Chapter 243 — Black Zetsu's Plan
"U-umm… Uncle, I—I'm sorry," Nawaki said nervously as he looked up at the Raikage.
But the Raikage paid him no attention—not because he was angry, but because the boy standing before him turned out to be Hatake Yusuke's brother-in-law.
Just thinking about that made the Raikage's head throb. If this kid was his brother-in-law, then that meant his older sister was—
"Hatake Yusuke," the Raikage finally said, "I'm here because I want to hold a Five Kage Summit. Tell Tsunade about this."
"Sure. But you know her, right? She's forgetful and hates dealing with troublesome things like this," Yusuke replied casually.
A vein pulsed on the Raikage's temple as he held back his irritation. He inhaled deeply, then pulled out a red card and handed it over with a look of barely contained frustration.
"Relax, leave this to me," Yusuke said with sparkling eyes, as if the card itself mattered more than the message it carried.
The Raikage snorted loudly, then turned to leave. He even dragged Mabui with him so she wouldn't keep staring at Yusuke like an utterly smitten fan.
Not long after, Yusuke escorted Nawaki back to Konoha.
He relayed the news about the Five Kage Summit to Tsunade. However, Tsunade didn't seem particularly surprised. What shocked her instead was the drastic change in her younger brother.
The boy now looked at Yusuke the way a devoted fan would look at his hero.
Every sentence he spoke was now accompanied by the endearing "Brother-in-law," spoken with far more affection than when he said "Big Sister."
"Explain," Tsunade said while rubbing her temples. "How exactly did you turn my younger brother into this?"
Yusuke lifted his shoulders nonchalantly. "Heh, it's because my charisma is simply extraordinary. Come on, I'm Hatake Yusuke—of course I can win over a kid. It'd be weird if I couldn't."
Tsunade fell silent for a moment before giving a resigned nod.
Fair enough—with Yusuke's strength and presence, it wasn't surprising that Nawaki admired him so deeply. The boy was still young, and naturally gravitated toward someone overwhelmingly powerful.
"Alright," Tsunade finally said. "For now, I'm entrusting Nawaki to you. I need to prepare for this Five Kage Summit."
"Oh, sure. How troublesome," Yusuke said lazily, letting out a small yawn.
"By the way," Tsunade continued with a serious tone, "I have a feeling this meeting won't be as simple as it seems. Would you come with me this time?"
"No problem. I don't really have anything else to do," Yusuke replied casually.
"Oh right, what about Naruto?" Yusuke asked next.
"He went to Mount Myōboku with Toneri to learn Sage Mode. Jiraiya just sent word. Apparently, Toneri is close to mastering it. That kid is a true genius—barely a month in, and he's almost reached a perfect form," Tsunade said.
"That's normal," Yusuke said flatly. "Toneri is an Ōtsutsuki descendant, and he's already awakened the Tenseigan. Mastering Senjutsu is hardly an obstacle for him."
Tsunade added, "Naruto is making rapid progress too. I didn't expect that kid to have such remarkable talent."
"Well, of course. He's the son of Minato-nii and Kushina-nee, right? Both of them were exceptional from a young age," Yusuke said with a light smile.
"True," Tsunade said softly. "Both Minato and Kushina possessed incredible potential. It's no surprise their child inherited the same gifts."
"Well then, Tsuna-chan, I'll be off. I still have business with this kid," Yusuke said, waving his hand as he left.
---
A Few Days Later
"Faster! This is just warm-up!" Yusuke said as he watched Nawaki, drenched in sweat under the scorching sun.
"B-Brother-in-law… I'm exhausted. Can I rest for just a moment?" Nawaki asked, panting heavily.
"Sure," Yusuke said with a gentle smile. Nawaki nearly dropped the weights from his hands.
But suddenly, Yusuke's calm voice continued.
"Humans give up easily. Once you choose to stop, you'll start giving up whenever things get difficult. That laziness will follow you for the rest of your life."
The words pierced straight into Nawaki's ears. He clenched his teeth and stood again, determination burning in his gaze.
"Good," Yusuke said. "My eyes can see clearly that your body is still far from its limits."
