"This is... troublesome," a slightly aged voice murmured from beneath a black cloak in the desert.
"I didn't expect this brat to be so decisive, sealing both Tailed Beasts into himself simultaneously..."
"Will the absence of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails affect Lord Madara's plan?" Black Zetsu asked, his head slowly emerging from the cloak's sleeve, his voice filled with concern.
"It's nothing," Uchiha Madara scoffed, his gaze fixed on the red crystal ball. "The Eight-Tails left enough chakra behind; a little less won't matter. We're only missing the Two-Tails, which is trivial. Once I'm revived in my prime, I'll simply retrieve it."
Madara's body suddenly stiffened. "Hmm? Where did he go?!"
"What's wrong, Lord Madara?" Black Zetsu asked, his heart lurching.
"The man... he's gone?" Madara's brow furrowed.
"Could he have used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape?" Black Zetsu suggested.
"Impossible. He was already marked during the Tailed Beast sealing."
Uchiha Madara seemed to have an idea: "He must have used the Flying Thunder God Technique at that moment, disrupting the space-time fluctuations and causing this accident. What a lucky kid! Even I can't track him now."
"Does this mean he might not be able to return?" Black Zetsu asked.
"No," Madara replied, his voice deep. "This technique was created by combining the Dragon Vein's power with my own Dōjutsu: the Dragon Life Tsukuyomi."
"Drawing upon the space-time energy of the Dragon Vein, it banishes the target to a parallel world—a real one where I can't interfere too much. However, as the caster, I can still observe him."
"To return to this world, he must either borrow the Dragon Vein's space-time energy again, or awaken a Mangekyō with space-time attributes on his own. Otherwise, he'll be trapped in that world forever."
"That's why I rushed here immediately after obtaining the Dragon Vein's power. The kid is clever; I worried he'd connect the dots after learning about the attack on Loulan."
"If he's lucky and discovers the Dragon Vein's true nature, he might return to this world in an instant. Of course, if he's unlucky, he could be trapped here for a lifetime."
Black Zetsu was speechless.
He felt Madara was being a bit of a jerk.
Not that he lacked confidence in his own luck, but Minato was a genius who had awakened two powerful Bloodline Limits simultaneously. How bad could his luck really be?
Still, Black Zetsu kept his thoughts to himself. As Madara's will incarnate, his primary role was to be an echo, and any hint of dissent could jeopardize everything.
After a thousand years of waiting, they had finally found an Indra who had awakened the Rinnegan.
If this failed, who knew how many more centuries they would have to wait.
What if, in the meantime, some future reincarnation decided to make peace and refused to be reborn? Then all hope would be lost.
So, Black Zetsu had no choice but to flatter Madara.
The moment Minato vanished, in the Land of Rain, Minato's Wood Clone frowned slightly.
Because his main body was not far from the Land of Rain, he could sense the Flying Thunder God Mark left by his main body.
But just now, his main body had vanished from his senses!
He hadn't left any Flying Thunder God Marks in the Land of Wind yet. If he wanted to return to Konoha using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would have to go through the Land of Rain.
This meant something was likely wrong with his main body.
After a moment's thought, he created a Shadow Clone and then dispelled it.
However, after a long while, there was still no response from his main body.
"Yahiko!"
The Wood Clone woke Yahiko, who had just fallen asleep. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up.
"What's up, Big Brother?"
"My main body is in some trouble. I probably won't have time to teach you anymore. If you're willing, you can come with me to Konoha," the Wood Clone said gravely.
"Mmm—Okay!"
Yahiko didn't hesitate. Minato had been taking good care of him lately.
Now that Minato was in trouble, he knew he couldn't help much, but he didn't want to be a burden.
The Wood Clone's expression softened, and he took Yahiko back to Konoha.
First, he dropped Yahiko off at the orphanage, then hurried back home.
"Minato!"
Kushina was thrilled to see him return and threw herself forward, but the Clone quickly pressed down on the top of her head.
"I'm a clone. Where's the original?"
"What do you need?"
Hearing Minato's voice, Tsunade emerged from the room.
"The original has run into some trouble. There's no need to worry about danger, but it might take some time before he can return," the clone explained.
"How long?" Tsunade frowned slightly.
"I'm not sure. It could be days, or it could be years."
The clone shook his head. "I don't have all the details either. I was about to investigate myself, but since I'm just a clone and can't use Light Release, I was worried something might go wrong. That's why I came back to report to you first."
"I understand," Tsunade nodded. "Would you like me to accompany you?"
"No need. I suspect the original might have been caught in some Space-Time Ninjutsu and transported to another dimension or a different time node."
The Wood Clone shook his head. "Don't worry. The original's Light Release has absolute self-preservation capabilities. I'll analyze the situation in detail once I return."
"I understand."
Tsunade nodded, saying nothing more.
Minato's strength had completely surpassed hers. Even this mere Wood Clone was not to be underestimated.
Moreover, the Wood Clone could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, so there was no need to worry about it encountering danger. However, if she were to accompany it, she might become a target if they encountered enemies.
Whoosh—
The Wood Clone vanished once more, quickly arriving at the location where the original body had disappeared.
"Space-Time energy..."
Sensing the residual Space-Time energy in the surroundings, the Clone sprinted in a particular direction.
Before long, an ancient and prosperous city appeared in its vision.
This was Loulan, the most thriving ancient kingdom deep within the Shinobi World's desert.
But at this moment, Loulan was swarming with patrolling soldiers, and collapsed buildings were scattered everywhere.
"It really is the Dragon Vein," the Clone's eyes gleamed. Without further infiltration, it followed the lingering Flying Thunder God Mark back to Konoha.
Meanwhile, in another time-space...
Minato's main body also arrived at Loulan.
Unlike what the Wood Clone had seen, in this world, Loulan was nothing but a desolate ruin, its weathered walls and crumbling structures scattered everywhere.
"Is this the future... or a parallel world?"
Minato ventured deeper into the ruins, reaching a massive building at its center.
At the heart of the structure, a three-pronged kunai stood embedded in an altar. The handle of the kunai was inscribed with the words "Sword of Ninja Love."
Minato's eyebrow twitched. The kunai in his possession bore the Konoha symbol.
"It seems we've landed in a parallel dimension."
"Huh? Then how do we get back?" Gyūki asked.
"Don't worry. Space-Time has a self-correcting nature. Once we reinforce the Space-Time Sealing here, we'll be immediately expelled back to our original timeline. But since we're here anyway, it would be a shame not to look around a bit—"
With that, Minato left behind a Wood Clone, turned, and departed the ruins.
"Let's go see ourselves in this world!"
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