The vast underground hall echoed with every sound, creating an eerie sense of emptiness.
On the massive withered tree stump throne sat Uchiha Madara. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing three-tomoe Sharingan that never seemed to deactivate, even in rest.
His gaze dropped to the half-black, half-white figure before him—Black Zetsu, the being he had created using Yin-Yang Release and his own will after awakening the Rinnegan.
Though its exact origins remained unclear, it was undeniably a product of his own power. Its loyalty and safety had been thoroughly verified.
"Zetsu. What's the situation outside?" Madara's voice was dry and hoarse from long disuse.
"Lord Madara, the ninja world is developing exactly as you predicted. The Leaf and Sand are locked in full-scale war. Iwagakure recently declared war on the Leaf as well. Kumogakure has also begun clashing with them in the Land of Hot Springs. Only Kirigakure, far across the sea, remains uninvolved. All four of the other great villages are now fighting to varying degrees."
"Good. Very good." Madara's voice gradually regained its deep, heavy tone, though it still lacked any real vitality. "But it's not enough. Find a way to drag Kirigakure into the war as well. The more we weaken every nation's strength, the smoother our final plan will go."
"I will carry out your will, Lord Madara," Black Zetsu answered without hesitation. "I'll get started right away."
Madara gave a weak nod, then seemed to remember something and forced himself to focus. "What about that Uchiha brat… Obito, was it? How is he doing?"
"Yes, Lord Madara. Uchiha Obito is currently fighting Sand in the Land of Rivers with his team. His strength is improving rapidly. He hasn't awakened his Sharingan yet, but he's already approaching chunin level."
"Hmm. Still no Sharingan? It seems the ninja world has been too kind to him. He hasn't suffered enough pain yet." Madara fell silent for a long while. Black Zetsu waited patiently.
"Never mind. The timing isn't right yet. Let him grow on his own for now. But keep a close watch on him—especially during missions. Make sure he never leaves your sight."
"Understood, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu bowed respectfully, but hesitated at the end, as if he had more to say.
"Is there something else?" Madara asked, clearly impatient. He needed rest. Every bit of life he conserved was for the final plan.
"Lord Madara… two of our White Zetsu were recently destroyed."
"Destroyed? Are you sure? Were they discovered?" Madara's expression instantly sharpened. He was still far too weak to face the ninja world openly. Discovery now would ruin everything.
"It appears they were caught in the crossfire of a battle. From the traces left behind, two shinobi fought there—one using Fire Release, the other Wind Release. Their techniques covered a wide area. The two White Zetsu died in the Fire Release attack."
Madara frowned. "That convenient?" He was a deeply suspicious man. The story sounded far too coincidental. White Zetsu weren't strong, but they weren't so weak that random battle aftereffects should kill them either.
Black Zetsu hesitated again before adding the detail he'd rather not mention. "The ones who died… were the two who kept talking about wanting to experience what it felt like to poop."
The underground hall fell into complete silence. Even the sound of breathing seemed to vanish.
Those two White Zetsu were infamous. Even Madara remembered them clearly. If creating new White Zetsu wasn't so difficult right now, he would have recycled them long ago.
Given how stupid those two were, maybe—just maybe—it really was possible.
"Investigate further. See if any related information has spread through the ninja world."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu sank back into the ground. The hall returned to silence as Madara slowly closed his eyes once more.
At the Sand forward camp in the Land of Rivers, inside the main command tent…
Rasa had just finished listening to the report from the supply convoy that had been attacked. The tent fell into an awkward silence.
Finally, the Kazekage broke it.
"So it's that Matsushita Taiichi again. And that space-time ninjutsu. Does no one have any good countermeasures?"
"I looked into it," Ebizo replied. "The technique is called Flying Thunder God. It was developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Because it's so difficult to learn, no one besides Tobirama himself had mastered it—until now. Somehow the Leaf has two users: Namikaze Minato and Matsushita Taiichi."
Ebizo gave a brief explanation, but offered no real solutions. The technique was simply too rare. The ninja world had almost no experience dealing with it.
"But right now both users are active in our rear lines. Their personal strength is already top-tier jonin level. Our smaller units have almost no chance against them."
"What if we bring Pakura to the front?" Ebizo suggested carefully, glancing at Rasa.
Pakura was one of the most talented young shinobi in Sand, nearly equal to Rasa in both reputation and strength before he mastered Magnet Release. Even now, many of Rasa's political opponents still supported her.
Bringing her to the front now could be risky. If she earned too much merit, it might destabilize Rasa's position as Kazekage—something neither Rasa nor most of the Sand leadership wanted.
"Let's wait a bit longer," Chiyo said, offering a compromise. "Iwagakure has already declared war on the Leaf. Let's see how the Leaf responds and whether they pull forces away from this front."
It was a passive approach, but no one had a better idea.
Rasa's expression remained blank as he spoke. "Bring the One-Tail's jinchuriki to the front. We'll launch a large-scale assault and release Shukaku. Let's give the Leaf a real taste of what we can do."
Both elders turned to look at him. After a long moment, they both nodded. It was time to use their trump card.
Even without Rasa suggesting it, they had known this was inevitable. If things continued as they were, Sand would slowly bleed to death. They desperately needed a major victory, and the jinchuriki was their best chance.
A messenger hawk soon took off from the camp, heading straight for the Hidden Sand Village.
The transfer of the One-Tail's jinchuriki was never simple. After the previous host, Bunpuku, died, several replacements had failed because Sand's sealing techniques were crude and the hosts couldn't control Shukaku. Only Bunpuku had managed it through sheer willpower.
Rasa and the two elders estimated it would take at least a month to safely transfer the jinchuriki. Until then, the front lines would have to hold without it.
That evening, when Taiichi returned to camp, he immediately heard the news that had already spread across the entire ninja world—Iwagakure had officially declared war on the Leaf.
Now two of the great villages had declared war on Konoha. Kumogakure would likely follow soon, and even distant Kirigakure would eventually join the fight.
The Leaf's hardest days were only just beginning.
Taiichi knew the only thing he could do was grow stronger as fast as possible so he could make a real difference in the battles to come.
As he walked through camp, he noticed that while everyone was talking about Iwagakure's declaration, morale remained surprisingly high. After all, Iwa was still far away. The immediate threat was Sand—and right now, the Leaf was dominating them.
Without realizing it, Taiichi found himself near the main command tent. His casual stroll immediately caught Jiraiya's attention.
"Taiichi! Get in here. I was just about to send someone to find you."
Taiichi blinked and looked around. Only then did he realize where he was. Hearing Jiraiya's call, he hurried inside.
Inside the tent, besides Jiraiya, only Shikaku and two other staff officers were present. The three of them were gathered around a large sand table map of the Land of Rivers, pointing at various positions marked with Leaf and Sand outposts.
A quick glance told Taiichi that the Leaf now controlled most of the Land of Rivers. This was excellent news. When the war first started, Jiraiya had pulled the camp back to preserve strength and abandoned large areas. Now not only had they reclaimed everything, they had even pushed into Sand territory. The advantage was massive.
Taiichi's arrival drew the attention of the three officers, but they only gave him friendly nods before returning to their planning.
"You wanted to see me, sensei?" Taiichi asked, confused. He rarely had free time to wander around camp, and now he'd been caught.
Jiraiya glanced up from the scroll he was reading. "What, too important to visit your own teacher now? I can't call you over unless it's an emergency?"
"Of course you can! You're my sensei. I'm always available. Even if I'm out on a mission, just send a shadow clone to call me back."
Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at Taiichi's dramatic, shameless flattery. He didn't understand the phrase "always available," but the meaning was clear.
"Alright, enough sucking up. The village sent your reward. I called you here so you can choose."
Taiichi's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "That fast? What's the reward this time?"
"Since I know you don't really need money or anything material, I picked something for you—a technique from the Sealed Book. How does that sound?"
Jiraiya was confident in his choice. He knew Taiichi well. The boy already had money, a nice house, and no real interest in power or status. The only thing he truly cared about was getting stronger. Ordinary jutsu wouldn't satisfy him—only something from the Sealed Book would.
Sure enough, Taiichi's face lit up the moment he heard "Sealed Book."
"Sensei, I want the Spirit Transformation Technique. Is that okay?"
"The Spirit Transformation Technique?" Jiraiya hadn't expected Taiichi to decide so quickly. He had planned to explain the other options, but the boy already knew exactly what he wanted.
"That technique involves the soul. Both training and using it are extremely dangerous. Are you sure?"
Jiraiya had to warn him. He knew the technique well—it had belonged to his rival, Kato Dan. It had made Dan famous, but it had also cost him his life. He couldn't let Taiichi choose it without understanding the risks.
Taiichi met Jiraiya's serious gaze and nodded firmly. "I understand the risks, sensei. I've thought it through. I still want the Spirit Transformation Technique."
Jiraiya stared into Taiichi's eyes for a long moment. Seeing the determination there, he finally relented.
As his teacher, his job was to guide, not control. Taiichi had always been the type to plan his own training carefully. He didn't need much advice.
Jiraiya then did something that shocked Taiichi. He pulled out a storage scroll, formed a long series of seals, and with a poof, several technique scrolls appeared on the table—Dark Walking Technique, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, Dead Demon Consuming Seal…
And among them was the Spirit Transformation Technique scroll Taiichi had asked for.
Taiichi stared. Jiraiya had brought every technique he might possibly want.
Only Jiraiya could get away with something like this.
Jiraiya casually picked up the Spirit Transformation Technique scroll and began forming hand seals. The patterns on the scroll shifted slightly with each seal. After 108 seals, he finally handed it over.
"I won't bother telling you to destroy it after reading. But you know the rules—these kinds of techniques can't be taught to others without village permission."
Taiichi didn't answer. He was still staring at the other scrolls on the table.
Jiraiya followed his gaze and chuckled. "Don't even think about it. Those scrolls have one-time seals on them. If you try to open any of them without permission, the village will know immediately. Unless you want to become a missing-nin."