Whoosh—
A gentle breeze swept across the cliff...
Shihouin Naraku stood motionless on the rocky precipice, his dark hair flowing slightly in the wind.
Naraku had been maintaining his position for over half an hour now, yet Black Zetsu had still not made an appearance.
However, through the incredible range and sensitivity of his Observation Haki, Naraku had detected subtle chakra fluctuations emanating from underground positions in the surrounding area much earlier.
Apparently, Black Zetsu had strategically arranged for White Zetsu clones to be stationed throughout the vicinity well in advance, simply waiting for him to arrive at the designated meeting point.
Naraku completely ignored the presence of these White Zetsu scouts. The only individual who could truly make meaningful decisions was Black Zetsu himself, and that was the entity he was patiently waiting to confront.
Various strategic thoughts and possibilities ran through his mind as Naraku considered how this encounter might unfold.
After approximately another half hour of waiting, a distinctly different and more ominous chakra signature began approaching rapidly from deep underground in the distance.
Naraku turned around calmly and prepared himself for Black Zetsu's inevitable appearance.
There was a soft rustling sound as a bizarre creature resembling a carnivorous pitcher plant slowly emerged from beneath the earth's surface. The half-black, half-white entity known as Zetsu materialized before Naraku's keen gaze.
Of course, although they were now technically "facing" each other, the actual distance separating the two opponents was at least one hundred meters—a gap that Black Zetsu had clearly calculated as a safety margin.
Naraku's eyes narrowed slightly with dangerous amusement. "Do you honestly believe that a distance of merely one hundred meters would be sufficient for you to escape from my grasp if I decided to act?"
As the living embodiment of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's will and consciousness, Black Zetsu inherently looked down upon every ninja in existence from the depths of its ancient heart. In its perspective, all shinobi were nothing more than thieves who had stolen fragments of its mother's sacred chakra, and someday those scattered energies would inevitably return to their rightful place within Kaguya's divine form.
But Shihouin Naraku represented something fundamentally different—a ninja whose overwhelming strength and capabilities demanded serious respect and caution from Black Zetsu, regardless of its usual arrogance.
Therefore, Black Zetsu remained perfectly still and spoke in its characteristic hoarse and ominous voice: "Shihouin Naraku, you..."
Before the ancient entity could complete its intended sentence, Naraku had vanished entirely from Black Zetsu's field of vision.
Before it could even begin to react to this sudden disappearance, a tremendously powerful force seized its neck and violently pulled its partially emerged body completely out from its underground refuge.
SLAM!
Zetsu was hurled to the ground with devastating force, causing the world to spin wildly around its disoriented consciousness.
"Wait, please wait—" Black Zetsu attempted to speak.
Before it could finish this plea, a seemingly casual but overwhelmingly strong hand covered its face like a descending shadow and gripped it with crushing pressure.
CRACK...
Naraku applied just a small amount of additional force, and the unmistakable sound of cracking bone echoed from within Zetsu's skull—a sound that was both sickening and terrifying in its implications.
"I don't appreciate your arrogant tone," Naraku stated coldly. "From this point forward, you will conduct yourself with proper respect!"
"Ahh! Let go! I'm dying! I'm actually dying!" the white half of the pitcher plant's face screamed in absolute terror.
Unable to withstand even a fraction of Naraku's true power, White Zetsu begged desperately for mercy.
THUD!
Naraku casually released his grip and allowed Zetsu to fall back to the ground.
"It hurts so much! Why would you inflict such pain upon me?" White Zetsu whimpered pitifully.
The creature struggled for several long moments before finally managing to pull itself upright from the rocky ground.
Although White Zetsu possessed remarkably strong regenerative abilities and the injuries it had just sustained were already beginning to heal visibly, the entity could not simply block out or ignore the intense pain that accompanied such trauma.
"Silence!" Black Zetsu's deep, authoritative voice commanded sharply.
It was the true controller of this shared body, while White Zetsu was merely a disposable tool that could be replaced at any convenient moment.
"Shihouin Naraku..." Black Zetsu began again, but upon seeing Naraku's expression growing hostile once more, it immediately adjusted its tone to something far more respectful. "You were the one who requested this meeting during our last encounter, so perhaps you could explain..."
Naraku saw no reason to be mysterious about his intentions and spoke directly: "I have no interest whatsoever in Obito's secret schemes, your true identity, or even the nature of whoever might be pulling your strings from behind the scenes."
"From this day forward, you will provide me with detailed and accurate information about both the Akatsuki organization and Obito's activities at regular intervals. This is not a request—it is a demand."
Black Zetsu was genuinely stunned by this bold ultimatum. Then, despite the very real threats Naraku had just demonstrated, it responded defiantly, "That demand is completely impossible to fulfill!"
"Ah, so you and your associates do indeed have some significant plan in motion!" Naraku observed with satisfaction. "How interesting."
Naraku had effortlessly identified and exploited the logical flaw in Black Zetsu's hasty denial, which caused the entity's already dark facial features to become even more shadowed with frustration.
This infuriating human was proving to be far more difficult to manipulate and deceive than Obito had ever been!
