"Uchiha Ruohuo subdued the Five-Tails!?"
"Yes, you heard me right, Danzo."
The Hokage's office.
The plan to intercept the Five-Tails had officially fallen through.
Now they had to figure out what to do with the Five-Tails.
But Danzo and the two elders seemed to need some time to accept reality.
"Uchiha Ruohuo became the Five-Tails Jinchuriki!?"
Danzo's single eye was filled with disbelief as he asked repeatedly, "The Uchiha have a Jinchuriki now!?"
"I told you..." The Third rubbed his brow. "The kid broke the seal inside Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchuriki, freeing the Five-Tails."
"The kid and the Five-Tails are companions. He didn't become its Jinchuriki!"
Thinking of that kid Ruohuo's temper—and the lingering sting in his back—the Third tapped the desk.
"And don't bring up Jinchuriki in front of him. He's extremely sensitive about sealing Tailed Beasts inside people."
Hearing that, even Mitokado Homura, who had previously seen Ruohuo through the rosy lens of a child, furrowed his brow.
"But isn't that unavoidable? The Tailed Beasts have to be sealed somewhere. Their destructive power is too great. We can't just... let them roam free, can we?"
As soon as Homura said "let them roam free," something about it struck him as odd.
Let the Five-Tails roam free...?
Then what did that make the Nine-Tails? A house pet?
"Indeed." Utatane Koharu glanced at Danzo, who still seemed out of the loop, and agreed. "Our most pressing task is to choose a Jinchuriki for the Five-Tails as soon as possible..."
Danzo's gaze sharpened.
The Third tapped the desk again. "I said not to bring up the word Jinchuriki... at least, not for now."
Though he was repeating himself, his tone had softened considerably.
The three elders looked at the Third in confusion.
"You just don't understand..." The Third felt the pressure mounting.