Land of Water
Deep beneath a land of rivers and mountains, within a hidden underground cave.
Zetsu, Hiruko, and a masked Uchiha Setsuna finally met face to face.
"It really wasn't easy finding you two. Where's Uchiha Madara?"
Wrapped in a white cloak, Hiruko lifted his bandaged face and looked at Zetsu and Setsuna as he questioned them.
"Show some respect when speaking about Lord Madara."
A single blood-red Sharingan eye was visible from beneath Uchiha Setsuna's mask.
In an instant, the tomoe spun into a windmill pattern — the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A powerful surge of eye power clashed directly with Hiruko's gaze.
Hiruko grunted softly from the impact.
But at the same time, Uchiha Setsuna, who had activated his genjutsu through the Mangekyō, let out a similar groan, quickly raising his hand to cover the exposed eye outside his mask.
"A Mangekyō illusion, huh? As annoying as it is, thanks to his handiwork, illusions don't affect me much. Even ones cast by the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Hiruko quickly realized what had just happened.
As a former jōnin of Konoha, he was fully aware that during battle, one should never meet the eyes of a Uchiha who's awakened the Sharingan. But now, it didn't matter to him.
After all, Orochimaru had placed a soul curse mark upon his body. That mark acted as a natural barrier against genjutsu.
Any Yin Release power that tried to invade and tamper with his mental world would instantly clash with the soul curse mark — and suffer its fierce retaliation.
Even though the Soul Seal wasn't active right now…
"Don't forget," Zetsu suddenly spoke coldly from the side, "it was only with the help of the Mangekyō Sharingan's power that we were able to suppress that seal in the first place. Right now, we should be working together!"
"You said if we helped you deal with the curse mark, you'd give us powerful strength. We held up our end of the deal..."
"You held up your end?" Hiruko gave Zetsu a cold glare. "What I wanted was permanent removal, not temporary suppression! You and Madara broke your promise!"
"That seal is extremely troublesome. It's already fused with your spiritual world," Zetsu replied, somewhat helpless.
He was a master when it came to using Yin Release, but the thing inside Hiruko went far beyond any Yin-based power.
There was another, deeper force within it—one he couldn't understand, a force that hadn't appeared in the world for thousands of years.
It was somewhat similar to natural energy, yet clearly different. And in terms of quality, it far surpassed even chakra.
That made things very difficult.
Right now, Zetsu and the others weren't in a good position either. Especially after Madara's death, both Uchiha Setsuna—who inherited Madara's will—and Zetsu were feeling a deep sense of helplessness.
Originally, Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was supposed to be on their side. But now, Nagato was highly suspicious of them and had gotten very close to Konoha.
The Land of Rain and Amegakure, with Konoha's support, were undergoing positive changes—just as the three of them had hoped.
If Zetsu dared approach Nagato now to manipulate him, he'd probably be crushed immediately by the combined strength of Konoha and the Land of Rain.
In Zetsu's eyes, the power structure of the Shinobi World had become rather surreal in recent years.
Especially Konoha—ever since Orochimaru took the position of Hokage, the once-feared village had actually learned how to work with allies.
If nothing else, at least Nagato and the other two had wholeheartedly chosen to follow Konoha's path.
After all, the road Konoha was paving was clearly one of peace and stability—perfectly aligned with their ideals and worldview.
With the close bond between Nagato and people like Jiraiya, the hope of Nagato joining them was now crippled.
Zetsu no longer expected to sway Nagato's beliefs back to the path he wanted.
Now, he was focused entirely on one thing—getting the Rinnegan back from Nagato.
Either that, or using the backup plan Madara had left behind: forcing Nagato to use Rinne Rebirth to summon Madara's soul from the Pure Land and bring him back to life to restart the Ten Tails project.
The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village was still under their control.
Launching an attack on the Land of Rain was Zetsu's first step toward reclaiming the Rinnegan.
But right now, they needed more—much more. They needed stronger allies, people who could truly stand with them.
And in that regard, Hiruko could deliver.
"But trust us," Zetsu said sincerely. "As long as Lord Madara's plan succeeds, the entire Shinobi World will fall under our control. By then, a mere Konoha and Orochimaru will be nothing—Madara could crush them with a flick of his hand. Once Madara reclaims his eyes, he'll naturally be able to remove that cursed seal from you."
"But first," came the cold voice of Uchiha Setsuna, "you have to help us retrieve the Rinnegan. I hope the power you promised is really as strong as you claim."
"Hmph. Orochimaru may have branded me with a curse mark, but at the same time, part of his knowledge became mine through that soul seal," Hiruko replied confidently. "As long as I have enough chakra, I can summon a powerful force to assist you."
He wasn't lying. He had indeed gained a wealth of knowledge from Orochimaru's soul imprint.
And as a researcher, that knowledge wasn't just useful—it had become a source of inspiration and power that surpassed any forbidden technique.
Those pieces of knowledge had at least helped him improve his Chimera Technique, making it more refined and far less dangerous.
Only he truly understood the terrifying power Konoha now held. And over the years, through his reverse research into Orochimaru's soul curse seal, he had uncovered a great number of secrets.
He had even gained control of that same power—perhaps even surpassed it—getting closer to its source, just like Konoha had.
"Well then, shouldn't you show us some proof?" Uchiha Setsuna pressed a hand against his Sharingan, which had regressed back to three tomoe.
"Suppressing that curse seal for you cost me a lot of Mangekyō power. It might affect some of our other plans."
Hiruko bit his finger and, in front of Zetsu and Setsuna, began forming hand seals slowly and deliberately. Then he slammed both palms onto the ground to activate the Summoning Jutsu.
As the white smoke cleared, two powerful and chilling presences suddenly filled the cave.
Two masked beings—one standing to the left, the other to the right—appeared. Both wore white, bone-like masks.
"Hollows?" Zetsu muttered, eyes widening slightly.
The first time Hollows had shown up was during the Third Great Ninja War.
One of Zetsu's clones had sensed that same cold, violent energy back then—just like the overwhelming presence coming from these two now.
Combined with their distinctive and iconic masks, he blurted out his realization without thinking.
"Yes, Hollows," Hiruko replied smugly. "As long as I have enough chakra, I can summon an entire army of them for you."
"The power of a Hollow is undeniable. Forget the Land of Rain—even the major ninja villages wouldn't be safe if they were attacked by enough of these."
****
Please support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/pirateking24/tiers