Two massive creatures sprinted across the open plains. Minato sat on top of the head of the Two-Tails. He felt the cool air hitting his face and enjoyed the feeling of the wind. He was in a very good mood as he traveled. The man and the two beasts were moving toward the Land of Waterfalls. Far away in a dark ruin under the ground, an old man sat on a stone chair. This place was hidden from the rest of the Ninja World. The old man looked very old, perhaps the same age as Mito. He had long grey hair that looked dry and messy.
Behind his chair stood the giant Gedo Statue. The statue looked like a prisoner with its hands tied in a strange way. Black iron rods came out of its stomach and plugged into the back of the old man. This person was Uchiha Madara. He had tricked everyone into thinking he was dead for many years. Madara had only reached a $100\%$ completion rate of his goal to get the Rinnegan a short time ago. He was using the Gedo Statue and cells from the First Hokage to grow a new life form called White Zetsu. This was the reason Minato had not seen any White Zetsu watching him yet.
Madara was a powerful leader from a past age. He had not cared about what happened in the world for a long time. Only recently did he make a servant to watch the Ninja World for him.
Madara-sama.
A shadow moved on the ground near the feet of Madara and spoke with a quiet voice.
It is Black Zetsu. What do you want?
Madara opened his eyes slowly. He did not have the Rinnegan in his head right now. Instead, he had a pair of Sharingan.
I have news. For some reason, Minato Namikaze let the Tailed Beasts of the Hidden Cloud Village go free.
Black Zetsu sounded a bit worried. He was the secret son of Kaguya and had been hiding for a thousand years. He had finally tricked Madara into getting the Rinnegan. Now he could stand in front of Madara and pretend to be the spirit of his will. But just as his plan was working, a person like Senju Hashirama appeared. This new man was strong enough to control the whole world by himself. When Black Zetsu looked closer, he saw that this man had almost caught every Tailed Beast. He wanted to go closer to watch, but Minato could use Wood Release. Black Zetsu was too afraid to get close to that power.
Back when Madara and Hashirama fought their big battle, Black Zetsu watched from the dark. Hashirama had looked up once and it almost scared him to death. Because of that fear, he stayed away from Minato. He knew Minato had the Wood Release bloodline.
Minato Namikaze.
Madara spoke the name and sighed. He had just heard about this young man from Black Zetsu. The boy seemed even more amazing than Madara or Hashirama were in the past. When they were that age, neither of them had $50\%$ of the power Minato had now. Madara felt many different things about Minato. From what he heard, the boy had a cold strength that Hashirama never showed. Madara was still focused on his Eye of the Moon plan, but he was curious. He wanted to see what Minato would do if he reached the top of the world.
Why is he taking the Tailed Beasts?
I am not sure. It looks like he is actually friends with those two beasts.
Making friends with monsters is a silly thing to do. He is just a naive kid.
Madara laughed a little, but he was actually surprised. This was a task that he and Hashirama could never finish. However, being a fool was not always bad. Only a fool would try so hard to reach an impossible dream.
There is more news. This guy is dating two girls at the same time. One is from the Uzumaki clan and the other is an Uchiha.
Black Zetsu laughed softly at this. Minato was a surprise to him too. Even though he stayed far away, he was sure Minato was not the soul of Ashura. The souls of Ashura and Indra always came back at the same time. As long as Madara was alive, the soul of Ashura would not appear. If a strong Wood Release user joined their plan, they could catch all the beasts and bring back the Ten-Tails in a few days.
Uzumaki? Hmph. This boy is a cheater, then?
The important part is that he made it work. One of the girls is from your own family line. Her name is Uchiha Mikoto. Her father is Uchiha Sagara.
Sagara had a daughter.
Madara nodded his head. He and his brother never had children. Sagara came from the family of his cousin. If you look at the family tree, Madara was like a grandfather to Mikoto. But he did not care about family feelings at all.
He is a shallow brat. I thought about bringing him into the Eye of the Moon plan. But a man like that does not have deep feelings. If he lost a woman he loved, he would probably just find a new one a week later.
Black Zetsu did not say anything. He had not thought about that. But looking at how Minato acted with two women, it was a real possibility. Minato was famous and strong, so many women probably wanted him. If one died, another would take her place quickly. Also, Minato was not an Uchiha. He did not have the crazy mind that Uchiha had. That made him much harder to control or trick.
But he is letting the Tailed Beasts go.
That is good for us. It is much easier to catch a beast alone than to fight a Jinchuriki. However, he is too strong. He will be in our way later. We must find a way to kill him.
Black Zetsu looked at the old man. That is true, but in your current state, Madara-sama, I am not sure if you can.
Madara had given his Rinnegan to a boy named Nagato. His eyes were just normal Sharingan now. His body was very old and weak. He could not fight someone as strong as Minato. Madara stayed quiet because he knew he had no way to win. Minato knew Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God. Moving through space and time was hard to learn. Most people only knew simple things like summoning or sealing. But to move like lightning required a special brain. Very few people in the world had that talent. Minato was almost too perfect. He had two bloodlines and the gift of space-time.
Flying Thunder God.
Madara thought of a face he hated and made a mean face. He is like a bug. Even though that man is dead, he still bothers me.
Black Zetsu knew who he meant. He was talking about the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. That was the man who killed Madara's brother, Izuna. He was the one who made the Flying Thunder God and the soul summoning jutsu. Konoha still used his notes and research today. Black Zetsu thought Tobirama was more dangerous than Madara or Hashirama because he was so smart.
The boy is moving from the Land of Lightning toward the Land of Earth. His final stop must be the Hidden Sand.
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