Land of Rain. Akatsuki Base.
The Akatsuki absolutely did not want Kisame Hoshigaki. When Black Zetsu learned that Kisame had killed the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, it nearly had a heart attack.
Yagura was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and his death meant the Three-Tails would die with him.
Even though the Three-Tails' chakra was nothing special, and Tailed Beasts were immortal beings that would just revive somewhere in the world after a few years, this time gap would still be a massive delay to the plan.
According to Black Zetsu's perfectly laid out schedule, Shirou was back, and the Akatsuki was strong enough to finally get Project Tsuki no Me rolling. All they needed was the location of the last few Tailed Beasts.
"I've been working my butt off, gathering manpower on one hand and tracking down these beasts on the other!"
"Only the Four-Tails is left to find!"
Black Zetsu ranted, its voice seething with frustration. "And then this idiot, Kisame Hoshigaki, goes and kills the Three-Tails Jinchuriki!"
"This is indeed a bit troublesome," Shirou's brow furrowed.
He seemed equally displeased, and in a tone of grave seriousness, he tried to comfort him. "Alright, don't be impatient. Let me see if there's a way to remedy this."
He sighed, softly proposing an idea. "Besides the deceased Jinchuriki, is there any other Three-Tails chakra floating around? I could try to cultivate it."
"Perhaps it won't delay our plan too much. For example, like Kinkaku and Ginkaku forty years ago. They had a piece of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Maybe there are others like them?"
A flicker of warmth grew in Black Zetsu's cold, inky heart.
At times like this, Shirou was truly the reliable one, always ready with a solution. Unfortunately, Black Zetsu had nothing. "The Three-Tails' chakra has never been leaked," it said, shaking its head. "We can only wait for it to revive."
"How long will that take?" Shirou asked, feigning ignorance. "Has it died before? How long does it usually take?"
"At least seven or eight years," Black Zetsu replied with a sigh, recalling the aftermath of Rin Nohara's death. "Obito was supposed to be controlling Yagura. That part of the plan was supposed to be foolproof."
And yet, it was the foolproof part that had spectacularly failed.
If Shirou hadn't been revived, Black Zetsu wouldn't have been in such a rush. But this had to happen just when hope was on the horizon.
It couldn't help but curse, "That idiot Obito can't even protect one Jinchuriki!"
A strange expression flickered across Shirou's face. Black Zetsu clearly had no idea that Kisame was Obito's man. It really didn't think highly of him at all.
"Forget it," Shirou said, casually defending Obito. "It's useless to be harsh. Perhaps it's because I had him monitoring Orochimaru. Still, to be able to kill the Three-Tails Jinchuriki... it seems Kisame's strength is not to be underestimated."
"Indeed," Black Zetsu admitted. "The Hoshigaki clan has abundant chakra and the ability to absorb it. Recruiting him might make him a useful tool for capturing the other Tailed Beasts."
Since the damage was done, the only thing to do was find a way to make it work.
"Should we send Sasori?" it suggested, mentioning the only idle member of the Akatsuki.
The Pain trio was on a mission, and Kakuzu was a lone wolf anyway.
Sasori, without a partner, was just sitting around tinkering with his puppets.
"I'll go myself," Shirou said, his interest piqued. "Although waiting for the Three-Tails is a delay, we can use this time to continue recruiting and gathering intelligence."
"Okay," Black Zetsu agreed.
"Also," Shirou added, giving it a pointed look, "if possible, pay close attention to the other Tailed Beasts, especially the Nine-Tails. If something happens to it..."
The Nine-Tails was the strongest. Its revival time would be unpredictable, and Project Tsuki no Me would be delayed indefinitely.
"Mm," Black Zetsu nodded. "I'll have a White Zetsu clone monitor Konoha's Jinchuriki. The current one is just a kid. It's indeed easy for mistakes to happen."
"Protect him well," Shirou said, his eyes narrowing as he hid his own agenda.
He needed Black Zetsu to protect Naruto, too. "Coincidentally, we can also monitor Itachi's younger brother at the same time. A pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could be born between them, which might be a useful backup for the plan."
"That's right," Black Zetsu nodded, finally calming down.
"Oh, right," the main White Zetsu chimed in, finally getting a word in. "One of my clones has gone missing. I need to use the Spore Technique to cultivate some new ones."
"Missing?" Shirou asked, a flicker of surprise on his face. "Which one?"
"The one monitoring Orochimaru," White Zetsu said, a hint of pain in its voice. "I don't know if Orochimaru discovered and killed it."
"It's just one clone," Black Zetsu dismissed it. "Send another one."
A faint light flashed in Shirou's Rinnegan.
If they send another clone, they'll discover that Orochimaru and Obito are secretly colluding.
And then they'll "know" what happened to the missing clone.
They would surely assume Obito had killed it to protect his secret.
"Alright," Shirou said, moving on. He asked about Kisame's whereabouts, and after learning he was in the Land of Hot Springs, he gave his orders. "Let's split up."
As Black and White Zetsu began to submerge, they added, "By the way, we also found two suitable partners for Kakuzu in the Land of Hot Springs. Coincidentally, Kakuzu is also at the orphanage there."
The implication was clear: they wanted Shirou to handle it.
He didn't refuse, but he was curious. "Two?"
"Yes," White Zetsu explained earnestly. "You know how Kakuzu's partners... have a high turnover rate. We prepared a backup, just hoping his next one can live a little longer. One of them is named Hidan. He's an immortal from the Hot Springs Village, thanks to some evil god. So far, no one has been able to kill him."
"Sounds very suitable for Kakuzu," Shirou's fingers trembled slightly.
"The other person..." White Zetsu paused.
A smile appeared on Black Zetsu's face. "Wei Yuan should be very familiar with the other one. One of Konoha's Sannin, Tsunade. She's been traveling the world all these years, healing the sick and saving people, just like you did in the ancient era."
"Tsunade?" A dazed look crossed Shirou's face. The name reminded him of the little girl from forty years ago.
"Although Konoha hasn't issued a wanted notice for her," Black Zetsu continued, "she has never returned to the village. So it's a good opportunity to..."
"Give up on her," Shirou waved his hand, calmly rejecting the proposal. "She is Hashirama's granddaughter. She would never leave Konoha to join us. Moreover, there's nothing wrong with her healing the sick."
"For our Project Tsuki no Me, her power is not of much use. But it might be hard to find a more talented medical ninja in this world. Letting her continue is the most suitable arrangement."
He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Although I have already walked down the second path, I am also very happy that there is still someone walking on the path I once walked."
"Tsk. It seems I guessed right," a smile appeared on Black Zetsu's face. "Your heart is still as compassionate as ever."
No matter what, Shirou's heart seemed to always have a soft spot for this world, even as he controlled its most dangerous organization.
"Actually, Konoha's Tsunade is indeed not very suitable," White Zetsu quickly added, following Shirou's lead. "I heard she has accumulated a lot of gambling debts over the years. The casinos are all saying she's a legendary sucker..."