Chapter 23: The Story of Nine-Tails and Emiya Shiro

Emiya Shiyuan did not spend much time with the Nine-Tails.

In the ancient era, during a journey where he had stopped in a small village to heal the sick and save lives, he "happened" to encounter a young Nine-Tails who was quite curious about humans but too afraid to approach them.

Back then...
The young Nine-Tails was incredibly adorable.
Although its form was already massive even in its youth, it looked somewhat naive and clumsy, often throwing little tantrums like a child.
The young Nine-Tails was deeply curious about Emiya Shiyuan, whom everyone respected. It loved to sneakily follow him, foolishly believing it could hide its enormous body.
Emiya Shiyuan had no intention of doing anything to the young creature; he simply wanted to chat with it as he pleased, sharing stories of his travels and his work in healing the sick.

As it turned out...
The young Nine-Tails wanted to follow him.
It even insisted on helping him pull his cart, like a little fool.
At that time...
The young Nine-Tails was very happy.
Because it knew it would never feel lonely again.

The journey shared by the young Nine-Tails, Emiya Shiyuan, and the Slug was a joyful one; they traveled through many villages and saw many sights together.
Along the way, they saved many patients.
Even though the Nine-Tails was massive even as a youth, because many humans feared it, it once considered becoming Emiya Shiyuan’s jinchuriki. It was willing to be sealed within him, wanting to enhance his chakra in return.

However...
Emiya Shiyuan refused.
It was a great pity.
This brief friendship ended all too soon.
Emiya Shiyuan never hid his intent to destroy the Ninshu and oppose the Sage of Six Paths. In the end, after much agonizing and failing to persuade Emiya Shiyuan to abandon his path, the Nine-Tails chose to sneak away in the middle of a dark night.
After all...
It had been created by the Sage of Six Paths.
Its choice to follow Emiya Shiyuan was rooted in its belief in the Sage's words: that one day, the Tailed Beasts would encounter companions with whom they could form true bonds.
Although the young Nine-Tails cherished the journey it shared with Emiya Shiyuan, it did not want to be used by him to oppose the Sage.

Back then...
The Nine-Tails was heartbroken when it left.
Later...
It overheard news of the conflict between Emiya Shiyuan and the Ninshu, and learned of his death following his failed assault, which left it in deep sorrow for a long time.
And later still...
The Nine-Tails, believing that if it could befriend Emiya Shiyuan, it could befriend other humans as well, realized that humanity was not as wonderful as it had imagined.

The Nine-Tails' abilities were unique.
As the most powerful of the nine Tailed Beasts in the ninja world, it was highly intelligent and possessed the ability to perceive the good and evil in most humans.
Regrettably...
The disparity between humans was too vast.
They feared its existence while simultaneously coveting its power, even attempting to deceive it or use force to seize its chakra!
These humans...
They wanted its chakra?
Even its only friend, Emiya Shiyuan, had never asked for it!
These experiences filled the Nine-Tails, capable of sensing such malice, with burning rage. It easily slaughtered those humans who sought to use its power to establish dominion.

The Nine-Tails grew slowly.
As the number of those it killed increased, it became increasingly hostile toward humanity.
It never found another friend in this world.
Ultimately...
In the whispers and legends of men...
The most malevolent Tailed Beast in the world was born.

"Kurama."
Emiya Shiyuan looked at the grown, fierce-looking Nine-Tails before him and shook his head with regret. "It seems you aren't nearly as cute as you were when you were little..."
"You!"
The Nine-Tails, full of fury, bared its teeth as if to bite him!
This was the first friend it had ever had.
And perhaps, this friend would be its only one.
It was precisely because of Emiya Shiyuan's appearance that it had developed the desire to interact and befriend humans, yet this desire had led to a tragic outcome.
When the Nine-Tails began to clash with humans in earnest and slaughter them without restraint, it was inevitably influenced by the emotions of the conflict, and its chakra gradually became infused with the negative energy of rage, pain, and hatred.

"Forget it!"
"Emiya Shiyuan, let me go first!"
The Nine-Tails glanced at Senju Hashirama and his wife standing behind Emiya Shiyuan, then turned its gaze back to him!
"I am going to kill them!"
"Kurama."
"Conflict only brings pain and hatred."
Emiya Shiyuan repeated the very words the Nine-Tails had once said to him, reminding it: "This is what you told me before you left me back then..."
"You!"
The Nine-Tails was nearly choked by its own rage!
It never imagined that after more than a thousand years, it would be pierced by the boomerang it had thrown in its own youthful ignorance!
At that time...
Why had it been so naive!

