Chapter 517: Beneath the Land of Frost (Patreon)

Kenway Compound — Konohagakure

The first bowl of rice had barely reached the table when the memory struck.

Alaric's hand stopped above his tea.

The interruption lasted less than a heartbeat. No one else would have noticed if the porcelain cup between his fingers had not given a faint click against its saucer.

Haku noticed, and Minato did as well.

Across the table, Naruto had already begun filling his plate with enough food for several people.

Kushina stood near him with one hand on her hip, watching the growing pile with the expression of a mother who knew that objecting would only encourage him.

Itachi sat beside Sasuke, his composure restored after the laugh he continued refusing to acknowledge. Hiruzen had settled at the far end of the table and was examining the meal with the gratitude of a man who had spent too long discussing planetary destruction without eating.

Alaric lowered the cup as a memory flowed through him.

A Wood Release clone stood upon a forested ridge beneath a moonless sky. Far beyond the trees, the ground moved as though something enormous beneath it had begun turning in its sleep.

Chakra gathered in violent pulses, each one deeper than the last. The Gedo Mazō's incomplete form convulsed within a concealed chamber while roots pushed through stone and earth.

The transformation had begun… and it was earlier than expected.

The clone observed for another second before releasing itself.

Its final memory carried the sensation of a chakra mass swelling beyond the restraints surrounding it.

Alaric's eyes sharpened.

Haku placed his chopsticks down. "Sensei?"

Conversation around the table faded.

Minato watched Alaric's face. "Did tou receive info from a clone?"

"Yeah."

Naruto swallowed what remained in his mouth. "What happened?"

"The Ten-Tails has begun transforming."

The room became still.

Kushina's hand lowered from Naruto's shoulder.

Hiruzen sat straighter. "How far?"

"Not enough to be complete, but the Gedo Mazō is no longer dormant. Its chakra is reorganizing, and the restraints around it are beginning to fail."

Sasuke's Sharingan appeared at once. "Madara started early."

"Either he changed the schedule, or something forced the process forward."

Itachi's gaze moved toward Alaric. "Emberis."

"Possibly."

The Phoenix's manifestation had occurred inside a shared subconscious, yet power of that scale did not always respect the borders intended to contain it.

The Ten-Tails might have sensed the presence of something vastly greater and reacted through instinct. Black Zetsu might also have recognized the disturbance and urged Madara to proceed before Alaric could interfere.

Alaric had no intention of assuming either explanation without evidence.

Naruto pushed his plate away and rose. "Then we go now."

Kushina caught the back of his shirt before he could take a second step.

"You are not charging into a war without knowing where you're going."

"Mom, the Ten-Tails is waking up."

"I heard him."

Naruto turned halfway toward her, his expression strained between urgency and the deeply rooted knowledge that struggling against Kushina's grip would achieve nothing.

Alaric sighed as he stood.

"The Allied Shinobi Forces are still deploying. Their divisions have not completed their movements, and several communication routes remain unstable."

Hiruzen frowned. "If Madara launches an attack now, the army will meet him in fragments."

"Yes."

"Then Tsunade needs to know."

"She will."

Alaric brought two fingers together.

Several small circles of fūinjutsu appeared around his wrist before flowing beneath his sleeve. His remaining clones scattered throughout the Elemental Nations received the memory and began moving at once.

One headed toward Tsunade.

Another went to the Land of Iron to warn Mifune and the Kage forces still coordinating there. Others altered their observation points along likely routes from the Land of Frost.

Minato rose more slowly than Naruto.

"What do you need from us?"

Alaric looked across the table.

Naruto was prepared to leave before anyone finished answering. Sasuke had already shifted his weight away from his seat. Itachi remained composed, though the focus in his eyes showed that he had begun calculating the fastest path toward the battlefield. Haku waited for a command without touching his food again.

Hiruzen's earlier weariness had vanished.

Only Kushina remained standing beside the table with no intention of allowing urgency to replace thought.

Alaric looked toward Minato and shook his head. "I do not expect you to make a move."

A slight crease appeared between Minato's brows.

Naruto glanced toward his father.

Alaric continued, "Your presence would be helpful. I will not pretend otherwise."

"Then why wouldn't he come?" Naruto asked.

