Chapter 70: The Busy Black Zetsu
Compared to White Zetsu and Black Zetsu—who constantly traveled back and forth between Sunagakure and Konoha—Madara's life was remarkably leisurely.
His legs were no longer what they used to be.
At his age, making a round trip to Sunagakure might very well become a one-way journey.
So...
He simply sat in the courtyard, gazing toward Asuka's house, beginning another day of quiet contemplation.
---
Deep within a forest outside Konoha...
A white head suddenly emerged from the ground.
After cautiously looking around, it turned toward Black Zetsu, who was standing nearby in silence, and whispered,
"Madara-sama will be going to the bathroom in ten minutes."
Black Zetsu's eyelid twitched.
He wasn't insane.
He had absolutely no interest in another person's bathroom schedule.
Suppressing the urge to sigh, he looked at the spiral-faced White Zetsu.
"What have you been busy with lately?"
"Did you discover anything?"
The moment he heard that question, Spiral Zetsu immediately became energetic.
He hurried over, looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then lowered his voice.
"Black Zetsu!"
"Let me tell you!"
"While you were away, I took excellent care of Madara-sama."
"He eats three meals every day."
"He goes to the toilet eight times."
"He occasionally enjoys sweets like dango and red bean soup."
"You know, although Madara-sama is getting old, his teeth were still in pretty good condition..."
"...but recently..."
"He lost two teeth while eating dango."
"Madara-sama stared silently at the broken teeth for a long time."
"So I stared at them with him."
As he spoke, he carefully handed two teeth to Black Zetsu.
His face carried an expression remarkably close to genuine human sympathy.
"The previous Madara-sama could bite through a kunai."
"The kunai would break."
"But now..."
"He bit the dango."
"The dango survived."
"His teeth didn't."
"..."
Black Zetsu looked at the two teeth in his hand.
Then...
He also fell silent.
For over a thousand years...
He had traveled endlessly across the world, exhausting himself in pursuit of one goal—
Reviving his mother.
Whenever he faced hardship...
Whenever confusion threatened him...
He would look up at the moon, grit his teeth, and continue moving forward.
That was how he had survived an entire millennium.
But after seeing Spiral Zetsu's utterly serious expression...
Black Zetsu suddenly realized something.
Not every Zetsu thought alike.
Although every White Zetsu ultimately benefited him...
This particular one...
Had something fundamentally wrong with his head.
Even Black Zetsu himself couldn't understand him.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he silently returned the teeth.
Then he asked another question.
"What about Uchiha Asuka?"
"Did you uncover anything about him?"
"Hm?"
Spiral Zetsu scratched his head.
"Does working until three in the morning every day count?"
Black Zetsu's yellow eyes narrowed slightly.
"Go on."
Spiral Zetsu glanced toward Konoha before lowering his voice even further.
"Recently, Elder-sama assigned Uchiha Asuka a job."
"He keeps drawing tiny people on blank sheets of paper."
"They're all wearing very little clothing."
"They look... poor."
"...?"
Black Zetsu stared at him in confusion.
What is he talking about?
Only after Spiral Zetsu proudly pulled a stolen magazine from inside his body...
...did Black Zetsu finally understand.
Looking at the cover illustration...
His already gloomy face darkened even further.
"...Where..."
"...is Shukaku?"
His voice was practically squeezed through clenched teeth.
Spiral Zetsu chuckled.
Stuffing the magazine back inside himself, he replied,
"Shukaku's disguise is perfect."
"He works at a fried chicken shop during the day."
"At night..."
"He lies on rooftops counting stars while cursing people."
"..."
Black Zetsu quietly let out a breath of relief.
At least Shukaku was still inside Konoha.
Then he continued,
"Has Madara discovered anything?"
"Hmm..."
Spiral Zetsu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"There has been some progress."
"But not much."
"I can tell Madara-sama has been working extremely hard lately."
"He spends every day thinking about the plan."
"He worries so much that he can't sleep."
"He often stays awake until two or three in the morning."
"He only turns off the lights after Asuka does."
"In the mornings..."
"He carries his chair into the courtyard..."
"...sits under the sun..."
"...and continues worrying."
"That's why he's been eating so many sweets recently."
"Thinking burns a lot of energy."
"..."
Black Zetsu looked at the White Zetsu speaking with complete seriousness.
Then he looked down at the dirt covering his own body.
For a long while...
He said nothing.
For some reason...
He suddenly felt like he was the only one actually working.
Smack!
Spiral Zetsu suddenly slammed his fist into his palm.
"I've got it!"
"Black Zetsu!"
"Do you need Madara-sama and me to help?"
Looking at White Zetsu's sincere face...
Black Zetsu thought of the increasingly frail Madara...
