You Met Mother, Didn't You? / I'll Come Clean-Your Mother Is Here with Me!

The results of his Divine Vacuum Attack from opposite Kakuzu all matched his predictions.

He can't keep lying to the Black Zetsu, can he?

He still gave a positive assessment of the other party's desire to rescue his mother.

At this moment, behind Kakuzu, Black Zetsu also noticed that Uchiha Shingen's gaze kept falling on its location, and knew that he had been discovered again.

It's strange, it's clearly been improved, but it was still noticed so quickly.

Uchiha Shingen's talent in this area was truly extraordinary.

After thinking for a moment, Black Zetsu moved towards Uchiha Shingen's direction.

Since we've already discovered it, let's just lay it all out.

In Uchiha Shingen's eyes, the "shadow" on the ground, which perhaps only he could see, was cautiously circling around to his side.

Uchiha Shingen inwardly complained, but still moved slightly to let Black Zetsu hide behind him.

He was curious whether his good friend intended to test the waters and get back to him, or continue pretending.

Jue'er, you only have one chance, you must seize it!

Chapter Twenty-Four: You saw Mother, didn't you?

Black Zetsu is quite skilled at stealth and spying.

Even if it only goes through one cycle a year, it has still gone through about a thousand cycles.

In order to fully observe the generations of Indra, it repeatedly sought out and spied on them.

But there's a premise: all of them happened when the other person was having a fight, not only because everyone's attention wasn't as focused at that time, but also because of Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki valued Ashura's offspring because the ideas he spread were passed down through this line. Later, this emphasis shifted to Ashura's Chakra reincarnations.

Black Zetsu hoped for Indra's offspring, as only Indra's offspring could potentially awaken the Rinnegan. Later, this expectation focused on Indra's Chakra reincarnation.

The two brothers' Chakra reincarnations are always synchronized; they don't seek to die on the same day, month, and year, but only to be born on the same day, month, and year.

They will definitely face off in the end.

Therefore, spying on one is equivalent to spying on the other.

Black Zetsu honed his stealth skills in this way; his opponent was Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

It also developed a style of being cautious in everything it did.

When experts gather together and chat, it usually keeps its distance.

The so-called masters were once called Jonin, but now they are called the Five Kage.

But this time is an exception; it can't wait any longer.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and apart from Uchiha Shingen, it seems no one else has discovered it.

Seeing that Uchiha Shingen had made room for him, Black Zetsu readily accepted this gesture of goodwill and quickly slipped behind Uchiha Shingen.

However, Black Zetsu was used to hiding, and when it was actually next to Uchiha Shingen, it calmed down.

This was a long negotiation.

Black Zetsu first concealed himself in Uchiha Shingen's shadow. As time passed, the shadow behind Uchiha Shingen grew longer and longer, giving Black Zetsu more room to hide.

Finally, it got completely dark.

As the sun completely dipped below the horizon and the light of the stars and moon dominated the sky, Black Zetsu felt the time was right. It very carefully separated a thin "thread" from its arm and pierced through the ground to reach Uchiha Shingen's clothes.

Black Zetsu was very careful in setting up the car.

Once connected, it can establish contact with Uchiha Shingen and begin communicating.

But it still underestimated the people present.

Moreover, not everyone talks about it in a very immersive way.

To Uchiha Shingen's left sat Chiyo, who also seemed somewhat like an observer. The main debater from Sand Village was Rasa, not her.

After Sasori of the Red Sands left Sunagakure, the title of the Sunagakure's number one puppeteer returned to this old woman's feet.

Chiyo doesn't have many hobbies.

You can either play with puppets or fish; it's all related to lines.

Puppet masters differ from other types of ninjas in that, because their strength largely depends on factors other than their physical body, their strength doesn't decline as significantly even as they age.

All puppeteers share a common trait: they are particularly sensitive to strings.

Chiyo, who seemed to be dozing off, noticed the thin black line extending from behind Uchiha Shingen, even in the night.

So she flicked her finger, and a Chakra Threads shot out diagonally, striking the end of Black Zetsu's "thread" and connecting the two.

"Hey!" Chiyo shouted in a rather exaggerated manner, and suddenly made a gesture of raising her hand.

Black Zetsu, with its solid professional skills, didn't shout out immediately, but because of this, Chiyo pulled an arm out of Uchiha Shingen's shadow.

In that instant, it had only one thought—how could this old woman have such a strong grip?

Everyone present was observant and attentive, but they hadn't noticed Black Zetsu because they weren't experts in the field. Now that a hand had suddenly appeared, they all turned in unison to look at the area behind Uchiha Shingen.

Uchiha Shingen: "..."

It's only been a short time since I last saw him, and his condition has become quite noticeable.

Well, since we're friends, I guess I can only help smooth things over.

Without saying a word, Uchiha Shingen made a hand seal.

The shadow behind him suddenly expanded, creating a circular shadow area several meters in diameter, causing everything within that area to sink instantly.

This also includes Black Zetsu.

The pulling force from the Shadow Technique exceeded Chiyo's pulling force, and the Chakra Threads were snapped immediately.

Chiyo calmly withdrew her Chakra Threads, while everyone else had already stood up.

Before anyone could speak, the familiar light—the light unique to Explosive Tag when they are activated—began to flash within the circular shadow area.

But this light seems a bit too bright!

Like dense stars in the night sky, countless sparks emerged from the surface of the shadows, then broke free from the constraints of the shadow magic.

What followed was sound.

Like the roar of a volcano, colorful fireworks burst forth from the shadows, shooting higher and higher with a deafening roar, piercing through the darkness, releasing magnificent emerald tassels into the night sky, and blooming into a kaleidoscope of colors.

