Mei saw the look on Gisei's face and knew exactly what he was thinking.
"I really should have just threatened you with death."
Gisei frowned, speechless for a moment before retorting, "This isn't about whether I'll help you or not. It's that there's absolutely no way I can. What in the world did you eat to grow this big? I'm completely powerless here."
Mei replied without a flicker of emotion, "What do you think? Of course, I ate humans to get this big. That's exactly why I was sealed here in the first place."
Eating humans...
So you deserve to be sealed!
Gisei spread his hands. "If that's the case, I have even less reason to help you. And please, don't tell me about your cannibalism. It's disgusting."
"Disgusting?" Mei sneered. "You humans can eat pigs and chickens, but when the tables are turned, you can't accept it. Don't be so hypocritical with your double standards. Besides, back then I barely had any consciousness; instinct governed my body. I only gained true awareness after being sealed here."
"Say whatever you want. In short, I can't possibly help you," Gisei sneered back. "Speaking of which, you used to threaten to kill me at the drop of a hat, and you're still like that now. If I really helped you get free, I'm afraid the first thing you'd do is kill me, right?"
Mei stopped talking and stared unblinkingly at Gisei's heart.
Is she communicating with Shiro?
Gisei curled his lip, uninterested in what she was saying to his butterfly seed. In any case, he wouldn't agree to such a thing.
After a while, Mei's expression returned to calm. She turned around, walked to her bed, and sat down.
Then, Shiro began calling for Gisei.
In the space of his consciousness, the two stood facing each other.
Shiro looked quite distressed. "You... anyway, you should agree to Lady Mei first. Otherwise, she really will beat you to death."
Gisei sneered. "I know I can't hide my thoughts from you, so I didn't lie to her either. But you should be clear that my mind won't change."
"It doesn't matter what you think! I can guarantee that after Lady Mei gets free, she won't act like she did before. She doesn't want to be sealed again either."
"What do you mean, 'sealed again'?"
"If she continues to do evil after getting free, you humans will definitely find a way to deal with her. She won't do something so foolish again. Before, it was just instinct at work."
Gisei curled his lip. "Don't underestimate biological instincts. Even if she does evil, is there really anyone who can deal with her?"
Shiro scratched his head. "Do you think Lady Mei is very strong?"
"Hey, since you can peek into my memories, who in my memories do you think could possibly deal with her?"
Shiro smiled bitterly. "There are many. For example, that Akisawa Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, the Sage of Six Paths, the Otsutsuki clan—they all could. And the combined power of you humans is enough to move mountains and fill seas. Lady Mei can't possibly be your opponent."
"Maybe when the time comes, Lady Mei will even need your protection. Otherwise, sooner or later, she'll end up with the same fate as the Tailed Beasts."
Gisei was stunned. "Impossible. Putting aside everything else, just take her space-time teleportation ability. The Flying Thunder God technique looks like child's play compared to it. Even if others wanted to deal with her, they'd have to be able to find her first."
Shiro hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, "I won't hide it from you. Lady Mei's space-time teleportation can only be used in this sealed space. Even if she gets free, with her massive main body, it would be impossible for her to use it."
Gisei looked thoughtful.
Indeed, her space-time ability is basically a cheat code. Thinking about it now, it really is abnormal.
To summon Mei's full body out, even filling up all the seal points in his body wouldn't be realistic. Not to mention, for such a huge body to perform space-time teleportation, how much chakra would that consume?
Seeing Gisei's expression waver, Shiro hurriedly struck while the iron was hot.
"The ability Lady Mei is truly skilled at is energy manipulation. Haven't you always wanted to learn Senjutsu? As long as Lady Mei gets out, you can learn that kind of thing easily."
Gisei chuckled twice. "You, my friend, are truly worthy of being raised by me. Every word hits right at my weak spot."
Shiro laughed dryly. "You are my dad."
"Before, when I asked you to call me dad, you never gave me a good look. For Mei, you really have no shame now. And why do I have to wait for her to get out to learn Senjutsu? Can't I do it here?"
"I told you, this is a sealed space. The so-called 'natural energy' doesn't exist here at all. If Lady Mei can't do it herself, how can she teach you?"
Gisei fell silent for a while before asking, "What does she want to do after she gets out?"
"She will probably seal herself. After all, her main body is too huge. If she appears in the human world, she will easily be attacked."
Self-seal?
Being sealed by others and self-sealing were different concepts. Being sealed by others meant no freedom, but self-sealing was different. As long as she wanted, she could open the seal and enter the human world at any time. This also meant she would truly control her own destiny.
Gisei sensed something. "She doesn't want to become an existence like the Sages, does she?"
"Why not?" Shiro laughed. "Even toads can be respected by people. It's only right for a creature as beautiful as a butterfly to become a Sage."
"Stop blowing your own trumpet in front of me. What if she wants to kill me after I let her out?"
"I just said Lady Mei might even need your protection. Why would she hurt you? No matter how you look at it, this is beneficial for you."
Shiro continued, "Besides, Lady Mei isn't asking you to do it right now. You sign the scroll first, then you can summon a part of Lady Mei's body. At that time, you'll know if what I'm saying is true or false."
Summon a part of Mei's body?
Gisei had a strange expression. "Are you guys butterflies or... well, speaking of which, butterflies are insects. This kind of division is normal. You should be considered the same species as that big slug, Katsuyu."
Shiro flew into a rage out of humiliation. "Hey! I told you not to treat us like insects!"
"But there's really no difference between you and insects."
"...What the hell are you talking about! Butterflies are butterflies. Even if butterflies transform from insects, you can't treat us as insects!"
"Just now you called me dad. Is that how you talk to your dad?"
Shiro glared, his face flushed red. After a long while, he retorted, "Speaking of which, you humans are also insects. Little tadpoles slowly develop to become humans. Do you treat yourselves as insects?"
"..."
Gisei gave him a thumbs up. "Worthy of being my son. Your dad can't out-talk you."
"So, do you agree to help Lady Mei?"
"Anyway, there are benefits to be had. I'm just afraid I won't be able to do this even if I work until I die."
"Relax. As long as you help sincerely, even if your 'Star Sucking Great Method' isn't researched successfully, Lady Mei will keep helping you extend your life."
There's such a good deal? Then why didn't the previous three people help Mei get free?