"Because Minato Namikaze is dead."

The words brought a quiet weight into the room.

Minato's resurrection had remained concealed from nearly the entire world. Outside the Kenway Compound, only a limited number of people knew that the Fourth Hokage lived again. Revealing him upon the battlefield would not merely inspire Konoha. It would reshape the politics of every village involved in the war.

Enemies would question how he returned, and allies would demand answers.

The other Kage would wonder whether Konoha possessed the means to resurrect its strongest dead whenever necessary. Madara and Black Zetsu would alter their plans the moment they confirmed Minato's survival.

Kushina released Naruto's shirt.

Her fingers remained curled in the fabric for a moment before falling to her side.

Alaric met Minato's gaze.

"You have already given your life to the village once. You came back to a wife who spent years without you and a son who grew up knowing you only through stories and a fragment of chakra."

Naruto's eyes lowered.

Minato remained silent.

"I would prefer that you spend time with them," Alaric said. "Stay here. Remain retired. Do not step onto the battlefield and reveal to the world that the Fourth Hokage has returned from the dead."

Kushina looked toward her husband.

No plea entered her expression. She did not reach for him or ask him to stay… that restraint carried more weight than either would have.

Minato rested one hand against the back of his chair. His thumb moved slowly over the polished wood while his gaze drifted toward Naruto.

His son was alive. Stronger than the infant Minato had died protecting, more reckless than Kushina would ever admit aloud, and burdened by a war that Minato's generation had helped create.

Beyond the Compound, entire nations prepared to face Madara Uchiha and the Ten-Tails.

Minato had once believed that becoming Hokage meant placing every life in the village before his own. Death had not removed that instinct. Retirement had not quieted it. Even now, his mind was measuring distances, imagining battlefield formations, and considering where the Flying Thunder God could save the greatest number of people.

Kushina's sleeve brushed his arm when she stepped closer.

Minato looked at her, then he looked toward Naruto again.

"I'll think about it," he said.

A small smile softened the answer.

Alaric watched him for a moment before nodding. "That is all I am asking."

Naruto frowned. "You're really okay with him staying behind?"

"I would be lying if I said his help had no value."

"That's not what I asked."

Alaric glanced toward him. "I am capable of wanting Minato on the battlefield and wanting him here with his family at the same time."

Hearing that, Naruto's expression loosened slightly while Minato's smile remained.

Kushina looked toward Alaric with quiet gratitude, though she hid it by reaching for Naruto's abandoned plate.

"If you're all leaving," she said, "then at least take food."

Naruto blinked. "We're going into battle."

"And you will get hungry."

"Mom—"

"You become useless when you're hungry."

"That's not true."

Sasuke rose from his seat. "It is."

Naruto turned toward him. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side that does not have to listen to you complain."

Kushina pushed wrapped portions of food toward Haku and Itachi before Naruto could continue. Haku accepted his with both hands and a quiet thanks. Itachi bowed his head respectfully.

Hiruzen stood with more care than the others. "I assume you intend to take us directly to the clone's last location."

"No."

Everyone looked toward Alaric.

He adjusted the cuff of his Vanguard coat.

"The clone observed the disturbance from a distance. Madara's exact position remains hidden."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Then how do we find him?"

"I will."

Naruto stepped closer. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Prepare with the Allied Shinobi Forces. Inform Tsunade of what you learned from Hagoromo, except for the parts concerning my immortality and Emberis."

Hiruzen gave him a tired look. "You believe those are the only details requiring discretion?"

"You may omit anything likely to cause unnecessary panic."

"That leaves very little."

"Use your judgment."

Hiruzen's mouth tightened.

Itachi looked toward Alaric. "You intend to search alone."

"Yes."

Haku moved before anyone else could respond. "I will accompany you."

"No."

The refusal came without hesitation.

Haku's expression remained composed, although his hand closed slightly around the wrapped meal Kushina had given him.

"You said the Ten-Tails has begun transforming."

"I did."

"You may encounter Madara, Obito, and Black Zetsu."

"Yes."

"Then—"

"I need you with Naruto and Sasuke."

Haku fell silent.

Alaric stepped closer and placed two fingers briefly against his shoulder.

