"Father!!!"
In the next instant, Black Zetsu flashed through the air and rushed into Gawain's sleeve with lightning speed.
Black Zetsu doesn't have a normal body; everything about him is like a shadow, capable of existing in any darkness and perfectly blending into it.
Seeing Black Zetsu's actions, Gawain made no attempt to dodge.
On one hand, Gawain didn't think Black Zetsu needed to hurt him.
On the other hand, even if Black Zetsu were to exhaust himself, he wouldn't be able to harm himself in his current state.
So, Gawain gently lifted the sleeve through which Black Zetsu had entered and asked with a smile.
"It seems you've uncovered quite a bit."
That's true. On the very day I returned to the Shinobi World, after a brief battle, I sensed a peculiar aura hidden near the Valley of the End.
Although I wasn't sure what you were at that time, I could tell that you were very interested in the Wood Release I used.
Of course, back then, the underground wasn't you; it was a messy, white mess.
As for what happened next, I sensed your presence near the underground space of the Hokage Tower. This presence was very clear to me; unlike that white thing, you carried a strong Kaguya aura.
I initially wanted to arrest you and interrogate you, but after thinking about it, I felt it was necessary to keep an eye on your movements.
After all, I also worry that you might be some kind of backup plan left behind by Hagoromo and Hamura, those two rebellious sons who sealed their mother away?
But just now, after I realized you seemed to be sending me signals to meet up, I changed my mind.
Even in the Pure Land, those two rebellious sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, dare not speak to me.
Since you at least dared to contact me, it seems you don't have much of a relationship with Hagoromo and Hamura.
You're so weak, yet you still manage to survive in the Shinobi World. Clearly, Hagoromo is unaware of your existence.
In that case, you are probably some kind of backup plan left behind by Kaguya.
You are Kaguya's creation, Kaguya is naturally your mother. For Kaguya's sake, I am also willing to accept you as my child.
Only...
You must be over a thousand years old!
Still so weak, this won't do.
Perfect timing, you only have Kaguya's scent on you right now.
"I'll also give you a portion of my chakra, and mark you with my seal, so you'll truly become a child of Kaguya and me."
Before Black Zetsu be shocked, Gawain casually slapped at him.
The next moment, before Black Zetsu could even utter a cry of surprise, he felt an incredibly turbulent surge of chakra rush into his body.
Amidst the intense pain of his entire body being filled with energy, Black Zetsu was surprised to find six jet-black Truth -Truth-Seeking Balls suddenly appearing around him.
At the same time, a black Six Paths Robe appeared on his body!
Even so, Black Zetsu still felt that his chakra had nowhere to go, so he instinctively stretched out his right hand.
Black currents gathered in the air, and he finally grasped a black and white tin staff in his hand!
Feeling the unimaginable power he was experiencing, Black Zetsu's eyes widened.
He stared at Gawain for a while, then suddenly knelt down and hugged Gawain's right leg with a thud.
"Dad, I've been waiting for you for so long!!!"
As soon as Gawain appeared, Black Zetsu rushed over to check on him. Gawain was right; he was indeed very sensitive to Wood Release.
After some investigation, Black Zetsu uncovered the unimaginable truth: when his mother created him, she did indeed ask him to save her while also keeping an eye on his father's return.
However, even after a thousand years, Black Zetsu still believed that his father was just some kind of delusion of his mother, because no matter how Black Zetsu investigated, he could only prove that the so-called father only appeared in history for about a month.
Does a father really exist?
A thousand years later, Gawain's appearance gave him a glimmer of hope, but Black Zetsu still dared not easily believe it.
But now...
Feeling the power within him, Black Zetsu was completely convinced!
If it wasn't his father, then who would give him such power, comparable to Hagoromo and Hamura!
Only a father who truly loves his son would be willing to let him receive the same treatment as his two unruly and rebellious older brothers!
At this moment, Black Zetsu, holding Gawain, felt an unimaginable sense of grievance.
A thousand years!
My mother has been sealed away for a full thousand years!
How much your mother must miss you!
"Father, Hagoromo and Hamura... they betrayed Mother, they betrayed you, they sealed Mother on the moon!"
My mother is suffering endless pain on the moon. You must rescue her and make those two wicked brothers who defied their master pay the price!
