Black Zetsu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Black Zetsu (黑绝)
Alias(es)	Zetsu; Akatsuki codename South 109
Gender	Masculine
Nature	Undying manifestation of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s will 301
Age	Has survived for approximately a thousand years 171 257
Affiliation	Kaguya Ōtsutsuki; Uchiha Madara’s apparent servant; Akatsuki intelligence personnel and substitute member 46 109 117 301
Occupation/Role	Intelligence gatherer, covert manipulator, and organizer of Kaguya’s resurrection 56 257 300
Status	Sealed by Tōka; remains sealed when Madara activates the Infinite Tsukuyomi 301 305
First Appearance	Observes Tōka emerging from a fallen meteorite 1

Background / History

Black Zetsu is Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s will made manifest. He calls her his mother and spends roughly a thousand years pursuing her release. During that time, he evades the Sage of Six Paths’ lingering chakra, which continues to watch over the world after Hagoromo’s death 56 171 257 301.

His resurrection scheme requires collecting the nine Tailed Beasts, restoring the Ten-Tails, and preparing a suitable vessel. He considers Madara indispensable because Madara has fused the powers of the Senju and Uchiha clans; Nagato’s Uzumaki vitality and chakra alone are insufficient for Kaguya’s revival 257 270.

Madara believes Black Zetsu is a product of his own will. In reality, Black Zetsu controls the White Zetsu half of their shared body as a puppet, maintaining a false appearance of two independently thinking beings 46 116 291.

When an anomaly appears near the moon, Black Zetsu rushes to the meteorite’s landing site. He watches Tōka emerge and recognizes Kaguya’s scent on him, reacting with astonishment, confusion, and nostalgia 1.

Appearance

• Black-and-white body: Usually appears joined to a White Zetsu half; his own face is described as ink-black 46 109.
• Pitcher-plant covering: A conspicuous plant-like structure surrounds his head and shoulders when he emerges from the terrain 46 145 248.
• Akatsuki clothing: Wears a black cloak patterned with red clouds and a ring marked South 117 145.
• Flexible body: Can visibly wriggle his body “like a noodle” 39.
• Voice: Speaks with a raspy or hoarse voice and frequently chuckles sinisterly 23 53 87.
• Sealed form: After Tōka seals him, he becomes a black ball approximately the size of a fist 301.

Personality

Black Zetsu prefers controlling events without exposing himself. He adopts a respectful manner before Madara, behaves more casually with Tōka, and maintains the role of a follower while privately treating other people as instruments of Kaguya’s resurrection. He regards Nagato’s claim to godhood with contempt and questions who is truly using whom 46 56 109.

His patience has limits. After waiting a thousand years, he becomes anxious whenever the plan appears delayed or a necessary participant is endangered. Tōka’s apparent death makes him fear a lengthy setback, while the prospect of securing the remaining Tailed Beasts visibly excites him 53 257 270.

He is cautious rather than eager to fight. He avoids appearing openly before the Five Great Nations, prepares escape routes, and worries that Madara’s appetite for battle could damage Kaguya’s intended vessel. With Tōka, his scheming is often mixed with irritation: he resents being assigned corpse-collection duties and dislikes not understanding Tōka’s abilities 54 56 238 257 290.

Abilities & Skills

Mayfly Technique and Concealment

Black Zetsu moves through the surrounding terrain and conceals himself within it 46 109 246.

• Emerges from soil, walls, rock, and tree trunks 46 87 109 246.
• Can approach undetected by many shinobi; he is confident that Sakumo’s team and Minato cannot locate him 23 46.
• Limit: Tōka is naturally sensitive to his Kaguya-derived Yin-Yang Release and can detect him within approximately a hundred meters, even when ordinary chakra sensing would be inadequate 46.
• Tōka’s later perception and dōjutsu make hiding from him increasingly ineffective 109 301.

Intelligence Network

Black Zetsu directs White Zetsu operatives across the ninja world, gathering information and relaying instructions 46 181 217 248.

