Naruto: The Immortal Sage

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Somewhere else in the shinobi world, Tobi had lost his fight against Hanzō. While Hanzō couldn't touch him when he was intangible, Tobi had to become solid to attack.

In a fair fight, he just couldn't win.

The Nine-Tails, his personal superweapon, was already in Konoha's hands because he had been careless. In the end, Tobi ran from Amegakure in defeat and escaped north to the Land of Frost.

"THAT BASTARD HANZŌ! Does he even have a conscience? He stabbed me in the back! Every last backstabber deserves to die!"

Tobi was usually someone who enjoyed making jokes and stirring up trouble. But right now, he was just angry.

Beside him, the White Zetsu with the flytrap collar gave him a resigned look. "Let it go, Tobi. The Sage told you to handle things your own way. You win some, you lose some."

"So what do we do now? Go back to Mount Myōboku? That would mean I failed my Sage test." Tobi sat down heavily on a rock.

White Zetsu shook his head. "Something's happened that you probably don't know about. Madara Uchiha is alive. He has the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and he's managed to pull White Zetsu out of it."

Tobi jumped in surprise. "Wait. Madara has the Demonic Statue?"

"Yes. He's using it to keep himself alive."

Tobi went from shocked to angry. "He's just a mortal! Why does he need the Demonic Statue? Who let this happen? Isn't the Grand Sage going to step in?"

He and Black Zetsu had used the statue before. He knew White Zetsu needed it to survive. If anything happened to it, they would all be doomed.

He hadn't even experienced what it was like to need to use the bathroom yet! And now Madara, who was completely crazy, had control of the thing keeping them all alive.

"Relax. The Grand Sage would never let Madara have the real statue. That one is a fake." White Zetsu continued, "I think we could sneak into his group."

Tobi thought it over. It sounded like a good plan. "Okay. Let's do it."

........

In the Mountains' Graveyard, three old men with white hair sat under the Demonic Statue, depending on it to stay alive.

Just the three of them: Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju, and Izuna Uchiha.

"We're old, and we need the Demonic Statue to keep living. We probably won't reach our dream before our time runs out. We have to train a successor and set everything up. I'll give him my Rinnegan, and he'll bring us all back. Together, we can bring order to the shinobi world and finally achieve our dream," Madara said.

"..." Izuna didn't argue. He still wasn't sure his brother was making the right choice, but if Madara was determined, Izuna would support him completely.

Tobirama tapped his fingers on the stone table and nodded thoughtfully. "Have you found anyone?"

Madara shook his head. "A normal body can't handle the Rinnegan's power. Only a few people could survive it. Even an adult who's lived through years of war might not last long, and I need a baby."

He paused. "I'm putting all my hopes on the Uzumaki clan. They're born with huge chakra reserves and enough strength to survive almost anything. They might be the only clan that can have a child strong enough for these eyes."

"I see." Tobirama nodded, looking serious. "White Zetsu just sent a new report. Several nearby shinobi clans have teamed up, and the whole Land of Whirlpools is under attack. Kirigakure is secretly giving them food and weapons, making the conflict worse while they wait to take advantage."

Izuna's face grew stern before Tobirama finished speaking. "The Land of Whirlpools is being attacked, and Konoha isn't doing anything? What is Hiruzen Sarutobi up to?"

Konoha and the Uzumaki had been close allies for generations. During the First Shinobi World War, the Uzumaki pulled away from Konoha to protect their people, but Hashirama later went to Uzushiogakure himself to fix things and restore their friendship.

So Konoha had no excuse for not helping now.

"Let it go, Izuna. We don't need to get involved. As long as it doesn't mess with our plans, nothing else matters," Madara said.

Izuna looked worried. He had once been Hokage, and even now, working in secret, he couldn't help but worry when the village made mistakes like this.

"I understand, Brother." He sighed.

........

Back in Konoha, Jiraiya walked into the Hokage's office. "Hey, old man, I need to ask you something."

Hiruzen put down his pipe. "What is it, Jiraiya? I was just about to call you and the others in."

"It's about Manji." Jiraiya took a deep breath.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Ah, Manji. That boy really has the Will of Fire. He and I are the only ones in the village who've mastered all five chakra natures. He's one of Konoha's best."

Jiraiya frowned. If even his teacher remembered Manji, it couldn't be genjutsu. He couldn't imagine any illusion strong enough to trick Hiruzen. That meant the problem was with his own memory.

He rubbed his head. "Old man, I don't know why, but I can't remember anything about him. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere…"

On his way here, he had asked people about Manji. Everyone remembered him. So it had to be his own memory that was the problem.

Hiruzen chuckled.

"Maybe this is a side effect of your Sage Art training?" He didn't seem to take it seriously.

"Maybe it is just me." Jiraiya shook his head and gave a small, embarrassed smile. "I was starting to wonder if I'd somehow ended up in a parallel world."

"All right, Jiraiya. Maybe spend less time with those dirty books. I have a mission for you and the others. I'm putting together a team of five to help the Land of Whirlpools."

Jiraiya became serious. He had seen the news in the papers. The Uzumaki, who had been Konoha's friends for a long time, were in real trouble. The village needed to help.

"Who's on the team?"

Hiruzen smiled. He had already drawn up the roster.

"Manji, Sakumo Hatake, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. The five of you will go to the Land of Whirlpools as reinforcements."

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