"Ultimately, tailed beasts were never enemies that could be easily dealt with. As for completely resolving the tailed beast problem—that's simply impossible."
"'Killing a tailed beast' isn't truly an option. Even if one is destroyed, all we can really achieve is forcing it to disappear temporarily. The incident would only end with Kumogakure losing control over the Two-Tails. From the perspective of the danger free tailed beasts pose to the entire shinobi world, I personally don't agree with that approach—but unfortunately, war only leaves us with choices like these."
Minato spoke at some length, almost as if they had actually eliminated the Two-Tails.
In reality, that was far from the case.
"Tailed beasts possess physical forms. They breathe. They think. Yet it's difficult to classify them as ordinary lifeforms. At their core, they are aggregates of chakra. After being destroyed, it only takes months—or at most a few years—for the chakra scattered by their 'death' to reassemble. When that happens, the tailed beast is reborn."
"This form of pseudo-immortality is one of the reasons they've always been regarded as weapons."
Because of the chaos caused by the jinchūriki's transformation, Minato's team could only withdraw for the time being, slowing the progress of their mission.
As for the Kumogakure forces rushing in, suppressing a rampaging tailed beast would inevitably come at a heavy cost.
From Konoha's perspective, that was not an unwelcome outcome.
"I don't agree," Hagoromo said. "Tailed beasts aren't unkillable. They just haven't been killed properly. There's nothing wrong with treating them as normal lifeforms. Their revival is merely an abnormal phenomenon. As long as the method is correct, anything that can die can be killed permanently."
His view clearly differed from Minato's.
Where there was a beginning, there must be an end.
If tailed beasts hadn't been killed, it was only because the right method hadn't yet been found.
"...Perhaps you're right," Minato replied after a pause. "But if such a method cannot be found, then it might as well not exist."
"Tailed beasts have existed alongside shinobi history itself. And while there are historical records of tailed beasts being 'killed,' the number of tailed beasts has never decreased. There are still nine."
"That's why sealing techniques became the primary method of dealing with them. This wasn't settling for second best. On the contrary—continued development of sealing techniques made it possible to use the immense power of tailed beasts. From that point onward, jinchūriki came into existence."
"Tailed beasts have always been regarded as disasters. Even after we learned how to seal them into human bodies, that perception didn't change. But power works that way—the more it terrifies some people, the more it attracts others."
"Once jinchūriki appeared, villages began competing over tailed beasts. Only after the shinobi village system was established did they gain fixed ownership."
"So Hagoromo—if a truly viable way to permanently kill a tailed beast ever exists, that would be good for everyone."
Minato's tone carried a trace of emotion.
Perhaps he was thinking of Kushina.
"Maybe…" Hagoromo began, then stopped himself.
Whatever he had almost said, he swallowed it and changed course.
"No—nothing. I just mean that such a method will be found eventually."
"Yes," Minato said quietly. "Though that will probably be far in the future."
People needed hope.
Even shinobi.
Minato's team would continue their mission after this temporary withdrawal. The objective had never been to engage the enemy's main forces head-on.
And after this mission ended, time would carry them into countless others.
The broader situation on the battlefield was worse than Konoha's leadership had anticipated.
Konoha had ended its war with Sunagakure two or three years earlier, thanks to a decisive strike led by the Hokage himself.
The premature end of hostilities with Kirigakure had been an unexpected blessing.
As for Iwagakure, both sides remained in a tacit ceasefire. While such silence was unsettling, as long as neither side broke it, peace—however fragile—remained.
But the war with Kumogakure continued.
And it showed no signs of ending.
Though Konoha's strategic withdrawal had widened the distance between the two fronts, frequent small-scale battles still erupted, and the fighting remained fierce.
The good news was that over the past year, the overall trend of engagements had gradually declined.
The bad news was that the decline was limited.
In other words, individual battles were just as brutal as ever—but the broader trajectory of the war had improved slightly.
Still, Konoha's original plan to end the conflict with Kumogakure within a year had completely failed. They hadn't even managed to secure a temporary ceasefire.
By now, the war had long since lost any real strategic meaning.
But for Kumogakure, war itself seemed to have meaning.
They would continue fighting—even if it left them bloodied and broken.
Minato's team was deployed frequently, given their strength and flexibility. And yet, curiously enough, they had never once encountered Kumogakure's strongest duo.
Based on intelligence and the rumored personalities of those brothers, it was hard to imagine they were deliberately avoiding the Yellow Flash out of fear.
Further evidence came later in the war, when the same duo—known as the A–B Combination—became extremely active, inflicting heavy losses on Konoha. Ordinary shinobi stood no chance against them.
One could chalk battlefield encounters up to coincidence.
And the lack of encounters as coincidence as well.
Reality allowed no better explanation.
On this front alone, roughly six thousand Konoha shinobi were locked in combat with Kumogakure—about one and a half times the enemy's numbers.
Despite this disadvantage, Kumogakure continued fighting on multiple fronts.
When it came to war, they refused to lose—to anyone.
On this particular day, Jiraiya sought Minato out once again.
This time, however, it had nothing to do with combat missions.
He simply had information to deliver.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Minato asked, noticing that his expression was different from usual. "Is there new movement from Kumogakure?"
"No," Jiraiya replied.
"This time, it has nothing to do with them. It's something internal."
"I've received intelligence that Danzō has begun moving again."
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