• Identifies Pakura and her Scorch Release immediately 23.
• Deploys White Zetsu to monitor Minato while arranging Tōka’s meeting with Madara 46.
• Detects Konan secretly following Tōka when Tōka himself has not noticed her 105.
• Tracks the Sage of Six Paths’ residual chakra 171.
• Reports Akatsuki movements, Tailed Beast captures, village activity, and political developments 217 219 248 251.
• Limit: Even countless White Zetsu searches fail to locate Mount Myōboku 283.

Deception and Information Control

Black Zetsu manipulates both the information people receive and the identities they believe they are encountering 116 145 257 296.

• Controls the White Zetsu half of his body while allowing others to believe it has independent thoughts 116.
• Uses a White Zetsu disguised as Hōzuki Mangetsu to help provoke conflict between the Lands of Earth and Lightning 145.
• Can alter stone tablets left by the Sage of Six Paths 109.
• Hides Kaguya’s original tablet and supplies a specially prepared replacement for Itachi to discover 296.
• Can withhold intelligence from Akatsuki, diverting its attention from Tōka’s operations in Konoha 257.
• Limit: He cannot decipher Kaguya’s original tablet; its inscriptions require a true inheritor of the Ōtsutsuki clan 109.

Yin-Yang Release and Immortality

Black Zetsu’s Yin-Yang Release originates from Kaguya, and Akatsuki lists it as his principal ability 46 109.

• His existence as Kaguya’s will makes him undying and indestructible 301.
• He recognizes the Divine Tree’s distinctive natural energy in Tōka’s forehead seal 217.
• Limit: Immortality does not prevent confinement. Tōka seals him using power derived from Yang Release 301.
• He acknowledges that he cannot defeat Tōka in a direct confrontation 301.

Mental Possession: Assimilation

Black Zetsu’s possession method would assimilate a Madara carrying the Sage of Six Paths’ power with himself, and subsequently with Kaguya. His identity as Kaguya’s will enables this process 307.

• Intended to transform the prepared vessel into the means of Kaguya’s revival 307.
• Distinct from Tōka’s Mental Possession: Awakening, which uses Yang Release to awaken Kaguya within the Divine Tree 307.
• Black Zetsu does not carry out the assimilation before Tōka seals him 301 307.

Equipment / Items

• South Ring — Akatsuki ring bearing the character “South.” He receives it despite not being a formal member because the organization lacks personnel; the arrangement is intended to end once enough members are recruited 109 117.
• Akatsuki Cloak — Black cloak decorated with red clouds 117 145.
• Intelligence Records and Scrolls — Compiles reports, including records of the Five Kage Summit; a disguised White Zetsu also carries an analysis of Ibiki’s temporary squad 181 296.
• Substituted Stone Tablet — Conceals Kaguya’s authentic tablet and prepares a replacement as part of the deception aimed at Itachi 296.

Relationships

• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki — His mother and the source of his existence. Restoring her is the overriding purpose of his thousand-year scheme 56 171 257 301.
• Tōka / Dong Ge — Ally, frequent employer, and eventual captor. Black Zetsu trusts his connection to Kaguya but cannot fully understand or control him; their partnership ends when Tōka seals him 23 54 296 300 301.
• Uchiha Madara — Apparent master and intended resurrection vessel. Madara trusts him as an embodiment of his own will, unaware of his true origin and agenda 270 290 291.
• White Zetsu — Commands White Zetsu operatives for surveillance, impersonation, and support. The White Zetsu half joined to his body is specifically a puppet under his control 46 116 145 181.
• Nagato — A useful but increasingly uncontrollable pawn tasked with collecting Tailed Beasts and reviving Madara. Black Zetsu participates in the plan to remove him 109 257 289 291.
• Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki — His residual chakra threatens Black Zetsu’s efforts to restore Kaguya; Black Zetsu remains wary of its presence 171.
• Itachi Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha — Escorts them toward Akatsuki using Tōka’s name to gain their cooperation. Later helps deceive Itachi through the substituted stone tablet 163 296.
• Pakura — Helps arrange her release and later provides information for her rescue. Subsequently seeks confirmation of her and Haku’s deaths 23 26 87 223.
• Anko Mitarashi — Holds her at Tōka’s request and eventually delivers her so Orochimaru can be revived through her Heaven’s Curse Mark 279 283.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Cooperation with Tōka

• Returns to contact Tōka after approximately a year and a half of silence. Tōka requests help freeing the captured Pakura, whom Black Zetsu considers a possible recruit 23 26.
• Supplies four chakra-bearing White Zetsu for Tōka’s All-Killing Ash Bones: All Worlds Seal, then helps locate the separated bodies during the operation 39.
• Deliberately brings Tōka to Madara’s attention and guides him to the underground chamber where Madara is sustained by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path 46.
• Watches Tōka’s battle with Iwagakure to assess his limits. After mistakenly believing Dust Release has killed him, he repeatedly questions how Tōka survived 53 54.

