Chapter 126: Black Zetsu: It's Over!
"What? The Fire Temple was attacked?"
The next morning, inside the Hidden Leaf Village—
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed the report down on his desk and stood up abruptly, his face filled with disbelief.
"What the hell happened? How did this occur?"
While the Fire Temple had little direct connection to Konoha, anything that happened within the Land of Fire's borders was their business!
"Lord Hokage, we're not entirely sure of the specifics either," said a member of the ANBU, shaking his head helplessly.
They were just as baffled.
Having received the news early that morning, they were still in the dark. All they knew was that a battle had erupted at the Fire Temple—one so destructive that the entire mountain was gone!
Even they couldn't help but wonder: What kind of monstrous battle must've taken place to cause that level of devastation?
But unfortunately, they truly had no clue.
"That said," the ANBU continued, "the report indicates minimal casualties. The monks of the Fire Temple have already set out for Konoha. Their head monk has something urgent to report to you in person."
"He's coming himself?"
Sarutobi took a long drag from his smoking pipe, falling silent for a moment before finally nodding.
"Understood. Have Asuma meet him. He's on good terms with the head monk, Chiriku—he can handle the reception."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The ANBU member bowed, but Sarutobi wasn't done yet.
"Also, send a squad to investigate the Fire Temple. Have... no, not Kakashi... have Ibiki Morino lead an ANBU unit there instead."
Sarutobi had initially considered sending Kakashi, but then he remembered Kakashi's team's cursed reputation—someone always ended up in the hospital. Without fail.
Thinking back to his own recent hospitalization from a village incident, and then how Jiraiya had gotten punched into the hospital by Tsunade right after, Sarutobi decided it just wasn't worth the risk.
"Not using Captain Kakashi?" the ANBU asked with a subtle change in tone, clearly finding the decision... odd.
"This is final," Sarutobi insisted. "Ibiki is a professional. It's better handled by someone with a more stable record."
"Understood, Lord Hokage. Then I'll take my leave."
"Go."
As the ANBU vanished from sight, Sarutobi let out a long sigh.
It seemed like one problem followed another these days. He was beginning to suspect that the Akatsuki might be behind it all again.
"And the Cloud Village isn't exactly behaving either... The joint Chūnin Exams are coming up next year, and yet the shinobi world is growing more chaotic by the day."
He puffed on his pipe again, lost in thought.
It was becoming clear to him: the upcoming Chūnin Exams would need significantly stricter security. Whether or not anything happened, they had to be prepared for the worst.
Casting a glance at the crystal ball nearby, he made up his mind.
"No point in dwelling on it. Let's assess the village's current state and make proper security arrangements."
---
"Are you alright?"
While Sarutobi was busy pondering village defenses and the Fire Temple's situation, Black Zetsu was currently checking on Uchiha Obito.
Despite asking the question aloud, what Black Zetsu really wanted to know was what the hell had happened last night. But he understood he had to remain patient—for now.
This battle had gone completely off the rails.
"Not great," Obito muttered, slumped against the wall. "I had to use Izanagi... but last night..."
His voice trailed off, heavy with defeat.
He'd been utterly overwhelmed—beaten down with no chance to counterattack.
Sure, part of it had been a lack of intel.
Another part had been an invisible pressure constantly crushing him throughout the fight.
But no matter the excuses, the result was a disaster. If he hadn't prepared and used Izanagi, he might have actually died last night.
Even so, his body had taken such a toll that he'd had to replace several parts with spare "components."
Shaking his head, Obito asked hoarsely:
"What about the other two? How are they?"
"Not good either," White Zetsu chimed in, cheerful as ever despite the grim topic.
"Kisame got hit hard. The only reason he survived was that he immediately fused himself into his Samehada sword during the blast. Even then, he's unconscious and looks like a skeleton."
By merging with Samehada, Kisame had managed to hide and protect himself. It was a last resort. Samehada's chakra couldn't fully shield him from the explosion, so it had to draw on Kisame's own chakra, barely keeping him alive.
"As for Itachi... his condition is far worse."
White Zetsu looked at the silent Obito and continued with a grin:
"When I found him, he was barely clinging to life. His entire body was shattered, and he seemed to be in intense pain. On top of that, his eyes seem to have been damaged too. All we can do now is keep him alive and hope he wakes up."
"Damn bastard!"
Even though he had mentally prepared for the worst, Obito couldn't hold back his fury.
They had lost hard.
Both of them—especially Itachi, his carefully groomed chess piece—were in critical condition.
How could that not enrage him?
"Last night... what the hell actually happened, Obito?"
Black Zetsu finally seized the chance to ask, face grim.
"I was late, only caught a glimpse of the end. Who was that guy?"
Obito gritted his teeth, the image of the man floating in midair, dressed in flowing white, seared into his memory.
"He was after the Nine-Tails' chakra. We only went because we detected it."
Thump.
Hearing the words "tailed beast chakra," Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat.
"His abilities were similar to the Rinnegan—but his eyes weren't purple. They were a glowing, brilliant blue. We couldn't do a damn thing to stop him."
Blue eyes… powers like the Rinnegan…
Black Zetsu's soul felt like it was sinking.
He had suspected it, but hearing it out loud made him tremble.
"And the way he carried himself—so arrogant."
Obito didn't notice Zetsu's condition and kept going, fists clenched tight.
"He spoke politely, sure—but there was this unbearable condescension in his tone. Like he saw us as insects. That fake smile behind his mask… and those cold, empty eyes…"
"He kept calling us 'lower lifeforms.' Who the hell does he think he is?!"
Obito's voice roared with fury.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was on the verge of collapse.
Polite but cold.
Arrogant.
Calling others lower lifeforms…
These descriptions made Zetsu shiver uncontrollably.
Even White Zetsu gave him a confused glance—what the hell was wrong with him?
"Oh, right. He mentioned a name."
Obito took a deep breath, as if the memory itself caused him pain.
"Have you ever heard of someone called…"
"Ōtsutsuki Genshiki."
...…
In that moment, Black Zetsu felt like his entire world shattered.
If not for White Zetsu supporting him, he might've collapsed to the floor.
His gaze went blank, slowly drifting to the sky above.
His mouth twitched as if speaking, but no sound came out.
"Ōtsutsuki Genshiki…"
Just hearing that name made him feel like all hope was lost.
Though he was born at the moment Kaguya was sealed, he still carried fragments of her memories.
Now, one horrifying thought echoed in his mind:
"It's over. Mother's kin… really came looking for us…"
---
"Whew… that was exhausting."
While Black Zetsu was busy having a mental breakdown, deep in a cave within the forests of the Land of Fire, Kitagawa Gen finally stood up, body sore all over.
"Looks like pumping too much chakra from the Tenseigan isn't such a good idea. Even my body feels the strain."
Using chakra from the moon's Tenseigan as a power-up was a plan he'd had in place for a while.
The combination of Tenseigan, Yin-Yang Release, and other chakra types was a combat style unique to Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.
He had intentionally avoided using too many other jutsu—reserving those for his "main account."
The massive Tenseigan's chakra was overwhelming—he still remembered the last time he blasted an entire canyon in the Land of Wind just to test its power.
This time, he'd held back.
Last night, he had been carefully testing the optimal output level.
Being a Tenseigan user himself and having Ōtsutsuki blood made the power easier to manage.
"But my eyes still haven't matured fully, and my bloodline hasn't awakened completely. That's why it leaves aftereffects."
While sore, the impact wasn't too serious. A little rest and he'd be good as new.
"And honestly, the gains were well worth it."
He pulled out a scroll—inside was the Nine-Tails' chakra, safely sealed.
All he needed was time to recover before absorbing it.
"Plus, Itachi and the others are completely out of the picture. No one's left to compete for the relics."
He wasn't sure if Itachi had died, but one thing was clear: the guy had fought with everything he had.
Unfortunately for them, he had all the intel—and could freely use his ocular powers.
Even though this was his first time fully operating under the identity of Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, without any dual-mode boosts, he had still effortlessly crushed them.
"Kisame? Didn't bother with him much. He probably got wrecked by the aftermath."
"As for Obito…"
He smirked as he recalled how Obito tried to sneak in a final blow—only for him to turn the tables.
Obito had attempted to use Kamui to absorb or push him back, but Genshiki had prepped a gravitational counter in advance.
Their speed duel ended in tragedy for Obito—he was smashed into pieces by a blast of Tenseigan chakra, body and bones reduced to dust.
"That said… Izanagi really is a pain in the ass."
Resetting reality with Yin Release was not something he had a counter for—yet.
"Well, whatever. I gained the Nine-Tails' chakra, the relics are within reach, and Black Zetsu? Hah…"
He chuckled casually.
Whatever state Zetsu was in—it didn't matter.
This time, he'd won big.
--