Chapter 186: Five Kage Summit, New Samsara Traveler

Black Zetsu noticed nothing amiss, continuing to report in that hoarse voice: "According to the intelligence White Zetsu gathered, the Five Great Ninja Villages are preparing to hold a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron to discuss countermeasures."

"Madara-sama, this is a good opportunity." Black Zetsu's tone carried a hint of probing.

Madara's expression remained unchanged as he said probing: "It seems the time has ripened."

"Yes, Madara-sama, as long as we proceed according to the plan"

Black Zetsu had not finished speaking when the intermittent voice within him once again transmitted into Madara's perception: ". Mother's sacrifice finally"

Although he only caught a few scattered words, these fragmented words made Madara even more vigilant. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Black Zetsu like a blade.

Black Zetsu sensed the change in Madara's gaze, his heart leapt violently. Years of association made him extremely sensitive to every move Madara made.

The coldness in Madara's eyes at this moment was completely different from before, as if everything had been seen through.

"Could he have discovered something? Impossible. After so many years of planning, even Madara Uchiha could not" Black Zetsu frantically thought of countermeasures in his heart.

"Black Zetsu." Madara suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of danger, "You say you are the extension of my will, is that so?"

Black Zetsu's figure trembled slightly, but he soon steadied his mind: "Madara-sama, why do you ask this? From the moment you created me, I have faithfully executed your plan. Fighting for your ideal is the only meaning of my existence."

"Do you know what I hate most?" Madara stared at Black Zetsu, his expression calm.

Without waiting for Black Zetsu to answer, he continued: "Being deceived by others."

Black Zetsu's whole body shook. Right now, the most important thing was to steady Madara; the plan must not fail at the last moment. He immediately strengthened his concealment, suppressing all emotional fluctuations.

"Madara-sama, what do you mean?" Black Zetsu steadied his voice and said slowly, "You know, I have never dared to deceive you."

In Madara's Observation Haki perception, Black Zetsu's heart suddenly became like a pool of stagnant water, without any fluctuation.

Madara Uchiha frowned slightly. Perhaps he was not yet proficient enough in mastering this new ability, but he already knew enough.

"Continue monitoring the movements of the Five Great Ninja Villages." Madara said lightly, as if nothing had just happened.

"Yes, Madara-sama." Black Zetsu replied respectfully, then sank into the ground and disappeared.

Watching the place where Black Zetsu disappeared, Madara's eyes turned cold. Interesting, truly interesting. He had always thought he was the chess player, never expecting that he himself was also a chess piece on someone else's chessboard.

But "The current me has already transcended the world. Who is the chess player and who is the chess piece is not certain." Madara muttered to himself, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Collecting Tailed Beasts and gathering intelligence still required Black Zetsu for the time being. Since that was the case, let it continue to think it was being kept in the dark.

Let me see, what exactly are you plotting.

Madara's figure flashed, and the whole person shot into the sky like an arrow leaving the bow, flying rapidly toward the direction of the Land of Iron.

………………

Land of Iron, inside a room of the Konoha Camp.

Minato stood in the center of the room, holding a Special Kunai in his right hand, his gaze locked on the Flying Thunder God formula on the wall, chakra circulating rapidly within his body.

The next second, an orange eyeshadow appeared on his face.

"Begin!"

Before his voice fell, he disappeared from the spot. The next instant, his figure appeared beside the formula in the corner. Before his feet could steady, another flash.

"Hiss!"

"Hiss!"

"Hiss!"

In an instant, golden light flashed throughout the room. Minato's figure appeared and disappeared like a phantom in various places in the room.

As if more than ten "Minato Clones" appeared in various places in the room simultaneously. The air was torn by high-speed movement, emitting sharp whistling sounds. The candlelight in the room was stirred by the airflow, flickering bright and dim.

"Not enough! Faster!" Minato gritted his teeth.

Chakra output suddenly increased, but a strong dizziness followed.

"Not good!" Minato's pupils shrank, realizing his limit had been reached.

"Bang!"

The Special Kunai slipped from his hand. Minato fell heavily to the ground, kneeling on one knee and gasping for breath. Sweat slid down his cheeks, leaving a wet patch on the floor.

"Damn it."

Minato punched the ground, his knuckles turning white from the force. In his ears, Madara Uchiha's mocking voice seemed to sound again: "It is precisely because your strength is insufficient that all this tragedy occurred."

The scene of that day seemed to appear before his eyes again. Kushina was pierced by the chains of the Gedo Mazo, while he himself was unable to move.

