This is—troublesome.
In the middle of the vast desert, an old and weary voice came from beneath a dark, heavy cloak.
I really did not expect this young brat to be so bold and decisive, sealing two Tailed Beasts into his own body at the same time—
With the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails now missing, will it cause any issues for Lord Madara's grand plan?
From the long sleeve of the black cloak, Black Zetsu slowly poked his dark head out and asked with a worried tone.
It does not matter in the end. The Eight-Tails left behind a large enough portion of Chakra, so missing a little bit of it will not change the final outcome. It is only the Two-Tails that is fully missing; it is truly no big deal. Once I am finally resurrected at my absolute Peak, I will simply find it and take it back myself.
Uchiha Madara gave a sharp and cold snort as he focused his sensory powers into the glowing red crystal ball in front of him.
In the very next instant, his old body became incredibly stiff and still.
Huh? Where did he go?!
What is wrong? Did something happen, Lord Madara? Black Zetsu felt a sudden jolt of fear in his heart and quickly asked for an answer.
The person—is he gone?
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows very tightly together.
Could he have used the Flying Thunder God to jump away and escape us? Black Zetsu asked.
That is impossible. He was already fully targeted by my power while he was busy sealing the Tailed Beasts.
Uchiha Madara seemed to have realized something: It is very likely that he tried to use the Flying Thunder God at that exact moment, which messed up the space-time fluctuations and caused this strange accident. What a very lucky brat; now even I am unable to track his location.
Does this mean that he might not be able to find his way back here? Black Zetsu asked.
No. This specific technique was created by me by forcing the power of the Dragon Pulse into the Gedo Statue, combined with my own special ocular technique: Dragon Fate Tsukuyomi.
Uchiha Madara spoke in a very deep and serious voice: Based on the vast space-time power held by the Dragon Pulse, it will send the target away to a world very similar to a parallel space-time. That is a completely real world, and I cannot interfere with it too much, but since I am the caster, I am still able to observe his movements.
And if he ever wants to return to this world, he must find a way to use the space-time power of the Dragon Pulse again, or perhaps awaken a pair of Mangekyo with space-time abilities on the spot; if not, he will be stuck in that other world forever.
This is exactly why I came here as fast as I could after I got the power of the Dragon Pulse. That brat is very smart, and I was worried that he would figure everything out after he heard about the recent attack on Loulan.
If he is lucky enough to find out how the Dragon Pulse works, it is very likely he could return to this world in just a few seconds. Of course, if he is unlucky, it is very possible for him to be trapped there for his entire lifetime.
Black Zetsu was completely speechless for a long moment.
He honestly felt that Madara was being a little bit unreliable right now.
It was not that he did not have confidence in his own plans, but as a true Genius who was able to awaken two different powerful Kekkei Genkai at the same time, how could Minato's luck really be that bad?
However, he kept his mouth shut and did not say any of this out loud. He was currently acting as the Incarnation of Madara's own will, and his main job was to act like a loyal follower; if Madara ever became suspicious of him, all of his hard work over the years would be wasted.
After waiting for over a thousand years, it was finally not easy to find an Indra who had successfully awakened the Rinnegan.
If he failed this time, he had no idea how much longer he would have to wait for another chance.
In the event that the two reincarnates of this generation actually became friends and stopped the cycle of reincarnation, he would have absolutely no hope left at all.
Therefore, he had no choice but to agree with and support everything Madara said.
And right at the very moment that Minato disappeared, far away in the Land of Rain, Minato's Wood Clone suddenly frowned.
Because the original body had been fairly close to the Land of Rain, the clone was just barely able to feel the original body's Flying Thunder God mark.
However, just a small moment ago, the main body completely vanished from his sensory range!
He had not yet left a Flying Thunder God mark in the Land of Wind. If the main body wanted to get back to Konoha using the Flying Thunder God, he would have to take the path through the Land of Rain.
This meant that something bad had probably happened to the original body.
After thinking about it for a short moment, he made a Shadow Clone and then quickly dispelled it to test the connection.
