The Seven-Tails, Chomei.
One of the nine entities formed in ancient times when the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, split the chakra of the Ten-Tails.
It took the form of a colossal armored beetle with six wings and a single tail.
The Chomei chained before him looked significantly smaller than its true size, evidently suppressed by the heavy sealing jutsu.
Senzan stared intently at the gargantuan Tailed Beast.
Even restrained, the sheer, terrifying pressure radiating from it was suffocating—far beyond anything a lowly ninja like him could ever hope to contend with.
But thanks to the absolute concealment of the Transparency Jutsu, even standing right in front of the beast’s face, Chomei hadn’t detected him at all.
Senzan took a deep breath.
It was time.
Next up was initiating a conversation.
This was easily the most difficult step of the plan.
Tailed Beasts harbored an intense hatred for humanity, and the feeling was overwhelmingly mutual.
There was absolutely zero trust between the two species.
“Hey there, Seven-Tails.
How’s it going?”
Not knowing how else to break the ice, Senzan just went for it.
He had to talk to the thing eventually, so he might as well rip the bandage off.
Chomei, who had been fiercely and exhaustingly battling the seal all day, was completely stunned by the sudden voice.
Its colossal body instinctively jerked in surprise.
That single violent twitch scared the living daylights out of the Takigakure ninja outside.
Panicking, they desperately poured even more chakra into the formation to stabilize the beast.
“Whoa, stop thrashing around!
Oh, right, you can’t see me,” Senzan mumbled.
Remembering he was still completely cloaked, he quickly dropped his Transparency Jutsu.
“How about now?”
The fourteen-year-old boy materialized right in front of the Seven-Tails, looking perfectly at ease, without a single trace of fear in his eyes.
Seeing Senzan, the beast began to thrash violently again, yet it didn’t utter a single word.
It suddenly dawned on the boy—was the sealing formation restricting its ability to speak out loud?
“Can you not talk?” Senzan asked, tilting his head.
“Can we communicate telepathically, then?
Oh, right.
I probably shouldn’t call you Seven-Tails.
I’ll just call you Chomei.
After all, I’m hoping we can be partners.”
The moment the name ‘Chomei’ left his lips, the giant beast shuddered.
It was undeniably shocked.
How many years had it been?
How long had it been since someone actually called it by its true name?
But how on earth did this random human brat know it?
Seeing Chomei suddenly go still, Senzan smiled faintly.
He knew he had the beast’s undivided attention.
The rest was entirely up to him.
It was time to unleash his silver tongue, swindle this overgrown bug, and walk straight to the pinnacle of life!
Stepping forward, Senzan placed his hand directly against Chomei’s hardened shell.
In the next second, his vision completely shifted.
A colossal insect soaring through a boundless sky suddenly plummeted toward the earth, while Senzan found himself standing on a high mountain peak.
‘Whoa.
Is this Chomei’s inner mindscape?’ Senzan mused.
‘It really longs for the sky and freedom…’
“Human!
Who are you, and how do you know my name?!”
The booming, resonant voice echoed around him.
“Answer me!”
Senzan watched the Seven-Tails weave gracefully through the clouds above, a flash of genuine envy in his eyes.
“Heh.
I don’t just know your name.
I know the names of all nine Tailed Beasts.”
“Impossible!” Chomei’s voice dripped with absolute disdain.
“I do not understand how you know mine, but it is impossible for you to know the others!
No one besides Him knows those names!”
But the beast quickly realized that the human boy below didn’t flinch.
Even facing a creature of its magnitude, the kid wasn’t scared in the slightest.
Instead, his eyes shone with absolute, unwavering confidence.
A second later, the boy started listing them off.
“One-Tail, Shukaku.
Two-Tails, Matatabi.
Three-Tails, Isobu.
Four-Tails, Son Goku.
Five-Tails, Kokuo.
Six-Tails, Saiken.
Seven-Tails—that’s you, Chomei.
Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
And the Nine-Tails, Kurama.”
Senzan shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Did I get them all right, Chomei?”
Chomei was utterly dumbfounded.
The massive insect descended from the sky, hovering right in front of the boy.
Senzan could detect the faintest tremor shaking the beast’s enormous body.
“I don’t harbor any ill will toward you,” Senzan said softly.
“In fact, I want to be your friend.
Who says Tailed Beasts and humans can’t coexist peacefully?
You can fly, and I’ve always dreamed of flying.
As far as I’m concerned, you’d be my most important friend.”
Chomei was speechless for a long time.
It stared dead into Senzan’s eyes, searching for even a sliver of malice, deception, or greed.
But there was none.
All it saw was genuine excitement and…
some bizarre, unidentifiable desire?
“Which ninja village are you from?” Chomei finally asked.
“The Hidden Leaf.”
“Heh.
The village that holds Kurama?” Chomei scoffed self-deprecatingly.
“If you have him, why seek me out?
He is vastly stronger than I am.”
It was the harsh truth.
Among the nine Tailed Beasts, aside from its ability to fly, Chomei’s raw combat power was ranked dead last.
It couldn’t even begin to compare to the overwhelmingly powerful Nine-Tails.
“So what?
Yeah, the Nine-Tails is strong, but I don’t like him,” Senzan deadpanned, making absolutely no effort to hide his disdain for the giant fox.
“I want to fly.
Can he do that?”
This surprised Chomei all over again.
From its perspective, humans were completely obsessed with Tailed Beast power, going to extreme lengths to seal them into living vessels just to use them as weapons of war.
Why was this kid so entirely unconventional?
“Hey, Chomei.
If I become your Jinchuriki, does that mean I’ll be able to fly too?”
‘Jinchuriki!’ The beast’s eyes instantly narrowed.
‘I knew it.
He just wants my power after all!’
“Hmph!
You brat, you still just want to steal my power!” Chomei roared indignantly.
“I won’t let you have your way!”
Senzan completely ignored Chomei’s sudden outburst and pressed on.
“Chomei, I just want to fly.
Can I please be your Jinchuriki?
I promise, I’ll never bother you when I don’t need to.
My name is Gekko Senzan.
I can turn invisible, and I can teleport.
The only thing I’m missing is the ability to fly!
So could you do me a solid and help me out?”
Chomei was completely stupefied.
They were currently in a mindscape; as long as it wanted to, it could effortlessly read the human’s unfiltered thoughts.
But what on earth was going through this kid’s head?!
Invisibility = Peeping on baths…
Teleportation = Stealing stuff and running away…
Flight = Making the above two activities even more convenient?!
‘I am the majestic Seven-Tails, Chomei!
Am I just some tool of convenience to you?!’
‘Wait, what is this in his memories?
Big chests?
Big butts?
How utterly shallow!
What’s so appealing about human females anyway?!’
‘Hold on…
are those…
bugs?!’ ‘Whoa…
the Hidden Leaf actually has a clan that breeds these?!’
‘Drools…
wait…
maybe being his Jinchuriki wouldn’t be so bad after all…
Look at all those lovely little bugs…’
Drooling mentally, Chomei suddenly experienced a profound epiphany.
Who cared about raw power or being a weapon of war?
It was the weakest of the Tailed Beasts anyway, and this kid clearly wasn’t a warmonger.
If this boy really became its Jinchuriki and took it to see those bugs, it had to be a thousand times better than being locked up in a dark, damp cave, right?