In the woods outside Konoha.
"Lord Madara, Konoha is just ahead..."
Snap!
Madara tore off a leaf and clenched it hard in his hand.
"I know. That loathsome presence still haunts the place, even after all these decades..."
As he spoke, he ground the leaf to powder and sniffed it. "Hm? An exhilarating scent of blood. There has been fighting in Konoha recently, hasn't there?"
Black Zetsu answered honestly, "To tell you the truth, Sasuke attacked Konoha twice, and both attempts ended in failure. Naruto stopped him the first time, and Hinata Hyuga stopped him the second..."
"Oh?" Madara raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke may be immature, but he has the same Straight Tomoe Sharingan as I do. Naruto is one thing, but how could a Hyuga..."
Black Zetsu had intended to mention the Tenseigan outright, but after his previous slip of the tongue, he chose his words more carefully.
"I don't know the details either, but that Hinata Hyuga seems to have awakened an ocular power beyond the Byakugan. Its destructive power is terrifying..."
The corners of Madara's mouth lifted. "An ocular power beyond the Byakugan? Interesting. It seems the Hyuga also have close ties to the Six Paths... Still, I never intended to attack Konoha."
With that, Madara opened his mouth, pinched the tip of his tongue between two fingers, and pulled it straight.
Even after his resurrection, the Curse Mark of Tongue Eradication remained!
As it turned out, the Curse Mark of Tongue Eradication invented by Tobirama was inscribed on the soul. Nothing short of Six Paths-level Yin-Yang Release could erase it...
Black Zetsu thought, I could erase that cursed seal, but that would inevitably make Madara suspicious. I'd better stay out of it...
Without betraying anything, Black Zetsu said, "In other words, until you attain the power