Not only did Naraku possess overwhelming physical power, but his mind was also razor-sharp and analytical. He was definitely not as easily fooled or manipulated as the emotionally unstable Uchiha Obito.
After a moment of careful consideration, Black Zetsu seemed to formulate a new approach to this predicament.
"I could potentially share certain information with you," it said slowly, "but first I must understand—how did you come to know Kaguya's name? And furthermore, I need to know..."
Black Zetsu studied Naraku intently, its ancient mind completely baffled by how this shinobi could possibly have learned about Kaguya's existence and historical significance.
During their last encounter on that desolate island in the Land of Water, Naraku had simply spoken Kaguya's name once, which had immediately shocked Black Zetsu to its core and forced it to honor this dangerous meeting arrangement.
Black Zetsu desperately needed to understand exactly how much Naraku knew about Kaguya and whether he possessed any other critical information that could threaten their carefully laid plans.
Since this knowledge directly concerned the ultimate plan to resurrect its beloved mother, Black Zetsu had been compelled to appear despite the obvious risks involved.
And it was precisely because of this crucial weakness that Black Zetsu found itself at such a severe disadvantage in any conversation with Naraku.
Black Zetsu was trapped in an impossible position due to both its inferior combat strength and its desperate lack of intelligence about its opponent's true knowledge.
Naraku responded with deliberate vagueness: "You significantly underestimate the capabilities and historical awareness of shinobi. Once certain events have occurred, they inevitably leave behind traces and evidence that can be discovered and interpreted by future generations of skilled investigators."
This explanation was essentially meaningless, providing Black Zetsu with no real insight into the truth of the situation or the source of Naraku's knowledge.
Black Zetsu pressed for clarification once more: "So you are saying that as long as I provide you with information about Obito and the Akatsuki organization, you will refrain from taking any reckless actions that might disrupt our operations?"
"Watch your tone when addressing me!" Naraku scolded without the slightest trace of mercy or respect. He didn't care what kind of ancient entity or powerful boss Black Zetsu might be—he would correct its attitude regardless. "If you conduct yourself properly and cooperatively, I will consider not sharing what I know with others who might interfere."
Black Zetsu ground its teeth in frustrated rage, but ultimately conceded: "Very well! I agree to your terms!"
There was simply no alternative available. It couldn't hope to defeat Naraku in direct combat, and at this moment it couldn't rely on either Obito or the broader Akatsuki organization to intimidate this particular opponent. Black Zetsu had no choice but to accept these humiliating conditions.
"You seem remarkably certain that there is someone else operating behind Obito!" Black Zetsu observed with growing concern.
This was what troubled Black Zetsu most about this entire conversation—Naraku's tone was far too confident and specific, as if he possessed concrete knowledge rather than mere suspicions.
Could it be possible that...
Had the existence of Uchiha Madara somehow been discovered and revealed as well?
Or perhaps the mysterious figure that Shihouin Naraku was referring to was actually Kaguya herself?
If that were the case, the situation would be catastrophically worse than Black Zetsu had feared!
Black Zetsu was operating from such a disadvantaged position that it couldn't even determine the scope of what Shihouin Naraku actually knew about their operations.
"No, no..." Naraku suddenly began laughing at Black Zetsu's obviously confused and worried expression.
"Obito's current power level is barely adequate for your purposes, but his intelligence and strategic thinking are woefully insufficient to support any complex long-term plan!"
Black Zetsu found itself speechless in the face of this brutally accurate assessment.
This observation was so completely reasonable and undeniably true that it was almost painful to acknowledge.
Obviously there were critically important long-term strategies that needed to be carefully planned and executed, but Obito constantly engaged in bizarre and counterproductive activities that caught Black Zetsu completely off guard.
For example, he had wasted enormous amounts of precious time hanging around Konohagakure, apparently unable to decide whether he wanted to observe Hatake Kakashi or visit Nohara Rin's grave.
For another example, he had foolishly chosen to attack Shihouin Naraku directly, which had resulted in him nearly dying and almost completely ruining their carefully constructed plans.
There was also an extremely important incident where Obito had secretly orchestrated the destruction of the entire Uchiha clan. Black Zetsu had been so furious about this decision that it had wanted to curse the foolish man openly!
Black Zetsu hadn't been present to supervise Obito at that time, or it would have absolutely prevented such a catastrophic mistake from occurring.
After all, in order to successfully resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the Rinnegan was an absolutely necessary component, and the Uchiha clan represented precious genetic material that was now lost forever due to Obito's shortsighted revenge.
This meant that Black Zetsu was now forced to place all of its hopes and resources into this single current plan, as there might never be another opportunity of this magnitude.
So in Black Zetsu's informed opinion, while Uchiha Madara could be considered a qualified and effective tool for their purposes, Obito wasn't even remotely comparable in terms of competence and reliability.
Instead of focusing on advancing their crucial plan every single day, Obito constantly pursued other personal obsessions and distractions, which led to a never-ending series of dangerous complications and setbacks.
Now that Naraku was openly expressing disdain for Obito's intellectual capabilities, Black Zetsu found itself agreeing wholeheartedly with this harsh but accurate assessment.
After all, it had suffered greatly from Obito's incompetence and poor decision-making!
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