Black Zetsu's Reserves

The Land of Lightning, Cloud-Thunder Valley.

Cloud-Thunder Valley is located in the western part of the Land of Lightning, with continuous mountain ranges and a secluded location.

This was the former territory of the Uchiha Clan before they migrated to the Land of Fire.

Today, the place is deserted and rarely visited. Occasionally, an unknown mountain bird will be startled and quickly swallowed up by the lush greenery of the forest.

"Are you sure this place contains what Lord Madara asked us to find?"

On the cliff above Cloud-Thunder Valley, Raiga Kurosuki looked down at the dense, impenetrable black forest below and asked the strange organism emerging from the ground beside him:

"Although this place was indeed the old home of the Uchiha Clan, several hundred years have passed in the past."

Even if something were left behind, it would probably have been dug up by those wild dogs of Kumogakure who go mad at the smell of bloodline limits long ago.

If there were even the slightest bit of something left that could be extracted from this place, how could there not be a soul in sight?

He rested his head on the back of his arms, his tone becoming languid:

"If you ask me, instead of wasting time here, we might as well go to the Land of Fire and try our luck."

"At least that place is closer to Konoha, and its historical research on the Uchiha Clan is much more reliable than this godforsaken valley."

"... You talk too much, kid."

Black Zetsu turned its now half-black, aloe-shaped head and glanced impatiently at Raiga Kurosuki:

"Compared to this place, the Land of Fire is more recent and has more detailed historical records, is certainly more in line with our goals."

But you'd better not forget that we must act covertly now.

If someone from Konoha discovers our whereabouts and relays the news to that brat Uchiha Kuro, then the trouble we'll face will be far, far greater than it is now.

For the sake of the entire plan, we must minimize the risks.

As it spoke, it turned its gaze back to the Cloud-Thunder Valley below:

"Let's stop chatting and get down to business."

We don't have much time left... to waste.

Raiga Kurosuki gave Black Zetsu a deep look, his gaze hidden in the shadow of his bandages, making it extremely difficult for anyone to notice.

He nodded obediently.

"Understood. I will take charge of patrolling the surrounding area. The task of searching for the remains of the Uchiha Clan members is entrusted to you."

Black Zetsu snorted coldly, said nothing more, and quickly sank into the ground.

The ground rippled slightly, and then there was no trace of it left.

Only the mountain wind, extremely low, swept across the empty cliff top.

Raiga Kurosuki took about ten steps before stopping abruptly and untying the bandage around his left eye.

He opened the Red Eye that had been transplanted from Ranmaru.

In the Red Eye vision, the world gradually becomes transparent.

Deep underground, a black figure was rapidly moving towards the valley floor.

Raiga Kurosuki narrowed his Red Eye coldly.

As a former elite member of the Mist Village, he sensed something was amiss almost the instant he saw the trajectory.

A typical search operation should involve repeatedly circling back and forth through a certain area, gradually expanding outwards.

However, the way Black Zetsu is moving now is clearly heading straight for a very specific point.

It was as if it already knew where it was going long before it set off...

Raiga Kurosuki quickly covered his Red Eye again, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was skillfully traversing the depths of the earth, moving as smoothly as a fish in water.

As it weaved forward, it sneered inwardly:

"Ha, I never thought that casual move I made back then would actually come in handy one day..."

Soon, Black Zetsu arrived at a cave located deep underground.

This grotto is extremely high, with an irregularly curved dome and very rough stone walls on all sides, making it look almost identical to a natural karst cave.

Black Zetsu emerged from the bottom of the cave, raised its head, and looked around at this underground cave that had been untouched for hundreds of years. For a moment, it felt a sense of unfamiliarity, even to itself.

Hundreds of years ago, in order to hasten the conflict between the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, it secretly plotted the relocation of the Uchiha Clan to the Land of Fire.

To outsiders, that migration appeared to be a spontaneous act by the Uchiha Clan heading to the Land of Fire in search of a more prosperous and powerful future.

But it is this that truly drives all of this from the depths.

When the Uchiha Clan migrated, they took their clan's secret techniques, scrolls, and most of the things they could carry with them to the Land of Fire.

However, the remains of those ancestors who were buried deep underground are naturally not included in this list.

If the remains of the Uchiha clan's ancestors, especially those who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, were allowed to fall into the hands of the Land of Lightning or the people of today, there's no guarantee they wouldn't discover something they don't want to see from them.

So, before those greedy hyenas could reach them, it moved the vast majority of the remains to the cave it had built underground.

Because the entire grotto was built directly underground with no trace of construction above, and because Cloud-Thunder Valley is so vast, the people of Kumogakure have searched it intermittently for hundreds of years without finding anything.

In the end, we could only conclude that the Uchiha Clan's methods of disposing of their members' corpses were too sophisticated, and we reluctantly gave up.

Centuries have passed, and this grotto hidden deep beneath Cloud-Thunder Valley can only be reached by Black Zetsu, who possesses the ability to traverse underground.

Black Zetsu walked through the grotto he had built himself, taking about a dozen steps before finally stopping.

At the end of the grotto, a row of coffins were neatly arranged, each one perfectly preserved.

The surface of the coffins was painted with Gunbai patterns belonging to the Uchiha Clan, and some were even older.

Because the entire grotto is buried deep underground, far from wind, rain, and sunlight, these coffins have been well preserved to this day.

"Hmph, I never thought these good-for-nothings would actually be recycled and reused one day."

Black Zetsu muttered something in a cold voice, then raised his hand and reached towards the nearest coffin.

But just before it touched the surface of the coffin, it seemed to suddenly remember something, and its hand paused noticeably.

"No, this time, let's take two first."

Black Zetsu muttered to himself with apprehension:

"If we suddenly found so many, it would only make Obito suspicious."

That guy... isn't as easy to deal with as before."

It pondered cautiously, reassessing its options in its mind.

It wouldn't be too late to hand over the rest to him in batches after we've seen firsthand what kind of effect his so-called improved Chimera Technique actually has.

Black Zetsu made a decision in his heart, then reached out towards the coffin closest to it.

However, just before it was about to open the coffin, a hoarse voice suddenly came clearly from the dark depths behind it, a place that had never been visited by anyone for hundreds of years.

"I never imagined there was such a place."

That's really... surprising.

The moment that sound rang out, Black Zetsu's pupils contracted to their maximum size.

It incredulously looked away from the coffin and gazed into the impenetrable darkness behind it.

A familiar figure was emerging from the shadows, walking towards it step by step.

"Uchiha... Obito?!"