For years, I have been searching for a way to save my mother, and I have not succeeded in the past thousand years, but now I have hope of success.
My futile efforts are utterly insignificant compared to your immense strength, Father!
Please, Father, rescue Mother! Don't let her continue to suffer the torment of loneliness!!!
Father, oooooooooooooooooooo!!!!"
With a series of heartfelt sobs, Black Zetsu cried out all the grievances he had suffered over the past thousand years.
Who knows how much he suffered?
As his uncle, he has been constantly bossed around and verbally abused by his nephew Indra for the past few years!
When his mother created him, he was already on the verge of being sealed away by Hagoromo and Hamura, so she couldn't give him much power.
Over the years, I haven't enjoyed the love of my father and mother, and as an elder in the entire Shinobi World, I've mastered the art of playing the Sun Tzu to perfection.
It's so hard for me!!!
Hearing Black Zetsu's cries, Gawain nodded gently.
In the entire Naruto manga, the most righteous person is undoubtedly this dark-skinned guy in front of you.
He's someone no comic book reader could criticize.
As a child entrusted with a mission in a time of crisis, Black Zetsu has been trying to rescue his mother for over a thousand years.
If the story of Black Zetsu rescuing his mother were replaced with a myth or legend, it would be just as worthy of praise as Yang Jian splitting Peach Mountain and Chen Xiang splitting Mount Hua.
Thinking this, Gawain gently patted Black Zetsu's head.
"I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely rescue Kaguya."
That's my wife! If I don't rescue her, won't I be without a wife?
But not now, child. I still have some things to do. If I bring Kaguya out now, Kaguya identity will not be conducive to the stability after I unify the world.
Don't worry, after a while I'll become Hokage, then start conquering the world. Once I've fought enough, I'll just split the moon in two.
Don't worry about things that are bound to happen in the future. You can easily cleave the moon right now, let alone me.
In short, tell me how you've been these past few years, kid.
Most importantly, you still haven't told me your name.
While questioning him, Gawain grabbed Black Zetsu and made him stand up from the ground.
Black Zetsu's body trembled, and after repelling the dust, he nodded excitedly to Gawain.
"Father, my name is... Jue!"
My mother created me while she was sealed away, so I was far too weak in the past.
I... I've been trying so hard to rescue my mother, but I've never had the chance. I'm just so incompetent.
However, I eventually managed to build a team called the Akatsuki.
There are many stories behind the Akatsuki, and it is also closely related to the reincarnation of Indra, the eldest nephew of the previous generation.
In short, although those people are generally not very obedient, I can still guide their actions to some extent.
Since you, Father, wish to unify the world, then the Akatsuki will naturally become your strength.
I... Perhaps after they have witnessed your power, Father, they will naturally submit to you.
If you feel it's inconvenient for you to show yourself, then let me lead the Akatsuki and your pawn Konoha act in secret and in the open.
Then please do as I say, and I will influence Akatsuki's operations against other major ninja villages!
In short, Father, it's so good to see you again!
"I, a displaced child, have finally found my home!"
Black Zetsu wiped away his tears and looked up at the sky.
Kids with dads are just different!
Back then, I was timid and could only hide in Ban's world, keeping a lowly position.
Now I have to play those chuunibyou games with that love-obsessed trash Obito.
But now...
Now I can split the moon open myself to save my mother!!!
Clutching his excitement, he was like a little puppy, eager to impress his father.
After thinking for a moment, he continued speaking to Gawain.
"By the way, Father, if my intelligence gatherers are not mistaken, the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village should be dying soon!"
Orochimaru devised a crucial plan targeting the Sand Village ninja, known as the Konoha Crush.
But to be honest, Father, I think Orochimaru go beyond simply destroying Konoha.
On the contrary, he seems to want to give Konoha another push in his own way!
In Orochimaru's plan, his malice towards the Sand Village ninja seemed to be far greater than that towards the Konoha.
I sensed this a long time ago; after all, Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki I founded.
Although Orochimaru was known as Konoha traitor at that time, after Itachi Uchiha severed Konoha's arm, wiped out the Uchiha clan, and betrayed Konoha...
Orochimaru, on the contrary, immediately revealed his immense malice towards Itachi Uchiha.
