Chapter 251

But they still had to accept the rule of the daimyōs,

Without the manpower and resources these daimyōs provided behind the scenes,

They could never have reached this point!!

Though the ninjas' strength was formidable,

They still needed food, water, and other daily necessities!!

Seeing the daimyōs agree to their demands,

They all finally breathed a sigh of relief!!!

……

"This is their demand."

"The Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water believe your actions seriously threaten the security of their nations…"

"Therefore, they demand you immediately release the nine Tailed Beasts, or they will unite and attack the Land of Fire!!"

Nara Saki carefully handed up the four nations' "declaration of war."

Seeing the declaration of war in his hands,

Hashirama Senju raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"Interesting… I haven't even gone looking for trouble with them."

"Yet they dare come to me first…"

Since Hashirama Senju unified the Land of Fire,

The other four nations had subtly begun targeting the Land of Fire in every way.

Though their moves were small,

They still caused the Land of Fire some trouble.

Hashirama Senju had thought these fools had all settled down.

He never expected them to reappear now,

And even issue him a declaration of war!!

"¨」 Well then… saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."

"You've come to me yourselves—don't blame me then…"

Hashirama Senju lightly tapped his left armrest with his index finger.

He hadn't anticipated the five great nations' actions.

And the nine Tailed Beasts, who had shrunk to miniature size beside him,

Upon hearing these words,

Flipped over and went back to sleep.

Leave?!!

Leave where?

If Hashirama Senju tried to drive these Tailed Beasts away now,

They'd probably refuse to go.

Since their birth until now,

This period was likely the most comfortable they'd ever known!!

Every day they were served delicious food and drink,

When tired, they slept!!

When awake, they ate again,

When had they ever known such joy before!!

The Tailed Beasts even felt a hint of resentment!!

Why hadn't Hashirama Senju captured them sooner?

If he'd captured them earlier,

Wouldn't they have enjoyed this life long ago?

Why suffer years of wandering the wilds like before?

Would he still have to wander the wilderness in hardship like before?

Another strange creature cowered trembling in the corner!!

Mukyou, though now devoid of consciousness,

Had only instinct left!!

But he could sense it—

These nine Tailed Beasts were not to be trifled with!!

Each Tailed Beast was far stronger than he was,

So after Hashirama Senju brought him here,

Mukyou dared not move a muscle!!

These past few days,

He had lost count of how many beatings he'd taken.

After being beaten repeatedly,

He finally accepted one truth:

These nine Tailed Beasts before him,

The Tailed Beasts before his eyes,

They're all big shots!!

All existences he can't afford to offend!

So he can only serve them well!!

……

Inside the sealing space within Naruto's body,

the Nine-Tails saw another version of himself on the screen,

and fell silent.

Is the gap between Tailed Beasts really this huge??

Besides himself,

the other Tailed Beasts that had been sealed away,

they too wore faces of utter silence!!

At first they had mocked those Tailed Beasts,

but now they only wanted to swap lives with those Tailed Beasts!!

【Nine-Tails: Damn it… I really can't keep watching… Compared to this, the life I've been living is just too miserable!! How long has that guy even been there?! Why do I feel like he's gotten fat?!】

【Eight-Tails: It's not just you — I want to swap with him too. I've never even experienced a life like this…】

【One-Tail: That stinky tanuki!! He's really let me down!!! A little bit of food and he's already been corrupted!! I look down on him!!】

【Temari: Unbelievable… This fat tanuki — is that Shukaku? I can't see it at all…】

【Kankuro: Shukaku really looks no different from a pet cat now. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed Shukaku could ever have a day like this.】

【Gaara: All of this is built upon the strength of the First Hokage… An ordinary person simply couldn't achieve this.】

【Minato Namikaze: I never expected the Nine-Tails to be tamed by the First Hokage… It seems I still severely underestimated the First Hokage's power!】

【Jiraiya: This is the true Child of Prophecy, isn't it? Only a First Hokage like this could turn these violent Tailed Beasts into something like this!!】

……

"So, Madara, you coming or am I going?"

Hashirama Senju turned his head and said to Uchiha Madara, who was cultivating with his eyes closed.

"Not interested. They're too weak."

"Fighting them would only cut into my cultivation time. I'd rather go into closed-door training instead."

Uchiha Madara shook his head, showing he didn't have the slightest interest.

Although these four were the strongest ninja in their respective villages,

Uchiha Madara did not consider them his opponents!

He even believed that,