As night fell, the lively night market came to an end. Groups of drunken villagers supported one another, staggering home. The vibrant Konoha Village, now bathed in pale moonlight, had fallen into peaceful silence. Occasionally, a patrol passed by, but like ghosts, they left no trace or stir—making the village appear utterly serene.
On the cliff above Konoha—a place with a panoramic view of the village and often used by Madara and Hashirama for private meetings—a solitary figure stood. He gazed up at the bright moon, his eyes filled with melancholy.
A full moon is a time for reunion... yet mother and son are worlds apart.
"Did those guys lose their minds? Why are they suddenly after the tailed beasts?"
After a while, the lonely figure lowered his head and stared at the now-wrinkled announcement in his hand. On his pitch-black face appeared a human-like Nick Young meme-like expression of confusion as he muttered in disbelief.
At first, when he got this announcement, he thought it was just some random flyer blown his way. But after discreetly roaming the village, he confirmed it was real. His brain short-circuited, and his worldview collapsed.
Previously, he had secretly meddled to help Madara awaken his Eternal Mangekyō, and was thrilled—finally, after so many years, a promising reincarnation of Indra had appeared.
Seizing the chance, he altered the Stone Tablet left by that traitor, adding instructions on how to awaken the Rinnegan. With the trap set, he happily waited for Madara to turn dark, combine the two chakras, and awaken the Rinnegan for his use.
But to his shock, the seemingly emo-prone Madara, after reading the stone, just sighed briefly—and then, thanks to that damned dead-fish-eyed curly-haired bastard, got back on track like nothing happened.
"Damn you, Curly! That bastard Tajima is dead already, why aren't you?!"
As a creation of Yin-Yang Release, Black Zetsu wasn't supposed to possess shallow human emotions. But just thinking about Gin made his fists clench and a strange buttery stench waft from his nose as he cursed through gritted teeth.
He still vividly remembered the humiliation. If he had found a suitable puppet earlier, he would have killed that curly-haired brat long ago. But right now, freeing his mother was top priority—personal grudges could wait. Once she was free, he would report everything and let her properly punish that curly-haired bastard!
"But… Madara hasn't awakened the Rinnegan yet, so the tailed beasts aren't the main priority. Those pets of Hagoromo are just stronger beasts. With the Rinnegan, they're nothing."
Having figured that out, Black Zetsu slowly loosened his grip on the announcement. The initial panic faded. His primary task now was to focus on manipulating Madara, grooming him into a proper vessel.
Instead of stressing about tailed beasts, it was better to think about how to tweak the stone tablet again.
"Let Madara fight Hashirama a few more times. Once he sees the gap, he'll naturally walk the path I've laid out."
Scheming light flashed in Black Zetsu's eyes. As a manipulator lurking for a thousand years, his skill in deception was peerless.
Back then, even the wise Indra got played like a fiddle. A mere Madara was no challenge. Raising his massive black hand toward the full moon, he swore:
"Mother, you must be suffering and lonely. Wait for me—your devoted son will save you soon!"
"Ugh… I don't know if I can survive this."
In Gin's hallway, a staggering figure leaned against the wall, exiting a room still filled with a pink atmosphere. His once-handsome face looked drained like a dried-up husk, half his soul seemingly gone.
"It's not even dawn yet. After just a few rounds, you're trying to escape?"
The door creaked open. A tall figure leaned against the doorframe. It was Uchiha An, her face pale but still glowing from recent passion. Her cold gaze bore into Gin's hunched figure as she spoke icily.
Even landowners don't get raided this hard every night. You're supposed to be my repressed personality—not my sexually-repressed one!
Seeing the cherry-pink giant hand forming behind the girl, Gin knew that if he hesitated another second, he'd be dragged back in and turned into a soulless radish-pulling machine.
"…Wangliang! Take me away!"
Gin's eyes lit up. A bewitching pattern flared in his Sharingan, and with a shout, a small black hand reached out from his shadow, instantly pulling him in. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
"Hmph. That again."
An snorted as Gin disappeared into the shadow. If he had just run, she could've chased him. But since he entered another dimension—even with her Eternal Mangekyō—she couldn't reach him.
"Only seven times? Hmph, he's been sneaking snacks outside again."
