Konoha Year 33, February.
An earthquake suddenly occurred in a village within the Land of Fire. Fortunately, the intensity was not strong, so it did not cause significant damage.
One day after the earthquake ended, flames burst out from a huge fissure, burning for three days and three nights. Only after the flames extinguished did the villagers dare to approach.
A villager discovered a stone tablet at the center of the ruins.
The tablet was three shaku wide and seven shaku tall, entirely crimson, as if wrapped in flames. Touching it gave a burning sensation.
Just as everyone, filled with curiosity, was about to go see what was happening, they realized...
Ordinary people could not approach it. If they recklessly tried to read the tablet's contents, they would feel dizzy and eventually faint!
Witnessing this, the villagers grew terrified and immediately reported it to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, requesting an investigation.
Upon hearing this, the Daimyo also became curious and sent ninjas from the country to investigate.
In the end, it was discovered that only ninjas with strong genjutsu resistance could approach the tablet.
When one ninja read the tablet's contents, his eyes widened in shock. He immediately ordered the other ninjas to surround the tablet and seal off the information.
However...
The news still leaked out.
According to the account of the witnessing ninja, the tablet recorded a story from a thousand years ago about a common samurai from the Land of Fire who fell in love with the princess of the Land of Fire.
A common samurai loved the princess of the Land of Fire, but due to his low status and reputation, he was not recognized by the Daimyo. To preserve the royal family's honor, the Daimyo forbade the princess and the samurai from meeting. At the same time, he ordered the samurai's execution and arranged for the princess to marry the eldest prince of the Land of Water, a man with unparalleled ninjutsu abilities and an extremely cold personality. The prince wielded the national treasure of the Land of Water, Frostmourne. Legend had it that anyone who could awaken the sword's spirit and gain its recognition would obtain unimaginable power...
Based on the description, it was said that the wielder could defeat ten God of Shinobi single-handedly!
When the samurai heard that the princess was to marry the prince of the Land of Water, though heartbroken, he believed she would live a happier life with the prince. So...
He spent his days fleeing and drowning his sorrows in alcohol, trying to forget his beloved. But the next year, he received news of the princess's tragic death!!!
It was said she had suffered domestic abuse and died with her eyes wide open in resentment.
Not long after, news of the princess's death spread, and a great war broke out between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Since the Land of Water possessed the legendary sword, no one in the Land of Fire at the time was a match for the prince.
The Land of Fire suffered defeat after defeat in the war. Just as the Land of Water's forces reached the capital and the Land of Fire was on the verge of destruction...
Justice descended from the heavens!!
The long-forgotten samurai appeared out of nowhere, wielding a sword that was the complete opposite of the icy Frostmourne...
A sword wrapped in flames, scorching hot, beyond imagination.
After a fierce battle, the samurai used the flaming sword to defeat the prince of the Land of Water.
Instantly, the despairing Land of Fire regained hope. The Daimyo rallied his forces and counterattacked the Land of Water, saving the Land of Fire from annihilation.
After this...
No one ever saw the heroic samurai again, and the flaming sword also disappeared.
Moreover...
After the prince's death, the national treasure of the Land of Water was lost as well.
To express gratitude to the samurai for saving the Land of Fire and to atone for separating the lovers, the Daimyo erected a stone tablet in the samurai's birthplace for future generations to honor.
Centuries later...
It gradually became regarded as a legend.
...
"So, does our Land of Water really have such a national treasure?" The Daimyo of the Land of Water asked, looking at the report from his subordinates. "With Frostmourne, one can defeat ten God of Shinobi?"
This story...
Sounded a bit like a scam, didn't it?
"No, my lord," a retainer of the Land of Water shook his head. "Only those recognized by the divine weapon can unlock its full power."
"So, the Land of Water really has it?" The Daimyo's eyes lit up. "Where is it?"
"Ah!" The retainer was taken aback and shook his head. "I do not know. Also, the Land of Water's history..."
Doesn't actually go back that far!!
But of course, he couldn't say that. No matter what, the Land of Water had to be portrayed as a great nation with a thousand-year legacy.
"The tablet doesn't specify. Perhaps this part of history was lost or..."
Deliberately erased by a past Daimyo!!
"Is that so?" The Daimyo sighed regretfully. If the Land of Water truly possessed such a weapon...
They would have already conquered the shinobi world. Why would they need to fear the God of Shinobi from the Land of Fire?
"What a shame!" The Daimyo sighed. "In that case, you may..."
Before he could say "dismissed,"...
"My lord!" A guard rushed in frantically. "A small river in a village in the eastern part of the Land of Water suddenly froze. And within the frozen river, we can see..."
"See what?" The Daimyo frowned and snapped. "Speak quickly!"
As a guard of one of the Five Great Nations, how could he be so flustered? Wasn't it normal for the Land of Water to freeze at this time of year?
How embarrassing, acting like he'd never seen the world before!
Hearing the Daimyo's words, the guard took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "A stone tablet made of ice suddenly appeared beneath the frozen river..."
"Just like the flaming tablet that appeared in the Land of Fire!!"
"??"
"..."
...
"Black Zetsu, do we really have to do this?" White Zetsu asked his other half. "Must we always obey that brat's orders?"
"I don't want to either," Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes. "Lord Madara said that brat is already unmatched in the shinobi world."
What could he do?
He was desperate too!!
Being forced to fabricate things out of nowhere...
He was, after all, the child and will of the Mother of Chakra!!
This was so humiliating.
"Do you think that brat knows our true goal?" White Zetsu frowned. "Otherwise, why do I feel so uneasy every time I see him?"
It was like...
Fear...
As if everything had been seen through.
"Impossible," Black Zetsu shook his head. "That brat is only in his teens. I altered the Uchiha stone tablet before he was even born!"
So...
Why do I feel this way too?!
"There's absolutely no way," Black Zetsu gritted his teeth. "It must be that idiot Tobi who told him."
When we get back, we'll teach Tobi a lesson!!
"But Tobi is in Uzushiogakure. Are we going there?" White Zetsu asked. "That brat is in Uzushiogakure too!"
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment before sighing helplessly. "Let's wait a few more years."
"After the war ends, we'll take Tobi and Lord Madara away."
"By then, Lord Madara should be ready to return."
"Once Lord Madara leaves, we'll..."
"Stop paying attention to that brat."
"True!" White Zetsu nodded. "Let's wait until Lord Madara grows tired of the outside world. Especially now, with the war still ongoing and countless deaths, Lord Madara will only grow more determined to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and bring true peace to the shinobi world!!"
"Then our plans will proceed much more smoothly."
"For now..."
"Let's just lay low."