If not for the clear sensation of its chakra, no one would have believed that the pitiful creature in front of them—head lowered, looking more like a ninken than a fox—was actually the Nine-Tails. It had completely lost the dignity of a tailed beast. The atmosphere fell into silence. Tsunade was the type... if someone went head-to-head with her, she might very well beat the Nine-Tails into submission. But when it acted meek , she couldn’t bring herself to handle it directly. After weighing things over, her sharp gaze fell on Kyoichi. You brat, look at the mess you’ve stirred up! Still, Tsunade recalled one of the intelligence reports and hypotheses Kyoichi had submitted before, and she began to understand why he had gone so far to win over the Nine-Tails. There was no doubt about it—he had already tested and verified it. Under certain conditions, a tailed beast and its jinchūriki could resonate and merge, producing an even greater power. And that condition was likely "willingness." If the Nine-Tails truly had no hidden agenda, and could be made to fight for Konoha, then... this unexpected development wasn’t entirely a bad thing. She mulled it over in silence. Tsunade picked her chopsticks back up. Although Kyoichi was technically the host of the house, their meals were never very formal. In fact, by the time Tsunade spoke, he had already sat down. "Eat, eat, don’t make too much of it. For now, we’ll give it a little freedom. Once we’ve dealt with Uchiha Madara, I’ve got another plan ready." Kyoichi didn’t elaborate, but Tsunade understood. Clearly there were deeper terms that he hadn’t spoken aloud—and this wasn’t the place to do so. After all, it wasn’t just Konoha shinobi here, but also Nagato, a former Ame-nin. Though Nagato’s recent stance had become more and more aligned with Konoha’s—his behavior and habits already no different from a Konoha shinobi—he was still not one of their own. He still had two childhood companions back in Amegakure: Yahiko and Konan. And their place in his heart would always outrank Konoha’s. Some secrets had to remain closely guarded. Nagato understood this well. After dinner, Kyoichi and Tsunade withdrew to the study, sealing the room off with a barrier. Then Kyoichi carefully laid out every detail of the agreement he had reached with the Nine-Tails. At first, Tsunade nearly slammed the table in anger— But then she thought of whose table it was, and held back. Besides, she had already been partly prepared for this, having heard fragments earlier. What truly upset her was that Kyoichi hadn’t discussed it with her first. If they had gone through official channels, this cooperation could never have been achieved. And that flawless "tailed beast mode"—it was far more powerful than she had imagined. If necessary, Kushina could now unleash a power comparable to a tailed beast itself. Against Madara at his prime, perhaps it was still insufficient, but none of them believed he was still at his peak. If he were, with Uchiha Madara’s domineering nature, he would already have marched on Konoha and annihilated them all—why would he bother hiding? After a moment of thought, Tsunade said: "If the Nine-Tails is willing to abide by the terms, then this cooperation isn’t a problem. After all, we already have the Flying Thunder Formation. Communication, intel relay, even defense—it all can be handled." "Exactly my thinking." He had known Tsunade would support him. After all... Konoha’s foundational infrastructure was already ahead of the entire shinobi world. As for Heavenly Transfer Techniques? In the face of the Flying Thunder Formation, they weren’t even worth mentioning. The Land of Fire’s east–west railway line was already under construction. Once complete, it would allow shinobi to travel from Konoha to the farthest borders in less than half a day. No other village could match such speed. Of course, Kyoichi knew well—something on the scale of a railway was impossible to conceal. At the very least, Ōnoki’s Iwagakure surely knew. With Land of Snow right next to them, they were no strangers to the form and function of trains. But knowing was not the same as acting. If they dared to sabotage, the border ANBU units weren’t there for show. Besides, the Land of Rain was now fully allied with Konoha. If the Land of Earth made any moves, Ame’s ANBU would know instantly—and Konoha had already stationed a squad there. Ōnoki posed no real threat. He wouldn’t be so foolish as to invite his own death. That one, Kyoichi was still concerned about. After defecting from Iwagakure, no one knew where he had gone. Recently, he had ordered the ANBU to keep watch for any trace of him. If possible, Kyoichi still wanted to gather the chakra of all nine tailed beasts, to attempt synthesizing Ten-Tails chakra— Not to deal with Madara. Madara was already weakened. Even if he cobbled together a decent vessel, he was far from Kyoichi’s match. Frankly, it was mercy he hadn’t gone after Madara himself. No—the real concern was the Ōtsutsuki. Momoshiki might still be distant... But Toneri? That one was harder to predict. Twisted, unpredictable—no one could say what was in his mind. If he descended to make trouble, having no reserve of Ten-Tails chakra could be dangerous. For more chapters visıt 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩 Madara was the perfect cover. Kyoichi had already made up his mind: Capture Roshi and the others, and stage it to look like Madara was gathering the tailed beasts. Tsunade, watching him fall into thought, sighed inwardly. This boy... everything about him was good, except his mind never stopped. His ideas were too many, and most of them went far beyond the vision of the older generation. Luckily, the Third Hokage had voluntarily stepped down, and Danzō had been publicly tried and disgraced by Kyoichi himself. With no one left to whitewash his crimes, the elders now had almost no real power. Otherwise, accomplishing anything would still be a struggle. Propping her chin on one hand, Tsunade watched Kyoichi brood in silence. The room was quiet— Until Shizune entered. "Ts—Tsunade-hime, my apologies, I..." She froze mid-sentence, catching the odd posture between Tsunade and Kyoichi, then bowed deeply in flustered apology. Tsunade gave her a helpless look. This girl—apologizing only made things look worse. "There’s urgent news from the village." Shizune handed over a scroll. Tsunade snatched it irritably, opened it, and instantly straightened her posture. Kyoichi glanced over. "Mm. But they only delivered the message to the border—our ANBU took it from there. They didn’t come themselves." Unfurling the scroll, Tsunade read it aloud. It was in Ōnoki’s own hand, written plainly and directly: So long as it benefits peace in the shinobi world, Iwagakure will offer support. Kyoichi fell silent for a moment. Simple and direct—but had the old man misunderstood something? "He’s nothing if not blunt." But she knew well—Ōnoki was a wily old fox. He might write such words, but when the interests of the Land of Earth were on the line, he would fight tooth and nail. *************************** Read advanced Chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.