The attitude of the Three-Tails was surprisingly peaceful, which was something that went far beyond the expectations of Minato.
"I suppose you were likely captured by the First Hokage and sold off to the Hidden Mist back in those days, were you not?" Minato asked.
The Three-Tails gave a slow nod: "Yeah—and that is exactly why I do not have any liking for that man."
Your personality is actually surprisingly good!
Seeing such a ferocious and giant beast putting on an honest and simple expression somehow managed to strike a soft spot within Minato.
"In that case, give me a small amount of your Chakra. I promise that in twenty years at the very latest, I will set you free. What do you think about that?"
Minato spoke while raising his fist toward the beast: "This particular way of communicating is something that you should not be unfamiliar with, right?"
Upon hearing those words, the Three-Tails silently lifted its massive claw and gently pressed it against the fist of Minato.
As the Chakra Link between the person and the giant beast became connected, Minato could clearly feel the various emotions of the Three-Tails.
It was a sense of curiosity that was entirely devoid of any malice, along with a natural fondness for his current identity as a young child.
At the same time, the Three-Tails also felt the emotions of Minato—it was a pure sense of closeness that seemed to have no deception.
So even though the beast was not entirely sure if Minato truly possessed that kind of ability, it did not mind choosing to believe him just once.
"So your name is Minato Namikaze, is it?"
The Three-Tails stared down at Minato with its massive eyes without blinking even once: "How very interesting, you actually think that I am cute."
"It is because of the contrast. You have such a massive physical size, yet your personality remains so gentle and kind."
Minato offered a smile: "And even though you are a member of an intelligent species, you were captured without saying a word. I have always thought that you guys were quite pitiful creatures."
The Three-Tails nodded its head. Through the Chakra Link, it could feel that Minato was not speaking against his own heart; he truly felt that the Tailed Beasts were pitiful.
"Your name is Isobu, is it not? I have officially remembered it."
The tone used by Minato was quite gentle: "You have given me your Chakra, and because of that, we are now friends."
Isobu gave a nod, and the three tails located behind its body began swaying gently: "Speaking of which, why exactly are you collecting the Chakra of the Tailed Beasts?"
"I plan to gather the collective power of all nine Tailed Beasts into one body and become an existence like the Six Paths Sage."
"I see."
Minato spoke with complete candor: "My own strength is already very high, but I have a strong premonition that I will encounter even more powerful enemies in the future. It will be a catastrophe that eventually threatens the entire Ninja World, including all of the Tailed Beasts, so... can you lend me a hand when that time finally comes?"
Isobu tilted its massive head to the side, and it was impossible to know exactly what the beast was thinking about.
After a short while had passed, it gave a gentle nod: "Alright, I suppose I can help you."
"Then I thank you very much!"
Minato smiled with genuine happiness, as he had not expected the other party to be so incredibly easy for him to get along with.
As it turned out, not every one of the Tailed Beasts was as constantly irritable as a certain tsundere fox he knew.
After leaving the seal space of the Three-Tails, only a few short seconds of time had actually passed in the world outside.
Minato once again connected himself to the Chakra of the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails and entered into the seal space of the Six-Tails.
Unlike the Three-Tails, the Six-Tails was a massive slug, but its physical form was different from the traditional appearance of the Slug Sage; it possessed hands, feet, and a round head, making it look quite charmingly naive.
"Hmm—"
"Hello there, it is very nice to meet you," Minato greeted the creature politely.
"Hmm—it is nice to meet you too, kid."
The voice of the Six-Tails sounded quite high-pitched: "It appears that Isobu has already given you some of his Chakra."
"Yes, and I also hope to be able to obtain some of your Chakra as well."
Minato gave a nod: "In exchange for this, in twenty years at the most, I will return here to set you free."
As he said this, he raised his fist up toward the Six-Tails.
Seeing this gesture, the Six-Tails stretched out its arms but quickly found that they were far too short to reach him, so it leaned its body down and gently pressed against the fist of Minato.
"Your personality is really quite good."
The small antennae on the head of the Six-Tails moved: "This is the first time I have ever seen a human who has absolutely no negative emotions toward me. It is no wonder that Isobu was willing to give you his Chakra; that guy has always liked children."
"Your personality is also very good," Minato said with a laugh.
"I simply happen to have a pretty good relationship with Isobu, so it does not matter if I give him some face by helping you."
The Six-Tails spoke in its high-pitched voice: "Remember this well, my name is Saiken. Do not go forgetting my name, Minato Namikaze~"
"Yeah!"
Minato nodded his head heavily: "Thank you, Saiken."
"By the way, there is one more thing that I should tell you—"
Saiken gave a reminder: "Now that you possess both my Chakra and the Chakra of Isobu, you can use that Chakra to contact us at any time, which will make it much easier for you to get in touch with the other Tailed Beasts. But you must remember, the Nine-Tails is a complete exception. That guy has a very foul temper and will not give even us Tailed Beasts any respect."
"Most importantly of all, it is the strongest one among us. You must never underestimate it; even if Isobu and I were to team up together, we still would not be its match."
"I see, I will be very careful."
Minato looked at the giant slug standing in front of him and smiled happily, as he had not expected the other party to give such a warm and helpful reminder.
As he looked at the giant slug, Minato suddenly had a very whimsical thought occur to him: "Speaking of which, Saiken, you are a male, right?"
"Tailed Beasts do not actually have genders. Slugs in nature are also hermaphrodites, but from a purely self-identification perspective, I am indeed a male," Saiken explained with a nod.
"Is that so—"
Minato began to grin: "I also happen to know another slug, one of the three Holy Lands, known as the Slug Sage of the Shikkotsu Forest. It is my personal Summoning Beast. I would guess its self-identification should be female, so I wanted to introduce the two of you to each other."
"..."
"..."
The tail of Saiken swayed gently, and it seemed somewhat speechless.
Trying to play a matchmaker for a Tailed Beast?
You really are a strange guy, Hajimen!
"Well—I have very few friends. If there is a chance for us to meet, then we can meet."
After thinking about the offer, Saiken did not refuse the kindness shown by Minato. The lifespan of a Tailed Beast was extremely long, and it did not mind making another friend.
Even though neither Tailed Beasts nor slugs truly had genders, it was still nice to have a similar existence for company.
Since they were both slugs, the other party should also enjoy living in acidic and damp places, right?
Thinking about this, it suddenly became a bit impatient and started wiggling its body happily.
Seeing this reaction, Minato could not help but smile.
After saying his goodbyes to Saiken, he exited from the seal space.
"Alright, I thank you both for your cooperation. Please help me by telling Genji that this entire matter ends right here."
Minato spoke in an indifferent tone: "I will not pursue the responsibility of the Hidden Mist any longer. However, if the Hidden Mist ever dares to provoke me again, the very next time I come here, I will shake the yolks right out of your eggs and split your earthworms vertically."
After saying that, and without paying any mind to the ugly expressions on the faces of the two, he used the Flying Thunder God to leave the Hidden Mist.
On the other side of things, Genji also soon learned the news of the departure of Minato and breathed a very long sigh of relief. His already old face looked even more aged than before.
"Has the official announcement been sent out yet?"
"According to your instructions, with the exception of Kumogakure, the announcements for all the other villages have been sent."
Upon hearing the question from Genji, the subordinate bowed his head slightly: "However, the prestige of the village has been severely damaged this time. The total volume of missions will likely plummet during the coming period—"
"Do not panic. He did not just strike us."
Genji gave a small chuckle: "Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and the Hidden Mist have all failed one right after another. Only Kumogakure has suffered no losses at all. Wouldn't that be quite unfair?"
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