The light from the explosion and flames shone on the faces of the people below, and their expressions varied.

The Sand Village side seemed to be enjoying the beautiful scenery. To be fair, because the Sunagakure's living area is underground and due to the need for secrecy in the Sunagakure's location, they don't have the habit of setting off fireworks.

Therefore, it was indeed rare for the Sand Ninja to see fireworks outside of the Ninja War period.

The situation in Rain Village was far from peaceful.

Although Black Zetsu only showed one arm, anyone even slightly familiar with the Akatsuki recognized whose arm it was.

Moreover, of all people to sneak alongside, why did he have to sneak up behind the Leaf Village's White Ghost!

Isn't this a ready-made handle?

"I never thought I'd see this Ninjutsu in my lifetime." Chiyo smiled at Uchiha Shingen. "Just as rumored, Shingen truly inherited that person's Ninjutsu."

"Oh?" Rasa's interest was piqued as well, because he had never seen the Ninjutsu used by Uchiha Shingen before. "Elder, do you recognize this technique?"

As one of the Five Kage, Rasa possessed extensive knowledge; there should be few Ninjutsu in the world that he was unaware of.

As the home of the greatest secret techniques in the Ninja World, Leaf Village has been a key focus of historical records for many years.

"Fourth Hokage, have you forgotten? The Second Hokage's Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and the Shadow Technique of the Ghost Senju were quite famous back then."

"So that's the technique." Rasa remembered; this was ancient history.

Although both of them were later Impure World Reincarnation, this combination of Ninjutsu doesn't seem to have reappeared.

This is a tactic specifically designed for surprise attacks, and it is highly dependent on the environment and timing.

"It seems the intruder has been eliminated." Rasa made a definitive statement, abruptly ending the discussion of Ninjutsu, as continuing the topic would inevitably lead to unavoidable issues. "However, this intruder appears to be a member of Akatsuki, right? I think I've seen their information before. Gentlemen of Amegakure, please provide an explanation."

"Fourth Kazekage, Amegakure and Akatsuki have no direct relationship." Konan's response was quite satisfactory. "Akatsuki is a ninja organization that is employed by us, but the Lord Kazekage should be well aware of this. Our relationship is limited to employment, and we have no control over their actions."

"Even so," Rasa nodded, "Their behavior is highly suspicious, and both Nagato and you are from Akatsuki. I have every reason to doubt your sincerity in the negotiations, unless Rain Village is willing to cooperate with Sand Village to eliminate this organization."

From Rasa's perspective, such a requirement is perfectly reasonable.

Unauthorized intrusion by a third party constitutes hostile behavior.

If Rain Village wants to prove his innocence, he should join forces to eliminate him.

"Okay," Konan readily agreed.

She agreed so readily, her expression even showing a hint of happiness.

"That's settled then." Rasa remembered Konan's expression. "We'll continue our talks after we've cleared all the Akatsuki ninja from our two countries' territories."

"It seems the two of you have reached a consensus." Although Uchiha Shingen found the outcome a bit strange, it was still a good result for him.

"Lord Shingen, what do you think of this result?" Rasa asked with a smile.

Although the original plan to use the desert to wipe out the Rain Village generation was a complete failure, eliminating the Akatsuki, which had spiraled out of control and was instead growing stronger through the war, was still a viable option.

"I have no objection, and Leaf Village is willing to provide assistance, after all, he still chose my side to infiltrate." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "The ANBU I brought this time will cooperate with you to wipe out this organization."

Leaf Village attacking Akatsuki, that seems pretty logical.

Moreover, Akatsuki is now a terrorist organization.

Everyone present smiled and nodded, and Rasa expressed high praise for Leaf Village's responsible mediator behavior.

Everyone had only one wish— Uchiha Shingen kept his word, truly relying solely on the ANBU.

Inheriting the Ninjutsu of the Ghost Senju means inheriting the Impure World Reincarnation! He's the second Ghost Senju!

The neighboring Land of Earth hasn't recovered yet.

Regardless, the talks were a success, and neither side left disappointed.

The Sand Village and the Rain Village dispersed. Uchiha Shingen sat in his original spot, picked up the last green jujube on the table, took a bite, and slowly ate it.

After he finished eating, he stood up and disappeared into the woods.

Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags could kill most people in the world, but they certainly couldn't kill Black Zetsu.

A sufficient explosion effect can actually conceal Black Zetsu's figure.

For a friend to this extent, Uchiha Shingen definitely deserves a thousand thumbs up.

His figure moved like a ghost in the forest, and after traveling a long distance, he found a cave.

He created the effect of a campfire Kagutsuchi Fire Release, and the flames cast his shadow on the rock wall behind him.

"Old Black, come out," said Uchiha Shingen.

The next moment, a dark figure rushed out of the shadows and practically rode on top of Uchiha Shingen.

Black Zetsu was still a little warm from the explosion, but it didn't care about that at the moment. It grabbed Uchiha Shingen and shook him wildly.

"You saw Mother, didn't you!? Didn't you!?"

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Truth Is Out—Your Mother Is With Me!

Faced with Black Zetsu's clearly agitated actions, Uchiha Shingen remained silent, simply smiling as he let it sway back and forth.

He knew Black Zetsu would realize it on his own.

Sure enough, after only a couple of shakes, Black Zetsu had already figured it out—it had never mentioned "Mother" to Uchiha Shingen.

It carefully slid to the side.

"Um, Shingen..."

Uchiha Shingen considerately stopped it from speaking, because he felt that if Black Zetsu spoke at this time, the effect would definitely be bad.

After all, it wasn't planned out.

"Old Hei, don't rush, I'm not in a hurry. Take your time to think it over, and we'll talk when you've made up your mind."