Black Zetsu

"Hiruzen?"

Danzo was truly confused and could not help asking.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had noticed Danzo long ago. He felt somewhat helpless toward this old friend whom he had defeated in one blow with the Golden Light Spell.

Whether it was his son, his three disciples, or Danzo.

Everyone wore that same expression when they saw him.

"What is it?"

"How did you become so young?"

Danzo could not understand it. He simply could not figure out what had happened to Hiruzen Sarutobi to cause such drastic changes in both spirit and body.

"Maybe being Hokage was too exhausting before, so I looked old. Now that I've had others handle most of the work, of course I look younger. Hahaha!"

"..."

Danzo fell silent.

Obviously, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to tell the truth.

"Enough. Since you're here, help me deal with this tiger."

Ninjas spent years carrying out missions in the wild and were highly adaptable to all kinds of harsh environments. Disposing of animal carcasses was a required course at the Ninja Academy.

Even with only one arm left, handling this tiger was no challenge for Danzo. Though the tiger was enormous, it was still only a beast.

Though he said they should deal with the tiger, Hiruzen Sarutobi slipped straight into the house to drink tea.

As his cultivation increased, so did his need for food. Since he had yet to find any medicinal herbs and could not refine pills, he could only eat large amounts of meat to satisfy his body's needs.

Fortunately, the Forest of Death was vast, and hardly anyone hunted there. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi ate to his heart's content, it would not be a problem.

Danzo said nothing. He silently prepared the tiger alone and began roasting the meat.

"Who is that little bit supposed to feed?"

Seeing Danzo roast only one tiger leg, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little helpless and directly roasted the entire tiger.

"Why did you choose this moment to do something like this?"

Danzo's mind was not on the roast. He still wanted to get a clear answer from Hiruzen Sarutobi. Why had he chosen this moment to give up everything?

Did he really look down on him that much?

Danzo believed he would not have done worse than Orochimaru, so why would Hiruzen Sarutobi not let him help handle the village's affairs?

"Danzo, you're not suited to handle these matters for the village..."

"Why?"

"I'm not suited, but Orochimaru is?"

Danzo knew very well about Orochimaru's research and pursuit of immortality. He had never trusted Orochimaru, and during the competition between Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru, he had contributed quite a bit from behind the scenes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

"You lost your way long ago. Besides, we're all old. It's time to slowly hand the village over to the younger generation."

Naturally, Danzo did not believe Hiruzen Sarutobi's nonsense and began listing examples to prove his point.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer Danzo's questions. Once the meat was done, he began eating.

"Hiruzen, do you even understand what I'm saying?!"

By the time Danzo finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already eaten the entire tiger and was picking his teeth as he watched him.

"??"

How could he eat that fast? Since when had this monkey's appetite become so huge?

Danzo began to suspect that the person before him was not Hiruzen Sarutobi at all, but the Monkey Demon King in disguise!

"Did you hear a single word I said?"

"It's already too late. There's no use listening to you now. Accept your fate."

Danzo was so enraged he nearly choked on his own anger. It reminded him of the Hiruzen Sarutobi from their youth, just as infuriating as ever!

Not wanting to say another word to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo turned and went home.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to go mad, then he could stay here and go mad by himself!

Black Zetsu, who had been monitoring Konoha, hurried back to Amegakure. Akatsuki had already been established, and a conspiracy was quietly brewing.

"Madara, something big happened! Danzo was taken out by Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Madara Uchiha—Obito Uchiha—had already begun laying his plans.

He had personally orchestrated the Nine-Tails Uprising, and in the future, he would also directly participate in the Uchiha Clan massacre.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan had been divided up between Danzo and Obito.

Obito's greatest stupidity was not hurting others for the sake of his beloved, but believing another person's lies. He was Konoha's greatest clown.

"Danzo? Hmph, he was nothing but a rat."

He had successfully launched the Nine-Tails Uprising, fought the Fourth Hokage without falling behind, and had even become the mastermind behind the entire Shinobi World.

At this moment, Obito was incomparably arrogant. It was unavoidable. Having gained power beyond imagination and inherited Madara Uchiha's legacy, it was only natural that he looked down on everyone.

Yet as an eye that reflected the heart, Obito's Kamui proved that all he wanted was to escape this reality.

A clown who knew only how to flee could hardly blame anyone for deceiving him.

"It's fine. This won't affect our plan. The Uchiha Clan must be destroyed!"

The cowardly Obito needed many Three-Tomoe Sharingan to use Izanagi. Like Danzo, he wanted to obtain as many Sharingan as possible from the Uchiha Clan.

One Sharingan meant one extra life!

"Hiruzen Sarutobi's secret technique can ignore Izanagi. It can even expel the Hashirama Cells from your body!"

There was fear in Black Zetsu's voice. He even felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi's secret technique might be able to destroy him as well.

As the incarnation of Kaguya Otsutsuki's will, he would not die so long as Kaguya Otsutsuki did not die.

Though Kaguya Otsutsuki had been sealed on the moon, she had eaten the Divine Tree's fruit. As long as the Tailed Beasts and chakra did not vanish, she would basically never die.

"What?"

Obito Uchiha's eyes widened. His greatest reliance was not Kamui, but Izanagi.

It could be said that Izanagi was the foundation of his ability to dominate the Shinobi World. Even Madara Uchiha had relied on Izanagi to have the last laugh in his battle against Hashirama Senju.

"It's fine. Hiruzen Sarutobi is already old. We just need to find an opportunity to kill him."

"But what if he passes that secret technique on to someone else? Orochimaru has become one of Konoha's decision-makers, and Jiraiya and Tsunade have returned to Konoha as well. That isn't good for us."

Black Zetsu disliked the feeling of things slipping beyond his control, especially the Uchiha Clan. Even he found the power of the Blood Wheel Eye troublesome. Though it was not as powerful as the Rinnegan, the abilities awakened after the Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyo Sharingan were simply too strange and varied.

Originally, the Uchiha Clan should have been destroyed soon. But now, destroying them would not be so easy.

"Orochimaru... It's fine. We still have plenty of time. We can plan slowly."

Obito's words calmed Black Zetsu as well.

That was right. He had already waited far too long. Waiting a little longer would not matter.

"I'll go take a look at Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Obito decided to inspect things personally. If he found an opportunity, he would directly kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, that cowardly Hokage.

"Be careful. If anything feels wrong, run immediately."

Black Zetsu did not intend to go with Obito. If Obito died, there could always be another, but if he died, he would truly be gone.

In any case, Asura and Indra were endlessly entangled. He only needed to wait quietly.

Obito did not reply and directly used Kamui to leave Amegakure.