Black Zetsu's Attack, and Danzo Just Tagging Along

"One, two..."

"Only two points of light harboring strong malice toward me? Looks like Danzo is running out of men too."

Uchiha Ensei watched the approaching enemies with some amusement. They had likely just stepped onto the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan compound when they were spotted by the night patrol.

At present, the Uchiha Clan had more than twenty members with Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Ensei had arranged for at least five of them to patrol every night.

Under normal circumstances, even an expert at Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage Level would be held off for quite some time by these patrolling Uchiha clansmen.

But... the green dots on the map that represented those blocking the enemies quickly dimmed.

"At that speed, only a Mangekyō Sharingan could probably manage it."

"Is it Obito Uchiha... or Shisui?"

After quickly assessing the available manpower, he informed the Ninja Cat Clan guards at the entrance to notify Fugaku Uchiha and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan experts still in the clan.

As for Uchiha Ensei himself, he created a Shadow Clone and dispatched artificial humans Zero-One and Zero-Three to meet the enemy.

As for Zero-Two, although he had been specially made as an anti-Obito model, he needed to monitor the entire battlefield right now and could not leave without authorization.

By the time Uchiha Ensei's Shadow Clone arrived at the scene, seven or eight figures were already sprawled across the ground... Oh, they were not corpses. They had merely been controlled by genjutsu and could not break free.

"It reeks. Danzo, have you been crawling through latrines lately?"

At that moment, Uchiha Ensei once again cursed the Shadow Clone's absurd realism inwardly. It felt exactly like being there in person; the stench coming from Shimura Danzō beside him was practically a biological weapon.

He casually unleashed a large-scale Wind Release to blow the stench farther away, but anyone who came close to Shimura Danzō could still smell it.

Thus, Uchiha Ensei kept his distance. He arranged for the artificial humans to deal with Danzo; with Danzo's current strength, they were more than enough.

"Hey, Black Zetsu. You're controlling Shisui—why didn't Obito come?"

Uchiha Ensei looked at Shisui Uchiha, half of whose body had already turned pitch-black, and could not help feeling somewhat regretful.

That unlucky kid still had not escaped his tragic fate.

"Uchiha Ensei... the one who came this time should be a Shadow Clone as well, right?"

"Can't you see the past and future? Why ask me, then?"

Black Zetsu's distinctive voice rang out. Combined with Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, it created an inexplicably unsettling feeling.

Based on his performance in the original plot, Black Zetsu's combat strength should not have been particularly high.

But if Black Zetsu managed to launch a sneak attack, breaking free would be difficult.

After all, Black Zetsu was a creation of Kaguya Otsutsuki. In terms of rank alone, he stood far above an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan.

Even Madara Uchiha, who possessed the Rinnegan, had been deceived, only to be directly ambushed by Black Zetsu at the very end.

When facing Kaguya, both Sasuke with the Rinnegan and Naruto Uzumaki in Sage Mode had briefly been controlled by Black Zetsu, though Kaguya might have aided him then.

But... he absolutely could not let his guard down!

"If I were truly omniscient and omnipotent, the first thing I'd do would be kill you!"

"Honestly, you, Madara Uchiha's will, are far more troublesome than Obito Uchiha."

Uchiha Ensei's Shadow Clone quietly sent a message to the original body, telling him to guard against a possible sneak attack from Obito Uchiha lurking in the shadows.

In truth, Uchiha Ensei did not know what had happened between Shimura Danzō and Obito Uchiha, nor did he know that this operation was Black Zetsu acting alone, without even bringing many White Zetsu.

Just as Uchiha Ensei's Shadow Clone finished relaying the message, he sensed a wave of ocular power attempting to control his consciousness. The quality of that ocular power was extremely high, far surpassing other Mangekyō Sharingan.

Black Zetsu's possession also enhanced ocular power?

Uchiha Ensei was secretly alarmed. Fortunately, this Shadow Clone had been infused with a considerable amount of ocular power before setting out. Otherwise, dismissing the Shadow Clone would have been his only option.

At the same time, Black Zetsu, who was controlling Shisui Uchiha, learned the true nature of that unfamiliar ocular power from Uchiha Ensei's resistance.

Byakugan... no, it was the Tenseigan, and an immature Tenseigan at that!

An Uchiha had awakened the Byakugan? That was an ancestral bloodline reversion—what a rare occurrence.

Once Black Zetsu learned that Uchiha Ensei was not a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the tension in his heart finally eased.

The Ōtsutsuki Clan had not appeared. His plan could continue.

As for Uchiha Ensei, there was no need to bother with him for now. He might even be useful as a pawn later.

But just how much could that foresight of the past and future truly accomplish?

Just as Black Zetsu was pondering this, countless golden chains burst from the ground and bound him tightly in the blink of an eye.

If they had been ordinary chains, Black Zetsu naturally would not have cared at all.

But these golden chains were the Uzumaki Clan's unique Kekkei Genkai, filled with potent sealing power. They were practically Black Zetsu's natural nemesis.

The one who launched the attack was, naturally, Kushina Uzumaki.

The moment he learned that enemies were attacking, Uchiha Ensei had notified Kushina Uzumaki and told her to pay special attention to a strange creature that was entirely black, like a mass of black mud.

"Great, the operation was a success!"

A trace of excitement appeared on Kushina Uzumaki's face.

But when Uchiha Ensei saw this, he immediately warned, "Quick, use Sealing Jutsu! Ignore Shisui for now—seal that black lump along with him first!"

Though he gave the warning in time, Kushina Uzumaki was still a little too slow. With merely a simple exchange of glances, her body was controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Adamantine Sealing Chains silently dissolved. Kushina Uzumaki's ambush had not even separated Black Zetsu; instead, she had gotten herself caught as well.

"Damn it, I should've warned Kushina not to make eye contact with the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Ensei felt helpless. He knew that Kushina Uzumaki lacked combat experience, but he had not expected her to go down so quickly.

With no other choice, Uchiha Ensei released the ocular power within the Shadow Clone. His entire body seemed to be covered in a Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak as he charged straight at Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina Uzumaki was still under Kotoamatsukami's control and instinctively attacked Uchiha Ensei.

But before her attack could land on Uchiha Ensei, Kushina Uzumaki regained her senses and hastily pulled it back.

The reason was simple: the Nine-Tails' chakra had taken effect, along with the influence of the immense ocular power on Uchiha Ensei's body.

Jinchuriki were not immune to genjutsu, but if a Tailed Beast noticed that its Jinchuriki had fallen under genjutsu, it could use its own chakra to dispel it.

Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was naturally not so easily broken, so Uchiha Ensei's immense ocular power had also been needed to assist.

"Ensei, I'm sorry."

Kushina Uzumaki spoke with guilt.

"It's fine. Black Zetsu was created by Madara Uchiha using Yin–Yang Release. He's practically Madara's will itself, so naturally he isn't easy to deal with."

Through these tests, Uchiha Ensei had gradually come to understand something.

To completely destroy Black Zetsu, he would probably need Six Paths Level combat power, or Sealing Jutsu at the Six Paths Level.

He wondered whether it would work if he found a way to lock Black Zetsu inside the Kamui Dimension.