Memories flooded. Visions unfolded. Everything in Kabuto's mind—including the past-life replay Sasuke had projected for him—was synced, siphoned away by Black Zetsu.
The ancient being sifted through the torrent, his shock breaking through.
"This… This is…!"
"Hagoromo's soul remains in this world. He helped Indra and Asura's reincarnates!"
"Mother… was sealed away by those two brats?!"
"Momoshiki. Kinshiki. Urashiki. Isshiki… Shibai?!"
"So that's it. That's how it is." His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "That explains Sasuke Uchiha's bizarre behavior since the Valley of the End…"
"Orochimaru became the Reaper's jinchūriki. The White Cursed Seal he gave Sasuke, a vessel for Hashirama's power… its original form was Mother's clan's 'Karma'!!"
Kabuto, cornered but not broken, seized the opening. "Black Zetsu! You saw that future too! Your scheme is doomed to fail! Turn back now!"
"Heh… Hehehe… AHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Black Zetsu's laughter was wild, unhinged. "I finally understand… Your complete annihilation in that past life. Sasuke returning with the memory of my failure… It was fate giving me a second chance! A chance to not stumble over the same stone twice!!"
"This time… I will not let you seal Mother away again!!!"
"Black Zetsu!" Kabuto yelled, voice strained. "Knowing that future, you still persist? You're utterly insane…!!!"
"AHAHAHAHAHA! Future?" Black Zetsu's voice turned icy, final. "You misunderstand something fundamental."
A pause. Then, words cold as the void.
"—This world's survival means nothing. I only want Mother alive. I'll fight the whole damn world for that."
SHING!
The Amaterasu flames Black Zetsu had absorbed during the third battle ignited within his arm—the same arm speared through Kabuto's palm. Fire erupted. Kabuto's entire body became a torch. Black Zetsu yanked his hand free.
"GAAAAAAAAAH—!!"
Kabuto screamed, curling into a ball on the ground.
CRUNCH.
Black Zetsu stomped down, grinding the research scrolls Kabuto had come to collect into pulp.
"As for you… this insignificant pawn." Black Zetsu's form began to melt into the shadows. "Burn to ash with your insignificant convictions."
He was gone.
And then… Kabuto's struggle against a fiery doom.
Black Zetsu knows everything. I must report to Lord Orochimaru and Sasuke. They need to prepare. And this right eye… the 'Mirror' Mangekyō. If it goes blind, Itachi's eye might save it. But if it's burned away… it's over.
FZZZT—
The crimson tomoe in his right eye swirled violently… and faded to a desolate, sightless white.
—Izanagi.
…
Five kilometers away. The Falling Cloud Gorge, Land of Whirlpools.
Naruto, done with his day's training, was munching on fruit Yamato had gathered.
Black Zetsu appeared. No warning.
Yamato was on his feet instantly. "Who are you?!"
—Wood Style: Thorn Binding Technique!
CRACK! CRUNCH! Wood, shaped like vicious thorns, shot towards the intruder.
Black Zetsu just smiled. Let the wood wrap around him. Then—released the Black Flames.
Fire raced up the branches, onto Yamato.
"AAAAAAAAAGH—!!"
Yamato collapsed, screaming.
"Yamato-sensei!!!" Naruto cried.
"Naruto…!" Yamato choked out between screams. "R-run…!!!"
Run? No way. Naruto charged. He ripped off his dirty orange jacket, frantically beating at the flames on his teacher.
With his last shred of consciousness, Yamato formed a seal. Wood erupted from the ground, binding Naruto in place.
Naruto could only watch. Watch as Yamato… stopped moving in the black inferno.
"YAMATO-SENSEEEEEEEI—!!!"
Rage boiled over. Hatred stirred. His blue eyes slitted into fox-like pupils. Red chakra bubbled from the seal—one tail, two, three!
Gurgle… GROWL…
His teeth sharpened. Skin split. When the fourth tail emerged, the chakra shell tightened, condensing into a skintight, corrosive cloak—the Demon Fox Shroud!
"ROOOOOOOOAR—!!!"
A bestial roar. He tore free of the wood with pure brute force. Clenched fists smashed into the earth.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A shockwave. A storm of debris.
Black Zetsu stood firm in the gale, smiling. "Asura's wretched soul! The Nine-Tails' brat! Perfect. You'll make a fine pawn for my New Mother-Salvation Plan!"
"GRRR…!!"
Naruto dropped to all fours and lunged.
Black Zetsu merged half his body with the ground. Trees—dozens of them—burst forth, tangling around the charging beast.
He could use Wood Style. He'd shown that much in his past-life fight with Chōjūrō.
The four-tailed Naruto raged, tearing at the wood with chakra claws from his shroud. But the branches were too many. They snared him.
GLOOMP.
Naruto's maw opened. A Tailed Beast Bomb began to form.
"Oh my, scary~" Black Zetsu's voice dripped with mock pity. "But you're just too weak right now."
WHOOSH. Black Flames shot up the trunks, igniting the fox-cloaked boy.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"
Naruto's agonized scream cut through the gorge. The half-formed bomb fizzled out.
As the shroud burned away, Naruto—battered, burned, unconscious—slumped to the ground.
Glurp… Black Zetsu oozed from the earth, enveloped the boy, and sank into the depths.
From the ambush on Kabuto… to killing Yamato… to capturing Naruto. Ten minutes. That's all it took.
When Kabuto—alive by the grace of Izanagi—stumbled to the gorge, he found only Yamato's near-completely incinerated remains.
"…Damn it."
His fist hit the ground. Hard.
If not for me… Black Zetsu wouldn't have moved so fast against Naruto. I caused this.
Regret and self-loathing washed over him, so thick he wanted to die right there.
But reason clawed its way back.
Kabuto… couldn't break down here. Do something. Anything. Try to salvage this.
He spotted bone fragments not yet consumed by the lingering black fire. His own left hand, still burning from touching them earlier, was a lost cause. He didn't hesitate. A kunai flashed. His left hand fell away, curling and blackening into ash in the flames.
He stared at the severed stump, making a vow.
"I, Kabuto Yakushi, swear upon this disgrace. From this day forward… no one will ever ambush me from behind again."
…
Azure Moon Island.
Kabuto's prolonged absence meant trouble. Orochimaru knew it.
He walked to a clearing behind the mountain, alone. Took out a sample of Kabuto's life force. Unsealed his Reaper Mode. Drew the same complex seal he'd used on Danzō—the Reaper's Hook-Chain.
The space twisted. From thousands of miles away, Kabuto was summoned back to the island.
He appeared, clutching bone fragments in his remaining hand, and dropped to his knees. "Lord Orochimaru… Black Zetsu ambushed me. He knows your secret. Sasuke's secret. He took Naruto. I… I failed to stop him."
Orochimaru looked at his disciple—the broken posture, the missing hand, the right eye now a bleak, blind white. He could imagine the scene.
He stepped forward and gently pulled Kabuto to his feet.
"It's alright, Kabuto." His voice was steady, firm. "You came back alive. Nothing else matters more than that."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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