Black Zetsu obediently took the child, but in his heart, he had a million complaints.
-- Uchiha Madara, you old man!
-- You just waved your hand and arranged everything, but if you're so capable, why don't you take care of her yourself?!
He knew with his toes that Madara would definitely be a hands-off boss, and Uchiha Naraku still had to stay in Konoha, so the task of raising the child would definitely fall to him.
-- Damn it, why did I set myself up as the will separated from Madara decades ago?!
After scolding his past self for a while, Black Zetsu immediately thought of all sorts of future hidden dangers and reminded him.
"Lord Madara, we need to place a few more Sealing Jutsu on her as a safeguard. And her condition doesn't look very good; she might die if this continues."
"Easy ~ Call Uchiha Naraku out to work. I'm too lazy to take care of children."
Naraku snapped his fingers, the smile on his face suddenly faded, replaced by a calm and gentle expression. His entire demeanor shifted from flamboyant and outwardly friendly but inwardly scheming to stable and reserved, like a tranquil, deep pool.
"It's been a long time, Lord Madara."
He slightly lowered his head, his brows and eyes hidden in shadow.
Madara hadn't expected Jin to voluntarily let Naraku out. His first reaction was a strange pang of guilt, worrying if he had heard his earlier thought, "If I could just get rid of Uchiha Naraku..."
Judging from Jin and Naraku's behavior, a considerable portion of their memories must be shared between the two personalities. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner?
Madara frowned slightly in annoyance.
-- Would he think that I also don't need him to exist, and also want him to die?
"Come here."
Hearing Madara's command, Naraku silently walked to the stone chair, and the warm light from the candle finally illuminated his face.
Madara scrutinized Naraku's expression, trying to find any clue.
Even with only the dim, flickering candlelight, it was enough for him to see every detail through his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Naraku's eyes seemed even darker than before, avoiding his gaze. His lips were tightly pressed, and the fabric under his right cuff showed wrinkles, likely caused by his fingers clenching tightly.
-- He heard it.
This thought flashed through Madara's mind, and he immediately averted his gaze as if burned.
The other person had too many small mannerisms very similar to Izuna, but that unmoving, numb face always reminded him of the hardships he had inflicted upon him.
A very subtle sting, fleeting yet dense and real, arose in his already hardened heart.
He showed no outward sign, merely waved his hand irritably, telling Naraku and Black Zetsu to sort out the child's matter together, while he closed his eyes and suppressed all the strange feelings in his heart.
Naraku took the young Jinchuriki from Black Zetsu, and the light of a healing jutsu glowed in his hands, healing the scrapes on Fu's face and body, and alleviating the pain caused by extreme hunger.
Fortunately, Fu was past the stage of drinking milk; she could survive on rice porridge, meat paste, and fruit puree.
Black Zetsu had never learned how to take care of a child all these years. Whatever Naraku said, he remembered, and then, due to the overly numerous precautions, he had to abandon the idea of passing the buck to White Zetsu.
-- Those White Zetsu are too stupid; they'd kill this little thing if I'm not careful.
Although a Jinchuriki's physique is much better than an ordinary person's, Fu was truly too young. Who knew if she could withstand the White Zetsu's rough handling?
As soon as Fu's condition was adjusted, she woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw a black, squishy blob with two beady eyes in front of her, which scared her so much that she opened her mouth to cry.
"Wuu... waah..."
Afraid that her crying would annoy Madara, Naraku quickly moved to another room, gently patting her back.
With a different, beautiful face now in front of her, Fu gradually stopped crying, mumbling simple syllables with her small mouth. Naraku listened for a while before realizing she was saying she was hungry.
Black Zetsu resignedly went out to prepare food, and soon returned with a small bowl of steaming wheat porridge. Naraku took it and fed Fu little by little.
With her stomach full, Fu stopped fussing. She lay on the bed, self-contentedly sucking her fingers, and when she got tired of that, she busied herself crawling around, not at all afraid of the dim and cold environment.
A hint of pity shone in Naraku's eyes as he looked at Fu, but he quickly withdrew it, turning into a helpless sigh.
Black Zetsu reminded him coldly, "Don't think too much. Lord Madara is already very generous to let you temporarily stay in Konoha. You can't meddle in other matters here."
"Mm." Naraku quietly agreed.
Seeing that he was still somewhat sensible, Black Zetsu pulled out two scrolls and handed them over, saying, "There are several types of Sealing Jutsu used to control behavior. These two are more suitable to be applied to her soon. You take them first, and once you've learned them, contact a White Zetsu to bring you over."
Uchiha Madara wouldn't live for many more years, and Jin would be the actual controller of Fu later, so it was best for him to perform the jutsu.
Otherwise, once Uchiha Madara died, the jutsu would become ineffective during the period before his resurrection, and they would have to reapply the seal, which would be too much trouble.
Naraku casually opened the scrolls and glanced at them, already having a good idea.
Imprisonment Talisman and Self-Curse Seal. Hmm, both are old tricks commonly used by villains.
However, it made sense for Black Zetsu to have the Imprisonment Talisman, as it was a Sealing Jutsu Madara knew, but how did he even have the Self-Curse Seal?
Isn't that Danzo's skill?
Indeed, for Black Zetsu, Konoha truly had virtually no secrets.
Speaking of all those forbidden jutsu in the Scroll of Seals, had Black Zetsu read them all too?
He needed to find an opportunity to get them out; good things shouldn't be wasted.
"No need."
Naraku shook his head, pretending to sit down and bury himself in study, but in reality, he was using the system store to increase the proficiency of these two jutsu.
He who often walks by the river cannot avoid getting his shoes wet. He would come to Madara and Black Zetsu as few times as possible, minimizing the risk of exposure.
Black Zetsu was full of questions, thinking, 'He can't possibly think he can learn it all at once, can he?' These were high-difficulty special Sealing Jutsu; it would take an ordinary person several months or even years to get started.
Even if Uchiha Naraku was exceptionally gifted, he couldn't be gifted to this extent.
-- Alright, alright, you just watch. Soon you'll know if you can learn it or not.
Black Zetsu grumbled about the overconfident brat and diligently went to find the food needed to feed Fu.
Two hours later, as soon as he entered the room, he heard Naraku say that he had already learned it and could try it now.
Black Zetsu:???
Actually, as soon as he left, Naraku had already maxed out the proficiency. To make it less exaggerated, he waited until Black Zetsu returned before pretending to have just learned it and wanting to try.
"Really?"
"I've studied some Sealing Jutsu before, so these two jutsu aren't difficult."
Black Zetsu: What the hell... What kind of monster is this???
Even after Naraku completed these two extremely complex Sealing Jutsu on Fu, Black Zetsu still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Just as his brain finally rebooted, he saw Naraku clutching the front of his clothes, frowning and coughing a few times, with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth.
These symptoms, how were they so similar to when his bloodline limit sickness hadn't been cured yet?