"Hoho, now that's a major development." Outside the battlefield, a white figure poked half his body out from deep within the shadows of the trees.
White Zetsu's body twisted and reshaped like melting wax. His left eye stared excitedly at Itachi's crumbling Susanoo, while his right eye casually surveyed the wreckage scattered across the ground.
"I'd better tell Obito right away."
White Zetsu's body stretched out abruptly, twisting like a white snake as he burrowed underground.
The tunnel closed rapidly behind him, leaving only the faint sound of earth shifting.
Using his unique sensory abilities, he darted through the maze of underground passages. Clumps of dirt and rocks automatically parted to make way for him.
In no time, White Zetsu appeared in a dark, damp room.
"Obito, guess what I found today." White Zetsu emerged from the ground, quickly returning to human form, his voice brimming with excitement.
Obito Uchiha sat in the Mizukage's seat, while the real Mizukage, Yagura, stood beside him with vacant eyes, like a servant.
Obito looked at the White Zetsu and thought he looked a little familiar.
"Which White Zetsu are you?" Obito believed in asking when he didn't know something. He saw nothing shameful about it.
It wasn't his fault that almost all the White Zetsu looked alike.
"Huh?" White Zetsu froze for a moment, then burst into tears in the blink of an eye, as if he'd suddenly become a master actor. Obito stared at him, dumbfounded. "Waaah, I'm so hurt! Little Obito doesn't even recognize me anymore. I was the one who helped you take care of your poop when you were little."
Obito's face beneath the mask instantly darkened. "Shut up!"
Just as Obito's veins bulged and he considered how to get rid of this White Zetsu, the shadow in the corner suddenly writhed like a living thing.
A pitch-black figure slowly emerged. It was Black Zetsu.
Seeing what Obito was thinking, he hurriedly stopped him. "Obito, this is the White Zetsu who was watching the Uchiha. Don't kill him yet!"
Only then did Obito remember which White Zetsu this was.
Damn, why was he still alive?!
"Fine. I'll give you a chance. Tell me what you know. If your information is useful, I might spare you." For the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan, Obito decided to hold back for now. He could always kill this White Zetsu after he finished talking.
White Zetsu stopped crying at once and sprang upright like a coil. His features twisted into a fawning grin. "How wise! Lord Obito is the most magnanimous of all—"
"Cut the useless talk and get to the point," Black Zetsu said impatiently from the side.
Damn, I'm the one who saved you, and you're praising Obito?
Looks like this White Zetsu needs to be sent back to the drawing board.
White Zetsu's face instantly formed a smile even more miserable than a sob.
Waaah, you all look down on me, and the worst part is, I really am useless.
"Speak!" Obito and Black Zetsu shouted in unison.
White Zetsu jumped in fright, his body trembling slightly as he said, "Uchiha... Itachi and Shisui started fighting! Shisui used Kotoamatsukami to change Itachi's will!"
"Kotoamatsukami changed Itachi's will?!" Obito's voice suddenly rose.
"You're sure you didn't see wrong?" Black Zetsu's voice held a hint of doubt as well.
Obito's imposing presence left White Zetsu stiff with fear. He nodded frantically. "Absolutely!"
After finishing, White Zetsu tried to leave.
Those two were terrifying. Being with poop was way more fun.
"Stop!" Obito controlled Yagura, who appeared in front of White Zetsu in an instant. Eerie blue light seeped from the puppet's vacant eyes as a water prison formed around White Zetsu, trapping him inside.
Black Zetsu also attached himself to White Zetsu. His black tendrils coiled around its neck like venomous snakes. "Who said you could leave? The details! I want to know why they started fighting!"
The pressure squeezed White Zetsu's body into a twisted shape, and he let out broken whimpers. "I—I was hiding in a tree hollow at the time! At first... at first, Itachi said Shisui had betrayed Konoha, and then they started fighting."
"Keep going!" Black Zetsu's tendrils tightened viciously, leaving marks deep enough to expose bone on White Zetsu's neck. "Why did Itachi decide Shisui had betrayed them? He couldn't have just gone crazy out of nowhere!"
White Zetsu's body made a grating sound under the tendrils' strangling grip. "I... I don't know!"
White Zetsu felt terribly wronged. He'd only switched shifts with the previous White Zetsu on watch a few days ago. How was he supposed to know what had happened?
"You don't know?" Black Zetsu suddenly detached himself from White Zetsu, and the water prison trapping him opened as well.
White Zetsu's face lit up with joy. Just as he thought he was free to leave, Obito's cold voice rang out. "Yagura, do it."
The next moment, White Zetsu felt an icy chill at his neck.
"Clack—" A crisp sound rang out as White Zetsu's head, along with half his neck, was sliced off. It traced a bizarre arc through the air.
His head spun twice in midair before crashing heavily to the ground. It rolled forward a few times with a rumble, then came to a stop at Obito's feet.
"Hmph. Useless trash deserves a useless trash's end." Obito looked down at the head by his feet, his voice full of disdain.
He lightly raised his foot and kicked White Zetsu's head aside. It hit the wall with a dull thud, then bounced and rolled to a stop at Yagura's feet.
Yagura's vacant eyes stared at the head on the ground without any reaction. He still held his sword in the position of a swing.
Obito sat back in his chair. The metal seat creaked beneath him as if it couldn't bear his weight.
He rubbed the edge of his mask, his crimson Sharingan glinting through the gap. "Itachi decided Shisui had betrayed them... only to be defeated by Shisui. Interesting..."
He'd thought Itachi was a talent and planned to recruit him into the Akatsuki, but now it seemed he was nothing but a useless loser.
Black Zetsu, however, wasn't as optimistic as Obito.
Itachi must have decided Shisui had betrayed Konoha because something had happened in the Uchiha Clan that Black Zetsu didn't know about.
He hated it when things happened beyond his control.
Glancing at Obito beside him, Black Zetsu sighed.
Damn, he shouldn't have picked this idiot Obito in the first place.
Black Zetsu grumbled inwardly, but showed nothing on his face. He simply reminded Obito in a meaningful tone, "Obito, don't underestimate Uchiha Itachi and Shisui. The fact that they fought means something unexpected has suddenly changed within the Uchiha Clan."
"Hmph, it doesn't matter. In front of these eyes, just two Mangekyo aren't enough." Obito spoke with confidence.
Black Zetsu's expression turned rather grim.
Seriously? What made Obito think he could beat Shisui and Itachi?
Had he forgotten how badly he'd fared against Minato Namikaze?
Black Zetsu didn't want to say anything more.
He was afraid that if he kept talking, he'd lose control and resurrect Madara so he could find someone else to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Black Zetsu forced down the irritation churning inside him and sank into the shadows.
Once Black Zetsu had completely disappeared into the darkness, the damp room fell silent.
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha, Itachi slowly opened his eyes in Shisui's arms.
Kotoamatsukami had rewritten his will.
"Itachi." Shisui's face showed no emotion.
"Shisui..."
Before you continue