Black Zetsu's Great Contribution

"This is quite an unexpected delight."

Shusen was stunned. He had never expected the Uchiha Clan to be so crazed and impulsive.

To kill Black Zetsu, they had actually abandoned the battle altogether, mobilizing every last soldier to pursue him. It was so absurd that the Kaguya Clan members felt as though they were dreaming...

Uchiha Tajima activated Susanoo and charged at the forefront, leading the way as he forcibly carved a path through the blazing sea of fire. From time to time, he hurled Yasakani Magatama, blasting straight through mountains and rocks as bloody tears streamed from his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Black Zetsu won't be that easy to deal with."

Shusen was secretly alarmed. Although Black Zetsu had been struck head-on by Amaterasu, reputed to be the strongest physical attack, and although its flames would not die until they had burned whatever they clung to into ash, he still did not believe Black Zetsu would be killed.

After all, he was the ultimate final boss of the ninja world.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shusen immediately blended into the Uchiha Clan members and followed the tide.

"Uchiha Tajima, have you lost your mind?! Come back!"

Kaguya Izui's hoarse curses rang out behind them.

"Stop right there, Black Zetsu!"

"Even if you run to the ends of the earth, we'll grind your bones to dust!!"

The Uchiha Clan members chased after him for several miles, cursing nonstop.

Black Zetsu tried several times to flee underground along the way, but every time, Uchiha Tajima blasted through the ground with Yasakani Magatama and forced him back out.

Black Zetsu's mood at that moment was somewhat similar to that of the Kaguya Clan members. He was completely dumbfounded.

He had no idea what was happening.

He had merely been pursuing a bastard who had desecrated Mother, yet he had somehow provoked a huge group of Uchiha Clan members into fighting him to the death. Especially that reincarnation of Indra—the man's killing intent toward him was practically taking tangible form.

He had only slept for a few decades, yet the entire world had become so unfamiliar that he could not accept it.

"It must be that bastard!"

In a flash, Black Zetsu thought of Shusen. "It must be him! He used my name to make enemies of the Uchiha Clan. Damn it, who exactly is he?!"

Black Zetsu was both furious and afraid. This ninja world was no longer the one he knew.

Whoosh.

Another Yasakani Magatama flew toward him. Black Zetsu narrowly dodged it, while a nearby mountain was caught in the blast and half of it collapsed.

Uchiha Tajima nearly crushed his teeth. He suddenly stopped, drawing a massive Susanoo bow.

He condensed six Yasakani Magatama and compressed them into the shape of an arrow, then drew back the bowstring and aimed at Black Zetsu.

"Eight-Foot Arrow!"

Uchiha Tajima shouted and abruptly released the string.

Everyone saw only a bolt of purple lightning tear through the sky. In an instant, it pierced through Black Zetsu's back and nailed him firmly to the ground.

"Argh!"

Black Zetsu screamed.

When had he ever been in such a miserable state in his life?

Pinned down by the Eight-Foot Arrow, he could no longer move as Amaterasu ravaged and incinerated his body.

"Great Fireball Technique!"

"Dragon Flame Technique!"

The Uchiha Clan members seized the chance, pouring all their chakra into their strongest ninjutsu.

BOOM!!

Hundreds of Fire Release techniques struck Black Zetsu at once, their power even more terrifying than a missile barrage. Vast stretches of rock melted into lava.

"Again!"

Madara actively directed the clan members.

Another wave of Fire Release erupted.

BOOM!

The Uchiha Clan members bombarded the area with Fire Release three full times before stopping. Every mountain and forest within a kilometer had melted into a lake of lava, and Black Zetsu was nowhere to be seen.

"Did we finally kill Black Zetsu?"

"Father, I avenged you."

"Those who insult the Uchiha Clan shall be slain, no matter how far away they are!"

Many Uchiha Clan members wept with joy. They felt as though they had won a great battle; even capturing the Ninjasteel Mine would not have made them this excited.

From now on, they would no longer need to worry about the safety of their eyes on the battlefield.

Even Uchiha Tajima let out a long breath, dispelling Susanoo as bloody tears ran down his face.

"Back to the Ninjasteel Mine!"

Another fierce battle still awaited them. There was no time to celebrate, so Uchiha Tajima immediately led his clansmen back to support the Kaguya Clan.

Shusen took one deep look at the bubbling lake of lava and quietly departed.

The Uchiha Clan members all believed they had killed Black Zetsu, but Shusen alone knew that Black Zetsu had not died.

While everyone had been frantically bombarding him with Fire Release, Shusen had hidden in the shadows and carefully sensed the situation with Kagura's Mind's Eye. He discovered that those Fire Release attacks had not harmed Black Zetsu at all. His aura had remained steady throughout, only to abruptly vanish at some point.

As the embodiment of Kaguya Clan's will, Black Zetsu, like Kaguya Clan herself, was immune to ninjutsu. Even unconventional methods like Amaterasu and Yasakani Magatama could not kill him. Only sealing techniques could deal with him.

Although Shusen was proficient in the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques, he did not believe his current strength was enough to seal Black Zetsu.

For now, he would let him keep jumping around a while longer.

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"

When Uchiha Tajima returned to the Ninjasteel Mine, the Kaguya Clan had just suffered a crushing defeat and was fleeing in disarray.

Kaguya Izui hated Hashirama and Tobirama to the bone and desperately wanted to kill the brothers. Unfortunately, he had been saddled with unreliable allies who had fled without even a word. The Kaguya Clan alone could never stand against the Uzumaki Clan and Senju Clan, so they could only retreat in defeat.

"Clan Head Izui, we're here!"

"You sons of bitches! What fucking use are you showing up now?!" Kaguya Izui flew into a rage.

He was already grieving the loss of his son and had then been absurdly abandoned by his allies. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to bite the Uchiha Clan members to death.

Uchiha Tajima knew he was in the wrong. On top of that, he was in high spirits after eliminating Black Zetsu, so he did not argue and merely said, "We'll help you retreat."

The Uchiha Clan truly excelled at covering a retreat. Several hundred clan members joined forces to unleash Fire Release, and a surging sea of flames swept forth, easily halting the pursuit of the Uzumaki Clan and Senju Clan.

"Black Zetsu deserves the greatest credit for this overwhelming victory, hahaha!"

Watching the enemy troops flee in disarray beyond the sea of flames, Butsuma Senju could not help throwing back his head and laughing.

As much as the Uchiha Clan hated Black Zetsu, Butsuma Senju loved him. Similar situations had often occurred in his previous battles with the Uchiha Clan. Whenever Black Zetsu appeared, the Uchiha Clan would often collapse without a fight. He had helped them win countless battles.

Today, however, had been even more outrageous.

"Clan Head Butsuma, we cannot let our guard down," Ryū reminded him. "Black Zetsu is an evil and bizarre creature. Who knows when he might turn against us?"

Black Zetsu's intrusion into Whirlpool Village some time ago was still fresh in his mind.

"Clan Head Ryū is right. Honestly, if Black Zetsu's reputation were not so terrible, I'd truly like to drink with him!" Butsuma Senju said with a chuckle, sounding rather regretful.

"I get it!"

Tobirama suddenly had a flash of insight. "Black Zetsu wouldn't have appeared for no reason. He must have killed Kaguya Wuzhan and tried to frame me!"

Everyone was briefly stunned.

"Such framing doesn't matter." Butsuma Senju pondered for a moment, then waved it off dismissively.

"After all, we've long been locked in an endless feud with the Kaguya Clan. Tobirama, Hashirama, from now on, just say that the two of you killed Kaguya Wuzhan. It'll even raise your prestige among the other ninja clans."