The next second, Minato stood up, his eyes becoming sharp. He wanted to make the speed of the Flying Thunder God twice as fast, no, three times as fast, and also optimize the chakra consumption during transmission...

"Relying solely on the speed of the Flying Thunder God is not enough. Stronger power is needed. My own attack power simply cannot break through Madara Uchiha's defense."

Sage Mode, the subsequent improvements to the Rasengan, and the forbidden jutsu in various Sealing Scrolls—all of these must be mastered. Not a single one can be overlooked.

I must become stronger, I must become stronger. To protect Konoha, and for... revenge.

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the door.

Minato returned to his senses from his thoughts, quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, and tidied his disheveled collar: "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a tall white-haired man walked in. He wore a red long robe, with two red lines on his face extending from the corners of his eyes to his chin. He was Minato's teacher—Jiraiya.

"Teacher." Minato bowed slightly. He noticed that Jiraiya's eyes lacked their usual spirit, and the whole man seemed to have aged quite a bit.

Jiraiya looked at the Special Kunai scattered on the ground, sighed, and sat down on the chair by the window. "You don't need to work so hard."

The room fell into a brief silence.

"Why..." Minato finally asked the question that troubled him: "Why did you recommend me to be Hokage?"

Jiraiya did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out a wine gourd from his bosom, took a sip, and said: "Tsunade... she contracted Blood Aversion Disease and can hardly fight anymore."

"As for me," Jiraiya smiled bitterly: "I myself feel I am not cut out to be Hokage. And the village elders don't really approve of someone like me being Hokage. They prefer Orochimaru, but that guy refused for some reason."

"But I"

"You have already shown your strength in the battle against Madara Uchiha," Jiraiya interrupted him, "and in the battle with Danzo, you disregarded your own safety to save many people. The villagers have seen all of this."

Jiraiya stood up and walked to Minato's side, saying in a deep voice: "Minato, do you know? When I was young, I received a prophecy on Mount Myoboku, saying that one day my disciple would bring great change to this world. Perhaps you are that Child of Prophecy."

"Child of Prophecy," Minato repeated softly. "Let's go, they should all be here." Jiraiya's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Remember, whether you believe in the prophecy or not, Konoha now needs a Hokage who can lead everyone."

…………

Inside the Land of Iron conference room, the air was heavy enough to wring water from; the five Kage took their seats, each with two guards standing behind them.

Onoki rested his crossed hands on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before settling on Minato: "So Konoha lets a brat still wet behind the ears be Kage now?"

"Age isn't the issue; strength is the key." Yagura Karatachi spoke softly, "As far as I know, Minato displayed truly astonishing strength in the previous battle."

"Astonishing strength?" Onoki gave a cold snort, "Compared to Madara Uchiha, all of us here put together aren't enough to look at."

Yagura's brows furrowed slightly; before he could speak, a thunderous boom exploded inside the conference room.

The Third Raikage A had already slammed a fist onto the table; the wooden conference table instantly spider-webbed with cracks.

"Enough!" A stood up, his burly frame projecting an overwhelming oppressive feeling. "What does Konoha's business have to do with us? Right now I only want to know one thing — is Madara Uchiha really still alive?"

"I saw him with my own eyes; it is indeed Madara Uchiha." Minato answered calmly, unshaken by the other Kage's doubts. "Konoha has already dispatched Anbu to track Madara's whereabouts."

"Konoha's Anbu?" A sneered, "Relying on that motley crew?"

"I agree with the Raikage's view." Rasa rested his crossed hands on the table, "Konoha's Anbu couldn't even keep watch over the Uchiha Clan."

Minato's brows furrowed slightly; just as he was about to speak, Onoki suddenly gave a cold laugh: "Moreover, Konoha has been smug these years, throwing its weight around just because it's the number one ninja village. Hashirama Senju's promise back then to treat the Five Great Nations equally — now it looks like nothing but a joke."

"Rock Hidden Village has no right to talk about others either." A crossed his arms and laughed coldly, "You lot fought us to a standstill on the border scrambling for resources, and now you're putting on airs of superiority."

"As if Kumogakure is so clean." Rasa fixed a dangerous stare on A, "Kumogakure's plundering of Bloodline Limits everywhere — I shouldn't need to spell that out, right?"

"Hmph!" A slammed his fist heavily on the table; dangerous lightning release armor began flashing around his body. "Your Sunagakure sneak-attacked our front-line outposts — is that aboveboard? We're settling these accounts today!"

At this moment A's whole body bulged with muscle, lightning radiating in all directions.

Rasa narrowed his eyes, silently raising his right hand; gold dust coalesced in his palm.

Onoki slowly floated into mid-air, a dangerous light flashing in his eyes: "Looks like today's meeting isn't going to continue."

"How noisy." Yagura gave a soft sigh, unobtrusively gripping the weapon at his side.

Just at this sword-drawn, bow-bent moment, a cold shout suddenly rang out.

"Enough!"

A thunderous roar shook the entire conference room. Everyone looked toward the sound source as one.

Minato stood in place; his eyes had turned into toad eyes, orange eye-shadow clearly visible, his whole body emitting a heart-palpitating aura.

"If you all want to fight, I'll accompany you anytime." Minato said calmly, his gaze sweeping over each person present. "But before that, think of your villages, think of those still alive."

"You've all witnessed Madara Uchiha's strength; if we can't let go of the past, the final result will only be letting Madara sit back and reap the fisherman's gain."

Jiraiya, standing behind Minato, watched this scene, a trace of a relieved smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The conference room fell into a brief silence.

In the end it was Onoki who sat down first, his expression turning playful: "Heh, the youngster's right. However." He gave Minato a meaningful look, "Since Konoha wants us to set aside past grudges, you ought to show some sincerity, no?"

A leaned back in his chair with arms crossed, giving a disdainful snort: "Crafty old fox — just now you looked ready to fight to the death, and in a blink you're haggling."

Minato straightened, his gaze sweeping over those present: "Konoha can cede part of its border resources, lift trade restrictions on neighboring countries."

He paused, his expression turning grave, "But right now the most important thing is dealing with Madara Uchiha. Other conditions can wait until after we repel Madara."

He pressed his right hand on the tabletop, each word ringing with conviction: "If we only haggle now, I'm afraid we won't even have the chance to haggle."

Rasa narrowed his eyes, fingers lightly tapping the table: "This condition... can be considered."

Onoki nodded: "In that case, let's temporarily set aside past grudges. However, I hope the conditions Konoha promised can be implemented as soon as possible after the meeting."

"Then let's talk about the plan to deal with Madara Uchiha." Yagura spoke in a deep voice, "The Tailed Beasts have already been hidden; if he wants to obtain the Tailed Beasts' location, he must come find us."

"That works perfectly." A cold light flashed in A's eyes, "Instead of passive defense, better to actively set a trap."

"The combat strength of each village's elite Jonin and above must be concentrated." Minato swiftly sketched a rough tactical diagram on the table, "No matter how many Genin and Chunin there are, against Madara they're just sending themselves to their deaths."

Onoki stared at the diagram: "With the Five Kage's strength as the core, coordinating with each village's elite Jonin to form an encirclement. The moment Madara appears, launch an immediate siege."

The discussion lasted a full two hours.

"Everyone, since consensus has been reached, let's end this meeting here."

Minato stood and said this; then the five Kage rose one after another and left the conference room, Minato walking last.

Just then, an emotionless mechanical voice abruptly resounded in Minato's mind: 【Do you want to break the boundary between life and death? Do you want to find the person most important to you?】

"What?!" Minato whipped around, pupils contracting sharply, every muscle in his body instantly tensing.

This voice wasn't Genjutsu, nor any known Ninjutsu; it seemed to resound directly in his mind, carrying a bizarre, bewitching quality.

【Do you want to change fate? Do you want to recover everything you've lost?】

The voice rang out again; every word seemed nailed into Minato's heart. The moment of Kushina's death flashed before his eyes, making his fingertips tremble faintly.

Meanwhile, in their respective rooms, Onoki was sitting in a chair pondering when his brows suddenly furrowed.

【Do you want to continue Iwagakure's glory? Do you want to personally witness the Ninja World's pinnacle?】

Rasa gazed at the scenery outside the window; a voice resounded in his mind: 【Do you want to lead Sunagakure out of its predicament? Do you want to protect your family?】

"Protect, huh." Rasa clenched his fist, thinking of his wife.

……

The Five Kage almost simultaneously all received this mysterious voice's invitation. Each fell into deep thought; this voice seemed to know the deepest desires in their hearts.

………………………………

In the Main God Space, Uchiha Feng looked at the virtual screen before him, revealing a satisfied smile. Through Madara's previous battle in Fairy Tail, the Main God Space had accumulated a massive amount of energy.

This time the Reincarnators' team can expand again, and a new function has been unlocked.

【Reincarnator Return Function activated】

【Reincarnators may choose to return to the time point of their departure from the original world】

(Chapter End)