Black Zetsu: Quack! I Can't Die, Fangs!

He immediately noticed that Uchiha Obito was in bad shape. He looked utterly miserable, and even one of his hands was no longer his own.

"It succeeded, but it also failed. Something unexpected happened."

Uchiha Obito looked at Black Zetsu, shook his head, then told him what had happened to the Uchiha Clan.

After hearing Uchiha Obito's account, Black Zetsu fell silent, unsure what to say.

What a mess. A clan extermination plan that had seemed foolproof had actually gone so wrong. Uchiha Itachi had even lost his life. Two useless fools!

"The Mangekyō Sharingan has flaws, Obito. Are you sure the Uchiha Clan has been destroyed? Is only that one person left?"

After a moment of silence, Black Zetsu asked.

He needed to ensure the plan proceeded normally. This newly emerged Uchiha was too powerful. He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan only moments ago, yet he had fought two opponents alone and even killed one of them. It was absurd. Such a powerful man might cause trouble for Black Zetsu's plans in the future.

"I'm sure. At that time, the Uchiha Clan members had basically all been slaughtered. Once that guy's Dōryoku is nearly exhausted, I'll definitely kill that madman!"

Uchiha Obito nodded and spoke bitterly. He had never imagined that a simple clan extermination operation would produce such a damned variable. Why couldn't those damned people just obediently wait to die and contribute to his ultimate plan?

Damn it!

"That's good, then. No matter how strong that guy is, he only has a Mangekyō Sharingan. With the Uchiha Clan exterminated, he is destined to never attain the true Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."

Black Zetsu nodded, inwardly relieved. He should not have felt nervous. After all, it was only an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. But this man's combat power was astonishing. He had activated Susanoo immediately after awakening, killed Uchiha Itachi, and even forced Obito into a desperate situation. He was simply a monster.

If someone like that obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, it would be extremely detrimental to Black Zetsu's plans.

"Still, perhaps I won't need to do anything. With such a huge commotion, Shimura Danzō and the others won't just stand by. That guy may already be dead."

As if recalling something, Uchiha Obito spoke with some regret.

"Then let's go to Konoha and take a look. We might even obtain a new pair of Mangekyō Sharingan."

Black Zetsu nodded and suggested it.

"Alright!"

Uchiha Obito nodded. He raised the severed hand from earlier. White Zetsu's flesh and blood possessed tremendous vitality; it had only been attached for a short time, yet he could already feel it. He could even form hand seals a little.

Before long, the two arrived in the Land of Fire at tremendous speed, afraid that if they were too slow, Uchiha Yue would be completely killed by Konoha's people and those Mangekyō Sharingan would be destroyed as well.

Not long after...

"This is... Konoha?"

Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu stared blankly at Konoha.

Konoha was now completely deserted. Bone-piercing cold enveloped the entire village, and the chill continued to spread. Snow had begun to fall from the sky. The moon was clearly visible overhead, yet no moonlight shone down. The whole of Konoha was incomparably dark.

Looking up, they could see indistinct moonlight flowing through the sky like streams of light, as well as a massive, blurry humanoid shadow.

"How did it become like this? Something's wrong!"

Uchiha Obito stared blankly at the scene before him. It was completely different from what he had imagined. In his imagination, that man should have gone mad and started fighting Shimura Danzō and the others. Either they would have stopped, with Hiruzen Sarutobi coming out to mediate, or they would have continued fighting, with him taking on all of Konoha alone and entering a near-death state. Then Obito and Black Zetsu would wait for an opportunity to seize those Mangekyō Sharingan.

But what was going on now?

Why had Konoha become a field of ruins?

And what was that thing in the sky? What they were seeing had completely exceeded Uchiha Obito's expectations.

It had also exceeded Black Zetsu's expectations.

"Obito, this is the guy you mentioned? Are you sure he's from your Uchiha Clan? Are you sure that is a Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Black Zetsu looked at the scene before him and spoke in disbelief. Such power had already completely surpassed the limits of what the Mangekyō Sharingan could achieve. In his memory, even Uchiha Madara could not accomplish this. Perhaps Madara could temporarily contend with a village alone, but he absolutely could not spread his power across such a vast range.

"I... I don't know!"

Uchiha Obito shook his head, then looked toward the blurry figure in the sky. Even he was no longer certain.

At that moment, the field of force spread over them, and the power within Obito and Black Zetsu's bodies began to drain uncontrollably.

"Not good!"

Black Zetsu abruptly burrowed into the ground. When he discovered it was useless, he immediately rushed beyond the range of the energy-devouring force field.

"Damn it, what kind of ability is this? It can... it can even absorb the power within my body!"

Not long after, Black Zetsu stared grimly at the place where he had just stood. He was different from ordinary living beings; he had no true physical body. He was a mass of special Chakra. For others, that energy extraction would merely drain the energy within their bodies. Even if more than half their energy was drained, as long as they were alive, they could escape and recover for a while to survive.

But Black Zetsu was different. His body itself was made of Chakra. What that thing extracted was the Chakra that formed his body. Taking only a little was fine, but if too much was extracted, his body would collapse directly, and he would die on the spot.

"I'll die!"

Black Zetsu raised his head and looked at the figure in the sky. For the first time in all these years, he felt the threat of death. If he stayed inside for any longer, his body would definitely collapse and he would die there.

A monster. A true monster!

Fear flashed through Black Zetsu's eyes. He could not die. He was Mother's hope. If he died, who would revive Mother?

Get away from here. Get away from that monster!

"Zetsu, did you feel it too? Once you're enveloped by that power, the power inside your body drains uncontrollably. I have a feeling that if we go deeper in, even if we do nothing, as long as we can't escape in time, the final outcome will be death."

At that moment, Uchiha Obito also rushed over, still shaken by what had happened. Judging by the rate at which the energy in his body had drained just now...