A long silence stretched in the shared mental space between Yagura and Isobu.
Both were deep in thought.
It seemed that the fragile mind of the tailed beast had been frightened.
But even if given another chance, Yagura would still make the same decision.
He could have followed Naruto and Killer Bee's path—slowly building a bond with his tailed beast, gradually mastering its power, and eventually becoming a perfect Jinchūriki.
But that was far too slow.
Who knew how long it would take for Isobu to open up? The guy was practically a shut-in.
Leveraging his knowledge of the future, Yagura had planned from the very beginning to "spoil" the plot for Isobu, convincing the beast that he was a reincarnated soul who had lived through everything before.
After all, this world was already bizarre enough. With techniques like Edo Tensei and Rinne Rebirth in play, claiming to be reincarnated was hardly a stretch.
By setting up a common enemy and shared objectives, he could ensure their interests aligned and foster cooperation.
The bond could come later.
"Are you telling the truth?"
After a long pause, Isobu finally spoke.
He couldn't find any flaws in Yagura's words.
But a sliver of doubt remained.
What if… just what if…
He understood all too well that if their opponent was really Uchiha Madara, even if Yagura gained his power, he would still be no match for him.
"Every word is true."
Yagura nodded firmly and decided to up the ante.
"Right now, Madara has already 'given' his Rinnegan to a ninja named Uzumaki Nagato. If his plan succeeds, Nagato will serve as his enforcer, collecting all nine tailed beasts and using the Rinne Rebirth to bring Madara back to life."
"In a few years, they will begin taking action."
Yagura kept his explanation concise, omitting certain details and subtly shifting the narrative.
In reality, Akatsuki's early actions were about recruiting rogue ninjas and taking on missions for funding.
The actual capture of the tailed beasts—the part Isobu feared the most—was still twenty years away.
...
For Isobu, today was the most exhausting day of his existence as a tailed beast.
First, he was overwhelmed and sealed away inside a tiny human's body.
Then, from that tiny human's mouth, he learned a series of terrible truths that threatened all tailed beasts.
And worst of all, this tiny human was clearly after his body (not like that) and his power.
Tailed beasts weren't the smartest creatures, but Isobu could still tell exactly what Yagura wanted.
"Do you even understand how strong Uchiha Madara is?" Isobu fixed his gaze on Yagura.
"Of course. Even the strongest of you, the Nine-Tails, was once nothing more than his summoned beast."
"Hmph." Even though this wasn't exactly the time for laughter, Isobu still felt a hint of amusement at the Nine-Tails' embarrassing history.
"Even if you master my power, you still won't be a match for Madara."
"We don't need to fight him."
As if that was even an option. If Uchiha Madara was revived, the world would be done for.
After the Pain arc, the Hokage era effectively ended.
In the Fourth Shinobi War, from the moment Edo Madara was summoned and started humiliating the Five Kage, the entire Naruto power scale spiraled into insanity.
From the very beginning, Yagura's goal had never been to fight that man.
He wouldn't allow the power levels to escalate to such absurd heights.
His mission was to shape a world that remained within the power scale of the pre-Pain era.
If things escalated beyond that, Yagura might as well take his hands off the keyboard and let Naruto and Sasuke handle the mess.
Because after that point, Konoha had Naruto and Sasuke as walking cheat codes.
No matter how strong Kirigakure became, it would always be relegated to second place, serving as Konoha's backdrop.
So.
Yagura's gaze darkened. "All we need to do is take down his proxies and destroy the Rinnegan."
Uchiha Obito, Uzumaki Nagato, Kabuto Yakushi…
And the mastermind behind it all—Black Zetsu.
If those four were eliminated, then no matter how much planning Madara had done in life, he was dead. What was he going to do—crawl out of the afterlife himself?
Isobu's eyes widened as a new train of thought opened up to him.
Right. They couldn't defeat Madara.
But his proxies? They were definitely beatable.
If they took them out before Madara could be revived, problem solved.
"Alright."
Though he couldn't be sure Yagura's words were entirely trustworthy, Isobu wasn't willing to take the risk.
After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded in agreement.
What if it was true?
Being sealed inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and transformed into the Ten-Tails would be far worse than being a Jinchūriki.
Even if he was being deceived, it would only be for a few decades.
Compared to the nightmare of the Ten-Tails and Madara, that was nothing.
At this point, his best option seemed to be trusting this little Jinchūriki and making sure he got stronger so that he wouldn't be captured by Madara's proxies.
Yagura's face lit up. "You're agreeing to cooperate? Isobu?"
"'Cooperate' sounds nicer."
Isobu had originally intended to say, "I'll let you use my power." But hearing Yagura's phrasing, he decided to change his words. "...Fine. We can cooperate. What's your name again?"
"Yagura. Karatachi Yagura!"
"Yagura."
"Yes~!"
Seeing how excited Yagura was just from hearing his name, Isobu suddenly felt an odd urge to smile.
"I'll give you a portion of my chakra first. Try to get a feel for it."
A sphere of chakra appeared before Isobu, hovering gently in the air.
It wasn't a Tailed Beast Bomb. Unlike that destructive force, this chakra ball was stable and refined.
...
Yagura's eyes gleamed as he watched the small orb of chakra slowly descend toward him. He reached out to catch it.
The moment his fingers made contact, he felt an overwhelming surge—this small sphere contained several times more chakra than his entire body!
Excited, he asked, "How do I use this, Isobu?"
Isobu glanced at him, but chose not to answer.
Instead, he simply said, "Someone's calling you outside. I'm going to sleep. See you next time."
"Huh?"
After everything that had happened today, even a tailed beast needed rest.
And when faced with difficulties—sleeping was always the best solution.
Before Yagura could react, the chakra orb surged forward, sinking into his body uncontrollably.
"Shit!"
A massive influx of chakra overwhelmed him, making him feel as if his body was about to fall apart.
His eyes nearly rolled back.
He barely had time to curse Isobu for not giving him any preparation before his consciousness was forcibly expelled from the mental space.
Faintly, he began to hear voices from the outside world once again...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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