The rhythmic thumping of heavy footsteps echoed across the dunes. Boom, boom, boom—the sound vibrated through the earth as the sun dipped below the horizon. In the Land of Wind, the sky was gradually darkening, turning a deep shade of bruised purple.
Two Tailed Beasts were running swiftly, their massive forms cutting through the landscape. They left billowing yellow sand and clouds of dust in their wake, a storm of their own making that trailed for miles.
Minato sat atop Matatabi's head, his expression calm as he felt the surge of power beneath him. He was speeding all the way toward Sunagakure, his blond hair whipping in the dry wind. It did not take long before the jagged silhouettes of the hidden village appeared in the distance.
"Enemy attack!"
With a loud shout from a sentry Ninja, the quiet of the desert was shattered. Figures began appearing one after another on the walls of Sunagakure, their weapons drawn and faces pale with terror.
Grandmother Chiyo and Ebizo came outside the village to meet the threat. Their eyes flashing with a hint of surprise, they watched the two giant beasts slowly come to a halt before their gates. The sheer scale of the creatures made the sturdy walls of the sand village look like mere toys.
Although they had long known that Minato could coexist peacefully with Tailed Beasts, seeing him actually riding two such massive creatures still brought a significant visual shock to the people of Sunagakure. It was one thing to hear rumors of the Yellow Flash, but another entirely to see him commanding the very forces of nature they spent lifetimes trying to contain.
"Minato Namikaze—"
Chiyo's expression grew slightly solemn as she stepped forward. She looked at the young man perched atop the Two-Tails, sensing the immense pressure he radiated despite his easy smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency Chiyo."
Minato sized her up and instantly confirmed her identity through his mental archives. He maintained his polite, Golden Boy persona, though his mind was already calculating the most efficient way to dismantle their defenses if they refused him. "Could you hand over Shukaku?"
"Your Excellency has come at an unfortunate time. Sunagakure's Jinchuriki passed away of old age just a short while ago."
Chiyo sighed softly, her tone full of helplessness. She leaned on her staff, looking every bit the grieving elder. "Bunpuku was of my generation. We truly didn't expect him to pass away before we could select the next Jinchuriki—"
"That's fine, the corpse will do."
Minato didn't care at all about her sentimental excuses. His internal voice was cold, dismissing the woman's grief as a mere obstacle to his efficiency. "Hand over his corpse."
Chiyo's pupils constricted slightly; she hadn't expected Minato to say that. The bluntness of the request caught her off guard. She wondered if she had misheard him. Aren't you here for the Tailed Beast? What do you want a corpse for?
"What? Is there a problem?"
Minato lowered his head slightly, peering down from the height of the beast. The bright moon behind him cast down silver light, making his gaze appear somewhat deep and unfathomable. The shadow of his head obscured his eyes, leaving only a chilling, polite smile visible.
"No—"
Chiyo shook her head and hurriedly ordered people to exhume Bunpuku's body. She didn't want to find out what would happen if she kept the man waiting.
Minato used a Seal on Bunpuku's corpse, storing the remains quickly. Without another word of greeting, he left with Matatabi and the Eight-Tails. The Sunagakure Ninjas finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the silhouettes of the monsters vanished into the night.
"Minato, what do you want this corpse for?"
After they were a distance away from Sunagakure, Gyuki couldn't help but ask. The giant ox-octopus was perplexed by the human's fixation on a dead old man.
"Konoha has a forbidden technique called Edo Tensei that can summon people from the Pure Land, but it requires the deceased's genetic information and a sacrifice."
Minato explained, his voice flat as he mentally checked his inventory. "If the resurrected person is a Jinchuriki, they will also carry Tailed Beast Chakra."
"I see—"
Gyuki nodded in realization, then gave a cold laugh. The idea of humans being outsmarted by their own greed amused him. "Those fools at Sunagakure probably killed the Jinchuriki to let the Tailed Beast die with him, fearing you'd steal it. But this time, they've miscalculated."
"Why do you say that?" Minato was curious. He knew much, but the intricate biology of the Tailed Beasts still held secrets. "Even if I revive the Jinchuriki, I'd only get a portion of Shukaku's Chakra, right?"
"No, a Tailed Beast will generally Rebirth in nature within $3$ to $5$ years after death, at a place corresponding to its own Chakra attribute."
Gyuki explained, his deep voice rumbling through Minato's mind. "For example, that fellow Shukaku will definitely be reborn in the desert. That's likely why those people felt confident enough to kill him. However, they don't know that if a place already has that Tailed Beast's Chakra, the beast will be reborn upon that residual portion of Chakra."
"If Matatabi died, it would most likely be revived inside you because you have its remaining Chakra. In fact, if the amount of Chakra is sufficient, it will greatly shorten the time needed for the Tailed Beast to revive."