"If the Allied Forces are attacked before I locate Madara, they will require someone capable of controlling the battlefield without destroying everyone standing upon it."

A faint trace of dry amusement touched Haku's face. "You believe Naruto cannot do that?"

"I believe Naruto considers collateral damage a problem for whoever survives."

Naruto pointed at him. "That is not fair."

Sasuke looked away, making no attempt to defend him.

"…"

"…"

Haku lowered his gaze for a moment before nodding. "I understand."

"Good."

Alaric turned toward Itachi.

"Remain close to Sasuke."

Sasuke's expression sharpened. "I do not need protection."

"That was not the instruction."

Itachi's eyes shifted toward his younger brother.

"I will remain nearby."

Sasuke exhaled through his nose but offered no further argument.

Minato looked toward Alaric. "What happens when you find them?"

"That depends upon what they are doing."

"And if Madara has already become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki?"

A faint smile touched Alaric's mouth.

Hiruzen noticed.

"Do not look pleased."

"I am considering the possibilities."

"That is the pleased expression."

Alaric ignored him and lifted one hand.

The Hiraishin formula beneath his glove responded.

Before he vanished, Kushina stepped away from the table and held out a wrapped portion of food.

Alaric looked at it.

"You are sending me to confront Madara with dinner?"

"I am sending you away from my table before you've eaten anything."

"I do not require—"

Kushina pressed the package against his chest.

"Take it."

"…"

"…"

It took a moment, but Alaric accepted it.

The corner of Minato's mouth moved.

Naruto grinned. "You can fight Madara, but you can't argue with Mom."

"I can argue with her."

Kushina raised a brow before she lifted the ladle, and Alaric disappeared instantly.

FLASH.

The displaced air stirred the lantern flames.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Hiruzen looked toward Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, and Haku.

"We should leave before Tsunade hears about the Ten-Tails from one of Alaric's clones and decides we deliberately kept this from her."

Naruto reached for the food Kushina had wrapped.

"Good point."

Sasuke glanced toward Itachi.

"Did you really laugh earlier?"

Itachi walked toward the doorway.

"No."

"You did."

"I remember no such event."

Naruto followed them. "He definitely laughed."

Itachi's shoulders moved almost imperceptibly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You're doing it again."

Kushina watched them leave before looking toward Minato.

The room quieted around the two of them.

His hand remained against the back of the chair before she reached for it.

Minato turned his palm and laced his fingers through hers.

Neither spoke of the battlefield yet.

They both knew the decision had not been made.

.

Land of Frost — Northern Wilderness

Night had deepened by the time Alaric arrived.

Snow stretched across the wilderness beneath a sky covered in heavy cloud. The moon appeared only in pale fragments between them, offering little light to the forests and frozen ridges below.

Alaric stood upon the upper branches of a cedar tree, the dark shape of his coat motionless against the wind.

Cold gathered along the gold trim of his collar.

He sensed outward.

No villages stood nearby. No travelers moved along the narrow roads beneath the snow. The nearest cluster of civilian chakra signatures lay many kilometers south, separated from the wilderness by hills and frozen rivers.

Madara's chakra did not appear, and neither did Obito's.

Whatever concealment surrounded them had been built carefully enough to obscure even their enormous signatures from direct detection.

Alaric looked toward the northern mountains.

The clone's memory had placed the disturbance somewhere beyond them.

He stepped from the branch.

But instead of falling, he rose.

The wind caught the lower edges of his coat as he flew above the forest canopy. Snow moved beneath him in long silver currents, disturbed by nothing else. He passed over frozen lakes, abandoned roads, and narrow valleys where ice had gathered between black stone walls.

He did not hurry.

The Ten-Tails' transformation had begun, but rushing toward a concealed enemy without examining the surrounding region would only announce his approach.

Madara possessed sensory abilities strong enough to notice unusual chakra. Obito could escape through Kamui before most attacks reached him. Black Zetsu had spent centuries hiding from people who believed they understood the world.

Alaric intended to find all of them before they realized he had arrived.

His chakra remained compressed.

Even the heat naturally surrounding his body withdrew until frost settled along his sleeves. He flew without disturbing the snow below, following changes too small for ordinary shinobi to notice.

A section of forest had no animals.

