"Konoha's defenses are several times tighter than before. What a nightmare. Fortunately, these crude barriers are entirely useless against me."
Black Zetsu observed the perimeter for a long while. He circled the walls and slipped flawlessly through the weakest junction. As he neared the bustling center, he cautiously probed the area again.
The black cat wasn't here? A little strange. Better play it extremely safe.
He sat in the dirt to wait. After thoroughly sweeping the entire village, he confirmed Takeshi really wasn't around. Meanwhile, Madara's signature was buried under suffocating layers of Fuinjutsu.
"Madara lost the Rinnegan and his power dropped so drastically that Konoha barely sees him as a lethal threat? Pathetic." Black Zetsu sighed mentally.
Madara's power had been virtually apocalyptic in his prime, yet after losing his eyes, even the hidden villages no longer feared his ghost. Of course, he knew the one who'd truly subdued the man had to be Takeshi. But Black Zetsu understood the structure of those complex seals, and even if he didn't, he could easily possess someone to unravel them.
The seals weren't the real problem. The real problem was Madara's current mindset. Would the proud Uchiha still cooperate?
Black Zetsu hesitated. Clinging to a final sliver of desperate hope, he slipped through the earth toward the research laboratory.
Orochimaru was meticulously studying a flesh chunk carved from his prisoner. Since he had Madara's verbal consent, he wasn't worried about lethal retaliation. Even if the man hadn't agreed, he would have sliced it off anyway. To a true researcher, the subject's opinion was entirely irrelevant.
"As expected, even among the Uchiha there are distinct genetic differences. Not everyone who fuses Hashirama's cells can awaken those eyes..." Orochimaru mused aloud.
At that exact moment, Black Zetsu slid silently beneath the floorboards. As Orochimaru worked, a silver ring on his finger twitched sharply. His pale lips curled slightly, but he pretended nothing had happened and smoothly continued his dissection.
Inside the heavily warded cell, Black Zetsu rose from the stone and saw Madara. The man was barely visible through the heavy barriers. He couldn't help silently mocking him.
Madara Uchiha, reduced to a caged animal? How incredibly laughable.
It seemed the legend had truly fallen. From the raw aura he sensed, a chunk of flesh had already been excised. Absolutely miserable. That actually gave Black Zetsu far more confidence in his persuasion. With the man's towering pride, after suffering such deep humiliation, he'd definitely be willing to burn this village to the ground.
Stay steady. As long as he kept his absolute composure and didn't project any flaws, he could talk his way out of whatever lies the cat had spun.
Black Zetsu quietly hyped himself up. With Madara's help, he was highly confident he could slaughter his way to the Rinnegan.
He slipped straight through a microscopic gap in the seals and merged seamlessly into the prisoner's shadow.
"You're here. Where are my eyes?"
"Apologies. The black cat left a Shadow Clone behind. I couldn't secure them."
"Get me out."
Their rapid conversation flowed entirely mind-to-mind. Black Zetsu didn't beat around the bush, he agreed immediately and helped forcefully undo the inner Fuinjutsu. As for the rest... he simply couldn't.
As the surrounding tags went completely inert, the outside corridor reacted at once.
"Orochimaru-sama, the seals are failing!"
"Fuin squad, initiate Plan Number Two."
"Yes, sir!"
Orochimaru called out unhurriedly, and the guards moved with practiced precision. Plan Number Two activated the outer lockdown. Not that those crude barriers could truly hold them, it was purely for dramatic show. Black Zetsu quickly hoisted Madara, who was still not fully unsealed, out of the shattered facility.
Konoha immediately launched a red flare. Soon, the entire military force was in motion.
Madara quietly observed the entity, feeling the sickening sensation of having the parasite attached to his flesh. During his time in the cell, Orochimaru had shared a great deal of biological theory. If Black Zetsu really was a pure consciousness created via Yin-Yang Release, then using the exact same method should yield a reproducible result.
But that never happened.
So either the entity itself was fundamentally different, or the White Zetsu medium was flawed. Whichever link was broken, the stark conclusion remained identical: neither of them was purely his creation.
Combined with the theory that the Demonic Statue was actually the empty husk of the Shinju, Madara fully agreed with Takeshi's horrifying view: Black Zetsu was a parasitic construct of the Otsutsuki. Madara had merely served as the fool who woke him up.
Black Zetsu had to die. Madara finalized his decision.
"My lord, a temporary setback is nothing. Once we butcher the boy and gather the beasts, we can unleash an invincible genjutsu. By then, even that cat will be completely powerless." Black Zetsu fled the village walls without pausing for a single instant, secretly unraveling the remaining locks while guessing at his host's true state.
Would he really help? Just now, Black Zetsu had clearly sensed a violent surge of intense emotion. Madara's mental defenses were absolutely airtight, giving him zero chance to steal his memories, which proved the man was highly guarded against him.
Not good. He examined the flesh more carefully, and his dark heart suddenly sank.
A Flying Thunder God Seal.
'That bastard. This was a deliberate bait. '
Without another second of hesitation, Black Zetsu bailed, literally violently throwing Madara out into the dirt. But it was already far too late.
"Meow. Black Zetsu, you really aren't a good guy after all."
Takeshi arrived in a blinding flash. The instant he materialized, the black chakra sphere in his paw met Madara's open palm. Madara had already shattered his final seals, and one of his dark eyes seamlessly shifted into the rippling purple of the Rinnegan.
The power of the Six Paths.
It wasn't a massive reservoir, but it was more than enough to form the gravity core. With Takeshi's overwhelming chakra violently added on, it was fully sufficient to execute the legendary technique.
Black Zetsu had already fled deep underground, but the moment the jutsu activated, he felt an incomparably powerful, crushing pull. The bedrock violently surged upward, forming a colossal, inescapable sphere.
"No, Madara, I'm on your side! I'm helping you! Only the Infinite Tsukuyomi can bring true peace to this world!" Black Zetsu struggled frantically. He knew his only slim hope was to win the man over.
"Maybe the Infinite Tsukuyomi really could achieve my dream of peace," Madara said softly. "But even without you, I can make it happen. Farewell, Black Zetsu."
His face was a mask of cold apathy, he had absolutely no intention of stopping the crushing gravity.
The sphere swelled larger and larger, its pull growing apocalyptic. Black Zetsu knew the only way to break the jutsu was to physically smash the core, but under a Six Paths Planetary Devastation, even Kaguya couldn't move a single inch.
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