Lord Madara's White Zetsu Delivery-Please Sign for It!

The air in the underground base seemed frozen.

Orochimaru's golden eyes locked onto the strange creature emerging from the shadows. Half black and half white, it looked like a deformed pitcher plant.

His injured muscles tensed, every nerve drawn taut like a bowstring, ready to launch a lethal strike at any moment.

Uchiha... Madara.

The name rang through his muddled mind like a thunderclap.

How could that be?

The man who existed only in legends and history books—the Asura who had perished alongside the First, Senju Hashirama, at the Valley of the End.

Konoha had indeed received reports of his appearance recently. He had even personally put down the Nine-Tails Incident, saving Namikaze Minato and his wife, who should have died.

But intelligence was still only intelligence.

Until he witnessed it with his own eyes, to someone like Orochimaru, who believed in science and truth, it was all just an uncertain variable.

"Heh heh heh..."

Orochimaru let out a low, hoarse laugh. He stuck out his tongue and licked his cracked lips, his eyes filled with scrutiny and suspicion.

"Using a dead man's name to put on a show—your nerve is impressive."

He completely ignored the "immortality" bait Black and White Zetsu had dangled. Instead, like a venomous snake that had spotted its prey, he tried to find a weakness in them.

"A dead man?"

A humanlike sneer appeared on the black half of Black Zetsu's face.

"Orochimaru, do you think ninjutsu is so inconvenient that it can't even manage a simple resurrection?"

"The Scroll of Seals in Konoha records all kinds of forbidden techniques, including one that defiles the dead—the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. Compared to that, is bringing someone back to life really so far-fetched?"

"Is that so?" Orochimaru slowly straightened. Though blood still seeped from half his body, the terrifying aura of one of the Sannin remained undiminished. "Then I'd very much like to see what this resurrected master of yours can do."

Before the words had even left his mouth, his concealed wrist jerked!

"Shadow Snake Hand!"

Several venomous snakes slithered soundlessly along the shadows on the ground, lunging like lightning at Black and White Zetsu from several impossibly tricky angles!

Black and White Zetsu simply stood there, not even moving.

Just as the snakes' fangs were about to touch it, its body strangely melted into the ground, as if it had become a formless shadow. Every attack passed right through it and hit nothing.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and licked his lips.

"Interesting... How very interesting!

"No Hand Seals, no Chakra fluctuations, not even a trace of killing intent—this technique is completely beyond the scope of conventional ninjutsu.

"Earth Release? No, there's no sign the soil was disturbed. Space-Time Ninjutsu? That doesn't seem right either. There's no technique mark, no Chakra displacement.

"It's more like... he's turned himself into part of nature, merging his body with the earth as if it were the most natural thing in the world."

He paused, his voice dropping lower.

Heh. That monster's body was practically the perfect experimental subject.

"Pointless probing."

Black Zetsu's voice came from every corner of the base, carrying an air of lofty indifference.

"Orochimaru, my master is interested in you not because of your meager strength, but because he admires your thirst for truth."

The white half chimed in cheerfully, "That's right, that's right! Lord Madara said you're a very interesting person. You like cutting people up to study them, and we like that too!"

"Shut up!" Black Zetsu snapped.

Orochimaru ignored White Zetsu's nonsense, his mind racing.

They knew who he was, what he wanted, and might even know about his research.

And that man who called himself "Madara" had indeed unleashed a storm in Konoha.

Could it be... that the legends were true?

"What does your master want?" Orochimaru finally asked the crucial question.

He was an absolute egoist and didn't believe in kindness without a reason.

"My master wants to establish an entirely new order." Black Zetsu's voice sounded from the pitcher-plant body again as it slowly rose from the ground. "A world without war or conflict, where everyone lives happily and peacefully."

"Ha!" Orochimaru laughed as if he'd heard the greatest joke in the world. "Starting a war to end war? That's a familiar and ridiculous argument."

"No, you're wrong." Black Zetsu shook his head. "What you see is only the surface. My master needs your knowledge, Orochimaru. Your obsession with forbidden techniques and your study of the mysteries of life—these are all indispensable foundations for building a new world."

"My master says technology is the primary productive force!"

The words struck precisely where Orochimaru was most vulnerable.

The thing he was proudest of in his life was his intelligence and research.

"My master knows you're studying the First's cells, trying to recreate the power of Wood Release. But your approach has been wrong from the very beginning."

Black Zetsu's words crashed into Orochimaru's heart like a heavy hammer.

"My approach is wrong?!"

"That's right." Black Zetsu's voice was full of certainty. "Do you think the First's power came from his cells alone? How naive. It takes the power of Yin-Yang Release to balance it, and it also requires the perfect fusion of the Uchiha and Senju powers."

"And the key to unlocking all of this is in my master's hands."

Black Zetsu suddenly sliced White Zetsu with the knife beside it. White Zetsu had been staring blankly at Orochimaru. When Black Zetsu cut a small piece of tissue from its back, it jerked and turned around.

"Ah... that hurts?"

It looked down at the wound, then at the knife in Black Zetsu's hand. Its expression was confused, but its tone remained mild.

"Why'd you cut me...? Aren't we one and the same?"

White, threadlike strands began to emerge from the edge of the wound, slowly knitting it together.

Black Zetsu used the knife to pick up a bit of the white, threadlike substance and showed it to Orochimaru.

The cells of the First, Senju Hashirama!

And they were the purest, most active kind! They were a hundred times more potent than the inferior samples Orochimaru had gathered from various places!

"My master says this is a welcoming gift for you," Black Zetsu said calmly. "In exchange, you'll need to complete something for him."

Orochimaru's Adam's apple bobbed. Forcing down his greed and excitement, he asked hoarsely, "What is it?"

"Perfect your Impure World Reincarnation."

Black Zetsu's answer made Orochimaru's heart jolt once again.

He'd only just developed the technique based on the scroll left behind by the Second Hokage. It was still far from complete and hadn't even been tested in a real battle.

And they knew about even that?

In that instant, Orochimaru felt as if he were standing naked before them, every one of his secrets laid bare.

The feeling infuriated him.

But the offer they'd made left him unable to refuse.

True immortality, the secrets of ninjutsu...

The words kept echoing in his ear, like a devil's whisper.

"Heh heh heh... Lord Madara, you certainly know how to make an offer."

Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes glinting with dangerous excitement.

"I'll accept this gift. As for Impure World Reincarnation, I'll perfect it into a masterpiece and present it to Lord Madara."

He didn't say he would "join" them or "serve" them. Instead, he framed it as a partnership.

It was the last of his pride.

Black Zetsu seemed to understand and didn't call him out.

"Very good. A clever choice."

It handed Orochimaru a small piece of White Zetsu as a gift.

Orochimaru greedily savored the immense vitality it contained, as though he could already see the door to immortality opening before him.

"Then I look forward to our next meeting."

Black Zetsu's body slowly began to sink underground.

Just as it was about to disappear completely, a voice suddenly spoke again.

"Oh, right, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru looked up.

"My master asked me to remind you of something." Black Zetsu's face twisted into an extremely eerie smile. "That little gift Namikaze Minato left on you will cause a lot of trouble if you don't deal with it in time."

"If you need help, you can contact us anytime."

With that, Black and White Zetsu disappeared completely into the darkness.

"Crack!"

The potion bottle in Orochimaru's hand shattered.

He lowered his head sharply and looked at the shoulder grazed by the Rasengan.

Deep in the bloody wound, a tiny technique mark, almost impossible to sense with Chakra, glimmered faintly.

The Flying Raijin Mark!

That man... knew about even this?!