Isshiki's first reaction to Madara's proposal was, "How is that possible?"
"You may not understand human emotions, but you've at least seen them, haven't you? For the people they care about, some will do all kinds of things that go against their principles..."
Madara's tone carried a hint of mockery, though it was unclear who he meant.
Isshiki fell silent for One moment. Among the many humans he had deceived back then, quite a few had indeed prayed to gods and Buddhas for the sake of their families and children. They might not have been the majority, but their numbers were far from small.
Isshiki had even made the humans watch one another. All he had to do was promise to spare a few of them from becoming sacrifices, and those people would turn on the others and serve him.
There had been no shortage of people threatening others' families to force them to submit. Although Isshiki had little interest in human life, he had paid some attention to the methods they used.
Of course, in the end, Isshiki had spared neither those who threatened others nor those who were threatened.
Livestock had no right to bargain, after all. Once they had outlived their usefulness, they should be slaughtered.
He could not understand human emotions, nor did he want to.
"Enough nonsense. Bring the Ten-Tails back now."
"Then you'll have to let me move..."
Madara tried to push a little further, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped. Then he closed his eyes. "...You certainly took your time."
Someone's here?
Isshiki immediately caught on. Madara's behavior was practically telling him outright that everything he had just said had been an attempt to stall.
But a moment later, he smiled. It was an utterly pathetic attempt at distraction.
Because he