After a moment of silence, Yusuke looked at him seriously.
"Nawaki, I need to warn you."
"What is it, Brother-in-law?" Nawaki asked between breaths.
"A war is coming soon. And this time, it's going to be far bigger and far more terrifying than the previous three," Yusuke said in a heavy voice. "Remember this well—become strong. Don't die on the battlefield. It would only make your sister grieve. The reason I agreed to train you is so Tsunade won't lose the last family she has."
"B-but… aren't you here, Brother-in-law?" Nawaki continued doing push-ups as he counted, "...998… 999… 1000!" He collapsed onto the ground, gasping.
"Who knows," Yusuke said with a faint smile.
"Huh? Didn't you say you're invincible?" Nawaki asked, confused.
"Of course I'm invincible. But think carefully—if a war really breaks out, wouldn't their first goal be to trap me?" Yusuke's eyes sharpened.
"If I'm still free, the war won't begin. But the fact that they're bold enough to start it means they have a way to restrain me."
His tone gradually sank into something cold.
Yusuke was confident in his strength, but he wasn't foolish. He understood very well that Black Zetsu would never initiate a war without thorough preparation.
To resurrect Kaguya, Black Zetsu needed all the Tailed Beasts. That made a large-scale war inevitable.
For Yusuke, even a hundred thousand White Zetsu posed no threat. He could obliterate the entire Allied Shinobi Forces with a single strike.
But he knew this much: Black Zetsu definitely had a hidden trump card—something comparable to Minato's space-time techniques.
Yusuke looked up at the sky, lost in thought.
If Kaguya dared to rebel against the Ōtsutsuki Clan itself, then she must have possessed a trump card—a power the world had never seen before.
---
Elsewhere
Inside a dark hidden chamber, a masked man stared at the two figures before him—Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
"What are we supposed to do? As long as Hatake Yusuke is alive, we stand no chance at all. Even if Madara is revived, he still wouldn't be able to match that man," the masked man said firmly.
"That's true, so what should we do?" White Zetsu said jokingly, though his eyes were serious.
"Relax," Black Zetsu said in a low, confident voice. "I have a way to deal with Hatake Yusuke."
"Oh? You're certain?" Obito narrowed his eyes behind the mask. "It seems Madara really did leave something behind before his death…"
"Yes. Madara-sama left a trump card," Black Zetsu answered.
"What is it?" Obito asked. "Honestly, I don't believe anything could restrain Hatake Yusuke. Even if Madara and Hashirama worked together, they still wouldn't be able to defeat him."
"You're right," Black Zetsu said slowly. "Hatake Yusuke cannot be killed. But… he can be sealed."
"Sealed?" Obito stared sharply.
"Yes," Black Zetsu continued. "Since ancient times, the Uchiha Clan possessed a secret artifact—a box known as the Heaven Lock Box. It is covered in the highest-level Fūinjutsu. Anyone placed inside will be trapped with no escape. Even Hatake Yusuke wouldn't be able to break free, at least not any time soon."
Black Zetsu explained this with a calm, steady tone. That box was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's final trump card.
He never intended to use it at first—because the price required to activate it was far too steep. Even Kaguya herself avoided employing it recklessly.
However, in order to resurrect Kaguya, Black Zetsu had been continuously offering energy to the box ever since Uchiha Madara's death.
Now, the accumulated power was nearing the threshold needed to activate the plan.
"Once we revive the Ten-Tails, Hatake Yusuke will no longer be someone to fear," Black Zetsu said.
But in truth, after observing Yusuke for years, Black Zetsu understood all too well just how terrifying the man's power was.
Even his own mother—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—might not be able to defeat him.
However, he also knew that his mother had one final contingency plan: somewhere in the world, in a place no one knew, another Ten-Tails entity lay hidden.
With that knowledge in mind, Black Zetsu continued forward, confident that the preparations spanning thousands of years would finally create the opportunity to bring his mother back.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ Enjoy 115+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 2 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
🌙 Note: Sunday is a rest day, so there will be no updates tomorrow. Regular uploads resume as usual on Monday.
Join now and dive deeper into the story—weeks ahead of public release!
Thank you for your amazing support 💖
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —