Black Zetsu felt pain for the first time.
Not the pain of having his body sliced open.
He had never possessed flesh and blood in the true sense.
It was something deeper that had been forcibly severed by that Mangekyo.
Causality.
Connections.
Escape routes.
The black threads hidden in the shadows, buried in the mist, and linked to the technique beneath the bridge had been cut apart by Shingetsu's blade.
Black Zetsu's expression changed completely.
"This isn't an ordinary ocular technique..."
A line of blood ran from Shingetsu's left eye.
But his hand did not tremble.
The shattered chains within his Mangekyo slowly revolved, like a lock-blade that had already sunk its teeth into its prey.
"You're only realizing that now?"
Black Zetsu abruptly recoiled.
But the area around the bridge had already been sealed off by Haku's Ice Release.
Below the sea's surface, Zabuza drove his sword into the water.
Boom!
A massive wave exploded upward.
With terrifying force, the Kubikiribōchō forcibly drove back the part of Black Zetsu's body that had tried to slip into the seawater.
Kakashi formed hand seals with both hands.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A heavy earthen wall rose along the edge of the bridge.
Ninken emerged from the wall's shadow, their chakra markings clamped tightly onto Black Zetsu's lingering scent.
Sasuke stood on the other side, pale-faced but unflinching.
He held Explosive Tags in his hand.
He was not throwing them around at random.
He was placing them at the locations Shingetsu had marked earlier.
Those spots were not meant to blow Black Zetsu to death.
They were meant to cut off his escape routes.
Shingetsu had already said it.
Black Zetsu would not fight head-on.
He would only run.
So everyone's task was not to kill him.
It was to block him