"Hmm?" Akashi suddenly halted.
Ahead, beneath the moonlight and within the shadows cast by the trees, the raised roots of an ancient tree twisted, wriggled, and swelled—
Rapidly growing into a bizarre, oversized Venus flytrap-like plant!
Seeing such a strange sight, Akashi naturally went on guard.
"Who's playing tricks?" Akashi demanded.
As he spoke, Akashi had already begun forming hand seals, ready to smack it with a Great Dragon Fire Technique—
But then the flytrap snapped open, revealing a "person" who was half black and half white inside.
"Wait, young Uchiha, we are not enemies!" the black-and-white figure called out in a somewhat childish voice, stopping Akashi before he attacked.
"You are—" Akashi frowned at the black half of this "thing." Its features looked hastily slapped together, without a trace of humanity. At best, it was humanoid, utterly expressionless. The white half, on the other hand, was just as unnaturally pale, yet far more expressive. It also seemed to be the part speaking.
Even now, Akashi had detected no aura from it.
Precisely because of that, Akashi became even more vigilant of his surroundings, wary that what he saw was merely an illusion while an enemy lurked in the darkness.
Seeing Akashi so guarded, Black Zetsu sighed inwardly but did not point it out.
"Akashi Uchiha—I am Indra's son!" Black Zetsu said, swallowing his humiliation.
To save his mother, Black Zetsu had no choice but to play the grandson.
"Heh." Akashi sneered. "Why not say you're Indra's third uncle or fourth cousin?"
Black Zetsu:—
"I know that is difficult to believe, but—it is true." Black Zetsu felt even more humiliated.
Akashi looked at him as though he were insane. He had seen plenty of liars, but this was the first time he had seen someone tell such an absurd lie!