"Is that so—"
Minato nodded in understanding. He began running the numbers in his head, estimating the time saved by having the genetic anchor. Just as he was thinking about where to find a sacrifice to perform the Edo Tensei on the One-Tail's Jinchuriki, a violent fluctuation of Chakra suddenly erupted in the distance.
Immediately after, a surging sandstorm swept in from the depths of the great desert. The air became thick with grit and a suffocating pressure.
Matatabi flicked its tail, and the long cat tail blocked the front of Minato, shielding him from the sky-filling wind and sand. The blue flames of its body flickered violently against the gale.
"What a strong Chakra fluctuation!"
Gyuki's expression was grave within the mental link. "This Chakra... why does it feel a bit familiar?"
"Familiar?"
Minato noticed Gyuki's wording. He heightened his own senses, trying to pinpoint the source. "Have you come into contact with this Chakra before?"
Gyuki shook his head. "I don't remember, but it gives me a very dangerous feeling."
Dangerous—
Minato's brow furrowed slightly. This was a rare admission from the Eight-Tails. Other than a rampaging Nine-Tailed, the only thing that could make Gyuki feel uneasy was probably that thing, right?
Just as he was thinking, Matatabi beneath him suddenly arched its back, its fur standing on end. "No, something is coming!"
As the words fell, a frantic roar suddenly came from behind the sandstorm, sounding like some kind of wild beast or the howl of a vengeful ghost. The sound was raw and primordial, vibrating in the marrow of his bones.
The roar brought a powerful wind pressure that dispersed the sandstorm, and Minato finally saw what was coming. Through the settling dust, a lone figure stood waiting.
It was a figure draped in a black cloak, looking unremarkable against the vastness of the dunes. In its hand, it gripped a transparent crystal ball that seemed to pulse with a faint, eerie light.
Minato noticed that the person's hand looked very old, the skin withered like parchment. A name suddenly appeared in his mind, sparking a rare moment of genuine caution.
Uchiha Madara!
In this time period, no one in the entire Ninja World except Madara would appear before him in such a provocative manner. The legend was supposed to be dead, but Minato knew better than to trust history books.
However, he didn't know what kind of method the other party had used, as Minato did not sense any Chakra from him. The man was a void in his sensory perception.
The old guy has quite a few tricks!
That roar just now must have been the Gedo Statue, right?
But without Tailed Beast Chakra, in this old geezer's decrepit state, wouldn't he be drained into a mummy by the Statue? The logistics didn't add up for a dying man.
So—by what means was he driving the Gedo Statue?
Minato's gaze fell on the crystal ball in the other's hand. His mind raced with thoughts, though his face remained impassive. He kept his posture relaxed, the perfect image of a confident Shinobi.
"Does Your Excellency have some business?"
"No, I just want to ask you to look at something—"
The cloaked figure said, tossing the crystal ball high into the air. It spun lazily, catching the moonlight.
Seeing this, Minato didn't say a word and instantly released a Sealing Jutsu, sealing both Matatabi and Gyuki inside his body at the same time to protect his assets.
Simultaneously, the crystal ball seemed to overlap with the full moon in the sky, turning into a crimson color. Within that crimson, there was a dragon-patterned mark that pulsed with a dark rhythm.
A white light emanated from the crystal ball, blindingly bright. At the same time, Minato's figure vanished from the spot.
Swoosh—
As if he had flickered in place, Minato reappeared in the desert. He stood in a defensive crouch, but the man in black was nowhere to be seen, and the desert's terrain had changed slightly. The dunes were shifted, and the very air felt different.
"What happened?"
Inside the sealed space, Gyuki asked, his voice echoing in Minato's mind.
"I must have been hit by some technique, but it's not a big problem."
Minato responded, his eyes scanning the horizon with clinical precision. "I have some guesses, but you two might need to stay inside me for a while. That guy is likely after you."
"No problem, this is fine too."
Matatabi lay down leisurely; it had intended to follow Minato anyway and didn't mind the cramped quarters of the seal for a time.
Gyuki was a bit worried. "Can you handle the power of two Tailed Beasts at once?"
"I feel... alright."
Minato looked around at his surroundings. He reached out with his sensory net, searching for the familiar anchors he had placed across the continent. Within his sensory range, there wasn't a single Flying Thunder God marker. Not one.
He could be certain that this was no longer the world he lived in. The spatial coordinates were entirely wrong.
It was very likely the Limited Tsukuyomi that appeared in the movie version, but it shouldn't be exactly the same. The energy signature was off.
Limited Tsukuyomi was an illusionary technique Uchiha Obito released using the Chakra of seven Tailed Beasts after obtaining them. It created a realistic illusion world and trapped the target within it.
When cast, 7 Tomoe would appear in the crystal ball.
But on that black-cloaked man's crystal ball, there was a dragon-like, snake-like pattern—
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion