Chapter 161: How to Deal with the Nine Tails
At this moment, Uchiha Dali was deep in thought.
He decided to let Minato Namikaze and Kakashi handle the matter on their own for now. Seeing that he remained silent, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but speak up: "Lord Fourth Hokage, we're fully prepared."
"As soon as you give the order, we'll immediately declare war on the Akatsuki."
As he spoke, the other elites showed no strong reaction.
This clearly wasn't just his own opinion, nor solely that of the Uchiha Clan—it was a consensus that all of Konoha had reached.
From the top, with the likes of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado, down to the clan heads of every major family—everyone was ready.
All they were waiting for was Uchiha Dali's command.
Snapping back to reality, Uchiha Dali looked at the resolute faces before him.
"It's just the Akatsuki. Nothing worth making a fuss about. They're not even worthy of a full mobilization."
"Everyone, return to your tasks. Don't be distracted by this—I'll take care of it."
"Our original plan remains unchanged. Our goal is to create true peace in the Shinobi World."
Hearing Uchiha Dali say this, all the elite shinobi present felt a subtle sense of relief.
Though they supported the option of war, war inevitably meant casualties.
So if there was a gentler way to resolve things, they wouldn't refuse it.
The "original plan" Uchiha Dali referred to was, of course, the continued expansion of education and economic development.
The root cause behind the constant wars in the Shinobi World was economic in nature.
As the saying goes, "The barefoot fear nothing."
If everyone had enough to eat, clothes to wear, jobs to do, and a surplus to live in peace, who would willingly risk their life in battle?
Uchiha Dali was very confident that through reforming education and boosting the economy—once the Shinobi World was unified—he could ensure that peace would endure even without him.
That was the top priority.
And such a plan wouldn't be changed because of something as minor as the Akatsuki—or any other enemy.
"What about Lord Minato and Lord Kakashi?" asked Uchiha Shisui.
The others were curious about this too.
After all, Minato Namikaze's wife had been killed by one of their former students.
As the village's leader, if he didn't do something in the face of his subordinate's grief and suffering, wouldn't that seem… off?
Uchiha Dali nodded. "Minato isn't as fragile as you all imagine. In terms of strength and intelligence, there are few in the Shinobi World who can match him."
"I trust him deeply. Right now, I'm letting him and Kakashi try to resolve the issue—after all, Uchiha Obito was once a close comrade to both."
"If they can't bring themselves to do it, then I'll personally step in."
With that response, no one said anything more.
After all, they knew Minato's strength well, and had faith in him.
And since Uchiha Dali had already made a clear commitment, what more needed to be said?
"Lord Fourth, what should we do with the Nine Tails?"
Uchiha Shisui asked again.
The village's reconstruction and cleanup were already underway.
But the Nine Tails remained a major headache.
Even finding a new vessel to seal it into wouldn't be easy.
"Let's go take a look."
Uchiha Dali had been intending to deal with that matter as well. Hearing the question, he stood up.
Everyone followed him out of the conference room.
Outside, from a distance, Uchiha Dali could see the enormous form of the Nine Tails—like a mountain—confined in a barrier on the outskirts of the village.
"Bring One-Tail, Four-Tail, Five-Tail, and Six-Tail with you."
He gave the order to Uchiha Fugaku and then headed toward the Nine Tails' location.
Before long, Bunpuku, Rōshi, Han, and Utakata were gathered and joined Uchiha Dali on the way to the barrier.
Seeing a large crowd of shinobi approaching, the Nine Tails flew into a rage.
"Damn humans! You dare imprison me here? Once I break free, I'll tear you all to pieces!"
The Nine Tails roared in fury.
Just then, Shukaku, the One-Tail inside Bunpuku, couldn't resist mocking him: "What a pathetic guy… Already lost your freedom, and still acting all high and mighty. Hehehehehe…"
"That voice…"
The Nine Tails narrowed its eyes and glanced down at Bunpuku.
With one look, it immediately spotted a phantom figure behind the old monk—it was Shukaku, the One-Tail.
"So it's you… Hmph. Shukaku, you're sealed inside a human too. What right do you have to mock me? Want another beating?"
At that moment, another voice came from inside Rōshi: "After all these years, you're still as arrogant and deluded as ever, Kurama."
"That voice… Sun Wukong, that bastard? A loser like you dares speak to me?"
The Nine Tails snapped back sharply.
At the same time, it felt a wave of surprise.
It wasn't just sensing the chakra of One-Tail Shukaku and Four-Tail Sun Wukong—but also Five-Tail Kokuō and Six-Tail Saiken.
Even more shocking was that they all seemed to have submitted to Konoha. At this moment, all the Jinchūriki stood with the Konoha shinobi.
For a moment, the Nine Tails realized something had changed.
Its eyes grew even more fierce and disdainful.
"Kurama, we're not here to argue with you. We came to talk about serious matters."
It was the Five-Tails, Kokuō, who spoke.
Hearing that, the Nine Tails knew it had guessed right. With a disdainful snort, it growled, "So you've all chosen to be dogs for the humans—just like what that bastard Hashirama Senju did to us!"
"Haven't you had enough of that kind of life? You fools! Don't you dare claim to be like me—don't even say you're tailed beasts!"
The Nine Tails bellowed in rage.
Unfortunately, its body was still restrained and immobilized.
Otherwise, it would've blasted these traitors with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"It really doesn't know what's good for it," said Rōshi.
Hearing a mere human dare judge it, the Nine Tails shot him a fierce glare.
At that moment, Sun Wukong's voice echoed in Rōshi's mind. "Among all nine tailed beasts, Kurama's strength ranks first. Of course it's more prideful."
"Oh?"
Rōshi was surprised.
"The tailed beasts' strength is based on the number of tails?"
He asked curiously.
"Not exactly. Back in the ancient days, none of us would yield to one another, so we constantly fought. But we were always stopped by the old man. One time, though, the battle got intense, and no one stopped us. That's when we truly settled the rankings—Kurama first, Gyūki second, and then me…"
Sun Wukong explained how their power rankings had been decided after a fierce battle long ago.
After hearing it, Rōshi's expression grew solemn. "Looks like taming this Nine Tails won't be easy for Uchiha Dali."
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