"You humans really are as greedy as ever." The Five-Tails spoke with disdain, though its cold and arrogant tone had softened a little.
"You're not wrong. Humans are indeed a greedy species." Tōshirō didn't deny it. He slowly stood up, spread his arms wide, and adopted a grand, mystical tone:
"Looking at human history across the world, humanity has always been doing one thing—killing each other. Yet humans are full of contradictions. They crave peace, but then they destroy it."
At that, he grinned, his smile mysterious and unreadable. "Heh… just as you said, humans truly are greedy creatures, don't you agree?"
The Five-Tails silently watched the brat in front of it.
Tōshirō shook his head and shifted the topic. "Alright, enough about that. Let's talk about something else."
He was well-versed in the art of acting cool—you can't explain everything directly. Leave some things to the imagination.
The Five-Tails narrowed its eyes thoughtfully, curious about what Tōshirō would say next.
Tōshirō continued, "When I said I understood you earlier, you might've misunderstood. I didn't mean I want you to let go of your hatred toward humans."
The Five-Tails gave him a strange look. It was the first time it had ever heard someone say that.
"There's a human saying," Tōshirō said with a sigh. "'Don't urge others to be kind if you haven't endured their suffering. If you went through what I did, you might not be as kind as I am.' That's why I said I understand you. If I were in your place, I might not even be as composed as you are. As for what happened to you—I would never try to change you or preach to you. I don't have the right."
"You're a strange one…"
The Five-Tails looked at Tōshirō with deep meaning in its gaze.
In all the centuries it had lived, this kid was the first one to say something like that.
In the past, the people who sealed it were always spouting lofty nonsense about letting go of hatred or some moral high ground.
To the Five-Tails, that kind of talk was nauseating. Easy for them to say—they weren't the ones sealed in a cramped cage, unable to move.
So hearing Tōshirō speak like this, it couldn't help feeling slightly moved. In a way, Tōshirō had voiced exactly what it had always felt.
People feared it, hated it, believed the tailed beasts were natural disasters or monsters.
But they didn't know that in the past, it had tried to trust humans. And time after time, those humans betrayed that trust—until it ended up like this.
The Five-Tails asked, "So, after gaining my power, what do you plan to do?"
Without hesitation, Tōshirō replied, "I'm going to bring peace to the world."
The Five-Tails glanced at him. "Easier said than done. Even with my power, that's not something easily achieved."
Tōshirō smiled. "How would I know unless I try?"
"'Try'? Are you a child?"
Tōshirō laughed brightly. "I am a child."
The Five-Tails was momentarily speechless. Tōshirō had been acting so mature that it had actually forgotten he was just twelve or thirteen years old.
Under that astonished stare, Tōshirō smiled and said, "If you think something's right, then change what you can and accept what you can't. That's my ninja way."
Upon hearing that, the Five-Tails stared at Tōshirō for a moment, then turned its face away with a cold snort.
Though it still acted aloof and unfriendly, its tone had softened a great deal.
Having been oppressed for so many years, it couldn't possibly trust someone so easily. But what happened next still completely exceeded its expectations.
"Want me to undo the seal for you right now?"
"!?!?"
Faced with the Five-Tails' look of complete disbelief, Tōshirō grinned teasingly. "What's wrong? So happy you can't even speak after hearing I might let you out?"
"Aren't you afraid I'll take over your body?"
Tōshirō sighed. "The fact that you're asking me that just proves you won't."
The Five-Tails lowered its head and pondered that silently, but then Tōshirō's tone suddenly shifted and he burst out laughing: "Wait—you didn't really believe I was going to do that, did you? Too bad! I already predicted your prediction."
He pointed his thumb at himself, wearing the kind of smug smile that made people want to punch him.
Five-Tails: …
Why do I feel like my jinchūriki is missing a few screws?
And the Five-Tails wasn't exactly wrong.
In truth, Tōshirō was doing a bit of clumsy role-playing.
