Chapter 201 (Patreon)

October 25th marked the day both shinobi forces dispatched by Konoha reached their assigned defensive lines.

That same day, acting on Uchiha Madara’s orders, Black Zetsu once again arrived on the outskirts of Konoha.

The alliance of the three great shinobi villages had originally planned to launch a blitzkrieg against the Land of Fire on the 21st. However, the leak of their intelligence, combined with Kizaru’s raid on the Land of Grass, had forced them to alter their plans and postpone the attack until the 27th.

As the man controlling Kirigakure from the shadows, Uchiha Madara was privy to everything concerning the alliance. He had ordered Black Zetsu to infiltrate Konoha ahead of the invasion. Once the war began and the village’s defenses were stretched thin, Black Zetsu was to lead the five White Zetsu already hidden inside Konoha, abduct Nagato, and seize several children from the Uchiha clan.

Before arriving in Konoha, Black Zetsu had been entirely confident in his ability to complete the mission.

He might not have possessed overwhelming strength, but his ability to conceal himself was undoubtedly among the finest in the shinobi world.

Fighting a top-tier shinobi was beyond him, but infiltrating Konoha and abducting a few children should have been simple.

At least, that was what Black Zetsu had believed before he arrived.

The moment he entered Konoha, however, he was dumbfounded.

Where were the White Zetsu?

How could five entire White Zetsu have vanished without a trace?

Hidden deep beneath Konoha, Black Zetsu immediately reached the most likely conclusion: the White Zetsu had been discovered, which meant the village was no longer safe.

Should he withdraw at once and report this to Uchiha Madara, or remain behind and risk completing the mission alone?

Cautious by nature, Black Zetsu deliberated for only a moment before making his decision.

He was leaving.

In the Hokage’s office, Kizaru stood before the open window with both hands in his pockets, gazing out over the village.

War could erupt at any moment. Throughout this period, Kizaru had kept both his Observation Haki and senjutsu perception fully active.

With those two forms of perception working together, his senses encompassed the entire Land of Fire. He had detected Black Zetsu and locked onto his presence long before the creature reached Konoha.

From within the earth, Black Zetsu had first approached Nagato’s home, then moved toward the Uchiha compound.

After lingering there briefly, his presence began moving again—this time toward the village’s outskirts.

He had most likely realized that the five White Zetsu were missing and decided to retreat. Naturally, Kizaru had no intention of allowing him to escape.

“Tanin, I’m stepping out for a moment. If anyone comes looking for me, take care of them.”

Without waiting for Shimura Tanin to answer, Kizaru’s body dissolved into golden light and shot through the open window.

Sitting at the desk in the corner, Tanin watched him disappear and slowly closed the mouth he had just opened.

Kizaru streaked through the sky and, after judging Black Zetsu’s route, reached the forest beyond Konoha before him.

Black Zetsu continued moving through the earth with his subterranean technique, completely unaware that he had already been discovered.

Even after crossing beyond Konoha’s barrier, he did not stop. His cautious nature compelled him to put as much distance as possible between himself and the village.

Kizaru had initially sat down to wait for him. When he realized Black Zetsu had no intention of stopping, however, he chose not to drag him out of the ground. Instead, his lips curved into a sly smile as he leisurely followed from above.

He found himself rather enjoying this little game of cat and mouse.

After following Black Zetsu for more than ten kilometers, even Kizaru’s patience began to wear thin.

Just as he was preparing to reach into the earth and pull him out, Black Zetsu finally stopped beside an enormous lake.

The lake had been created years ago when Kizaru opened seven of the Eight Gates while practicing one of his strongest attacks outside the village.

Kizaru descended from the sky and landed directly above Black Zetsu’s position. Concealing his presence, he kept his hands in his pockets and smiled down at the ground as he waited for Black Zetsu to emerge.

Black Zetsu did not disappoint him.

Convinced that he had finally reached safety, he began rising from deep within the earth.

As he approached the surface, one question continued to occupy his mind.

Who had discovered the White Zetsu? Could it have been Konoha’s Golden Flash, Shimura Kizaru?

No, that was impossible. If Kizaru had been the one to detect them, the White Zetsu should have been discovered back in the Land of Rain.

Still pondering how they had been exposed, Black Zetsu finally poked his head above the ground.

“Oooh How scary!”

