"Mother? No, how could it be? Chakra exactly like Mother's? Did Mother escape the Sealing?"
Black Zetsu was disguised as the lead ninja of Kirigakure's team and was staying at an inn in Konoha.
He sensed Chakra almost identical to the incomparable, sacred Chakra in his distant memories. Black Zetsu could no longer keep calm.
"What on earth is going on?"
Black Zetsu's already grim expression darkened further.
"I have to go see for myself."
Mayfly Technique.
With a low shout, Black Zetsu sank straight into the ground.
He merged his body with the earth and vegetation, then sped through the network of organic matter beneath the ground—plant roots, underground streams, and more. Then...
Chapter 257: Excitement and Doubt
Outside the Forest of Death, Uchiha Yin, who had been sipping wine, suddenly felt the Barrier he had set up tremble.
"Not good. Someone's trying to enter the Forest of Death from underground."
Uchiha Yin froze for a moment, then spoke up at once.
With Kirigakure suddenly proposing these Chunin Ninja Exams, how could Konoha have taken no precautions?
At Hiruzen Sarutobi's request, Uchiha Yin had set up a sensory Barrier around the Forest of Death well in advance. He could sense anyone who entered or left.
Had Black Zetsu failed to notice the Barrier?
No. As the contingency Kaguya Otsutsuki had left behind before she was sealed, Black Zetsu had abilities of his own.
Otherwise, he would never have served as Akatsuki's dedicated intelligence operative in the original story.
Unlike that time in Rōran, which was so far from the Land of Water, Black Zetsu had sensed Kaguya Otsutsuki's presence from such a short distance. How could he contain his excitement?
Perhaps it was more than excitement. All kinds of complicated emotions stirred within him, too.
In that state, Black