He had noticed that perfect jinchūriki always seemed a little off in some way—so he purposely built that kind of personality for himself.
"As for opening the seal and whether you'd steal my body—of course I'd be worried," Tōshirō said with a pause. "But... that's within my control."
The Five-Tails narrowed its eyes slightly. After so many years of being sealed, it detested the feeling of having its fate controlled by someone else. "Within your control?"
Tōshirō raised three fingers. "First, even if you did take over my body, the people around me have the power to seal you back in. You've seen Lady Mito's strength for yourself."
The Five-Tails, though annoyed, had to admit that was true.
"Second, if you did control my body and ended up being sealed again, then you'd lose my trust forever. Life wouldn't be so comfortable for you after that."
Five-Tails: …
"And third—my eyes."
"Your eyes?" The Five-Tails was stunned. During that brief pause, Tōshirō closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were dyed red, with three tomoe spinning near the pupils, glowing with crimson light.
The Five-Tails was visibly shocked. "The Sharingan!"
Tōshirō admitted openly, "That's right, the Sharingan."
The Five-Tails asked sharply, "Are you threatening me?"
It knew very well that the Sharingan possessed the power to control tailed beasts.
"This isn't a threat. I'm just being honest," Tōshirō shook his head. "I'm a simple—and petty—person. If someone treats me well, I'll treat them well. But if someone crosses me, I'll never forgive them. I'll hunt them down to the end."
The Five-Tails, recalling being controlled by the Sharingan, gave a cold snort, clearly annoyed. It retorted, "The power of your Sharingan is far weaker than that one's…"
Tōshirō froze.
What the Five-Tails said was true—using his current ocular power to control it would be nothing but a delusion.
But what truly surprised him was the implication behind the statement.
It sounded like the Five-Tails had experienced being controlled by the Sharingan. And from the tone, it must have been a recent event—otherwise, why would it bring it up now for comparison?
Even more interesting was the choice of words. The Five-Tails had said "that one" instead of "those eyes." Meaning, it was controlled by a single eye—and among the people Tōshirō knew, there was only one who fit that description:
Uchiha Madara.
If that assumption was right, then that meant Uchiha Madara had come into contact with the Five-Tails recently—and from the sound of it, probably roughed it up pretty badly.
Tōshirō still didn't fully understand why he had become a jinchūriki in the first place.
Why would Iwagakure's shinobi seal a tailed beast into him?
At first glance, it seemed to make sense—use the beast to destroy a village.
But thinking it over, there was a clear flaw in that logic. Why choose him? They knew he had a Sharingan. Wouldn't they be worried he might end up using it to control the tailed beast?
Sure, with his current level, there was no way he could manage that. But what about in the future?
It felt more like they were annoyed by how weak he was—and just handed him a "plug-in" power-up.What kind of ridiculous logic was that?
What was the motive?
And even if they really wanted to go through with it, wouldn't the smart thing be to take out his eyes first?
Unless… it was intentional. Otherwise, none of this made sense.
Thinking along those lines, Tōshirō couldn't help but think of Uchiha Madara again. But just as his thoughts started drifting deeper in that direction, the Five-Tails interrupted.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"For two reasons," Tōshirō said. "One, to give you a heads-up. And two—if you remember, I told you that from now on, the two of us are probably going to be stuck together forever. So I figured we should get along. That's why I'm being honest with you. Letting you out is part of building that relationship."
Five-Tails: …
"So," Tōshirō said with a grin, "I've laid it all out. Want me to let you out now? You won't get another offer like this again."
Even though he had broken down all the pros and cons, in the end, letting the tailed beast out was still a gamble.
"Go ahead and release me," the Five-Tails said with a cold snort.
If a jinchūriki wasn't afraid, then what did a tailed beast have to fear?
It was curious to see just what tricks this little human was hiding up his sleeve.
Once the seal was undone, the initiative would be in its hands.
(End of Chapter)
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