Kizaru stood over him, his long legs straight and both hands tucked into the pockets of his suit pants. He leaned forward slightly, the smile on his face growing wider by the second.

His body blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow over the ground. Black Zetsu had only just emerged when he found himself staring directly into Kizaru’s face, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“Hello there~.”

When Black Zetsu failed to respond, Kizaru removed one hand from his pocket and casually waved.

“Y-You...”

Black Zetsu’s initial shock quickly gave way to tension. With Kizaru watching him, his thoughts raced as he desperately searched for a way out of the situation.

Should he run?

Could he escape?

The instant those questions entered his mind, instinct took over. Like a turtle jerking its head back into its shell at the first sign of danger, Black Zetsu plunged into the ground and attempted to flee once more.

He was fast, but Kizaru was faster.

The surrounding wilderness was completely uninhabited, so Kizaru had no reason to restrain himself as he would inside the village. He raised his right foot, and golden light gathered beneath the sole of his shoe.

The instant Black Zetsu’s head vanished beneath the surface, Kizaru brought his glowing foot down.

A deep boom reverberated through the area.

The moment his foot struck the ground, the earth collapsed around the point of impact. Cracks spread outward like a vast spiderweb as stone and dust erupted into the air.

In an instant, the land surrounding Kizaru became a massive crater. Black Zetsu, unable to evade the force while underground, was hurled back to the surface along with a wave of shattered rock.

The White Zetsu body he had possessed was not particularly durable. Under the tremendous force of Kizaru’s strike, it broke apart into pieces of varying sizes.

Black Zetsu immediately abandoned the ruined husk. His black, liquid-like body separated from the White Zetsu and slithered into one of the cracks, attempting to disappear underground again.

“If you keep running, you can forget about ever saving your mother~.”

Kizaru continued smiling as his senses remained firmly locked onto Black Zetsu’s true body.

The creature froze for the briefest instant. Confusion, anger, tension, and a faint trace of fear surged through him all at once.

Why had Kizaru mentioned his mother?

How much did he know?

Despite the questions racing through his mind, Black Zetsu resumed moving and tried to burrow deeper.

“Do you still want to save her or not~?” Kizaru asked bluntly.

This time, Black Zetsu stopped completely.

“That’s right. I know quite a lot~. I know that fool Uchiha Madara has been dancing in the palm of your hand all this time. You’re the true mastermind lurking behind the shinobi world.”

As Kizaru spoke, he manipulated the natural energy in the surrounding area, shaping it into a barrier that isolated them from the outside world.

Black Zetsu emerged from the fissure and flowed across the ground until his liquid form stopped in front of Kizaru.

“Who are you?” he demanded, staring up at him. “How can you possibly know any of this?”

Even as he asked the question, Black Zetsu was desperately trying to answer it himself.

Even Hagoromo and Hamura, those two detestable traitors, had never known of his existence. How could Kizaru, an ordinary human, know secrets that had remained hidden for more than a thousand years?

Kizaru did not answer immediately. Still wearing the same smile, he lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged.

“Why don’t you take a guess~?”

Black Zetsu stared at him in disbelief.

Was he a child? What kind of answer was that?

Suppressing his irritation, Black Zetsu changed his question.

“Why reveal any of this? What are you after?”

“In a certain sense, your mother and I share a common enemy~.”

Kizaru deliberately kept his answer vague. He wanted to determine how much Black Zetsu knew about the Ōtsutsuki clan.

“The Sage of Six Paths? That bastard Hagoromo?”

At the mention of enemies, Black Zetsu’s thoughts immediately turned to Hagoromo and Hamura, the two sons who had betrayed their own mother.

“Then it seems you don’t know~.” Kizaru regarded him with an inscrutable smile.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Black Zetsu felt as though every answer had only left him with more questions.

“You’re still young. Ask your mother after you save her~,” Kizaru said with the indulgent air of an elder speaking to a child.

Young?

Black Zetsu had existed for more than a thousand years! Yet this boy, who had not even reached adulthood, dared to call him young?

Both furious and anxious, Black Zetsu pressed him again.

“What do you want?”

“I was thinking I might become your father~,” Kizaru replied with a teasing smile.

Black Zetsu stared at him, his mind going completely blank.

“You bastard! Are you playing with me?”

Black Zetsu might not have possessed much power of his own, but he had always believed that if he truly wanted to flee, he could escape even Kizaru’s pursuit.