Another ridge carried the faint remains of a barrier that had been dismantled and rebuilt several times.

Farther north, the earth beneath the snow contained roots that did not belong to any living tree.

Alaric slowed before he descended until his boots hovered several inches above the ground.

Black roots threaded through the frozen soil. They carried almost no active chakra, yet their structure resembled the tissues of the Gedo Mazō.

A transport network.

Madara had extended parts of the statue beneath the region, perhaps to gather natural energy, reinforce the underground chamber, or create escape routes through White Zetsu bodies.

Alaric followed the roots.

They disappeared beneath a mountain range where several cliffs met around a narrow valley. Wind had filled much of the passage with snow, leaving no visible tracks.

He looked upward and saw that the clouds shifted enough for pale moonlight to touch the stone.

A distortion moved across his Rinnegan.

'Hmm… Fūinjutsu.'

The barrier did not conceal an entrance so much as persuade perception that there was no reason to continue looking. Ordinary scouts would see a dead end, feel no chakra beyond it, and turn away without realizing their thoughts had been guided.

Alaric stepped closer, then brushed his fingers on the stone.

The barrier's outer layer responded, searching for hostile chakra and finding almost none. Beneath it, several formulas redirected sensory perception toward the empty forest behind him.

"Clever," Alaric murmured.

He did not break the seal.

Breaking it would alert whoever maintained it.

Instead, he copied its rhythm and allowed his chakra to move alongside the existing flow. The barrier accepted him as part of the surrounding stone, and the false cliff faded from his perception.

A ravine continued beyond it, so Alaric moved forward.

The passage narrowed between steep walls before opening into a basin hidden within the mountains. Snow covered the ground, though several areas had melted and frozen again in uneven sheets.

Heat had escaped from below.

He lifted his gaze and saw that at the far end of the basin, a massive cave entrance opened beneath an overhanging cliff. Its darkness extended deep into the mountain, but the angle offered no direct path toward the chakra gathering below.

Alaric sensed again… and there was nothing.

The concealment remained intact.

He walked toward the entrance, his steps leaving shallow marks in the snow. The cave swallowed the sound of the wind as soon as he crossed beneath the stone.

Inside, the air became warmer.

Moisture gathered along the walls. Thick roots had broken through the rock in several places, disappearing into passages too narrow for a person to follow. Some carried faint pulses of chakra toward the mountain's center.

Alaric continued deeper.

The main tunnel descended, then split into three separate paths. One contained several discarded masks and remains of sealing equipment. Another carried the smell of chemicals, old blood, and snake venom.

The third led toward a chamber large enough for the Gedo Mazō.

He stopped, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

The concealment surrounding the mountain remained strong, but he had crossed enough of its inner layers that the chakra below could no longer remain entirely hidden.

Three signatures rested beneath him.

The first felt ancient, violent, and impossibly dense even while controlled. 'Madara…'

The second folded strangely around itself, slipping between presence and absence as space distorted around its chakra.

'Obito…'

The third moved through the cavern with the cold patience of a serpent. Its chakra carried traces of stolen bodies, senjutsu experimentation, and techniques inherited from a man who refused to remain dead.

A snake-like signature.

'Kabuto…'

Alaric looked toward the ceiling.

The cavern containing them lay directly below a natural opening higher in the mountain. From the ground, the hole appeared as little more than a narrow black circle hidden among jagged stone.

He left the tunnel.

A moment later, he emerged into the night above the basin and rose along the face of the mountain.

Snow struck his coat while he climbed through the wind. The opening widened as he approached, revealing a vertical shaft descending toward a faint red glow.

Chakra moved below.

The incomplete Ten-Tails pulsed through the mountain like a second heart.

Alaric reached the rim and looked down.

The shaft opened into a vast subterranean chamber. Roots twisted along its walls, while broken stone platforms surrounded the darkness beneath him. The concealment seals layered across the cave could hide the signatures within from anyone outside, yet they did nothing to obstruct the view from above.

Alaric hovered over the opening.

His gaze moved toward the depths.

Madara, Obito, and Kabuto.

All three were there.

A grin slowly formed across his face before he let himself fall.

His coat rose around him as gravity drew him through the opening, past the jagged stone and into the crimson darkness below.