If you grabbed some random Konoha villager and asked them what they thought of the Nine-Tails, they probably would not have an opinion, because just hearing that name might scare them into fainting. Of course, they might also lose their minds out of sheer hatred.
If you asked a ninja what they thought of the Nine-Tails, even the toughest ninja would show helplessness, or despair.
It really was utterly hopeless. Before the Nine-Tails, you were like an ant that he could crush at any moment. The worst part was that he would not even be trying to crush you; he simply would not notice you beneath his paw when he set it down.
So what damage could a ninja do to the Nine-Tails? A Great Fireball? That would just give him a perm. The Great Waterfall Technique? That would just soak his feet. Lightning Release? That was just a massage!
They could not break through his defenses! Heh, the Nine-Tails' defenses would remain unbroken, while the ninja attacking him would have a breakdown instead!
To Konoha, the Nine-Tails meant blood and fire, disaster, and every negative emotion imaginable. Even someone at Kage Level had little recourse against him. Just look at Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, who had paid with his life to seal the Nine-Tails. Although his Flying Thunder God Technique could keep him undefeated, the need to protect Konoha had led to tragedy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was already advanced in years, and his raw strength fell short of Minato Namikaze's, leaving him with even fewer options against the Nine-Tails.
This was not to say that Kage Level figures were too weak. On the contrary, they were powerful, already at the pinnacle of strength in the Shinobi World. Among all those ninja, how many had Kage Level strength? But Tailed