Because of this, Orochimaru even brazenly withdrew from the Akatsuki and betrayed us after his attack on Konoha failed.
While this statement may not be entirely clear, I personally believe that letting Konoha Crush run rampant would actually be a good thing for Konoha.
In short, the specific decision still needs to be made by you, Father. After all, with Orochimaru's insignificant abilities, even without his help, you can do whatever you want!
As soon as he finished speaking, Black Zetsu obediently lowered his head, awaiting his father's command.
He wasn't a normal child; for him, the way to show love for his father was to obey his father's orders and help him.
Only in this way can he find a sense of self-worth.
And Gawain.
After hearing Black Zetsu's words, Gawain naturally knew what was going on.
Even though Orochimaru betrayed them, Orochimaru down, he was still the child who deeply loved Konoha and his teacher.
During the years Orochimaru betrayed Konoha, all the experiments he conducted were beneficial to the Konoha's development and growth.
Root and Danzo are also part of Konoha, and a powerful Danzo also helped Konoha.
As for this current Konoha Crush...
Hehe.
The Konoha Crush did not cause any damage to Konoha. When Orochimaru betrayed the Sand Ninja, he not only killed the Fourth Kazekage, but also saddled the Sand Ninja with huge war reparations once again.
At the same time, he also saw his teacher off on his final journey, allowing the Third Hokage, who had experienced the most, to die gloriously for the village like the previous Hokage, thus earning him a very good posthumous reputation.
In addition, Orochimaru also brazenly decided to eliminate Sasuke, a genius who was destined to have a deep hatred for the village, in order to maintain the stability and security of Konoha Village.
Furthermore, despite being a cold-hearted person, he never once considered killing Jiraiya, who was Jiraiya chasing after him.
Even after his hands were sealed by the Third Hokage, this rogue ninja villain preferred to seek out his old teammate Tsunade rather than contact the Akatsuki, which genuinely wanted to destroy Konoha.
When seeking help, teammates are the first people you think of.
When planning to kill, the first thing that comes to mind is the rogue ninja of Konoha.
It's said that Orochimaru harbored ill will towards Sasuke and Itachi because he liked the Sharingan Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru endured the Sharingan back then. With his technological prowess, couldn't he have cloned a fake Uchiha himself?
Besides, Orochimaru's favorite thing was actually Wood Release cells, okay?
Despite his fondness for Wood Release, Orochimaru never considered harming Tsunade to gain any chance of mastering Wood Release.
Who wouldn't love Orochimaru like this?
As members of Konoha, most Konoha ninja actually had no reason to hate Orochimaru.
Because Orochimaru actually didn't do anything to harm Konoha.
The so-called malice he carried towards Konoha was, from beginning to end, nothing more than sending his own teacher away.
And Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.
One of them was the biggest rogue ninja in Konoha on the surface, and the other was the last Uchiha who Orochimaru believed would harbor hatred towards the village.
And the older generation, like Orochimaru, who lived through the war...
What they believe in is ultimately eliminating the root of the problem...
With this in mind, Gawain nodded slightly.
"I understand, son. Just continue running your Akatsuki as usual."
Although I could easily control the Shinobi World, what I want is not temporary authoritarianism, but a political system that can last forever.
The path I'm about to take is destined to be more difficult than simply conquering, so perhaps the Akatsuki will have an unexpected role to play.
When you have some free time, send me a copy of the Akatsuki members' information. I'll hold the Chūnin Exams as scheduled. Orochimaru can trick the Orochimaru into causing trouble, and maybe then I'll rightfully earn the right to become Hokage.
Besides, we haven't seen each other for so many years, and you've been waiting for me for quite a while.
You can put those jobs aside for a bit. With your current abilities, you can send a clone to replace your past self. You can just stay in my sleeve.
I also kept you by my side and mentored you for a period of time.
Just like how I taught Hagoromo and Hamura back then.
Those two unfilial sons, because of my own actions, were disciplined for far too short a time—only about half a month—which led them to do such foolish things.
Don't end up like those two.
"I understand, Father. I will never be like my brothers!"
No way!!!"
Black Zetsu immediately nodded excitedly, then happily burrowed into his Pops's sleeve.
It's so warm here!