The moon hung low over the Land of Water, barely visible behind the thick banks of mist that rolled endlessly across the sea and forests.
In a forgotten corner of the country, hidden beneath the decaying remains of an old Mist outpost, Black Zetsu led the Orochimaru clone down a spiral staircase carved into the stone. Torches sputtered along the walls, giving the descent a half-lit, eerie glow.
"This place hasn't been touched in decades," Black Zetsu muttered, almost fondly, as they stepped into a wide underground lab filled with rusted shelves and shattered glassware. "But it should suit your… research needs, to bring Madara back."
"It has potential."The Orochimaru clone said as he looked around with a serpentine smile.
His long, pale fingers trailed across a cracked worktable. Dust followed. With a low hum of interest, he stretched, his joints cracking as he surveyed the dim surroundings.
Black Zetsu remained in the shadows near the wall, his coal-black form blending into the dark like a stain that refused to vanish.
"I've done as you asked," he said. "No one knows this place still exists, not even the current Mist shinobi. You'll be uninterrupted."
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed in the low light, and deep within him, the hidden micro-seals Kakashi had planted began to stir.
Like invisible roots, they started reaching out, absorbing chakra from the area in faint pulses, then converting it into encrypted location data and broadcasting it through a masked frequency.
Far away in the Mizukage Tower, Kakashi sat alone in Mei's office, his Sharingans glowing faintly. He felt the subtle ping in his palm where one of his prototype chakra-reading seals had been etched into a ring. He closed his fingers.
'Location locked,' he thought. The trap is working.
Back in the underground lab, Orochimaru turned and faced Black Zetsu fully.
"I need more than a quiet place," he said, voice low and silky. "If you want Madara to be at his peak, there are… preparations to be made."
"What kind of preparations?" Black Zetsu's yellow eye narrowed.
"Everything," Orochimaru said bluntly. "Yin chakra training scrolls, jutsu that manipulate the spiritual essence. Techniques that strengthen the will and refine control. I also need yang chakra knowledge, specifically for enhancing flesh, regeneration, and endurance."
"You want to rebuild Madara's body from scratch?" Black Zetsu grunted.
"I want to refine it. Make it better." The clone's smile stretched wider. "And for that, I'll need Hashirama cells."
At this, Black Zetsu paused.
A long silence passed between them before he raised one inky hand and placed it against the ground. Black tendrils spread out like roots, and moments later, several pale forms rose from the earth.
White Zetsu.
Their bulbous, plant-like bodies emerged slowly from the ground, each one with that signature goofy grin and half-lidded stare.
"These," Black Zetsu said, "are made from Hashirama's cells. Not pure… but made by Uchiha Madara himself. Use them."
"Fascinating. So this is what centuries of organic meddling look like." Orochimaru tilted his head, his tongue flicking out briefly as he examined one White Zetsu. Though he lacked interest as this clone was weaker than Kakashi's spote clone.
"You're kinda creepy, you know that?" One of the White Zetsu giggled.
"He's like you, only less moldy." Another one elbowed him.
"You'll do nicely." Orochimaru chuckled softly, the sound disturbingly genuine.
He turned back to Black Zetsu. "I'll also need equipment. Sealing tools, chakra analysis instruments, regeneration chambers, and possibly cloning vats. The best."
Black Zetsu didn't even flinch. "I'll get them. Some may come from enemy bases, but that's not a problem. I've been stealing longer than you've been alive."
Orochimaru didn't deny it. Kakashi had already warned him, this creature wasn't just old; he was the reason most ancient disasters happened. He's the Rabbit Goddess's spawn, older than the history of the ninja world.
The thought made his skin crawl, in a way even he hadn't expected.
"Then we understand each other." He nodded.
Black Zetsu gave a final nod and melted back into the wall, his oily form vanishing into the cracks. The White Zetsu followed shortly after, slipping into the surrounding rock like worms into damp soil.
As soon as the room was quiet, the Orochimaru clone's golden eyes turned slightly colder.
The chakra inside his body stirred, and deep within, Kakashi's seed techniques activated again. Not just the tracking seal, but a layered web of sensory illusions and suppressors.
The clone felt the slight, almost brotherly energy of nearby spores, Kakashi's spore clones hidden as White Zetsu, and smiled inwardly.
He was right. Black Zetsu has other nests nearby.
The aura from the spores felt familiar, similar to his own, but restrained and expertly cloaked. Orochimaru knew the difference. These weren't hostile. These were watchers. Silent guardians feeding intel to their master.
He moved toward the central stone slab and pulled out one of the leftover research scrolls, placing it down as a prop. But his thoughts were racing.
The real Orochimaru would've been amused by this game. And the clone, shaped by Kakashi's designs but given independence, was amused too.
With the room to himself, he reached up and unsealed a hidden scroll embedded inside his ribcage. Within it were the chakra diagrams and theory notes Kakashi had shared. Advanced sealing formulas, Yin-Yang theory, and chakra cultivation steps.
As he began copying the diagrams onto a nearby wall, his tongue flicked out again and he whispered to himself.
"Kakashi-sama….you really are a dangerous man."
Far away, Kakashi leaned back in Mei's desk chair, eyes closed but his senses wide open. He could feel the pull of every seal, every pulse of chakra. The clone was behaving perfectly.
He hadn't rebelled, hadn't exposed the trap. He was moving exactly as intended, feeding Black Zetsu just enough interest while mapping out the lab, every entrance, and every hidden corridor.
Suddenly, Mei entered the room behind him. She was barefoot and in a silk robe, her hair loosely tied up.
"Still watching your little rat in the walls?" she teased.
"He's naturally very obedient," Kakashi smirked without opening his eyes.
"And if he stops being obedient?"
Kakashi opened his eyes, Sharingan flickering once before vanishing. "Then the seals will tear him apart from the inside out. I designed him to be very allergic to betrayal."
He had designed him not to even have the single thought of betrayal, but to be sure he had planted a lot of seals in his head.
Mei chuckled and walked to his side, resting a hand on his shoulder. "This whole thing still bothers me. The fact that Black Zetsu is even still out there… planning something this big. You sure it's wise to let him think Orochimaru's helping?"
"It's a trap," Kakashi said calmly. "Black Zetsu doesn't know it yet… but he's already feeding me everything. I'll know when he moves, what he's building, and who he's working with."
"And Madara?"
Kakashi's expression hardened. "If he really wants to bring Madara back at 'full potential'… then we'll have to be ready for him."
Mei sighed. "You're really planning to stop a god with a clone and some fancy seals?"
Kakashi smiled. "No. With intel, traps, allies, and a lot of backup plans."
"Then don't forget to sleep. Even gods can't beat exhaustion." She leaned down and kissed his cheek.
…
Back to the lab…
Orochimaru's clone stopped drawing and sat in a meditative pose. The lab was dark now. Silent. But he could feel them, small pulses underground, watching.
Spore techniques mimicking White Zetsu chakra. Perfect camouflage. The real Orochimaru would have found this infuriating.
He? He found it elegant.
"This is how it should be," he muttered. "Let the fools chase resurrection and power… while the snake waits in the grass."
A wicked smile spread on his face.
"You want your Madara, little Zetsu? Then I'll give you something much better."