"Why did you agree to help him?"
The Nine-Tails pressed his enormous head against the cold iron bars, his crimson, slit-pupiled eyes filled with undisguised confusion and a trace of anger, as though he had been made a fool of.
His voice echoed through the Sealing Space like muffled thunder.
"Konoha was wrecked, devastated. Isn't that exactly what you wanted, brat?
You hate this place, those ignorant fools, and those lofty rulers who turned a blind eye to your suffering!
It wasn't completely destroyed, but this will still hurt them for a long time.
Why would you turn around and help them rebuild?"
Naruto's consciousness remained seated cross-legged before the sealed gate. He did not answer the Nine-Tails' questions directly.
"There's a poem I'm very fond of."
The Nine-Tails froze. "A poem? What poem?"
How had he never seen any poem?
Naruto ignored him and recited two lines in a clear, measured voice:
"A monk may be a fool, yet still be taught; a demon's wicked schemes bring certain ruin."
The Nine-Tails was utterly baffled and shook his head irritably. "What does that mean? Speak plainly!"
Only then did Naruto turn his gaze back to the Nine-Tails. Deep within his azure eyes, ice seemed to crack apart, revealing an even darker, deeper pool of cold beneath.
"Konoha's ordinary residents, the people who feared me, shunned me, and threw stones at me, are the 'ignorant fools.'"
Naruto explained.
"They're the 'monk.'
Ignorant, blindly obedient, and easily incited, but at heart, they're merely tools deceived and conditioned by Third, Danzo, and the other higher-ups.
They're the ruled, people treated as tools by their rulers.
They aren't the root of the evil themselves.
With correction, guidance, or... an 'education' in facts, perhaps there's still room for them to change."
He paused, his voice