The tailed beasts are humongous intellectual beings made of chakra that lived for countless years and could be considered some of the oldest beings in Naruto
They could be sealed inside the body of a human being called a Jinchuriki and he/she could harness their power
However, because of their enormous power which caused a lot of death, the humans in this world despised them and only saw them as weapons of war
In time, because of the cycle of maltreatment, the tailed beasts started to harbour hatred towards the humans and wreaked havoc every time they managed to break out from the seal keeping them contained
Kurenai's father was one of the casualties of a rampaging-tailed beast
"You know how the Tailed Beasts could be sealed inside a human body, right Kurenai?"
"What does it have to do with this place?"
"Just like the tailed beasts, we were once part of this world who freely roamed it, but someone sealed this place and trapped us inside it using a sealing barrier similar to how a Tailed beast is sealed inside a human body but on a much larger scale"
"That was a good joke! And here I thought you were about to tell me about what your real purpose is. Hahaha!"
Kurenai laughed her heart out. At first, it was a nervous, forced sound, but as the laughter grew, it became more genuine, and then it became a sad laughing sound as she tilted her head down and placed her hand on her face trying to hide it
I understood that her laugh was merely a form to release the tension she must be feeling deep inside her
They entered a portal which sent them to a base of their enemy, needed to fight a horde of skeletons, was severely injured, and now she is captured along with all her team members
She must have been feeling a mix of emotions - anger, fear, guilt and disappointment. Anger at herself for not being able to protect her team, fear of what might happen to them next, guilt for putting them in this situation, and disappointment as she failed to inform Konoha about this place
I know because that's what I would feel if I am in her place right now
I patiently waited for her, I understand that she's been through a lot since she entered Nazarick and needs a little time to breathe
After she finished, she looked more visibly relaxed. Then her expression became serious again
"Please stop with the lies"
"I haven't told you a single lie Kurenai, it's you who chose not to believe it"
"You are saying we entered some sort of a sealing barrier?"
"Yes"
"Let's say I believe you for now, who could possibly seal this entire place? And how did we manage to enter it?"
"Do you want to hear a story Kurenai?"
She looked confused but then she nodded
"A long long time ago, there were different races living alongside each other in Harmony"
I looked up at the ceiling and pretended to reminisce about the past
"But a powerful human suddenly appeared. The human who is filled with ambition and hatred towards other races suddenly attacks one race after the other. The once peaceful land became engulfed in war and destruction"
Then I held my head down as I pretended to remember something painful
"The powerful human led the entire human race and hunted down all the other races, outnumbered, the other races were forced to flee the land they once called home and hid deep in the forest"
Kurenai who seemed to understand where I was getting at looked at me with wide eyes
"Years of continued fighting passed, and now the different races who banded together to fight the human race elected a new leader to lead them. The new leader however chose to form an agreement with the powerful human to split the territory into half, half is for humans and the other half will be occupied by the other races"
I placed my arm on the table beside me and placed my palm on my face, trying to hide it just like she did
"The powerful human agreed which officially ended the war. However, when the other races build a city, unbeknown to them, the powerful humans have successfully created a powerful sealing spell that would seal a large area. It was too late for them to react as the entire city where the different races were living were suddenly become enveloped by a powerful sealing technique which sealed the entire city and all its inhabitants"
"You-you're saying that this is that place?"
Kurenai pointed her index finger towards me with her trembling hands
"Yes Kurenai"
"Th-then there are different races living in here?" She then looked at Albedo with shock
I smiled slightly and wondered if Kurenai thought that Albedo was merely a product of an experiment before
"Kurenai, you and your companions are the only humans currently inside this place"
Although technically, there is one living here, she possesses an infinite lifespan like that of an immortal, but I don't need to tell Kurenai about that
With shock apparent on her face, Kurenai asked, "You're not a human!? And how did we manage to enter this place?"
"I know I'm handsome but this is merely a transformation technique"
Well at least I think it is
As for trying to dispel if this is even a skill, that thought hasn't crossed my mind
Because frankly, I'm scared
What if I became a slime or someone with the head of a beast and the body of a human? No thank you Sir, I'm very much contented with what I look like right now
"*Tsk* please answer my other question"
I smiled at her teasingly then continued
"Just like how the seal keeping a tailed beast inside a Jinchuriki weakens for different reasons, the seal keeping us here weakens as well, in our case it must have something to do with time, we've been here for a long long time it might have been the reason why a hole appeared on the seal, the very same hole where the five of you used to enter this place"
Hearing my explanation Kurenai's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Albedo and then at me and then at Albedo again
But Albedo merely sinisterly smiled at her like a lion looking at her prey which made me smile wryly as I promised myself that I'd punish this little succubus later for not acting with me
"Y-you are you serious?"
"I am"
Kurenai tightly clenched the bedsheets "Then where is that person that sealed this place?"
"Although that person lived far more than a human could live, he eventually died of old age"
"*Sigh*"
Kurenai signed and flapped back to her bed and starred at the ceiling, seemingly in deep thought
I smiled at seeing her like that, she must have been so exhausted after hearing all the bullshit I just said
"I'm sure you didn't kill us for a reason; speak, what do you want from us?"
"I would like you to accompany me to your leader Kurenai"
She squinted her eyes. "You are not expecting me to betray Konoha, right?"
"Haha! Not at all; I merely want to be accompanied by someone she knows and trusts. With her temper, she will surely not believe me"
"Hm? You seem to know a lot about Lady Tsunade. Do you mean you want me to be the one to explain to her about this place?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I want from you"
Kurenai sat up and looked directly at me, her emotions a complex mix of relief and joy. "I agree. But let the others go"
I looked at her in awe, this woman was really willing to stay behind alone despite the uncertainty
I shook my head "I'm afraid I cannot do that Kurenia, having 4 witnesses is better than having one"
"*sigh*"
Kurenai sighed and with a defeated expression looked at the sleeping Hinata beside her as she gently combed her hair using her fingers
"I'm sorry, I tried"
Seeing her relaxed expression, I stood up and made my way towards the doors
I decided to leave her be for the time being and let her form her own thoughts about the matters regarding us
"You can call the maids outside if you need anything, as for your other team members, someone will come and fetch you once they wake up. You can be the one to explain to them about your circumstances"
Kurenai replied with sincerity as she said "Thank you" while Albedo closed the door behind me
I know what I said is unbelievable, however, that is still a better explanation than telling her the truth
Since I knew that there's only a handful of beings that could possibly know what really happened in the past
Even if they know that I'm lying, it doesn't change anything
How can they possibly explain the existence of this place and the races living inside? Their only choice will be to believe me
Unlike me who knows almost everything about those beings, even their origins
I'll show them the power of someone who watched over a hundred anime and read hundreds of novels
I have decided that I will just face one problem at a time; our immediate problem right now is how to form a close relationship with Konoha, well specifically with Tsunade since she is the leader of the village below us
The humans in this world will eventually find out about our existence anyway, I'm not naïve to think that we can hide the existence of this place from the outside world forever
So it's better to expose ourselves to a selected few like Kurenai and Tsunade and then use them to slowly gain a foothold in Konoha
So by the time our existence gets revealed to the masses, it will be too late for them to try to oppose us