Amegakure, in the central iron tower that originally belonged to Hanzo.
The old Madara sat as usual on his iron throne.
His back was plugged full of tubes connected to the Gedo Statue.
Like his contemporary, Mito, his body had also reached the end of its time.
If it weren't for forcibly sustaining his life using the Gedo Statue's energy, Madara could become a member of Chat Group of the Dead at any moment.
"Madara-sama~"
The spiral-faced White Zetsu, Tobi emerged from the wall, reporting to Madara:
"Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple, Jiraiya, has taken Nagato and his little friend Yahiko as his students."
Because Hanzo was killed early by Jin, Jiraiya had not met Nagato.
But perhaps due to the world's corrective force, or maybe it was fate…
Because the war ended two years early under the influence of the storm stirred up by Jin, the butterfly, Jiraiya also embarked on his journey two years earlier.
When passing through the Land of Rain, he still encountered Nagato and Yahiko and took them as his students.
Hearing White Zetsu's report, Madara didn't pay too much attention.
After all, he had originally already planned to arrange for someone to teach Nagato Ninjutsu, allowing him to use his eyes more skillfully, so as to facilitate his own future revival.
"What about Konoha? Have any promising talents been found there?"
Madara was more concerned about the situation in Konoha.
He felt that if he died, leaving only Nagato wasn't very safe, so he wanted to select another 'believer' as a second insurance.
Originally, he wanted to choose Jin, who had eyes like his brother.
But that kid didn't give his ancestor any respect at all.
"We did find one, but he doesn't seem very smart..."
Tobi scratched his head.
Madara smiled, "A bit stupid is exactly what I want."
Wasn't the reason he didn't choose Jin as the second layer of insurance precisely because that kid was too smart?
A bit stupid was better, as they would be easier to control.
"Madara-sama, there's another matter."
The main White Zetsu protruded the upper half of his body from another wall, reporting:
"Kumogakure has confirmed the candidate for the next Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki. It's an eight-year-old kid named Killer B."
Madara said dismissively:
"Don't report such trivial matters in the future."
In his view, even the Nine-Tails was just a dog to be ordered around, so what rank was the Eight-Tails?
…
On the other side, Konoha Village.
Because Konan had gone to school, Jin was alone at home.
Today, an unexpected guest suddenly visited.
"For you to take the initiative to visit me, what a surprise, Orochimaru-senpai."
Jin gestured for the other to sit.
"Hehe~ Neither of us likes to waste time, so I'll be direct, Jin-kun."
After sitting down, Orochimaru got straight to the point:
"Have you heard that Kumogakure recently selected a candidate for the next Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki?"
Jin's eyebrow twitched slightly.
The reason the fiercely militant Kumogakure didn't participate in the Second Great Ninja War was because they were busy dealing with the Eight-Tails at the time.
The battle where the Eight-Tails and the Third Raikage fought fiercely for a day and night, both collapsing from exhaustion happened during the Second Great Ninja War.
That battle also left scars on the Third Raikage's chest from his own Hell Stab.
The current Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki is a Ninja named Blue B.
However, he cannot control the Eight-Tails, and every time it rampages, it's suppressed by the Third Raikage by force.
"And so?"
Jin countered.
"I once heard Sarutobi-sensei say that when he was young, he witnessed Uchiha Madara controlling the Nine-Tails with his Mangekyo Sharingan, engaging in a life-and-death battle with the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage."
Orochimaru said with a smile:
"As an Uchiha who also possesses the Mangekyo, aren't you eager to let the glory of your ancestors reappear, Jin-kun?"
Jin's eyes immediately lit up.
Although he had obtained Wood Release, Jin always felt that Susanoo cloaking a Tailed Beast was cooler than Susanoo cloaking a Buddha.
And with his current understanding of Wood Release, he couldn't use Susanoo cloaking a Buddha anyway.
Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails was currently inside Mito, and there was no way to take it out for a test.
Moreover, the Nine-Tails' personality was too difficult to handle.
Jin admitted he didn't have Talk no Jutsu like Naruto.
And he had no interest in being a psychological counselor for that big fox.
In comparison, the Eight-Tails was much more convenient.
The fact that it could eventually get along with a livewire like B in the future spoke volumes.
Although its strength was so much inferior to the Nine-Tails, Jin didn't mind.
After all…
Once he obtained abilities like Ryujin Jakka or the Saiyan physique-
Forget the Nine-Tails, even the Ten-Tails would be useless!
"Orochimaru-senpai, what's your goal?"
Jin asked Orochimaru with a smile.
He didn't think Orochimaru would give him information for free.
Orochimaru didn't hide it either, showing an expression as excited as Jin's.
"I want to research the secret of the Tailed Beasts' eternal life."
That's right, eternal life!
This was what Orochimaru was pursuing now, and would continue to pursue in the future.
And what in the Ninja World could achieve eternal life?
That would be the Tailed Beasts!
The Tailed Beasts have existed since the beginning of Ninja History.
And even if the Jinchuriki dies, they don't.
After a few years, or decades-
The Tailed Beasts will revive randomly somewhere.
This greatly piqued Orochimaru's interest.
He really wanted to get a Tailed Beast to study and to use as a breakthrough point for his research.
And so-
The two shared the same goal.
The troublemaking duo was officially formed!