Chapter 150: Even Tailed Beasts Have Their Pride
As he watched the other party walk straight toward his sealed cage, the Four-Tails instantly felt a crushing pressure coming from Uchiha Dali.
That sensation grew stronger and stronger, making it difficult for him to bear.
"What exactly do you want?"
He asked in a deep voice.
"To beat you up."
"Damn brat… Don't think I'm someone you can bully so easily."
"If you were hard to bully, would you be sealed up in here?"
Uchiha Dali's retort almost choked him.
At that moment, Dali had already stepped through the seal and walked inside the cage.
The enormous body of the Four-Tails looked like a mountain compared to a human like Uchiha Dali.
And yet, the one trembling was the Four-Tails.
Those Sharingan alone were overwhelming enough.
Not to mention, all their past clashes had been battles where he and Rōshi had teamed up against this man.
"Oh?"
"So even a Tailed Beast can feel fear?"
Uchiha Dali sensed the change in its emotions through Observation Haki and couldn't help but tease.
"Wh-Who said I'm afraid?"
The Four-Tails tried to deny it—of course, he couldn't admit it now.
If he did, his image as the origin of evil, a harbinger of disaster, and a legend feared by almost all humans would be shattered.
"Since you've already defeated Rōshi, why come here just to humiliate me?"
The Four-Tails started backing down a bit.
His tone was still firm, but the words carried a hint of begging.
"You're the one who pushed him to act, aren't you?"
"He was already starting to accept my ideals, wasn't he?"
Uchiha Dali shot back confidently.
And he wasn't wrong.
As the beast inside Rōshi, the Four-Tails could naturally sense his Jinchūriki's thoughts.
However, even to a Tailed Beast, the idea of unifying the Shinobi World sounded like a far-fetched fantasy.
Now the Four-Tails finally understood.
"Wait a second!"
"You... You could hear the conversation between me and Rōshi?!"
Faced with Uchiha Dali's overbearing approach, the Four-Tails clearly panicked.
Only now did he realize something was off.
At the time, there had been no verbal conversation between him and Rōshi.
It had merely been an exchange of thoughts.
There was no way someone from the outside could have heard it.
So how?
Unless he could hear their mental communication.
But how was that even possible?
Uchiha Dali didn't hide it, but neither did he explain.
He simply replied, "In front of me, there are no secrets between you two."
"Now, make your choice: submit to me and use your power to support my goal, or continue rotting away sealed like this."
As he spoke, Uchiha Dali rolled up his sleeves with a friendly expression.
Judging by his posture, if the Four-Tails said even one wrong word—no, one wrong syllable—he'd be in for a beating.
Where was the dignity in that?
"With the strength you currently possess, sweeping across the entire Shinobi World is just a matter of time. So why would you even need my power?"
The Four-Tails asked.
Uchiha Dali smiled faintly. "Tailed Beasts are universally recognized as tremendous sources of power. Throughout history, your kind has either been feared or fought over."
"As for having your power but not using it—that's a completely different story than simply not having it at all. You do understand what I mean, don't you?"
After a few seconds, he added, "Besides, didn't you pay attention to what I said earlier? There's a group called 'Akatsuki' hunting down Tailed Beasts like you. Their goal is to capture every one of you to fulfill their ambitions."
"What I'm trying to do is gather all of you together to stop them. That's the simplest and most straightforward reason."
With that, he shrugged.
Then he crossed his arms and patiently waited for the Four-Tails' reply.
Seeing the Four-Tails fall silent, Uchiha Dali explained further, "If I really meant to harm you or had bad intentions, do you think I'd waste time standing here talking this much?"
The Four-Tails had to admit—it made sense.
If Uchiha Dali had meant him harm, he would've struck already.
There was no need for this kind of courtesy.
It seemed the kid had at least some sincerity—though not much.
After a brief hesitation, the Four-Tails nodded. "Brat, don't think I'm surrendering to you. I'm just curious to see how spectacularly you'll fail."
"Since you're dreaming of unifying the Shinobi World, I won't interfere. I'll just sit back and watch."
"Just don't blame me when you fail. That's all I ask!"
Uchiha Dali smiled again.
So Tailed Beasts understood tact and diplomacy too. They could read the room and adapt to the times.
He'd never intended to claim ownership over the Tailed Beasts anyway.
Now that the Four-Tails had backed down, there was no need to push any further.
He shrugged. "Got it. Even Tailed Beasts have their pride. I won't tell anyone you submitted just because I scared you."
"Now wake Rōshi up. We're going back to the Leaf Village."
With that, Uchiha Dali exited the mental space.
Moments later, the unconscious Rōshi began to stir.
His injuries had already mostly healed.
His gaze seemed a bit dazed at first.
After a while, when he looked at Uchiha Dali again, his expression had changed. The hostility from before was gone.
Clearly, the private conversation with the Four-Tails had taken effect.
When their eyes met, Rōshi calmly stood up from the ground. "I don't know how you convinced the Four-Tails, but since it suggested I follow you to the Leaf Village, I suppose I'll go see how you plan to create peace in the Shinobi World."
"If your plan is nothing more than brute-force conquest, then I'd say you don't even reach the level of childish."
Uchiha Dali didn't mind Rōshi's criticism.
So long as the man was willing to cooperate, that was enough.
He casually marked Rōshi's chakra signature and silently imprinted a permanent Flying Thunder God seal on him.
This was a lesson learned from when Uchiha Obito ambushed them and snatched the Three-Tails.
Now, if anything similar happened again, he could instantly locate and retrieve the Four-Tails and Rōshi using the technique.
"The Three-Tails has probably been sealed by now…"
As Uchiha Dali thought this, his Observation Haki spread outward.
With only the Three-Tails sealed, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path couldn't be revived.
So there was no need to rush.
He planned to find the other Jinchūriki in the Land of Earth first, then return to the Leaf. Everything else could wait.