Kizaru burst into laughter.

“Oh, come now. It was only a joke~.”

“Then what is your real reason for telling me all this?”

“To save your mother, you must gather all nine Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and use the Rinnegan to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Am I wrong~?”

Black Zetsu’s unease deepened into genuine alarm.

Kizaru knew every condition required to free his mother. Black Zetsu could not begin to imagine where he had obtained such knowledge or what his true identity might be.

“There’s no use denying it. We both know I’m right~,” Kizaru continued. “Work with me and follow my instructions. You help me, and I’ll help you.”

“Why should I trust you?” Black Zetsu asked. The only beings he trusted were himself and his mother. “You’re a shinobi too. You know what will happen if all chakra is taken away.”

“Chakra? I stopped relying on that a long time ago~.”

Kizaru spoke as though he were commenting on something utterly insignificant.

Black Zetsu carefully examined his body with his senses. To his astonishment, there truly was not a single trace of chakra within Kizaru.

“Besides, you still don’t seem to understand your position,” Kizaru added. “Without my support, you have no chance of saving your mother~.”

Black Zetsu resented those words, but he knew Kizaru was right. At the very least, while Kizaru remained alive, completing his plan would be nearly impossible.

No matter how powerful Kizaru was, however, he was still human. He could live for a century at most. Once he died, Black Zetsu could simply resume his plan. Waiting a little longer meant nothing to someone who had already endured a thousand years.

“You will grow old and die eventually.”

“Oooh That is a good point.” Kizaru slowly raised one hand. “Then I suppose I’ll seal you away today.”

“Wait! We can work together!” Black Zetsu shouted at once.

Kizaru stopped extending his hand and smiled at him.

“Then why were you acting so stubborn~?”

“I...”

Black Zetsu had been forced into one humiliating position after another ever since arriving in Konoha. The frustration was almost unbearable.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Keep assisting Uchiha Madara. Turn him into the greatest villain in the shinobi world and make certain all that hatred remains fixed on him~.”

Listening to Kizaru’s words and studying the smile on his face, Black Zetsu suddenly sensed something familiar.

The boy before him was unquestionably a ruthless schemer.

From a certain point of view, Black Zetsu was a remarkably pure being. He had no desire for wealth, no interest in pleasure, no appetite for food, and no ambition to rule the world.

From the moment of his birth, he had lived for a single purpose: freeing his mother.

That made cooperation with him rather simple. Help Black Zetsu save his mother, and he would become your “good friend.”

Kizaru knew nearly every secret in the shinobi world, so reaching a verbal agreement with Black Zetsu proved surprisingly easy.

For a conspirator like Black Zetsu, whose greatest strengths were his secrecy and ability to survive, having both his existence and his hidden purpose exposed meant losing his greatest advantages.

If Kizaru chose to oppose him deliberately, Black Zetsu’s plan to free his mother would have no hope of succeeding for several centuries, perhaps even longer.

Cooperation could benefit both sides. Resistance, on the other hand, would end in Black Zetsu’s complete defeat. He understood this perfectly. Even if he only pretended to cooperate, he had no choice but to obey Kizaru for the time being.

“The three great shinobi villages plan to attack the Land of Fire before dawn on the 27th,” Black Zetsu revealed. “They will advance from the east and west and strike Konoha from both directions at the same time.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Black Zetsu betrayed the alliance.

“Uchiha Madara orchestrated their cooperation, but he has no faith that those three villages will succeed. He only wants to use the war to weaken the fighting strength of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. That will make it easier for his successor to gather all nine Tailed Beasts in the future.”

“Has Uchiha Madara already chosen a successor~?”

“No. None of the Uchiha’s current generation meet his standards. He plans to wait until the war begins and Konoha’s internal defenses are weakened. Then I am to abduct several children from the Uchiha clan, take them to his underground base, and allow him to train them himself.”

“That old man doesn’t have long left, does he~?”

“No. His remaining lifespan is short. In a few years, he may only be able to keep himself alive through the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.”

“So you came to Konoha to abduct Nagato, who possesses the Rinnegan, along with several children from the Uchiha clan~?”

“Yes.”

Black Zetsu could not keep the bitterness from his voice. His luck had been abysmal. He had barely arrived in Konoha before being caught by this troublesome young schemer.