Feeling the heat surging within her, An licked her lips and narrowed her eyes in contemplation.
Inside the Shadow Realm, Gin exhaled in relief. He turned to the figure behind him.
"Phew~ Thanks to you, I'm not tomorrow's extra-strength tonic!"
"…"
The one who saved Gin was the product of his Mangekyō technique inherited from Uchiha Yao—Wangliang.
However, this Wangliang was completely different from the old jailer Yao had once summoned. Not only in appearance but also in gender.
"Ah, crap, forgot you can't talk. My bad~"
Realizing the girl had no response, Gin slapped his forehead and apologized.
"…"
The new Wangliang, though still black-and-white in color scheme, had transformed from an old withered man into a stunning girl with dark skin, snowy hair, and blank white eyes. She stared at Gin expressionlessly.
"No wonder—I've always treated you like a real person, not a summon."
Feeling awkward, Gin patted her head.
Thump!
A dull sound followed. Wangliang had kicked him in the shin.
"Come on, I'm your master. Was that really necessary?"
Rubbing his leg, Gin activated Shōsen Jutsu (Healing Palm Technique), mumbling softly while looking at her annoyed face.
"…"
Wangliang's expression showed clear disdain—almost human. Her beautiful features, combined with that look, made Gin oddly excited.
"Wangliang-chan~ That was a good look! Looks like Lefty and Righty really taught you well!"
Seeing her progress brought a satisfied smile to Gin's face.
When he first summoned her, Wangliang was a blank doll that could only follow basic commands. But once he realized she had learning potential, he immediately reactivated the two puppets from the moon to serve as her teachers.
"Alright, the threshold of the Shadow Realm is nearing its limit. I'm out for now. I'll call you when I need you~"
Despite his strong mental power, the Shadow Realm's psychic pollution made Gin's scalp tingle. With one last look, he flashed out of the dimension and into his room, not forgetting to give one last instruction—proof of how much hope he had for Wangliang.
"Phew~ That was close!"
Now back in his room, Gin's eyes returned to black as he shook his head and cleared away some weird thoughts.
"This Mangekyō technique is weird. I have to max out Wangliang's growth value to unlock phase two. How the hell did Yao do it?"
Ever since returning from the moon, Gin had studied the ocular technique Yao left him. After summoning this second-gen Wangliang, his progress had stalled.
From Mangekyō feedback, he concluded that to "evolve the device," he needed to max her growth.
The previous jailer Wangliang had perished with Yao. This one was Gin's own spiritual construct—a blank slate.
Which meant he had to raise her himself. Once her growth was complete, he'd unlock his transformation belt.
Hehehe… now that's something to look forward to~
After Gin vanished from the Shadow Realm, the idle Wangliang suddenly smirked. Her dull eyes glinted with light. She rolled her eyes and spoke in a clear, icy, yet playful voice:
"How dare that junior pat my head! The audacity!"
She huffed and patted her head as if brushing off filth. She had jotted down that offense for future revenge.
"But finally, a suitable vessel. Hagoromo may be a traitor, but his descendant's eyes are quite handy~"
This white-haired, dark-skinned girl—Wangliang—grinned and pulled a candied hawthorn skewer out of thin air from outside the Shadow Realm. She licked it with practiced ease—clearly a repeat offender.
"Food's so much tastier now than back then."
The sweet flavor overwhelmed her senses. Lying down on a Shadow Realm bed, feet playfully swinging, she recalled the moment she possessed her new vessel.
As Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's residual consciousness, she had snuck in when Gin activated the Shadow Realm. Unable to find a suitable host for ages, she initially considered leaving.
But then she saw the dimension responding to Gin, forming a summoning construct. She quickly merged with it before it was complete, using it to remake her body—in the image of her first visit to Earth.
"Eh? Why doesn't this look like the old man's version?"
That was the first thing she heard from Gin as she awoke. He mumbled to himself with a strange look:
"Tsk tsk, feels familiar. Too bad Wangliang can't talk. Otherwise, we could do a touching mother-son drama."
Hearing that, Kaguya's little avatar froze. She didn't understand his rambling, but clearly heard the "can't talk" part.
So she pretended to be mute.