However, after waiting for a long time, he still did not get any kind of response from the original body.
Yahiko!
The Wood Clone went over and woke up Yahiko, who had only just fallen asleep. Yahiko rubbed his tired eyes and slowly climbed up from his spot.
What is going on, big brother?
My main body has run into some very serious trouble. I am afraid that I will not have any more time to teach you from now on. If you are willing to do it, you can come back with me to Konoha. The Wood Clone spoke very seriously.
Hm—okay!
Yahiko did not even stop to think about it. Minato had taken very good care of him during this whole time.
Now that Minato was in some kind of trouble, he knew he could not help him very much, but he also did not want to stay here and cause more problems for Minato to worry about.
The Wood Clone's expression became a little softer, and he quickly brought Yahiko back toward Konoha.
He first took Yahiko to the local Orphanage, and then he rushed as fast as he could back to his home.
Minato!
Seeing Minato walk back in, Kushina was very happy and excited and tried to jump on him, but her small head was gently held back by the Clone's hand.
I am just a Clone. Where is the teacher right now?
What do you need me for?
Hearing Minato's voice, Tsunade walked out from the other room.
The original body has run into some trouble. You do not need to worry about any danger or anything like that, but I am afraid it is going to take some time before he is able to return home. The Clone explained the situation.
Exactly how long will he be gone?
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly.
I am not sure, it could be just a few days, or it could be a few years.
The Clone shook his head: I do not know the exact details of the situation either. I was planning to go out and check on it, but I am only a Clone and I cannot use Light Release. I was worried that something might go wrong, so I came back here to tell you about it first.
I understand.
Tsunade nodded her head: Do you want me to come along with you?
No, I think the original body might have been hit by some kind of space-time technique and was sent to a different space or even a different time node.
The Wood Clone shook his head again: Do not worry, the original body's Light Release gives him a perfect ability to keep himself safe. Let us look at the situation more closely after I come back from checking it out.
I understand.
Tsunade nodded and did not say anything else.
Minato's total strength had already completely passed her own, and even if the person standing in front of her was only a Wood Clone, its power was still something that could not be ignored.
Besides, the Wood Clone was able to use the Flying Thunder God, so there was no reason to worry about it being in danger, but if she was brought along, they might be noticed if they ran into any enemies.
Swish—
The Wood Clone's body disappeared in an instant, and very soon he reached the exact place where the original body had first vanished.
The faint smell of space-time—
Sensing the small amount of space-time energy left behind, the Clone moved very quickly in a certain direction.
Before very long, a very old and very wealthy city appeared in his sight.
This was Loulan, which was the most famous and wealthy ancient kingdom located deep within the desert of the Ninja World.
However, at this very moment, Loulan was filled with many patrolling soldiers, and many broken buildings could be seen all over the place.
It really is the power of the Dragon Pulse.
The Clone's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He did not try to sneak inside, but instead followed the Flying Thunder God mark he had left earlier and went back to Konoha.
Meanwhile, inside a completely different space-time.
Minato's original body also reached the same location of Loulan.
But this was very different from what the Wood Clone saw. The Loulan in this world was nothing but a pile of old ruins, and broken, sandy walls could be seen in every direction.
Is this the future—or is it just a parallel world?
Minato walked deep into the middle of the ruins and arrived at a very large building right in the center.
On an altar in the middle of the building, there was a three-pronged Kunai stuck in the ground, with the words "Sword of Shinobi Love" written on the handle of the weapon.
Minato raised his eyebrows just a little bit; his own personal Kunai always had the Konoha mark on them.
It looks like we have ended up in a parallel space-time.
Eh? Then how are we supposed to get back? The Eight-Tails asked from inside him.
Do not worry, space-time always wants to pull back together. As long as we fix the space-time Seal in this spot, we will be pushed back to our own space-time right away. However, since it is so rare to visit a place like this, it would be a real shame if we did not stay and look around for a bit—
As Minato spoke, he left a Wood Clone behind to watch the spot and then turned around to walk out of the ruins.
Let us go, it is time to go and find the version of "us" that lives in this world!
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