Then of the hopelessly eccentric Spiral Zetsu...
He dusted himself off and quietly shook his head.
"Just..."
"Take good care of Madara."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body sank into the earth.
He headed straight toward Sunagakure.
Madara's remaining strength had to be reserved for the decisive moment.
Right now...
Black Zetsu needed to verify a theory that had begun forming in his mind.
To do that...
He needed to stimulate the One-Tail's jinchūriki.
---
Within the Uchiha Clan district...
Children's laughter echoed through the streets.
The chirping of birds mixed with the constant chorus of cicadas.
Lush green leaves swayed gently in the early summer breeze.
Everything felt peaceful.
"Grr..."
Uchiha Ryoichi unconsciously smacked his lips as he woke from his afternoon nap.
He seemed to remember something.
Turning abruptly toward the chair beside him...
He glanced at Madara, who was quietly snoring.
After wiping away a bit of drool, Ryoichi looked up through the leaves overhead.
Sunlight filtered gently between the branches.
Warm...
But not scorching.
Lost in thought, he suddenly grinned foolishly.
"Big Brother..."
"Would you believe it?"
"My cousin has actually gotten fatter living with me."
"Old man!"
A familiar shout suddenly came from the street.
Ryoichi jolted upright.
Looking toward the voice, he saw Asuka standing at the entrance carrying a large paper bag, waving enthusiastically.
"Shhh."
Ryoichi quickly signaled for silence before walking outside.
His gaze shifted toward the bag.
"...Finished the exam?"
"Yep."
"First place?"
"Yep."
Seeing the excitement written all over Asuka's face...
Ryoichi pursed his lips before taking the bag from him.
"So..."
"Bullied a bunch of children."
"Feeling happy?"
As he spoke, he looked inside the bag.
Then asked,
"What are you planning to do next?"
"Whatever."
Asuka shrugged carelessly.
"My mission's finished."
"The worst that'll happen is Lord Fourth scolds me after learning the truth."
"Knowing his personality..."
"I doubt even that'll happen."
"He'll probably just assign a Hyūga examiner for future Academy entrance exams."
"Don't make trouble for yourself."
Ryoichi took out a skewer of dango and bit into it.
"Transfer directly to the Police Force."
"Just complete the paperwork."
Taking one for himself, Asuka muttered,
"I was originally planning to confess everything directly to the Fourth Hokage."
"Don't."
Ryoichi finished his skewer before grabbing another.
"The old man's son, Mato, only attended the Academy for a single day."
"Then he was transferred directly to the Police Force for private training."
"For the Uchiha..."
"Graduating from the Academy basically means joining the Police Force."
"The Academy mainly exists to strengthen children's sense of belonging to the village."
"And honestly..."
"In all of Konoha..."
"Who identifies with this village more than the Uchiha?"
"...Well."
"The Senju used to."
"...Fair enough."
Asuka nodded.
Just as he reached for another skewer...
Smack!
Ryoichi slapped his hand away.
"Leave the rest."
"They're for your grandfather."
Then he lowered his voice.
"The village's been embarrassed recently."
"...Embarrassed?"
Asuka looked at him curiously before glancing regretfully at the remaining dango.
"Cloud Village attacked?"
"Or did Sunagakure betray us?"
Ryoichi shook his head.
"Neither."
"A number of villagers have disappeared recently."
Asuka pointed at himself.
"...Is this somehow my fault?"
"No."
"Then why are you telling me?"
Ryoichi cautiously looked around before whispering,
"Go mislead the Police Force."
"They've been too idle lately."
"Give them something to investigate."
Hearing that...
Asuka slowly took a step backward.
He looked Ryoichi up and down thoughtfully.
"Old man..."
"Have you finally had enough of the Clan Head?"
"Helping you deal with him isn't difficult."
"Next clan meeting..."
"Just stand on my side."
Ryoichi's eyelid twitched.
He had already turned to leave before suddenly remembering something.
This brat...
He muttered under his breath.
Sneaking a glance at Madara sleeping nearby...
He slowly nodded.
His intention had been simple.
Keep the Clan Head busy with village affairs.
As long as the Clan Head remained occupied...
He wouldn't have time to pay attention to the clan itself.
After all...
The greatest secret in Uchiha history was currently hidden inside the compound.
If the Clan Head discovered Madara...
And concealed the truth...
The village would eventually suspect the Uchiha of plotting something.
If he reported Madara's existence...
Some clan members would inevitably accuse him of betraying the family.
Since either choice led to disaster...
It was better to keep the Clan Head distracted.
As for...
"Standing on your side..."
Watching Asuka's departing figure...
Ryoichi slowly shook his head with a helpless smile.
He had already decided.
He wouldn't be attending the next clan meeting.