Black Zetsu: Don't Come Any Closer!

Inside the Kamui Dimension, Black and White Zetsu looked around in terror. His techniques couldn't pass through this space!

In his mind, he cursed Uchiha Madara for being an arrogant idiot! How could he have trusted this kid so easily?

Would a thousand years of waiting and plotting all go to waste? When would he ever return to his mother's embrace?

Obito entered the Kamui Dimension and watched Black Zetsu with interest. This was the weak, not particularly clever schemer who had manipulated Madara and Obito like puppets. His strength lay in his grasp of their hearts! He'd found the weakest parts of them. Obito had learned something new, too.

Black Zetsu roared at the top of his lungs, "Who are you? Do you intend to betray Lord Madara? I am the embodiment of Madara's will!"

Watching Black Zetsu put on such a spirited performance, Obito almost wanted to give him an Oscar... With acting like that, it was a shame he wasn't in the movies.

"I know who you are. You're not Madara's will at all. You're Otsutsuki Kaguya's will! A pitiful little tadpole who spent a thousand years plotting to save his mother. Madara was just an even more pitiful pawn you found to use!"

"Who am I? You've been keeping an eye on me all these years. Do you really need to ask?" Obito said irritably.

Hearing the faintly mocking tone in Obito's words, Black Zetsu felt as if he'd been struck by lightning! He'd plotted carefully for so long and waited patiently for over a thousand years! He hadn't acted until Madara and Hashirama appeared. He'd had Madara completely fooled, so how could a kid in his early teens know all this?

Zetsu forced himself to calm down. He knew this kid's strength now. He was only a fragment of Kaguya's consciousness, so he couldn't win through force. He'd have to outsmart him. But this kid was much harder to fool than Madara...

"Obito Uchiha, you're right. I am the son of the progenitor of chakra, the Rabbit Goddess. My mother was betrayed by her two unfilial sons and sealed away for a thousand years. Help me revive her, and when she returns, I'll make you the ruler of the entire world! You can rule over everything and have it all! That's far beyond what becoming Hokage of Konoha could offer," Black Zetsu said gravely.

"Can I be your dad, too?" Obito mocked him.

"..." Black Zetsu fell silent.

His mother was his alone. And Obito wanted to be his dad? Unforgivable! He'd be the first one killed when his mother was revived! No, no, he couldn't let a minor setback ruin the greater plan. He'd kill him after his mother returned!

"Haha, you didn't really think I wanted to be your dad, did you? I'm not interested in your flat-chested mother. I have a few questions for you. If your answers satisfy me, I might let you live. Don't think I lack the means to erase you for good," Obito said.

"Ask away. If I know the answer, I'll tell you. But what if you don't keep your word?" Black Zetsu asked.

"You're in no position to make demands! How much do you know about the Evil God and the Death God?" Obito asked.

In Obito's view, Otsutsuki Kaguya might have been the final boss in the original story, but the Evil God and the Death God existed on the same level as her! And they were far more mysterious and unknown.

The original story hadn't said much about them, but both Hidan's immortality and the Reaper Death Seal were seriously overpowered.

Now Obito wasn't watching an anime; he was living in this world. That changed everything. In particular, the Evil God had definitely left something behind in him. He couldn't afford to let his guard down.

"Oh? That's surprising. I'm starting to wonder if you're a descendant of that unfilial son, Hagoromo," Black Zetsu said, astonished.

"The Evil God and the Death God have existed for over a thousand years. A thousand years ago, Mother fought the Evil God and defeated that detestable bat. But the wretched bat was immortal, and even Mother couldn't destroy it completely. She could only seal it in various places throughout the world. A thousand years have passed, and the world has changed completely. I no longer know where it was sealed."

"The Death God has no interest in the living and no desire to rule this land. He is the monarch of the Underworld, ruling over souls. After defeating the Evil God, Mother made an agreement with the Death God: Mother would rule the living, while the souls of the dead would enter the Underworld and be ruled by the Death God."

"I don't know how you learned about the Evil God and the Death God, but I must warn you: with your strength, you're nowhere near their level. They possess the power of gods, far above everyone else! Just like my great Mother!" Black Zetsu said, his face full of adoration as he spoke of his mother.

"One last question: did Hamura and Hagoromo have a father?" Obito asked excitedly.

Obito remembered that there were two theories about this from when he'd watched Naruto in his previous life. One said Otsutsuki Kaguya had the two brothers with a worthless king; another said Kaguya had been blessed by the people, suddenly became pregnant, and gave birth to the brothers.

Obito felt a thrill at getting a glimpse into the private lives of powerful figures...

"Why do you keep asking questions like that?" Black Zetsu said, at a loss.

"I've already told you: Mother is the progenitor of this world's power! She is a god who transcends everything! Mortals are no different from livestock. No one could ever defile Mother's body!"

So that settled it: the second theory was probably right. Obito figured Kaguya had conceived the two brothers on her own, perhaps simply because she wanted more allies to help her fight the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Having satisfied his curiosity, Obito asked with interest, "Why isn't White Zetsu saying anything? I know you're not one being. Black Zetsu, you want to save your mother. But what about you? You're just a biological weapon created by Kaguya. You don't need to die alongside Black Zetsu. Even if Otsutsuki Kaguya is revived, she'll still treat you like an inferior tool."

"Don't listen to him! You were created by Mother just like I was. We're both her children. Don't fall for his attempt to drive us apart," Black Zetsu said urgently. His own abilities were even worse than White Zetsu's... White Zetsu had been cultivated by Madara, and his body contained Hashirama's cells, allowing him to use some Wood Release techniques. With White Zetsu's strength, Black Zetsu still had a chance to fight back.

White Zetsu was silent for a moment, then spoke. "That's right. In Kaguya's eyes and Madara's, I'm just an inferior tool—a poor thing that doesn't even know what it feels like to take a dump. But! Even a poor thing has ideals of its own to pursue!"

With a ripping sound, White Zetsu pulled hard, and Black and White Zetsu split apart down the middle! Without White Zetsu's body, Black Zetsu slumped to the ground like a soft slime!

Obito gave a cold laugh and drew Ryujin Jakka!

Black Zetsu shouted, "Don't come any closer! Don't do anything rash! We can talk this out! You can ask for whatever you want!"

The only reply was a cold flash of the blade!

Clang! Black Zetsu was pinned to the ground by a single strike from Ryujin Jakka!