"Wait… is Wangliang shaped by the caster's imagination?"
Gin circled her like she was a strange beast.
"Here, raise your hand!"
Eyes gleaming with mischief, he gave the command.
Kaguya wanted to punch him. But years of imprisonment had taught her patience.
Suppressing her fury, she extended her hand obediently. The moment her dark-skinned hand touched his, she felt a strange warmth rise inside.
"So much lag… is it because she's just activated?"
Gin frowned slightly but didn't think much of it.
Inwardly, Kaguya sensed a prompt to check her profile—panic struck, but she quickly realized she could edit the data. She slyly sent info about needing to "grow."
"Eh? I have to level her up? Damn it!"
Gin sighed. His Kamen Rider dream was gonna take work.
"Guess I'll have Lefty and Righty train her."
Not wanting to reveal his Mangekyō, he assigned her training to his puppet tutors and left the Shadow Realm.
"Master, your little master's tasks…"
While Kaguya was reminiscing, two kimono-clad figures knelt at her feet, speaking in robotic voices.
"Just give him the usual reports."
Kaguya didn't even look up. As Ōtsutsuki puppets, her command had higher priority than Gin's.
She had long hijacked Lefty and Righty, turning them into her loyal slaves. They reported daily growth metrics to Gin, keeping his guard down while she schemed.
"Hmph~ That junior will be at my feet soon enough~"
Swinging her feet, sugar sticking to her lips, Kaguya smirked as she fantasized about the future.
Deep within the Land of Fire, Madara stood in a forest clearing before a strange gate—marked in clan records as the entrance to the "Void Realm."
"Outsiders keep out!"
A child's voice suddenly shouted.
"To enter here…"
Another voice chimed in.
"You must pay the toll… with fish!"
Madara blinked as two small figures leapt from behind the gate and blocked his way.
"…Cats?"
Seeing two adorable chubby cats, Madara, who had been preparing chakra, relaxed.
Remembering what Gin once told him, he figured these must be the gatekeepers of the Void Realm.
"I'm the Uchiha clan leader. I have business with your master."
Pre-darkness Madara was a cheerful young man—he hated bullying the weak. Faced with two kittens, he didn't even think of attacking. He simply smiled and asked.
"Ha? Uchiha? As in Gin's Uchiha?"
The fatter orange cat relaxed upon hearing that, sniffed Madara curiously, then asked.
"Uh… yeah. He's my cousin."
A bit confused that even gatekeeping cats knew Gin, Madara nodded.
"Haha! If you're Gin's cousin, go right ahead!"
After confirming his "salty fish" scent, the cat stepped aside.
"…Even cats respect Gin? Maybe his tall tales are true after all…"
Madara recalled Gin's endless bragging about having connections everywhere. Maybe… maybe it was real.
Maybe his cousin was the Networking Ninja™.
"You're the Uchiha clan leader? Quite the guest~"
Inside the Void Realm's main house, Madara found the hostess easily. The door was open—he wasn't afraid.
A lazy figure lay sprawled on a high platform, puffing on a slender pipe. The woman looked at him with amused interest.
"I came to buy intel. Gin sent me."
The smoky room annoyed Madara, but he held back, respectfully explaining his reason—and testing if Gin was really that influential.
"Oh~ Gin's little brother? Words are cheap."
The woman raised a delicate brow, her foxlike eyes gleaming.
"This is from my cousin."
Madara tossed her a coin that Gin had given him. It spun through the air and landed in her palm.
"Hm… that's Gin's token. Speak—what do you want to know?"
She smiled after glancing at the coin engraved with "Sugar."
"I want information… on the Tailed Beasts."
Madara cut to the chase. Hashirama had already departed. Every moment lost reduced his odds.
"…Tailed Beasts."
The woman's smile faded as she sat up. Her figure was alluring, but Madara was too loyal to care.
"Which one?"
Her eyes shimmered with light as she tilted her head.
"All of them!"
Pick one? Ridiculous! He was Madara Uchiha—he wanted everything!
"Heh… all of them, huh? That won't be cheap~"
She twirled the coin in her hand, her tone cryptic.
"Hmph. Name your price. Put it all on my cousin's tab!"
(End of Chapter)
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