The Nine Tailed Beasts? Must Capture Them All

"Hmph."

Kurama looked helpless, as if being held in the arms of Shizuka Uchiha was a great grievance; it turned its head away, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Haha...!"

Seeing Kurama like this, Senju Fujima couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What? Kurama isn't the only Tailed Beast? There are eight others?"

At this moment, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were sitting in the office with Sasuke Sarutobi present. Sasuke was reporting information provided by Enma to the two Hokage, leaving them both deeply shocked.

"That's right. Although we have never seen them, the summoning animal clans like Enma have a much clearer understanding of them."

"It is said that a thousand years ago, there was a terrifying Ten-Tails, but for reasons unknown, it was forcibly split into nine Tailed Beasts by the Sage of Six Paths."

"Kurama is the most powerful among them, but as for the strength of the others, we have no way of knowing."

Sasuke Sarutobi relayed all the intelligence he possessed, which indirectly reminded Hashirama and Madara that there was a constant risk of Black Zetsu summoning these eight Tailed Beasts at any time.

"Understood. Thank you for your hard work, Sasuke. You may return now."

Hashirama Senju looked at Sasuke Sarutobi, nodded slightly, and signaled for him to leave.

"Then I shall take my leave."

Sasuke Sarutobi nodded slightly and turned to depart.

"Madara, tell me, if that person were to summon all eight of these Tailed Beasts at once, what do you think the outcome would be?"

After Sasuke Sarutobi left, Hashirama Senju furrowed his brows, turned his head, and asked Madara Uchiha.

"If they appeared one by one, neither of us would have anything to fear."

"But if all eight appeared simultaneously, even the two of us would be spread too thin."

"It is very likely that our entire Konoha Ninja Village would be wiped out. Even if we both survived and managed to capture the eight Tailed Beasts, it would be to no avail."

Madara Uchiha frowned deeply. He knew that if eight Tailed Beasts appeared directly inside the village—especially in the center—it would be incredibly difficult to handle. Ordinary villagers, even chunin and genin, would have no chance of escape.

This left both men feeling troubled. After all, they had not yet awakened the Rinnegan, and they currently had no way to deal with Black Zetsu, leaving them feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

"Indeed. If we don't prepare in advance, and Black Zetsu summons all eight Tailed Beasts at once, we might be fine, but I fear the casualties among the villagers would be catastrophic."

"Therefore, we must take action. We absolutely cannot allow Black Zetsu to summon all the Tailed Beasts at once."

Hashirama Senju frowned, nodded slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, spoke.

"Then what good plan do you have? We don't even know where that Black Zetsu is right now."

"How are we supposed to respond to this?"

Madara Uchiha was at a loss for a moment. They couldn't catch Black Zetsu, and they didn't know his whereabouts, let alone how to apprehend him. Relying solely on defense was truly a difficult predicament.

After all, they didn't know when Black Zetsu might launch a surprise attack, and that would be truly troublesome.

"Hmm, I have thought of a good strategy."

"But I don't know if it's feasible. I intend to have Izuna and Tobirama come over to discuss it."

Hashirama Senju already had an idea in mind, but he wanted to wait for the others to vote before making a final decision.

"What is the plan?"

Madara Uchiha was intrigued and quickly turned to look at Hashirama Senju, asking.

"Although we have established Konoha Ninja Village, there are still the other four great nations that have established Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure."

"But currently, these villages are in constant conflict, attacking one another. Not to mention that these villages are eyeing the Land of Fire with covetous eyes, all wanting to seize the abundant resources of this land."

"Since there are nine Tailed Beasts, we should capture all of them and then distribute them according to their strength."

"Since Kurama is the most powerful, we will keep it alone, and that will be enough."

"The other eight Tailed Beasts can be distributed equally, two to each village. This way, every village will have Tailed Beasts, which will serve as a deterrent to one another."

"As long as the Tailed Beasts are dispersed, the other villages will surely protect their own, and the fear we have of Black Zetsu summoning all eight at once will no longer exist."

"Perhaps this could also achieve peace and end the wars forever. What do you think?"

Hashirama Senju laid out his thoughts, intending to begin capturing the Tailed Beasts and distributing them equally among the four great nations, believing this might be the most perfect outcome.

"Hmph, impossible. Why should we capture the Tailed Beasts only to distribute them to them?"

"Do you mean to say that even with all nine Tailed Beasts in our possession, we cannot force them to surrender to Konoha?"

"Why is your head so rigid? We possess overwhelming power; can't we use that to end this chaotic era?"

"If we distribute them equally, and they use the Tailed Beasts to start wars, wouldn't that be very disadvantageous for us?"

"At the very least, if they use the power of the Tailed Beasts, our chunin and genin will be slaughtered. I don't think this is appropriate. If we are going to capture them, we must keep all nine Tailed Beasts in our own hands."

After hearing Hashirama Senju's words, Madara Uchiha understood his intent, but he frowned, holding a different perspective.

He believed that if the various villages obtained Tailed Beasts, they would inevitably become more arrogant than before, and it would lead to unnecessary casualties among the lower-ranked ninja during wartime.

This would greatly increase the likelihood of war, so he felt it was impossible to distribute the Tailed Beasts evenly.

"This?"

"What you say isn't without reason, so let's have Tobirama and the others, along with Fujima, serve as witnesses!"

"The minority obeys the majority, just like before. Do you dare?"

Hashirama Senju heard Madara Uchiha's words and fell into deep thought, feeling that he wasn't wrong, though the specific implementation would still require careful deliberation.

"Tch, what's there not to dare? They will definitely agree with the choice I proposed."

Madara Uchiha was extremely confident. He felt that doing this would certainly earn the approval of his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, and the others. He curled his lip in disdain as he spoke.

"Yo, where does that confidence of yours come from? Hahaha!"

"Do you remember last time? You lost to me, haha!"

Seeing Madara Uchiha's inexplicable confidence, Hashirama Senju laughed heartily.

"Tch, you just had good luck last time."

Madara Uchiha said, sounding somewhat unconvinced.