever happened, it would agree for now. It had to get out of the little black room inside Mito Uzumaki first. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox couldn't even remember what it felt like to roll around in a sunlit patch of grass.
It could worry about everything else later!
Thinking this, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox suddenly felt the world open up before it, its thoughts no longer constrained.
As long as it waited for the right moment and kept a low profile, it would surely have its day, soaring like a bird into the open sky and swimming like a fish into the vast sea!
Ha! It really was clever. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox thought those poetic lines it had just come up with were wonderfully cultured. It had to recite them the day it finally escaped!
"I'll agree, for your sake!"
"I, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, am not an ungrateful Tailed Beast!"
A sly smile appeared on the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's face. It was so haughty that Uchiha Nan was delighted. This giant fox was surprisingly easy to handle.
"Then let's make our agreement official. Fist bump!"
Uchiha Nan wanted to try what Naruto Uzumaki had done. He'd heard it could let you connect with a Tailed Beast, though he didn't know if it was true.
His heart was pure, and he had no ill intentions toward the Tailed Beast. By the time Mito Uzumaki died, many years would have passed.
Maybe he'd even managed to extract the Rinnegan by then. Who would need a Tailed Beast?
"Fine!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox held out a fist larger than Uchiha Nan and bumped it against his. Unfortunately, nothing special happened. There was no telepathic connection at all. Perhaps they weren't close enough yet.
Uchiha Nan couldn't be bothered with that. He'd more or less achieved what he'd come for, so it was time to discuss the serious matter.
"Kurama, how are you going to help me?"
Uchiha Nan looked serious. He'd spent so many years with the Sage of Six Paths, and had lived for over a thousand years. He didn't believe the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had no tricks up its sleeve. Mito Uzumaki wasn't Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju, who had overwhelmed it with sheer strength. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had to have some way to influence her.
"Hmph. I've been trapped inside Mito Uzumaki for all these years, constantly using my Chakra to erode the seal. The amount of Chakra is tiny—so tiny it's almost impossible to notice."
"But I have all the time in the world. Even water can wear away stone. Mito will eventually grow old and weak. Once the seal weakens, I'll have my chance."
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox chuckled darkly, looking downright sinister. Uchiha Nan nodded. He really had judged the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox correctly.
Foxes were always sly and cunning.
Uchiha Nan gave the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox a thumbs-up, praising its perseverance in wearing away the seal drop by drop.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox felt a little smug and continued:
"Once you leave, I'll gather all the Chakra I've used to erode the seal. The seal will weaken, and I'll do everything I can to reclaim the Chakra Mito Uzumaki took from me."
"Then Mito Uzumaki will focus all her strength on suppressing me. She won't be able to maintain Tailed Beast Transformation. I don't need to explain the rest, do I?"
"Give that damn bitch Mito Uzumaki a good beating!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox grinned maliciously. It clearly had no good feelings toward Mito Uzumaki. She and Hashirama Senju were cut from the same cloth; neither of them treated the Tailed Beasts like people.
"No problem!"
Uchiha Nan agreed at once. He was great at beating someone when they were down. If he wanted to establish his authority, he had to start with the toughest opponent.
Before you continue