Naruto Uzumaki tilted his head, unsure if his ears were playing tricks on him or if Black Zetsu's brain was broken. As someone who had personally witnessed the monstrous power of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, he found it hard to take Black Zetsu's words seriously.
This guy must be trying to fool me just like he fooled Sasuke, Naruto thought.
Black Zetsu, completely unaware of Naruto's thoughts, launched into a tragic tale of a mother and son torn apart by war.
"My mother wanted nothing to do with the world," Black Zetsu began. "She longed for a simple, quiet life. She was always an innocent woman, but she never imagined that the disaster of war would one day find her. That day, a brutal war broke out and lasted for months. The place where my mother lived was completely destroyed. I was just one step too late, only a few hundred meters away from her, but I could only watch helplessly as she was taken from me."
He paused, looking up at the sky. "From then on, I often looked up at the stars, so that my mother could watch me from above—watch me fulfill her dying wish… to change this world, so that conflict and war will never appear in the ninja world again, and people can live in peace forever."
It had to be said, Black Zetsu's rhetoric was quite good. After the half-true, half-false speech, Naruto surprisingly couldn't find any flaws. He felt that what Black Zetsu said made a lot of sense, yet at the same time, he felt that something was not quite right.
The Fifth Hokage looked at Black Zetsu and asked softly, "But the constant wars in the ninja world… haven't they all been because of you?"
"Hmm?"
Black Zetsu's mind snapped to attention. A moment later, it slowly breathed a sigh of relief. It was just trying to recruit a powerful ally but had nearly scared itself into a cold sweat. How could this kid, Naruto Uzumaki, have spoken the truth so casually? At his age, it was impossible for him to know such a thing. No, strictly speaking, other than itself, no one should know the truth.
Naruto noticed the look in Black Zetsu's eyes, patted his own forehead, and said in a deep voice, "Sorry, I'm still not very good at lying. A bit out of practice. Let me start over… uh, the recent wars in the ninja world, weren't they all started by the Akatsuki?"
"..."
A series of question marks seemed to appear above Black Zetsu's head. "Lord Hokage's understanding is a bit one-sided. I wonder what information you have?"
"I know some things about the Akatsuki," Naruto said, tapping his arm. "Starting last year, the Akatsuki began moving frequently in pairs, assassinating important figures, attacking small countries, and instigating wars between small ninja villages…"
"That is the means by which the Akatsuki seeks to achieve peace through war," Black Zetsu praised him with a sinister tone. "We hadn't found a suitable path, but seeing your boldness in trying to unify the ninja world, Lord Hokage, we have discovered another possibility. Unifying the entire world can also resolve long-standing disputes."
"I wouldn't believe that," the Fifth Hokage sighed, feeling that he was not as eloquent as Black Zetsu. "After all, the Konoha S-rank rogue ninja Itachi Uchiha and the Mist's Kisame Hoshigaki, who were taken in by the Akatsuki, have repeatedly invaded Konoha and killed the high-ranking official Danzō Shimura…"
"With all due respect, shouldn't this matter be more beneficial to you, Lord Hokage?" The smile on Black Zetsu's face widened as it chuckled. "As far as I know, Danzō Shimura was always plotting against you, repeatedly using his position for personal gain to realize his ambitions. Rather than calling this the Akatsuki's fault, it's more like a fortunate accident—a gift from our organization to you."
"..."
Naruto didn't know what to say. Black Zetsu's words were incredibly persuasive. For a moment, he almost wanted to believe them.
Unfortunately, what's fake is ultimately fake.
"Forget it, let's talk openly!" Naruto scratched his hair. A vine instantly shot out from under his feet, grabbing Zetsu's body and lifting it into the air.
A look of surprise flashed across Zetsu's face, but it wasn't panicked. Black Zetsu could turn into a pool of liquid and leave at any time. It looked down at Naruto. "Lord Hokage, what is the meaning of this?"
"The initiative must be held in one's own hands," Naruto said, watching Zetsu's expression as he tapped his own forehead.
Inside the sealing space, the Nine-Tails clenched its claws. "Naruto, without Yin Release chakra, there's no way to control it…"
"Sealing Art: Devour can kill it," Naruto replied.
"But this guy might know some things about the enemies from beyond the heavens." The Nine-Tails shook its head, advising against it. A moment later, a smile crept onto its face. "Hey, Naruto, join them. Find a way to get information from it. Use it to unify the entire ninja world!"
"Kurama, I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha!"
"So what? Don't forget your purpose!"
"But Black Zetsu's words are very persuasive…" Naruto hesitated. "Just now, we both knew it was lying, but if I didn't know its identity, I might have unconsciously believed it."
The Nine-Tails' eye twitched. "Are you not good with words? We both know its purpose is just to revive Kaguya… If your power is strong enough, you can also use the Tenseigan to split the moon and pry some information about the enemies from beyond the heavens out of Kaguya's mouth."
"You… have a point." Naruto never thought he'd be persuaded by the Nine-Tails one day.
Outside the sealing space, Zetsu's body was trapped by the vine. It just looked at Naruto, its thoughts unknown, but it was likely thinking about how to continue fooling this new Fifth Hokage. Naruto also looked up at Zetsu, thinking carefully about how to make Black Zetsu and the Akatsuki his workers.
"What can the Akatsuki do for me?" Naruto asked.
"A lot," Black Zetsu replied, a smile immediately appearing on its face. It let out a sinister laugh. "Gathering intelligence, fabricating evidence, assassinating political enemies…"
"..."
Naruto felt that what Black Zetsu said sounded familiar. After a moment, he realized—wasn't this the former work of Danzō Shimura's Root?
As expected, no matter the era, once you become Hokage, you inevitably get tainted by some dark methods. In the future, it was always Sasuke who helped him handle these troublesome matters.
Naruto frowned. "I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. I can't have any connection with a rogue ninja organization…"
"That's not a problem," Black Zetsu said, shaking its head with a chuckle. "In the entire Akatsuki, not many people will know about you, Lord Hokage. The Akatsuki will act as the public enemy of Konoha. At that time, Konoha only needs to use the pretext of striking the Akatsuki to attack any organization that colludes with them."
"..."
As expected of Black Zetsu, Naruto thought. It had already found a suitable method of operation for him so quickly. As one of the five great ninja villages, it was theoretically fine for Konoha to strike at an anti-social organization.
Naruto nodded. "If so, unifying the ninja world and ending the wars can be achieved very soon…"
"No, it's not enough," Black Zetsu said, slowly shaking its head. "Besides the complete Nine-Tails jinchuriki inside you, Lord Hokage, the Tailed Beasts, as the root of war and chaos, must also be imprisoned and watched over… Coincidentally, our organization is also making efforts in this area and can even completely kill the Tailed Beasts, removing the possibility of their revival."
-----
Bonus:
Naruto: The fox's tail is showing, isn't it!
Nine-Tails: ???
Naruto: I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about Black Zetsu!
Black Zetsu:coughs This is all for the peace of the ninja world!
Naruto: Tsk tsk tsk, how about this? The Nine-Tails in my body is only half. The other half is in the Reaper Death God's stomach. You guys find a way to kill that half too, to avoid it reviving in the future.
Black Zetsu: Alright, we'll go figure it out!
Naruto: Mm-hmm, let me know when you do.
Black Zetsu: Don't worry, no problem