Black Zetsu nodded as well. Hatake Ziyan was indeed difficult to deal with, and his strength was at least on the same level as Hashirama and Madara (based on the strength Hatake Ziyan had shown publicly so far!). If he interfered with Madara's plan, it would indeed disrupt Black Zetsu's plan to resurrect his mother.
"Lord Madara, what if Hatake Ziyan still interferes with your plan for the sake of his own dream?" Black Zetsu asked.
"He won't! The strong have their pride. He gave his word, so he won't break it!" Madara said. Then he sighed and added, "But we can't trust him completely either. If he really does ruin my plan, don't worry about how many tailed beasts you've collected. Just take control of Nagato and have him resurrect me. I'll deal with Ziyan myself!"
Black Zetsu actually had another question on his mind: why had Hatake Ziyan initially shown such intense killing intent toward him? But he simply couldn't figure it out. No one knew about his plan to resurrect his mother. Could it be that his sudden appearance, without Ziyan noticing him beforehand, had bruised the pride of such a powerful man?
If Hatake Ziyan had known what Black Zetsu was thinking, he would definitely have told him, "I know exactly what you're up to, you sneaky bastard. Aren't you constantly stirring up wars just to resurrect your dear old mother?"
After leaving Madara's cave, Hatake Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief. Putting on an act with an old fox like that was truly exhausting. If not for the rewards, he wouldn't have bothered with these people.
But Hatake Ziyan also understood that Madara didn't want to work with him. He wanted Ziyan to stay out of his plans. After all, aside from telling Ziyan that he could resurrect people, Madara hadn't shared any of his plans with him.
That was hardly the attitude of someone seeking cooperation, but Hatake Ziyan didn't care. He had never intended to work with Madara anyway. He had no interest in unifying the shinobi world. All he wanted was to nurture more powerful fighters, so that when the Ōtsutsuki Clan invaded, he wouldn't have to handle everything himself!
Still, it seemed his guess had been right. The more he interacted with characters from the story, the more choices he would trigger. It looked like he would have to settle down in Konoha from now on!
"Ah, forget it! What a hard life! Time to get moving!" Hatake Ziyan checked his bearings and ran toward the battlefield in the Land of Wind.
After arriving at the battlefield in the Land of Wind, Minato Namikaze immediately went to see Tsunade!
"Lady Tsunade!" Minato Namikaze called into Tsunade's tent.
"Come in!" Tsunade's voice came from inside.
Hearing her response, Minato Namikaze entered and found Tsunade preparing a solution.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm here!" Minato Namikaze said.
"Mm, I've been waiting for you! Find somewhere to sit!" Tsunade said to Minato as she continued mixing the solution.
Lately, Minato Namikaze had either been fighting or on his way to a fight. He really was tired, so he didn't stand on ceremony and sat down in a chair.
Once Tsunade finished mixing the solution, she walked over to Minato Namikaze and handed him the medicine. "Take this. It's the latest version of the antidote!"
Minato Namikaze accepted the medicine and thanked Tsunade.
Tsunade waved a hand. "Grandpa Ziyan told me all about your situation. Everything is ready on my end. We can launch a decisive battle against Sunagakure at any time. What do you think?"
"I'm ready whenever you are! I'll follow your orders, Lady Tsunade!" Minato Namikaze said, standing up.
Tsunade pushed Minato Namikaze back into his seat. "Don't be so stiff. I know about you and Kushina too. We'll all be family in the future, so there's no need to be so formal!"
Minato Namikaze's face turned bright red.
Tsunade thought for a moment before saying, "How about this? Rest tonight! We'll fight the decisive battle against Sunagakure first thing tomorrow morning!"
"All right!"
Early the next morning.
Minato Namikaze and Tsunade led Konoha's army to the battlefield.
Across from them, Sunagakure's forces also arrived under Chiyo's leadership.
Neither side wasted words upon meeting. They went straight into battle.
Minato Namikaze had the ninja beside him throw out his Flying Thunder God Kunai.
Then he immediately activated Flying Thunder God and began swiftly slaughtering Sunagakure's ninja.
In this life, thanks to Hatake Ziyan's presence, Tsunade had never fallen in love with Dan, and Nawaki hadn't died either, so she hadn't developed a fear of blood.
Tsunade took on Chiyo directly, preventing her from stopping Minato Namikaze.
Watching Minato Namikaze slaughter her ninja, Chiyo was furious. She shouted toward the rear of the battlefield, "Bunpuku! If you don't act now, all our Sunagakure ninja will be killed! Do you want to become a disgrace to Sunagakure?"
As the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Bunpuku was an important strategic weapon for Sunagakure. But he was a monk who didn't want to take more lives, so he had remained at the rear without joining the fight.
At this point, Chiyo could no longer worry about anything else. She could only force Bunpuku to act.
As Chiyo's voice rang out, a figure swiftly approached from the rear of Sunagakure's forces.
He reached the center of the battlefield and attacked Minato Namikaze, using sand to hamper his movements.
But Bunpuku discovered that this couldn't stop Minato from slaughtering his village's ninja at all.
He could only change tactics. Targeting an area crowded with Konoha ninja, he unleashed a wide-range jutsu, Sand Burial, taking the lives of many Konoha ninja!
Seeing this, Minato Namikaze had no choice but to stop slaughtering Sunagakure's ninja and move in front of Bunpuku.
When Bunpuku saw Minato Namikaze appear before him, he stopped attacking Konoha's ordinary ninja.
Minato Namikaze wasted no words. Using his superior speed, he rapidly attacked Bunpuku with his kunai. But he soon discovered that although Bunpuku couldn't keep up with his speed, he couldn't break through Bunpuku's defenses either.
Minato Namikaze leaped away once more. Looking at Bunpuku before him, he began forming a Rasengan in his hand.
Using the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left on Bunpuku during his earlier attacks, he appeared directly behind him. The Rasengan in his hand rapidly expanded.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
He slammed it straight into Bunpuku's back, knocking him to the ground. The Sand Armor covering his body shattered instantly, and the Rasengan struck Bunpuku beneath it.
"Gah! Pfft!"
Bunpuku spat out a large mouthful of blood. He was already old, and this blow had left him more than halfway to death.
At that moment, the sand around Bunpuku rapidly gathered over his body, gradually forming the shape of a miniature One-Tail.
Bunpuku could no longer afford to hold on to his compassion and began unleashing large-scale jutsu.
But Minato Namikaze was too fast, and none of his attacks hit him. Just as Bunpuku was about to undergo a full tailed beast transformation, his body finally gave out. The sand rapidly fell away from him, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Bunpuku!" Seeing Bunpuku fall, Chiyo grew frantic, and Tsunade sent her flying with a punch.
Chiyo spat out a mouthful of blood in midair, but she used the momentum to rush to Bunpuku's side. Scooping him up, she shouted, "Retreat!"
Before you continue