Black Zetsu harbored deep distrust toward Obito's abilities, but his suspicion of Shihouin Naraku, who stood before him now, ran even deeper. The ancient being had agreed to this meeting not out of genuine interest, but because circumstances had left him with little choice. If there was truly a way to eliminate Shihouin Naraku, Black Zetsu would gladly seize the opportunity without hesitation.
However, given Naraku's overwhelming strength, Black Zetsu seriously doubted whether even Nagato could match him in battle at this point. After all, Uchiha Obito had been thoroughly beaten by Shihouin Naraku like a wounded animal fleeing from a predator. Relying on that failure was clearly impossible.
Perhaps the solution lay in manipulating the entire Akatsuki organization into launching a coordinated assault against Shihouin Naraku. But would such a strategy actually work against someone of his caliber?
While Black Zetsu had agreed to Naraku's demands verbally, his mind was already working overtime, scheming about how to eliminate this dangerous variable as quickly as possible. The problem was that Shihouin Naraku's power made any direct approach extremely risky and complicated.
Naraku observed Black Zetsu's expressionless dark features and smiled inwardly. He understood perfectly well that Black Zetsu had no good intentions, but as long as his strength remained at its current level, he felt no fear of any plots or schemes that might be directed against him.
During this period, even if Nagato decided to lead the entire Akatsuki organization in an attack against him, Naraku remained completely confident in his ability to handle the situation. The ninja world still believed that his performance during the Flame Mountain incident represented the peak of Shihouin Naraku's abilities.
But that assumption was dangerously outdated. Naraku's power continued to grow at an alarming rate, with his strength reaching new dimensions on a regular basis. This constant evolution was the true source of Shihouin Naraku's unshakeable confidence.
This growing power was precisely why he had become increasingly bold, caring less about potential consequences and willing to make direct contact with dangerous entities like Black Zetsu.
"Since you claim to know about the Akatsuki organization, you should be aware of their ultimate plan," Black Zetsu said cautiously, probing to determine exactly how much information Naraku possessed.
"Collecting the tailed beasts? Of course I know about that," Naraku replied casually, revealing this crucial information as if it were common knowledge. His nonchalant response sent shockwaves through Black Zetsu's ancient mind.
He really does know everything! But how?
Could the information have been leaked by Uchiha Itachi? But even Itachi wouldn't have knowledge about Kaguya or the full extent of Obito's involvement. Seeing how confident Shihouin Naraku appeared, what could possibly be the source of his intelligence?
Naraku deliberately ignored Black Zetsu's obvious attempts at gathering information, maintaining his knowing smile. "I sincerely hope your plan succeeds," he said with apparent honesty.
"Even though you probably won't believe me, this is genuinely what I think."
Only through the success of such a plan could the Fourth Great Ninja War truly begin, and only then could Naraku position himself to gain access to even greater power and influence.
"What exactly is your purpose?" Black Zetsu demanded, unable to hide his suspicion despite wanting to extract as much information as possible from this exchange.
"Because only when facing a truly powerful enemy can internal conflicts be set aside, allowing everyone to unite together," Naraku explained, his eyes gleaming with unmistakable ambition. "And when that time comes, it will be much easier to obtain the most powerful forces in this world."
Black Zetsu saw the burning ambition in Shihouin Naraku's gaze and understood immediately. So that was the truth behind this man's actions. His real target, despite already reaching the pinnacle of individual strength, was nothing less than the entire ninja world itself. He wanted even more power than he already possessed.
"By the way, let me give you some advice," Naraku said, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "It would be wise to inform Obito that his true identity has been exposed. Kakashi is currently searching for him throughout the entire world."
After delivering this seemingly casual but important piece of information, Naraku turned to leave.
"On the first day of every month, you must appear outside Konoha Village," he commanded firmly. "I will come to find you then. If you don't have any useful information to share with me, then you can consider yourself dead."
After leaving behind this final ultimatum, Naraku vanished completely from sight. This time, he had truly departed from the area.
White Zetsu's voice emerged at precisely the right moment. "Do you actually believe anything he said?"
"Believe him? Hehehe..." Black Zetsu's mood suddenly improved dramatically. "Just as I will never trust him completely, Shihouin Naraku will never fully trust me either!"
How interesting this situation had become, truly fascinating.
Ninjas like Naraku, who possessed incredible power but still harbored deep desires and ambitions, were exactly the type that Black Zetsu preferred to manipulate and exploit. Such individuals were often the easiest to control because their wants made them predictable.
