"My lord… didn't you say you came to avenge me…?"
Outside the giant crater, Kisame collapsed onto the ground the moment he saw Obito get swallowed whole by that pit.
The faith he'd propped up in his heart was crumbling harder by the second—
starting from the top, collapsing inward bit by bit.
He'd never imagined it.
Madara-sama, the man with invincible space-time ninjutsu…
had been completely suppressed from the very start.
And now he'd been erased with a single palm.
"Run!"
"Runrunrun—RUN!"
Black-and-white Zetsu shook its head violently. The pitcher plant snapped shut.
Splurt… splurt.
Mayfly Technique!
Its body melted instantly, drilling toward the earth—
but then it sensed a chill.
A gaze.
Dropping from above.
"—Hiss! You freak—go bother Kisame! Why are you looking at me?!"
Zetsu screamed internally and tried to sink faster.
"Run? White Zetsu can run. But Black Zetsu…"
Kai's voice was calm.
"You stay."
Even though they shared one body, Black and White Zetsu were fundamentally different things.
In other words—
Black Zetsu was still a leek he hadn't harvested.
Kai spread his fingers, aimed at the patch of ground where Black Zetsu was about to vanish completely, and spoke softly:
"Adamantine Sealing."
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
In an instant, three chains stabbed into the earth around the spot.
Sealing power spread rapidly, turning the surrounding mud into a cage that locked everything inside.
BAM!
BAM-BAM-BAM!
Zetsu rammed the boundary again and again, but couldn't break out.
The grin on its face slowly sank.
No more laughter.
Not even a trace.
It didn't fear much—
but it feared sealing power.
As it realized escape was impossible and Kai descended again, White Zetsu's expression suddenly turned fierce and decisive.
"Wait!"
"Hm?"
Black Zetsu glanced at it, shocked.
For a split second…
he even felt moved.
He hadn't expected White Zetsu to step up at a moment like this.
He steadied his mind, secretly drawing up his Wood Release power, preparing to assist—
And then White Zetsu moved.
Plop.
It popped out, dropped to its knees, and pointed at Black Zetsu like a snitch.
"He hit me earlier. So shouldn't you hit him now?"
Black Zetsu: …?
The warmth in Black Zetsu's chest died instantly.
He opened his mouth to speak—
and then heard Kai's voice from above.
"That actually makes sense."
Black Zetsu: ??????!!
He lifted his head slowly, voice dripping venom.
"That makes sense?!"
"I, Black Zetsu, have roamed the shinobi world for—"
BANG!
Before he could finish, the chains around him warped into massive hammers and swung in.
Hummm—!
The air thundered as the chains smashed through it.
BOOM!
"So fast—!"
That was the only thought Black Zetsu managed—
before he got sent flying.
BAM BAM BAM!
The sealing-chains crashed down again and again.
Black Zetsu was like a ball being batted around.
No counterplay.
This thing was hard to kill, sure—
but defeating it wasn't difficult.
A moment later, the system chimed.
[Black Zetsu defeated. Attempting to copy traits…]
[Copyable traits: Mental Fusion (Gold), Spirit Possession (Purple), Mayfly Technique (Purple), Rotting Decomposition (Purple)…]
"Mental Fusion…"
Kai's eyes lit up.
"That's the thing controlling Obito, isn't it?"
If he could copy that trait, and combine it with Spore Technique…
Wouldn't the entire shinobi world become "his people" wherever he went?
Most importantly—
Black Zetsu didn't have many traits, but every single one was elite.
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained Epic Trait: Rotting Decomposition (Purple).]
[Rotting Decomposition: can analyze intel from a corpse's final moments, and can also erase traces—destroy evidence.]
Destroy evidence…
What a beautiful trait for murder and robbery.
But—
to plunder traits, he still needed to loot the corpse.
Kai sighed, then patted Black Zetsu on the shoulder.
Spore Technique—activate!
Pff pff pff!
With each tap, countless tiny light-specks poured from his palm into Black Zetsu's shoulder.
Up close, they looked like a blooming, eerie flower.
"—AAH!"
Zetsu screamed as it was dragged fully out of the earth.
It felt something strange invade its body.
This power…
"…Spores? How does he have Mother's power…?"
When Black Zetsu realized what it was, he went rigid.
The body that had been resisting violently went quiet in an instant.
He stared at Kai—top to bottom, bottom to top.
By logic, Spore Technique was something his mother granted to White Zetsu.
So why did Kai have it?
A normal Uchiha should not have this.
Unless—
…he was a contingency too.
Like Black Zetsu himself.
That thought made Black Zetsu abandon resistance completely.
He behaved.
"Good."
Kai grinned.
Then runes rotated in his palm.
A mark was placed.
Flying Thunder God formula—planted.
Only after finishing that did Kai turn his gaze toward Itachi.
Through the now-thinner rain curtain, the brothers' crimson eyes met.
"Kai…"
Itachi swallowed down the trembling in his chest, his voice complicated.
"Stop. Outside, it's full of—"
THUD!
He didn't finish.
Kai's fist struck.
Air Cannon.
BANG!
No surprise—Itachi was hit cleanly and slammed into the mud.
Instantly listless.
"WHAT?!"
White Zetsu's jaw dropped.
"Itachi got dropped in one hit?!"
After spending time around Itachi, White Zetsu understood his strength.
The stronger the opponent, the stronger he became—no clear ceiling yet.
Even Obito couldn't claim a sure win.
And now…
"Cough… cough…"
Itachi coughed twice and struggled to stand.
Red seeped into his mouth, impossible to hold back.
"…That looked a little too convincing."
Kai blinked.
He'd hit hard, sure, but with Itachi's paper-thin body…
don't tell him he actually broke him.
Still—Itachi had been hit with Kotoamatsukami.
Half an ally.
Kai shrugged and stopped.
If he really threw a full punch, Itachi might end up in pieces.
The ruins finally fell silent.
Only rain remained.
And Zetsu whimpering in the mud.
Itachi, silent.
Kisame, stunned.
"Hah… th-this… this kid…"
On the far side of the crater, Jiraiya forced his jaw back into place.
His eyes locked onto the small figure standing alone in the ruins.
His palms—once clasped to prepare Sage Mode—had dropped a long time ago.
"If I'd known this kid was that savage…"
"What was I even preparing Sage Mode for…?"
He muttered, and the shock in his toad-like eyes slowly turned into something deeper.
His thoughts drifted back to Konoha.
"Old man…"
"…you might really need to move aside."
Jiraiya wiped rainwater off his face.
Kai beating "Madara" replayed in his mind—
especially that bottomless ocean of chakra.
If this kid became Hokage…
the other four great villages probably wouldn't dare make a sound.
Overwhelming strength. Ruthless hands.
And the key point—
he was only ten.
At twenty… thirty…
wouldn't he be unstoppable?
Jiraiya bared his teeth.
Even he thought the idea was ridiculous.
No way someone could be absurdly strong as a teenager…
and then somehow get punched down by a kid in their twenties, right?
Ha!
Who could ever imagine something that ridiculous?
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL