Chapter 91: Black Zetsu's Shadow, Madara's Appearance
"How was it, Jiraiya? I won the bet this time. Remember—you're treating me to dinner."
Arriving at Jiraiya's location, Ling Yu lifted the unconscious One-Tail jinchūriki Bunpuku in his hand and spoke in a boastful tone.
Because he was the battlefield commander, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already left earlier with Hatake Sakumo, heading back to the Konoha camp to tally the casualties from this battle and prepare the next strategy against the Hidden Sand.
Only Jiraiya remained behind to cover Ling Yu's back and help escort the captured jinchūriki—now a war trophy—back to camp.
"Don't worry, I remember. I definitely won't forget."
Jiraiya patted his chest and spoke with certainty.
Even if Ling Yu hadn't brought it up, he would have offered to treat him anyway. In fact, he would have begged to treat him.
With Ling Yu's current strength, his reputation in Konoha was bound to skyrocket in the future. Combined with his handsome appearance, when Jiraiya invited him out to eat, wouldn't a crowd of girls gather around?
At that point, all the pickup techniques Jiraiya had painstakingly mastered would finally have a place to shine.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya's face broke into a perverted grin, drool even starting to drip from the corner of his mouth.
"Eww! Why are you smiling so creepily?"
Ling Yu had no idea about Jiraiya's dirty thoughts. Even if he did, he would never give him any chance—he would absolutely never let any beautiful girl fall into the hands of a perverted old man.
Seeing that lecherous expression, Ling Yu instinctively stepped back, looking at Jiraiya with pure disgust.
"N-nothing, just thinking about something happy."
Noticing his own slip, Jiraiya quickly snapped back to reality.
Then he changed the subject, walked over to Ling Yu, gave him a playful fake punch on the shoulder, and teased with an envious tone:
"You've been hiding it pretty deep, huh? Even awakening the First Hokage's Wood Release—the Sand ninja were so scared they didn't even try to take back the tailed beast and just ran away. Now you've officially become a hero of Konoha."
"What do you mean 'hiding it deep'? It's just that no one has ever been worth me going all out."
Ling Yu shrugged and spoke in a pretentious tone.
Still, he was a little surprised that the Sand ninja had fled. During his fight with Shukaku, he had been too focused, so by the time he returned from the Tailed Beast space, the Sand forces had already disappeared without a trace.
Spreading out Observation Haki, Ling Yu was just about to check how far the Sand ninja had run when suddenly a faint, unfamiliar aura appeared several kilometers away from the battlefield.
When he tried to probe further, that aura vanished completely.
Was the owner of the aura so strong they detected his scan, or was their vigilance simply that sharp?
For a moment, several possibilities flashed through Ling Yu's mind.
"I'll leave the One-Tail jinchūriki to you. I suddenly remembered something I still need to do—heading out first."
To investigate the owner of that aura, Ling Yu tossed Bunpuku to Jiraiya, then used Space Power and disappeared from the spot.
"What the hell? Running off so fast and dumping the One-Tail jinchūriki on me. If he wakes up, there's no way I can handle him."
Catching the flying Bunpuku, Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. To preserve his own life, he first tied Bunpuku up tightly before complaining into the empty air where Ling Yu had just been standing.
…
Several kilometers away from the battlefield
"Tch, he really runs fast. But that lingering Yin-natured chakra signature… if I'm not mistaken, the one spying on me earlier was Black Zetsu."
Arriving near where the target had vanished, Ling Yu saw that the person was already long gone and felt a slight sense of regret.
As expected of an old monster who had lived for thousands of years—Black Zetsu's survival instincts and danger intuition were truly impressive. The moment it realized it had been exposed, it fled without looking back.
And its mind was sharp too—on the same level as Danzō, a true master schemer.
All for the sake of reviving Kaguya, it had been scheming since the very beginning—first manipulating the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths, then Uchiha Madara, orchestrating the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan for thousands of years.
It triggered the Fourth Great Ninja War, toyed with the entire ninja world, and in the end even became the hidden final boss, successfully reviving Kaguya.
"Forget it. As long as I stay more vigilant in the future, there will definitely be a chance to catch it."
Ling Yu sighed helplessly, then turned and left the area.
If he had noticed it earlier, he might have captured it alive and asked about the moon and the Sage of Six Paths—preparing for his next steps.
But unfortunately, the thing's survival skills were too strong. It burrowed straight into the ground and escaped. With that, even his Observation Haki couldn't track it anymore. With no other choice, he had to give up.
…
Meanwhile, hundreds of meters underground far from the battlefield
"Phew… almost got discovered. His detection ability is seriously strong."
Black Zetsu let out a long breath, feeling the tension of having narrowly escaped death.
The moment its intuition sensed it had been detected, Black Zetsu had fled without hesitation, diving nearly a hundred meters underground before finally shaking off Ling Yu's pursuit.
At just ten years old, he was already this monstrous. If Ling Yu were allowed to grow for a few more years, Black Zetsu really wouldn't be able to escape anymore.
"No good. If things continue like this, my plan of thousands of years will go down the drain. I need to go back to Uchiha Madara first—see if he can deal with Senju Ling Yu."
Realizing that Ling Yu had become a massive variable in its plan, Black Zetsu hurriedly thought of countermeasures, intending to use Uchiha Madara to eliminate Ling Yu.
In a dim, spacious underground secret chamber, an old man sat in the center—one who could drop dead at any moment.
This old man was Uchiha Madara, the legendary figure from the same era as Hashirama Senju who had once stood unrivaled in the ninja world.
By now, Madara looked extremely aged—hair completely white, face covered in wrinkles, body gaunt and skeletal. If not for the several tubes connected to the Ten-Tails' husk behind him sustaining his life, he would have died long ago.
Freshly returned from the battlefield, Black Zetsu's figure appeared in the center of the chamber and respectfully approached Uchiha Madara.
"Black Zetsu, why have you come to find me at this hour? What is it?"
Just as Black Zetsu was about to draw near, Madara opened his previously closed eyes.
One eye was completely empty, the eyeball missing. The other was an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan.
Even with only one eye, the killing intent radiating from Madara's gaze and the overwhelming pressure he exuded reached its peak—an aura of natural authority without needing to speak.
"Lord… Lord Madara, a new variable has appeared in the ninja world. Your plan may be affected."
Even after decades together, every time Black Zetsu saw Uchiha Madara in this state, its legs would tremble.
"Just send someone to kill him. Anyone who obstructs my plan—regardless of who—must die."
A trace of contempt flashed in Madara's eyes. Though time had aged his body, the arrogance in Uchiha Madara had never faded.
"B-but… that person's strength is too great. Even if we send peak Kage-level hunters from the black market, they wouldn't be able to defeat him. And he's from the Senju clan—he has already awakened Wood Release ninjutsu."
"Oh? A descendant of Hashirama Senju. Who is it?"
A cold glint flashed in Uchiha Madara's eyes. Mentioning Hashirama Senju instantly intensified the aura around him.
"His name is Senju Ling Yu. He has an older sister named Senju Tsunade. He is only ten years old, yet possesses strength capable of crushing tailed beasts. Rumors say he once wiped out three thousand Rain ninja with a single technique."
After successfully piquing Uchiha Madara's interest, Black Zetsu's lips unconsciously curved upward slightly. It truthfully relayed all of Ling Yu's known information.
"Senju Ling Yu?"
Tap, tap, tap…
Closing his eyes, Uchiha Madara rhythmically tapped his fingers on the earthen chair beneath him, quietly contemplating.
"Keep observing him carefully for now. Make sure to investigate all of his abilities clearly. Once we have enough information, we'll formulate a plan to eliminate him."
Until Ling Yu's full strength was understood, Uchiha Madara still retained some caution. He gave the order to Black Zetsu.
"Yes."
--------------------------------
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield