Hoshiyomi's gaze was calm but piercing as he asked,
"So, what do you think of that arrangement?"
Even though the Nine-Tails had mentally prepared himself, hearing Hoshiyomi's plan still filled him with fury. The massive beast slammed a paw against the bars of its cage with a thunderous boom.
"Gekko Hoshiyomi, do you take me for a fool?
Don't think I can't see through you — you're just trying to trick me into helping Kushina become a perfect jinchūriki!
This nonsense about 'making her perfect will set me free' — it's all lies!"
As the Nine-Tails roared, Hoshiyomi didn't rush to argue.
He simply stood there in silence, watching as the beast vented its rage.
Kushina, standing beside him, wanted to defend her teacher — to insist that Hoshiyomi wasn't that kind of person — but he raised a hand and stopped her.
The two of them just stood quietly, letting the Nine-Tails roar.
Eventually, being stared at like that made the great fox lose steam.
After a few moments of snarling and pawing, it finally huffed, turned its massive head aside, and flopped down with a sulky look — like a giant cat pretending to ignore them.
Hoshiyomi quietly watched the Nine-Tails throw its little tantrum. After a moment, he spoke calmly:
"Actually, you know the answer in your heart, don't you? For a Tailed Beast, this is almost the best option possible. It's very difficult for other Tailed Beasts to reach this stage."
"Even if they want to build a good relationship with their Jinchūriki, they are often limited by the Jinchūriki's physique and talent, not to mention the fact that many Jinchūriki would never reconcile with their Tailed Beasts in the first place."
"All I can say is, if you miss out on a Jinchūriki like Kushina, it will be hard for you to find a better candidate."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails' big head still didn't turn back, but its ears twitched slightly. Clearly, Hoshiyomi's words had some effect.
Just as Hoshiyomi said, finding a Jinchūriki like Kushina was truly rare. Ordinary Jinchūriki could hardly withstand the full power of a Tailed Beast, but Kushina was born with powerful chakra and vitality.
What was even rarer was that Kushina held no hatred for the Nine-Tails. Thanks to the presence of Hoshiyomi and Mito, Kushina had always been well protected, and very few people knew she was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Besides, Kushina's straightforward personality never treated the Nine-Tails as a burden or a nuisance. Although the two often bickered and argued, the element of playful companionship was clearly more prominent.
Thinking this, an image of Kushina's smiling face surfaced in the Nine-Tails' mind, along with her words, "I suddenly realize you're actually quite cute sometimes, you big fox."
It really seemed just as Hoshiyomi said; Kushina was indeed an excellent candidate.
Once this thought arose, the Nine-Tails violently shook its head. Kurama, what are you thinking? If you keep thinking like this, you'll really fall into this human's trap!
But even as it thought this, it couldn't help but recall the joyful times spent with the Old Man (Sage of Six Paths) all those years ago. To be honest, during these days with Kushina, it had felt a little of that old feeling again.
Aaaaagh! No, no, no — this won't do!
The Nine-Tails shook his head violently and growled irritably, waving a claw.
"Gekko Hoshiyomi, stop trying to sweet-talk me! I'm not agreeing to this!"
Hoshiyomi sighed quietly. So it failed after all…
Maybe, he thought, it was simply because the bond between Kushina and the Nine-Tails wasn't deep enough yet.
If that was the case, then it couldn't be helped — it would just have to take time.
Given Kushina's personality, maybe one day the fox would change his mind.
Taking a slow breath, Hoshiyomi said,
"If you don't agree, then there's nothing we can do. After all, the choice is still yours... Kushina, let's go."
He gestured for her to leave the spiritual space with him.
Neither of them noticed that behind them, the Nine-Tails had suddenly lifted his head.
As they were about to fade into the distance of Kushina's spiritual world, the fox finally couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted after them:
"Hey! Wait! What exactly did you mean by that last part!?"
Kushina turned her head with a puzzled look toward the Nine-Tails and said,
"What do you mean, 'what did I mean'? Are you an idiot, big fox? 'Nothing we can do' means there's nothing we can do! If you don't agree, what else can we do? Tie you up and force you to agree?"
As she spoke, Kushina suddenly pictured herself standing on the Nine-Tails' giant head, cracking a whip while laughing like a dominatrix, and couldn't help but burst into giggles.
Lost in her silly imagination, she didn't notice the way the Nine-Tails' pupils suddenly contracted.
That kind of unguarded, instinctive response often revealed a person's truest feelings—and the fox's innate sense of good and evil told him that what Kushina had just said came straight from her heart.
That… was something he hadn't expected at all.
In his mind, no matter how kind Kushina might act on the surface, she had to be just another human who wanted to control him.
He had thought that Hoshiyomi and Kushina would be just like Uchiha Madara—that if he refused to cooperate, they would try to tempt him with the promise of "freedom," or simply use force to make him submit.
But he never imagined… that from the very beginning, these two humans had genuinely meant to let him choose for himself.
When he put together Hoshiyomi's earlier words and everything he had seen from Kushina in their daily life, the Nine-Tails began to realize—these two really were different from the rest of humanity.
For the first time, something inside him began to waver.
Images flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern:
the Sage of Six Paths… Hashirama Senju… Madara Uchiha…
and finally, they froze on the image of Kushina smiling as she pressed a hand to his nose.
Maybe Hoshiyomi was right.
For who he was now, Hoshiyomi's plan might truly be the best possible outcome.
After a moment of silence, the Nine-Tails finally spoke:
"Hey, Gekko Hoshiyomi."
Hoshiyomi, who had already given up, turned in surprise.
He looked at the fox with a trace of curiosity — Wait, is this a turnaround?
"Could you step outside for a bit?"
"I want to speak to my jinchūriki alone."
When Hoshiyomi heard that, a flicker of triumph crossed his eyes. It's working.
"Of course."
He agreed almost eagerly, then turned to Kushina with a reassuring smile and said softly,
"Go on. Talk to him.
What happens next… depends on you."
Kushina nodded lightly.
Once Hoshiyomi's presence faded from the spiritual space, she slowly walked toward the Nine-Tails.
She was still a little confused, but she wasn't stupid.
After hearing the entire conversation between Hoshiyomi and the fox, she more or less understood what was going on.
She knew that Hoshiyomi was trying to help her—and she also began to see through the Nine-Tails' arrogant, ferocious façade.
At that moment, Kushina finally grasped the real issue:
Humans and tailed beasts should have been equals.
But because tailed beasts possessed overwhelming power, humans—even after subduing them—still feared them.
That fear led to misunderstanding on both sides, and that misunderstanding had long since thrown the balance between them off.
And the jinchūriki — the one who existed as the bridge between humans and tailed beasts — was the only being who could mend that rift.
So then… could she, as a jinchūriki, be the one to set that balance right again?