"..."
The group of Konoha ninjas watched this scene in astonishment, a trace of bewilderment appearing in their eyes. They had never expected that the ferocious Nine-Tails could interact so amicably with a human.
At the very least...
The Nine-Tails was much kinder than it had been just moments ago.
It was even conversing with Emiya Shiyuan as an equal.
Compared to the Nine-Tails' newfound gentleness...
The most shocking discovery was the identity of Emiya Shiyuan.
"Emiya Shiyuan... I couldn't have heard that right, could I?"
Senju Hashirama recalled the ninja he had admired most in his childhood and realized why he always found Emiya Shiyuan's profile so familiar.
Because...
As a child, he had always loved to sneak a peek at the half-corpse kept in the crystal coffin.
That was why he felt a flicker of recognition when he saw the front of his face, and found his profile so familiar that he had felt as though they had met before.

"Is it truly Lord Emiya?"
Senju Hashirama realized the gravity of the situation and suddenly recalled his brother mentioning a technique he had long since ordered to be sealed: "Wait, Tobirama, I remember ordering you to seal away the Reanimation Jutsu long ago!"
This brother of his...
Ignoring his orders was one thing!
He must have also broken the sacred crystal coffin passed down through the Senju clan, disturbed the peace of the deceased Emiya Shiyuan, and sacrificed a living life to do it!

"Big brother."
"This was a necessary measure."
Senju Tobirama crossed his arms, knowing his brother would object, but he had his own way of dealing with him. "What you should be concerned about right now is not Lord Emiya; we should be focusing on that man, Madara..."
"Lord Emiya."
Senju Tobirama, being a clever man, saw the past friendship between Emiya Shiyuan and the Nine-Tails and took the initiative to propose: "Leave the rest to us. Konoha will find a way to protect the Nine-Tails and prevent it from being controlled by Madara’s Sharingan again..."
"This is a practical issue."
Senju Tobirama spoke logically: "If the Nine-Tails is to no longer be controlled by Madara, we might have to resort to some troublesome measures to restrict its freedom..."
"Madara has already escaped."
"It will take my brother quite some time to track him down..."
"We have all seen it; Madara has signed a summoning contract with the Nine-Tails. He can find it at any time, and his Sharingan can control it to wreak havoc on the ninja world whenever he pleases..."
"We must make a choice."

In truth, Senju Tobirama did not care at all for Emiya Shiyuan’s opinion. He could have forcefully declared that Konoha would decide the fate of the Nine-Tails, but he needed to use Emiya Shiyuan to treat his brother, which was why he was willing to be more tactful.
This was an impossible choice to make.
He was forcing Emiya Shiyuan to choose whether the Nine-Tails would be 'protected' by Konoha or remain vulnerable to being controlled by Uchiha Madara in the future.
Presented in this way...
Even Emiya Shiyuan could find no fault in his logic.

"..."
Emiya Shiyuan looked at the Nine-Tails behind him, leaving it to decide its own fate: "What are your thoughts, Kurama?"
"I want to kill them!"
The Nine-Tails squeezed the words through its teeth with murderous intent: "The next time that bastard Madara dares to summon me, I will kill him with my own hands!"
"..."
Emiya Shiyuan rubbed his forehead.
No...
Why are you still bragging?
How can you be so shameless when you were just controlled by a single glance?
"How do you intend to 'protect' the Nine-Tails?"
Emiya Shiyuan looked at Senju Tobirama.

"Lord Emiya."
Uzumaki Mito stepped forward, her arms slightly raised as she softly spoke the truth: "Konoha had intended to seal the Nine-Tails within me, for me to become its jinchuriki. Strictly speaking, this is not protection; it is merely to avoid..."
"Hmph!"
The Nine-Tails snorted in dissatisfaction, clearly unhappy with Uzumaki Mito, and recalled a thought from its past: "The last person who wanted to become a jinchuriki was this guy, Emiya Shiyuan..."
"Fine, fine..."
"Yes, I was the one who wanted to become the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki."
Emiya Shiyuan rubbed his temples, feeling that the memories in this fox's head were a bit scrambled, and said with regret: "Unfortunately, I am already dead. I cannot become its jinchuriki, I no longer have that desire, nor do I have the ability..."
"Kurama."
Emiya Shiyuan looked up at the Nine-Tails, his attitude more honest than it had ever been: "You should go and seek your true companions—the friends who can truly walk by your side."