Black Zetsu: Is He Hagoromo's Child, or Hamura's?

Awoo~

Watching the wolf pack gather again, along with the alpha wolf that had lowered its head and wagged its tail.

Menma could not help but laugh.

In some ways, beasts were more sensitive than humans.

Long before the battle had begun, the pack of wolves had already hidden in a cave.

Only after the battle ended had they dared to emerge.

"Go on, have your fill."

Menma left those words behind and started walking toward the Leaf Village.

The wolves lowered their heads and made a path for him.

Only after Menma had passed through the pack and left the forest did the alpha wolf raise its head.

"Awwooo!"

The alpha wolf let out a howl, and the other wolves no longer held themselves back, charging toward the "food" they had coveted for so long.

They stepped through pools of blood, tearing at the ninja corpses with claws and fangs.

One wolf, however, broke away from the pack and followed the scent deeper into the forest, only stopping when it found a corpse.

Just as the wolf was about to take a bite.

A pitcher-plant-shaped thing suddenly emerged from a tree and swallowed it whole.

"Awooo..."

The scream quickly faded, followed by the sound of chewing.

Crunch~ Crunch~

Gulp!

"That was terrifying. Good thing we didn't rush out earlier and only watched from afar."

After swallowing the wolf, the pitcher plant actually spoke, its tone filled with human-like fear.

At the same time, it revealed a strange face split evenly between black and white.

White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu possessing White Zetsu's body.

"Is this Hagoromo's bloodline, or Hamura's?"

As he watched Menma's retreating figure, Black Zetsu's half of the face was grave.

Even though he had hidden far away inside a tree using the Mayfly Technique, he could still estimate the terror of that attack.

That Ultra High Quality Chakra Ball, compressed and condensed, had such violent energy fluctuations, yet it remained as stable as a Tailed Beast Ball. Its power was even greater than the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Ball.

Even this White Zetsu body, with its formidable vitality, would be instantly obliterated if it approached recklessly.

And that Summoning Technique he had never seen before...

"When did such a powerful expert appear in the Shinobi World?"

Black Zetsu pondered inwardly, but he could not find anyone who matched the description.

Aside from that unusual Summoning Technique, there were no identifying marks on that person at all.

"I need to report this to Madara as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zetsu once again merged himself with the earth, grass, and trees.

He then traveled freely through networks of organic matter, such as underground plant roots and flowing groundwater.

The Mayfly Technique allowed him to move at high speed to any location, completely cutting off all traces of his presence while the jutsu was active.

It was precisely with this powerful technique that he had become an official member of the Akatsuki.

A while later.

"What happened here...?"

A hundred Cloud Ninja appeared at the battlefield. Their bodies trembled as they stared at the scene before them, frozen in place and at a loss.

The battle was already over. Only the unrecognizable surroundings silently told of the unspeakable brutality that had taken place.

At that moment, a Cloud Ninja jonin stepped forward and shouted, "What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and find Lord A and the others!"

The others came to their senses and immediately scattered, searching through the wreckage for useful information and survivors.

But no matter how they searched, all they found were incomplete corpses.

Without exception, every one of them was a Cloud Ninja.

"Lord A and Lord B haven't been found?!" The Cloud Ninja jonin began to panic as well.

Could it be that Lord A and the others...

But just as panic rose in his heart.

"Over here..."

A weak call came from nearby, and the Cloud Ninjas immediately rushed toward the sound.

The Fourth Raikage was leaning against a tree, while Killer B had collapsed beside him, completely unconscious.

"Lord A! Lord A, hold on! We'll take you back to camp for treatment right away!"

A Cloud Village jonin helped the Fourth Raikage up, only to hear him weakly say, "Retreat..."

"What...?"

The Cloud Village jonin wanted to ask more, but the Fourth Raikage had already passed out completely.

At that moment, dozens of jonin had gathered in Konoha's Meeting Room.

Seated at the head were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and...

The leader of Root, Shimura Danzō.

"Two hours ago, we received word that several hundred ninja stationed in Moon Valley were killed by the Cloud Village's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

Danzō was the first to break the Meeting Room's silence. The jonin froze for a moment before various strange expressions appeared on their faces.

"How dare the Cloud Village do such a thing?!"

The hot-tempered Inuzuka Clan jonin looked furious, nearly slamming his hand on the table as he rose.

Hyuga Hiashi's gaze flickered, his expression complicated as he momentarily did not know whether to be happy or saddened.

Meanwhile, Nara Shikaku, seated nearby, furrowed his brow tightly and stared fixedly at Danzō.

But Danzō spoke again. "I propose that the results of the previous meeting's vote be voided and that we hold another vote to decide whether to go to war with the Cloud Village."

The instant he made this proposal, the previously noisy Meeting Room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi at the head of the table.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched, leaving him speechless.

Other than agreeing, what else could he do?

The matter with the Hyuga Clan had clearly already been settled. As long as they handed over Hizashi Hyuga as a scapegoat, they could prevent the Byakugan from being leaked and avert war.

But now...

Hiruzen cast Danzō an apparently casual glance and silently sighed.

No wonder you didn't go to the Hyuga Clan. Danzō, was this your plan?

But if you really did this, then you've gone too far this time.

A hundred Konoha Ninja—even if they were only genin and chunin—were losses he could never accept.

Though there was no concrete evidence, Danzō's shadow most likely lay behind this matter.

In the end, the jonin vote's result did not surprise Hiruzen.

"Very good."

Even Danzō's corpse-like rigid face broke into a smile. "Then send another two thousand ninja to the Moon Valley front, while continuing to intensify the public outcry. We'll crush the Cloud Village completely through both military strength and public sentiment..."

Just as Danzō rose energetically, intending to leave—

Bang!

An ANBU suddenly pushed open the door, walked to Hiruzen, and handed him a scroll.

"Lord Hokage, intelligence from the front lines."

Thinking the Cloud Village had deployed troops again, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll with a frown.

There was not much written on the scroll—only four words.

Yet those four words left Hiruzen visibly stunned.

"The Cloud Village has retreated!"

The other jonin were also momentarily dumbfounded.

"How is that possible?!"

Danzō snatched the scroll over in disbelief and inspected it from top to bottom.

But no matter how he looked at it, there were still only four words.

The Cloud Village has retreated!

Creak—

Danzō clenched the scroll in his hand, and his expression gradually twisted.

"That masked bastard!! He actually dared to toy with me?!"