After lunch, the two continued on their way. Traveling, eating, and sleeping in a repeating cycle, they reached their destination three days later.
Looking at the towering, precipitous mountain before them, Xue Ge asked, "What ninja beasts are in there?"
"There are plenty of fierce beasts in there that could become ninja beasts," Madara said with a cold smile. "Go find whichever one you like."
Of course there were. This mountain was called Yamabuki Ridge. Madara had spent a long time roaming here after leaving Konoha alone, and he knew its wildlife inside out.
Tigers, bears, boars... just thinking about all that game made his mouth water.
"Ninja beasts... can you just catch any animal?" Xue Ge sounded doubtful. "Ninja beasts aren't the same as wild beasts, are they?"
"Hmph. Fully developed ninja beasts certainly exist. They're born with Ninjutsu and chakra, they're intelligent, and they can communicate with humans," Madara explained. "But first, those ninja beasts generally have clans, and neither of us can find them. Second, you don't choose beasts like that-they choose you. Finally, their potential is limited."
"What's wrong with raising your own ninja beast as a ninja?"
Fully developed ninja beasts had a ceiling, but if you raised a wild beast yourself, wouldn't it be uncertain whether it could even reach that ceiling...?
Unconvinced by Madara's twisted logic, Xue Ge asked, "Do you have a ninja beast of your own, then?"
Madara thought of the huge fox in his memories. "I used to. Not anymore."
"All right..." Xue Ge accepted Madara's explanation for the moment. "So how do I make a contract with a ninja beast?"
That was the crucial question. Xue Ge had never even encountered a real ninja beast before, much less understood these supposed contracts.
Madara took a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Xue Ge. "When you find a wild beast you like, have it drip some blood onto this, then give it a name. That's all."
"What if it refuses?"
Madara looked at Xue Ge as though he were an idiot. "Then beat it until it agrees! You're a ninja, brat. What kind of question is that?"
...I doubt a ninja beast contracted that way would be much use even if I summoned it.
Somewhat helplessly, Xue Ge accepted the contract scroll. As much of a headache as this was, he also felt a rare thrill of excitement. Summoning beasts were pretty cool to a guy, even one whose mental age was nearly thirty.
"I won't be going into the mountain with you. Come back on your own once you've made the contract. I'll wait at the foot of the mountain." As Madara finished speaking, he suddenly slapped Xue Ge hard on the chest.
Xue Ge felt as though something had entered his body, and he frowned.
Madara offered no explanation. After the slap, he waved Xue Ge away impatiently. Seeing this, Xue Ge put the scroll away and headed into the mountain alone.
Watching Xue Ge disappear, Madara had something else on his mind.
He had just placed a Binding Talisman on Xue Ge's heart (in the original story, Madara used this technique on both Obito and Rin, allowing him to control them at will). Letting Xue Ge leave alone meant the boy might try to slip away-this was his contingency. Having Xue Ge catch a ninja beast was itself a test Madara had set for him.
Madara figured he did not have much longer to live. His plans needed someone to carry them out after his death, and that person had to be genuinely loyal to him. If Xue Ge returned, it would mean there was a foundation of trust, and Madara could groom him as his successor.
That was unlikely, though. After all, he had only known Xue Ge for a few days.
Even if Xue Ge escaped back to Konoha, it would not matter. Konoha did have more resources than Madara, and given Xue Ge's condition, he would receive proper training upon his return. Naturally, Madara wanted Xue Ge, the key to the prophecy, to become more useful.
By planting a Binding Talisman in advance, he could simply take control and make Xue Ge defect when he needed him. Letting Konoha raise a genius who belonged to him was a fairly cost-effective arrangement.
Two possibilities: one made Xue Ge his successor, the other made him his enforcer. Either way, Madara lost nothing. It all depended on what Xue Ge chose.
For a moment, Madara recalled the echoes of those two people he had seen in Xue Ge. Emotionally, he still hoped Xue Ge would choose him, though he knew it was unlikely.
The ninja squad led by Minato was making its way through the forest toward Konoha. Suddenly, Minato stopped.
Inuzuka Tsume and Yoshino immediately stopped as well. "Namikaze, what's going on?"
Minato did not answer right away. Instead, he crouched and brushed aside the newly fallen leaves on the ground.
The other two gathered around him. "These are... footprints."
Yoshino frowned thoughtfully. "Who would leave footprints out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Two people left these. One set is large, the other small." Minato studied the tracks and touched the soil beneath a shoe print. "They're still fresh. These two haven't been gone long."
"One large, one small..." Inuzuka Tsume belatedly caught on. "Wait, Namikaze, could it be...?"
Minato stood. "There's at least one other person involved, and we don't have any information on them yet. I'm fast, so I'll follow the tracks ahead. You two stay here for now. If anything happens, prioritize returning to the village."
"All right. Be careful." The other two were seasoned ninja, and they readily agreed.
Minato planted a kunai bearing a Flying Thunder God Mark in a nearby tree, then raced off along the tracks.
The dense canopy almost concealed the sky, leaving only dappled sunlight to spill through the leaves onto Minato. As he followed the faint tracks, he gradually noticed a pattern: the two sets of footprints maintained a consistent distance from each other. The larger prints were steady and firm, while the smaller ones were somewhat erratic.
Minato had met Xue Ge, and the boy was quite skilled. If these really were his footprints, the most likely explanation was... Xue Ge was badly injured. At that thought, Minato's heart sank, and he picked up speed.
Kakuzu studied the map in his hand, comparing it against the mountain a short distance ahead. He had accepted a commission to survey and map the terrain at a specified location, with a payment of a full five million.
"Yamabuki Ridge... yes, this is the place."
After confirming that the mountains before him were his destination, Kakuzu put away the map and walked toward Yamabuki Ridge at an unhurried pace.
In a clearing at the foot of the mountain, Madara slowly opened his eyes after resting with them closed.
Birds occasionally taking flight from the quiet forest in the distance caught his attention. The spots where the flocks abruptly scattered were approaching him at tremendous speed.
Madara thought back
for a moment. He and Xue Ge really had not bothered to cover their tracks on the journey. Xue Ge did not know how, and Madara had no need to. So someone was following their footprints now?
This was a first for Madara. Outside wartime, what ninja had so little to do that they would follow some random trail with no idea where it began or ended?
"...Someone's lived too long and come looking for death," Madara said irritably. He drew a scroll from his waist and summoned a large cloak, draping it over himself.
Word that he was still alive could not be allowed to spread. Madara already intended to kill this fool who had inexplicably followed them, but he covered his appearance first, just in case.