This pattern had held true for Uchiha Madara, and it had worked perfectly with Uchiha Obito as well. Now, Shihouin Naraku appeared to fit the same mold even more perfectly than his predecessors.
There was no real problem with sharing certain pieces of information. After all, Black Zetsu had never considered the Akatsuki organization or Obito as his only possible partners from the very beginning. As long as he could rescue his mother more quickly, Black Zetsu didn't particularly care about which specific individuals he had to work with along the way.
"Perhaps Shihouin Naraku will prove to be a far better partner than either the Akatsuki or Obito," he mused thoughtfully.
Now Black Zetsu felt no concern about the possibility that Shihouin Naraku might leak information about Kaguya. As long as someone wanted something desperately enough, they would inevitably exercise caution to protect their interests.
"Shihouin Naraku won't be easy to manipulate and use," White Zetsu warned.
"I'm well aware of that fact," Black Zetsu replied confidently.
"I have encountered people with this particular kind of ambition more than once throughout my long existence. They always pursue things that they can never truly possess, even when they continue paying increasingly high prices for their obsessions."
Black Zetsu now felt completely confident about the situation. Over the course of thousands of years, he had secretly influenced and manipulated countless humans in his relentless quest to rescue his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Some of these individuals had been incredibly powerful, others had been remarkably intelligent, but without exception, every single one had been successfully used by him to contribute toward the ultimate plan of rescuing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya from her imprisonment.
The method Black Zetsu employed was elegantly simple: he merely gave those people genuine hope that they could achieve their deepest dreams and ambitions. But sometimes the simplest approaches were also the most devastatingly effective.
It seemed that the time had come to think carefully and strategically about how to make the most effective use of Shihouin Naraku as his newest chess piece in this ancient game.
From current appearances, both sides shared similar immediate goals, which was extremely promising. At the very least, there should be no significant problems with the Akatsuki's plan to systematically gather all the tailed beasts, which was definitely a positive development.
But why not attempt to eliminate Shihouin Naraku first, before the situation became more complicated? After all, he possessed far too much dangerous knowledge, and his overwhelming strength made him nearly impossible to control through conventional means.
Black Zetsu harbored serious doubts about whether his usual manipulation abilities would prove effective against someone like Shihouin Naraku. If both parties could somehow develop mutual trust, and if Shihouin Naraku could be persuaded to allow closer contact or even possession, then Black Zetsu might have some confidence in successfully executing a surprise attack.
But clearly, Shihouin Naraku would never trust him enough to allow such vulnerability.
The situation was undeniably troublesome, but it was still much better than what Black Zetsu had anticipated before coming to meet with Shihouin Naraku face to face.
As he slowly sank into the ground, Black Zetsu continued contemplating his next moves in this increasingly complex game.
High above in the sky, Shihouin Naraku watched as Zetsu disappeared into the earth, his presence quickly fading beyond the range of his Observation Haki. Contacting Black Zetsu had seemed unnecessary at first, but Naraku had ultimately concluded that he had no real choice in the matter.
As his influence on the ninja world grew larger and more significant, the butterfly effect of his actions had become increasingly obvious and unpredictable. In the original timeline, Terumi Mei hadn't become Mizukage nearly so quickly, and the position of Tsuchikage shouldn't currently be held by Han.
The Fourth Raikage had died by his hands far ahead of the original schedule. There had been far too many changes throughout the ninja world, and Naraku found himself unable to control or predict how events were continuing to evolve.
Therefore, it seemed wiser to threaten and coerce Black Zetsu into providing operational intelligence about both Obito and the Akatsuki organization. This would ensure that he wouldn't miss any crucial plot developments that might affect his plans.
Even though Black Zetsu would certainly not reveal all available information to him, Naraku felt confident that he could discern the real truth from even small fragments of intelligence.
Besides, Black Zetsu was neither a true member of the Akatsuki organization nor genuinely loyal to Uchiha Obito, and he definitely wouldn't stand on the same side as Uchiha Madara when push came to shove.
If Black Zetsu discovered that cooperating with Naraku would be more effective for rescuing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, perhaps the two of them would be able to reach an even better and more productive cooperation agreement.
The future remained uncertain and difficult to predict with complete accuracy.
If anything truly unexpected occurred that threatened his plans, Naraku was prepared to find alternative ways to trigger the outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War himself. One way or another, the pieces would fall into place according to his design.
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