Akatsuki’s Expansion

• Retrieves and stores Hanzō’s corpse at Tōka’s request after Nagato’s victory. He recognizes Nagato’s Tailed Beast collection plan as a possible route to saving Kaguya 56.
• Appears during Kumogakure’s attack on Konoha after leaking information to the attackers. He also supplies information and White Zetsu support for Pakura’s rescue 87.
• Takes Tōka to Kaguya’s Royal Palace and observes his attempt to read its stone tablet. Later describes Tōka’s awakened eyes as a “half-finished product” because they cannot decipher the entire inscription 105 109.
• Serves as intelligence support for Akatsuki’s proposed Nine-Tails capture mission while planning to recruit enough members to return fully behind the scenes 109.
• Oversees the Mangetsu impersonation intended to inflame tensions between Iwagakure and Kumogakure 145.

Covert Assignments and Growing Suspicion

• Sends a White Zetsu to assist Tōka, allowing him to leave an impersonator beside Orochimaru 161.
• Guides Itachi and Izumi toward Akatsuki after the Uchiha massacre 163.
• Agrees to relay information to Kimimaro and arrange for Itachi to reclaim Orochimaru’s Vermilion Ring as a pledge of allegiance 171.
• A disguised White Zetsu carrying an analysis of Tōka’s Konoha squad makes Tōka suspect Black Zetsu is attempting to set him up 181.
• Awakens Tōka from stasis and reports Akatsuki’s arrival near Blackwater Mountain. Tōka is surprised that Black Zetsu has summoned nearly every available team 217.
• Carries Hotaru away from Blackwater Mountain and continues reporting village developments. Later, he and the other half of his face seek confirmation that Pakura and Haku have died 219 223.

Final Tailed Beast Operations

• Monitors Nagato during the Six-Tails capture and relays information about the Seven-Tails 246 248.
• Reports that Sasori and Deidara’s Three-Tails mission has failed because of Kirigakure’s interference 251.
• Helps Tōka plan operations around the Chūnin Exams, accepting responsibility for monitoring Nagato and concealing Konoha intelligence from Akatsuki 257.
• Warns Tōka against killing Nagato prematurely because Nagato is still needed to revive Madara 270.
• Delivers Anko for Orochimaru’s revival, hoping Orochimaru can reveal a route to Mount Myōboku and the hidden Nine-Tails 279 283.
• Participates in the plan to eliminate Nagato after he exceeds their control, leading into Madara’s resurrection 289 290.

Madara’s Return and Black Zetsu’s Sealing

• Reports the state of the Tailed Beast operation to Madara: the One-Tails through Seven-Tails are sealed, the Eight-Tails has escaped, and the Nine-Tails’ chakra was divided between Minato and the current jinchūriki 291.
• Releases news of the Raikage’s capture to lure Killer B into the Land of Lightning. He also assists Tōka’s preparations around the Five Sealing Barrier and the concealed Mirror Attacker Technique 295 296.
• Becomes apprehensive after the Ten-Tails returns and seeks to use Tōka as a counterweight to Madara, hoping to obtain an opportunity to revive Kaguya 300.
• Demands that Tōka intervene when Jiraiya’s Nine-Jade Separation Technique threatens to disintegrate the Ten-Tails. Tōka instead seals him into a fist-sized black sphere after detecting his hostility 301.
• Remains sealed when Madara asks about his whereabouts following the Infinite Tsukuyomi’s activation. Tōka subsequently pursues Kaguya’s awakening through his own method rather than Black Zetsu’s assimilation technique 305 307.