Moon's Eye

According to Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu was the incarnation of the spiritual will he had created.

Everything Madara Uchiha knew about the Six Paths Techniques had most likely been gleaned from the Uchiha Stone Tablet through the ocular power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

The tablet had indeed originally been left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

But by the time Madara Uchiha used his ocular power to "decipher" it, Black Zetsu himself had long since altered its contents—Wu Yu had every reason to believe that the method of creating Black Zetsu was something Black Zetsu had deliberately allowed Madara Uchiha to "discover."

That way, Black Zetsu himself could slip into the Black Zetsu created by Madara Uchiha and openly involve himself in Madara Uchiha's Moon's Eye Plan.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Edo Tensei Madara had been able to toy with the Five Kage while maintaining real-time spiritual communication with Black Zetsu on the other side of the battlefield.

If Madara Uchiha could communicate with Black Zetsu instantaneously—

There was no reason Kaguya Otsutsuki could not do the same.

And if Kaguya Otsutsuki could do it, that meant Mysterious Kaguya possessed the same ability.

Now that he was about to leave Konoha, Wu Yu felt it necessary to confirm this.

"..."

Mysterious Kaguya fell silent for a moment at Wu Yu's question, then said blandly, "If I said no, would you believe me?"

"If there isn't, then there isn't. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

Wu Yu looked puzzled. "You're my clone. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

"..." Mysterious Kaguya fell silent again. After a long while, she said, "When I was first... 'born,' I did indeed have the urge to contact Black Zetsu immediately."

"But?" Wu Yu supplied the turn for her.

"..." Mysterious Kaguya said, "But letting Black Zetsu know of my existence might be detrimental to you."

She flicked her sleeve and said calmly, "After all, I am merely a clone, not his true mother. At any time, Black Zetsu can use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to confirm the condition of Kaguya's true self..."

Wu Yu scratched his head. "So, neither of us knows how Black Zetsu would react if he learned of your existence, right?"

Mysterious Kaguya said, "How he reacts is irrelevant to me. The issue is you. With your current strength, you cannot bear the risk of being regarded by him as a threat."

"Listen to that. Am I supposed to be afraid of a puddle of black mud?—Don't I have you?"

"..."

"Black Zetsu is nothing..." As Wu Yu spoke, seeing that Mysterious Kaguya gave no response, he gradually realized something.

The Shadow Clone that had packed the travel bag had also been listening to the conversation. After setting the bag down, it asked Mysterious Kaguya on behalf of the original at just the right moment, "If Black Zetsu attacks the original, will you help?"

"..."

After a silence, Mysterious Kaguya said, "I don't know. Prioritizing the original's interests is my instinct as a clone... but I also seem to believe that no one is allowed to interfere with Black Zetsu's actions..."

Wu Yu mused, "In other words, as a Mysterious Clone, your 'Cognitive Anchor'..."

Mysterious Kaguya said flatly, "I absolutely do not wish for Kaguya's true self's revival plan to be obstructed."

Wu Yu and the Shadow Clone looked at each other.

How should they put it... Kaguya's "obsession" being this did not actually seem all that surprising.

Most other Mysterious Clones valued their villages and companions above all else. Some even regarded their own abilities and ninjutsu as more important than the heavens... But to Mysterious Kaguya, all of that was undoubtedly meaningless. Her sole objective was to reclaim all the Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and awaken "herself" from a thousand years of slumber.

"What if I stop Kaguya's true self from reviving?" Wu Yu asked. "Would you break all four of my limbs and stop me from causing trouble?"

"..." Mysterious Kaguya said, "I would not attack the original. I would only dismiss myself. I know you have been searching for a way to prevent Mysterious Clones from dismissing themselves, but you should understand that any method you can find will be ineffective against me, who possesses Kekkei Mōra."

"I never said I'd stop Kaguya from reviving."

Wu Yu snorted. "Don't I have you? Your Rinnegan's ocular power should be able to help resist the genjutsu light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, right?" Mysterious Kaguya nodded. "Then I won't get hung from a tree. Why would I stick my nose into it?"

"Besides, even if Kaguya's true self does revive, she'll just get pressed back down by a full combo..." Wu Yu's Shadow Clone glanced at Mysterious Kaguya and thought, And besides... when Kaguya Otsutsuki drains the Chakra from the entire shinobi world, could Mysterious Kaguya perhaps become the final oriole and steal the prize from her true self?

In that case, perhaps letting the Moon's Eye Plan succeed would actually be most beneficial to me?

When the Shadow Clone dismissed itself, both Wu Yu and the clone's final memories were pondering that very same thought.

Wu Yu lowered his head in thought, then looked up at Mysterious Kaguya, with her flowing sleeves, flowing ash-white hair, and two bony horns sprouting from her head... Then he suddenly said, "You should change your appearance when you show yourself from now on."

As he spoke, he formed the Seal Proficiency for the Transformation Jutsu. With a poof, he transformed into a young woman dressed like an office worker: a long black trench coat, white shirt, black slacks, and red hair simply braided behind her head.

"Transform into this," Wu Yu said.

Mysterious Kaguya merely glanced at him. Without forming seals and without so much as a wisp of smoke, her entire appearance rapidly changed. The pair of horns atop her head shrank away, the Rinnegan on her forehead vanished, her ash-white hair turned red and automatically intertwined into a braid behind her head, and her loose white robe became a long black trench coat...

Just as she had said, so long as the original did not violate her Cognitive Anchor or obstruct the revival of Kaguya's true self, then as a clone, she would naturally comply with all of the original's requests.

Changing her appearance was nothing worth mentioning.

With another poof, Wu Yu reverted to normal. He picked up the bag prepared by the Shadow Clone and looked with satisfaction at the dramatically transformed Mysterious Kaguya—given her mastery of Kekkei Mōra, she could likely alter her own appearance at the genetic level. Though the Third Eye on her forehead had disappeared, her eyes were light-colored and her irises still bore rings. There were also still faint traces of Kaguya in her facial features.

"'Makima.' If I want you to come to my rescue, I'll call you by that word."

Wu Yu slung the bag over his back, opened the window, and climbed out.

Mysterious Kaguya locked the window from inside, then merged completely with nature. Passing through the window and wall as if they were nothing, she followed the original, who was heading straight for Konoha's main gate, like a wisp of breeze.

In her perception, all of Konoha—front and back, left and right, above and below—was enveloped by a massive spherical barrier with sensory capabilities... Presumably, any unfamiliar Chakra passing through that barrier would alert Konoha to an anomaly.

However, Mysterious Kaguya had completely merged with nature and possessed no Chakra signature at all.

Following behind the original to the main gate, she passed through the barrier as easily as if she were in a parallel dimension, drifting outside Konoha.

Wu Yu looked around the open main gate of Konoha and said in surprise, "So there's no one guarding the gate? Like, no registration required when leaving the village or anything..."