Hoshiyomi and Minato returned to the spot where they had been fighting the Nine-Tails, and indeed they found the beast collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
Seeing Hoshiyomi and Minato come back, the Nine-Tails' eyes flashed with obvious anger. It bared its teeth and rose to its feet, looking like it could lunge and tear Hoshiyomi to pieces at any moment.
Watching that posture, Hoshiyomi suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Continuing to fight didn't seem necessary anymore. From the earlier clash he'd already formed a clear picture of the Nine-Tails' strength.
The Nine-Tails was indeed much stronger than the other tailed beasts. Right now Hoshiyomi could not, like Hashirama, casually subdue it; further fighting would only cause more pointless destruction.
Forcing the Uzumaki to seal the beast didn't feel right either — as someone who would later become one of Naruto's great allies, Hoshiyomi didn't want the relationship with the Nine-Tails to become irreparably hostile.
So… why not try negotiating?
With that in mind, Hoshiyomi raised a hand and made a tentative pause gesture:
"Stop. Stop. Stop."
The Nine-Tails, which had been snarling and baring its fangs, froze at that motion. It couldn't understand it — humans had always treated it like a rampaging monster, so why would this human suddenly ask for a ceasefire? Was he frightened?
When the Nine-Tails actually did stop, Hoshiyomi felt a quiet relief. It seemed the manga was right — tailed beasts could be reasoned with.
Thinking of how the Nine-Tails had behaved toward Naruto in the original story, Xingye Hoshiyomi a bit more confident. He faced the puzzled but still-alert beast and said:
"You see, we've been at it for quite a while now.
You've tried firing Tailed Beast Bombs at me — but you didn't manage to hurt me.
And me? Sure, I can cut you, but your regeneration's so strong that it doesn't really matter.
So how about we call this a draw?"
A draw?
The Nine-Tails' first reaction upon hearing this was, Has this human gone mad?
Its next reaction was suspicion — This is probably another trick of this human's. I mustn't fall for it. Just fight!
With that thought it bared its fangs and its huge paw came down to strike. Minato, standing nearby, tensed and prepared to use Flying Thunder God.
But Hoshiyomi remained calm and said:
"If you keep acting like this, I'll take it as a sign that our negotiations have failed."
At those words the Nine-Tails hesitated. It wasn't curiosity about the idea of negotiation — it was the tone in Hoshiyomi's voice that stirred a memory of another human.
That same calm, unshakable voice…
It reminded him of that man — the one who had once completely subdued him, yet never treated him as evil or sought to enslave him — Hashirama Senju.
After Hashirama had utterly defeated him, he had spoken in much the same tone: light, almost casual, yet commanding respect.
It even brought to mind the aura of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
If it hadn't been for Madara's cursed genjutsu forcing him to rampage through Konoha, the Nine-Tails might never have spent a century trapped in resentment and hatred.
Thinking of that smiling, infuriatingly kind face, the Nine-Tails' claw remained suspended midair.
A faint spark of curiosity flickered in its eyes.
Maybe… he would hear what this human had to say.
The beast still didn't speak, but it held its position, simply staring at Hoshiyomi.
Hoshiyomi took the hint and continued:
"You know as well as I do — if this fight keeps going, once the sealing team arrives, I'll help them capture you again.
And when that happens, you'll lose your freedom once more."
Hearing that, the Nine-Tails clearly bristled, but it didn't make a scene. Hoshiyomi was right — and besides, Hoshiyomi's behavior so far had been pretty civil. It seemed worth listening to him a little longer.
Hoshiyomi smiled at the beast's expression and said, "Being trapped in someone else's body for decades—you must yearn for freedom. You want to see the outside world. That's why you kept causing destruction in Konoha, isn't it?"
The Nine-Tails was unexpectedly moved by Hoshiyomi's words; they struck a chord. Ever since Madara used him to attack Konoha, he'd started his long imprisonment. He'd been inside Mito for decades—Mito never did anything to give him any life. She hardly ever spoke; the slightest disturbance would earn him the Adamantine Sealing Chains reprimand. Living inside Mito felt like endless darkness.
When Mito finally died, another girl named Kushina came along. She was more interesting than Mito, but still boring. How he longed to see the outside world, to breathe fresh air. This time, because Kushina disobeyed, he was released.
At first, he was indeed controlled by the Mangekyō to act, but after that wretched old man died, he originally thought he could just wander around.
But then the Konoha shinobi attacked without a second word. Who could tolerate that?
You might not believe it, but it's true! The Konoha shinobi really did throw the first punch, you know!
Just as the Nine-Tails was feeling infinitely emotional, Hoshiyomi's voice sounded again:
"In human wars, when neither side can beat the other but neither wants to keep fighting, they choose to negotiate. Our situation is similar. So—let's negotiate."
Under Hoshiyomi's steady persuasion, the Nine-Tails grew genuinely interested. He wanted to hear what a human who understood it better than Hashirama might propose.
Under the first light of morning, the Nine-Tails looked at the smiling human and finally spoke:
"All right. Since it's a negotiation, what terms do you offer?"
Minato, who'd been listening, was stunned when the Nine-Tails spoke — and even more stunned by Hoshiyomi's reply a moment later:
"If you promise from now on to protect Konoha and Kushina, and to stop needlessly harming humans, I'll give you your freedom."
The Nine-Tails stared at the human in utter disbelief — This human must truly have gone insane! He's talking about granting me freedom!
Minato beside him was also startled and quickly interjected:
"Sensei, you can't do that. That's the Nine-Tails! If we release him and later he rampages inside Konoha when we're not around, won't Konoha be finished?"
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails nearby snorted coldly. He bared his fangs at Hoshiyomi and said: "Hear that? You foolish human — if you set me free, the first thing I'll do is tear this Konoha that imprisoned me for so many years to pieces!"
...
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