Kizaru nodded but asked no further questions. Instead, he began considering how best to use Black Zetsu to thrust Uchiha Madara into the spotlight and make the old man bear all the hatred this war would create.

“Once the war begins, find a way to bring Uchiha Madara to Konoha. Ideally, I want him to launch an attack on the village~.”

Black Zetsu hesitated.

“Uchiha Madara will not come. He has aged too much, and he knows he is no match for you. He will not take that risk.”

“And if I’m away from the village~?” Kizaru asked with a smile.

“You’re too fast. Everyone in the shinobi world knows that. Leaving the village changes nothing when you can return almost immediately. Uchiha Madara still won’t risk it.”

Kizaru rubbed the back of his head with a helpless expression. For the first time, he discovered that possessing too much strength and fame could occasionally be inconvenient.

“Why are you so determined to make Uchiha Madara attack Konoha?” Black Zetsu asked.

“I intend to unify the entire shinobi world~,” Kizaru replied without attempting to conceal it.

“Then why not act directly? With your power combined with Konoha’s, every other shinobi village could join forces and still fail to defeat you.”

“You don’t understand. I want the support of the people~.”

Had the difference in their strength not been so overwhelming, Black Zetsu would have told Kizaru exactly what he thought.

The boy had to be delusional.

He intended to conquer and rule the other nations, yet he still expected their people to support him?

“Unless you use genjutsu, that is impossible,” Black Zetsu declared. After living for more than a thousand years, he had witnessed far too much human deceit and corruption to believe otherwise.

“That is why I need a target—someone who can draw all that hatred away from Konoha and me. Uchiha Madara will destroy the other villages and nations and become the greatest villain in the shinobi world. Then Konoha and I will appear as the heroes who saved everyone~.”

With that explanation, Black Zetsu finally understood the purpose behind Kizaru’s earlier demand—and why he had seemed so troubled when Black Zetsu said it could not be done.

“Uchiha Madara’s goal is to become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, placing everyone in the world inside an eternal genjutsu and bringing what he considers true peace. Unless it is necessary for collecting the Tailed Beasts, he will not attack shinobi villages or nations without reason.”

“If I give you the Rinnegan to take back, could you persuade Uchiha Madara to risk everything in one final battle against me before he dies~?”

Kizaru had long been considering whether to remove the Rinnegan from Nagato.

In his view, the eyes brought more harm than good to Nagato, who now had a loving family and a peaceful life.

The transplanted Rinnegan was simply too powerful for anyone other than its original owner, Uchiha Madara, to wield without consequence. Even with the Uzumaki clan’s vitality, Nagato could not use it for extended periods without placing an immense burden on his body.

Nagato’s own talent as a shinobi was already exceptional. In the original timeline, he had mastered every chakra nature transformation except Yin Release by the age of ten.

The Rinnegan had undoubtedly helped him achieve that, but Nagato’s natural ability was unquestionably among the finest in the shinobi world.

Kizaru had brought Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan to Konoha partly because of his habit of gathering exceptional talent and partly because he wanted to prevent the tragedies that had awaited them.

He was certain that if the Nagato from the original timeline had been given a choice between the Rinnegan and the life he now possessed, Nagato would have chosen this life without hesitation.

“Even knowing where the Rinnegan came from and what it can do, you’re willing to return it to Madara?” Black Zetsu asked.

“I’m something of a clean freak~. Leaving someone else’s eyes inside Nagato’s body has never sat well with me.”

“If you are truly willing to let me take the Rinnegan back, then there is a strong chance Uchiha Madara will risk everything to eliminate you before he dies.”

Privately, Black Zetsu hoped that was exactly what would happen once Uchiha Madara reclaimed his eyes.

If Uchiha Madara managed to kill Kizaru, Black Zetsu’s plan could return to its original course.

Compared with cooperating with someone who knew every one of his secrets, deceiving Uchiha Madara was far easier.

Of course, if Kizaru truly killed Uchiha Madara, it would prove that his power had reached the level of the Six Paths—or perhaps even surpassed it. Cooperating with someone that powerful could also provide Black Zetsu with a path to freeing his mother.

Kizaru smiled down at the black, liquid-like creature before him. He could roughly guess what Black Zetsu was thinking.

“For now, you’ll remain in Konoha. Once the war begins, I’ll choose the proper moment and allow you to leave with the Rinnegan~.”

“Understood.”

Black Zetsu had no right to refuse.