Chapter 439: Minato's Clone
Upon hearing Li Yao's words, the Sannin-era Tsunade endured the deep pain in her body and replied, "Three days ago, three mysterious shinobi who used Wood Style attacked Konoha… and in the end, they took away the Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Fugaku."
"Black Zetsu and White Zetsu!"
The moment Tsunade mentioned Wood Style, Li Yao instantly thought of Black and White Zetsu.
At this time in the shinobi world, the only ones who could use Wood Style were Black and White Zetsu—or Madara.
And the attackers were three people.
That basically confirmed it had to be Black and White Zetsu, though it was unclear if Madara had personally taken action.
After all, Madara wasn't too old yet to act.
In the original story, Madara had killed the Three-Tails jinchūriki of Kirigakure ahead of time, then orchestrated Rin becoming the new jinchūriki and dying before Obito's eyes at Kakashi's hand.
"But why would Black and White Zetsu attack Konoha at this time?"
Li Yao was puzzled.
"Wait… Fugaku!"
Li Yao suddenly straightened up and asked the Sannin Tsunade, "You said Uchiha Fugaku was taken? You're sure he wasn't killed?"
"Mmm…" Tsunade let out a muffled groan and replied, "The goal of the three mysterious shinobi was Uchiha Fugaku. The attack on Konoha was just to create chaos so they could capture him."
"Interesting."
Li Yao's eyes flickered.
They went so far as to expose Black and White Zetsu's Wood Style to personally capture Fugaku.
Why Fugaku and not Obito or someone else?
What did Fugaku have that others didn't?
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Li Yao thought to himself.
Although the original series never confirmed whether Fugaku had the Mangekyō Sharingan, Li Yao—who had already created a Fugaku clone—knew that he did.
That explained why Madara was willing to risk exposing the Zetsus and make a move himself: for Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"But why would Madara want Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Li Yao's mouth curled slightly; he already had an idea.
In this world, the Rinnegan had been taken from Nagato before Li Yao traveled to the Fourth Great Ninja War world—and it had been destroyed.
Meaning this world's Madara no longer had access to the Rinnegan.
Madara was determined to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi to achieve true peace, but without the Rinnegan, he couldn't do it. That's what the Uchiha stone tablet had said.
Once the Rinnegan was destroyed, Madara surely sensed it.
So with his original Rinnegan gone, he would try anything to get another one.
The Rinnegan was evolved from the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan combined with Hashirama's cells.
Madara already had Wood Style cells; what he lacked was the Eternal Mangekyō.
But since the Eternal Mangekyō was hard to come by, the next best option was the regular Mangekyō.
Clearly, Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan might be key to Madara regaining the Rinnegan.
With that in mind… a new idea struck Li Yao.
Poof!
With a thought, Li Yao created a shadow clone, who then retrieved a small ink orb from the black water storage space—the one that had sealed Minato.
During the battle in Rōran, Li Yao hadn't killed Minato. At the time, he'd had a vague idea of turning this world's Minato into a clone, though it wasn't a concrete plan.
Now, upon hearing that Madara had captured Fugaku, Li Yao suddenly had a plan for Minato.
"Release!"
The clone undid the seal, and ink surged out. Minato slowly emerged from the ink.
"Tsunade…"
Just as the groggy Minato awoke and caught sight of the explosive scene between Tsunade and Li Yao, he gasped in shock—but before he could even fully react, Li Yao's clone pressed a hand on his head, and his consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
With Li Yao's current Six Paths-level chakra, the Will Purification Technique instantly erased all will from Minato's soul—he had no strength to resist.
Once the will was gone, Minato's soul became unoccupied territory. Li Yao's clone immediately used the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to possess him, taking over both his soul and body.
Soon, the Minato clone was complete.
"Go on. From now on, live as Minato. Don't interfere too much in the shinobi world's development."
"Understood."
The Minato clone nodded, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the Land of Wind and slowly make his way back to Konoha from there.
"So that's it—a clone."
Watching the entire scene, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade instantly understood the relationship between Uchiha Obito and Li Yao.
But… so what if she understood?
It was already too late.
The Fifth Hokage Tsunade turned her gaze away and went back to helping spice things up between the Sannin Tsunade and Li Yao.
An hour later—
"All done."
Li Yao finally stopped. The pressure from the Ōtsutsuki Progenitor had completely been released. Now it was time to get back to business.
With a thought, Li Yao reapplied the restraint seal on Edo Tensei Tsunade, restoring her clothing.
The Sannin Tsunade dressed herself and quietly stood aside.
Li Yao placed a hand on her forehead, marking her with the Flying Thunder God formula and a sealing jutsu.
Now that she was marked with his chakra, the Sannin Tsunade wouldn't be rejected if he brought her to another Naruto world.
After finishing everything, Li Yao activated the Time Rewind Technique and began channeling chakra to prepare for the Cross-Dimensional Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Tsunade-sama?"
"Where did Tsunade-sama go?"
"Quick, find Tsunade-sama!"
As Li Yao built up chakra for the teleportation, Konoha below was already in chaos.
Tsunade had vanished suddenly. Half the surgeries in Konoha Hospital required her alone—there was no way she would disappear without a trace at a time like this.
"Tsunade's in trouble!"
That fearful thought had already crossed many minds—though no one dared to say it out loud.
The Anbu had dispatched the majority of their forces to search for her.
The Hyūga clan had activated their Byakugan to help locate her.
But ten thousand meters above Konoha, Li Yao was not only far out of reach—he had also cast a sensory barrier. Neither the Byakugan nor the Sharingan could detect him or the two Tsunades in the sky.
Soon—
Li Yao had almost finished gathering the chakra for the technique. He looked in the direction of the Land of Grass—where Madara was said to be.
"Make sure to recreate the Rinnegan, Madara."
Li Yao smiled, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
What was the fastest way to improve soul ability?
The answer: fight the Sage of Six Paths.
Whether the Sage emerged through chakra or as a spirit, as long as he appeared and fought Li Yao up close, Li Yao's Six Paths-level chakra perception would allow him to sense parts of the Sage's secret to powerful soul strength.
Whether he could copy it or not was unclear—but it would definitely help Li Yao shorten the time needed to enhance his soul.
Unfortunately, the Sage was such a crafty old fox. Even on the verge of the world's destruction, he hadn't shown himself, leaving Li Yao helpless.
But upon hearing about Madara's actions in Konoha, Li Yao realized—this might be a chance disguised as a non-chance.
To force the Sage out, mere world-ending threats weren't enough. There had to be some hidden trigger Li Yao hadn't discovered yet.
Maybe… the resurrection of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
In the original story, it was only after Kaguya's resurrection that the Sage appeared, using the residual chakra in Madara's lower body.
That would be Li Yao's opportunity to sense the Sage's powerful soul firsthand.
That chance might be over a decade away—but perhaps the Ōtsutsuki clan would give Li Yao just enough time.
And even if not, it would be a good contingency plan.
That's why Li Yao created the Minato clone—to stay in this world and keep watch.
If Madara succeeded, all the better. If not, it didn't matter.
The time ahead… would be dedicated to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the one from the Naruto world Li Yao originally traveled from.
Rip!
The white-violet chakra lightning around Li Yao finally ceased flickering—his chakra for the Cross-Dimensional Flying Thunder God was fully charged.
"Come, put your hands on me."
Li Yao commanded.
The two Tsunades placed their hands on his shoulders. Then—whoosh!—the three of them disappeared from this world.
(END CHAPTER)
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