Chapter 66: The Child with the Blood of Senju and Uchiha
Black Zetsu was convinced this child had inherited Stelle's genes. How else could he be so utterly rebellious, contradicting every single thing he was told? He was just a little brat, yet he held no fear of him whatsoever.
He'd climbed a tree and plucked a few fruits for the boy. When the child saw they were wild fruits yet again, he slapped them out of Black Zetsu's hand.
"I don't want to eat fruit! I want milk! Children my age need to drink milk, Pitch-Black! Why won't you give me any? Do you even know how to take care of a child? I have to ask for everything myself!"
Rage threatened to bleach the color from Black Zetsu's inky form. As a novice, this was his first time caring for a child, and he had never anticipated it would be this troublesome. One moment the boy was hungry, the next he was thirsty, and then he was complaining about the sun being too bright. He was impossibly demanding.
It had only been a few days, and Black Zetsu's patience was already worn to a thread.
Although this brat had been taken from a laboratory table, he wasn't some empty-headed newborn. He possessed a startling amount of common sense. Initially, Black Zetsu hadn't thought much of it. The boy was just an experiment. Whatever memories had been instilled in him would eventually be bent to his will. It was simple brainwashing. Could he, the great Black Zetsu, not handle a mere child?
Yet, in just a few short days, he discovered that the boy's arrogance and mischief were a perfect mirror of Stelle's. Damn it, this has to be her child, right? Right?
Using the Mayfly Technique, Black Zetsu took the boy to a nearby town and bought a spread of food: sushi, dango, and takoyaki. The pile of treats finally silenced the little brat's incessant fussing.
He brought the child back to the underground cave he used for storage and as a frequent hideout, preparing to set up the experimental equipment needed to complete the awakening of the Rinnegan.
And then, the trouble started anew.
The boy was too annoying, constantly circling him, peppering him with an endless stream of questions.
"Pitch-Black, why are you all dark while I'm so fair? I want dark skin like yours, it looks so cool."
"Why do we live in this dark, dingy place instead of a big house in the city? It's so damp. Is that why you're always so cold? I bet you'll have old-man aches in your legs when you get old."
"Why can't you cook? Why do I have to do it myself? I'm only a five-year-old child!"
"Why don't you look like me? Are you actually some kind of animal?"
Why, why, why? Why were there so many whys? Were all children this infuriating?
"Can't you just be quiet?" Black Zetsu finally snapped, his voice a low threat. "Believe it or not, I'll throw you out to feed the wolves."
The little brat replied without a moment's hesitation, "But I'm not afraid of wolves. If you throw me into a mother wolf's den, maybe I can even find some wolf milk to drink."
So much for that. This boy couldn't be threatened like an ordinary child. The fear of being fed to wolves was completely ineffective. For the sake of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Black Zetsu decided it wasn't worth arguing with the brat.
Unexpectedly, the child grew even bolder. He pointed a small finger right at him. "You're dark and ugly. Are you my dad's Summoned Beast? That's the only thing that explains why I woke up without parents, and only you were there."
Summoned Beast?!
He was his mother's most proud creation!
Black Zetsu was enraged. A mere experiment dared to challenge him, Lord Black Zetsu? If it weren't for the fact that this brat could freely deactivate the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have had his eyes gouged out and his body tossed into a mass grave long ago.
And he dared to mock him? Fine. He'd starve him for a day and see how he liked it.
Black Zetsu turned and melted out of the underground cave. In truth, after days of playing nursemaid, he hadn't properly gathered intelligence on the Five Great Nations. He needed to find out the results of their recent summit.
Upon investigating, Black Zetsu was stunned by the outcome.
He had expected Konoha, leaderless and vulnerable, to be severely exploited by the other four great villages, forced to sign all manner of unequal treaties to avoid a four-front war. Or, perhaps, Konoha's young and hot-headed new decision-makers would charge directly into battle.
The result was the complete opposite.
After all four of Konoha's top officials had died, the woman, Stelle, had seized power. She attended the summit as the acting Hokage and, when questioned by the Kage of the other four nations, dealt with them directly.
She had perfectly resolved the crisis by taking on all four opponents at once. Because Uchiha Kagami's massive Susanoo had stood guard before her, no one dared to approach, and none could even gauge the severity of her injuries.
As a result, Konoha had once again gained the upper hand. The aggressive Four Great Nations, on the other hand, had lost their Kage and a contingent of elite shinobi, suffering a terrible defeat.
That woman was truly bizarre. Fortunately, he hadn't clashed with her directly before. Those two Sealing Techniques she possessed would have certainly made him suffer. He would have to be extremely careful if he encountered her in the future; he absolutely could not afford to stumble.
An uneasy feeling settled in Black Zetsu's core. He had a growing suspicion that this woman would be his nemesis.
No, he thought, a new idea taking root. If she's that powerful, then the experiment she created through such elaborate means can't just be for activating the Sharingan. There must be other uses. He needed to go back and investigate properly.
Black Zetsu immediately turned back. On his way, he even passed a shop and bought some grilled fish for the brat.
When he returned to the cave, he was shocked to find it empty. The little brat was gone.
The discovery sent a cold sweat through Black Zetsu's form. This was a deep, sealed underground cavern with no obvious paths. Where could that little brat have possibly gone? He couldn't have just dug a tunnel out.
He quickly phased outside to search the surrounding area and finally found him. In the nearby forest, the little brat was high up in a tree, raiding a bird's nest.
He held a small bird's egg in one hand, perched precariously on a branch, and waved his chubby little hand at him.
"Pitch-Black, you're back."
Black Zetsu's beady eyes widened to the size of eggs themselves. "How did you get out?"
The little brat looked puzzled. "I just came out."
There's no path, and you 'just came out'?
Black Zetsu got the boy down from the tree. "Now, go back and show me."
"Oh!" The child, still holding the bird's egg, raised his small hand. Under Black Zetsu's astonished gaze, several thick branches erupted from the ground. They snaked up the tree trunk to the branch he had been sitting on, carefully bringing down the rest of the bird's eggs and the nest, cradling them all in his arms.
Then, he used the Mayfly Technique, submerging himself into the earth. A moment later, he reappeared, empty-handed.
"I'm already back," the boy said. "Why aren't you coming?"
Black Zetsu stared at the child with an unmatched, fanatical gleam in his eyes. It was as if another holy light had descended from the heavens, shining down on the boy, so dazzling it was almost blinding.
Oh my god. He had just seen the little brat use Wood Release. He already knew the boy possessed Hashirama's cells.
No… he could use Wood Release and automatically deactivate the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Wasn't this the perfect fusion of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?
As for the Mayfly Technique, Black Zetsu was naturally unaware that the boy's 'cheat' system had granted it as a reward. He simply assumed that the experimental array used in the boy's creation had somehow imprinted some of his own abilities onto him.
Stelle had actually created such a powerful specimen. And now, this specimen belonged to him.
Black Zetsu was so deliriously happy he could have danced.
So what if the little brat had an extremely bad personality? It didn't matter. From coaxing to threatening, he would handle it. Could he, the great Black Zetsu, not manage a mere child?
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