Ding, ding, ding!
His points climbed at an astonishing speed, revealing Black Zetsu's decidedly unusual state of mind.
But they soon stopped increasing. That old bastard Black Zetsu really recovered quickly. Had he already pulled himself together?
Pretty strong nerves you've got there. But if I slit my own throat right now, how would you handle that, Black Zetsu? Would you fall apart on the spot?
The idea seemed pretty entertaining, but he decided against it. This disguise still had its uses.
He withdrew his hands, slick and sticky with blood. A heart really was excellent material for [Impure World Reincarnation]. He rather wanted to collect it...
But Black Zetsu's still watching me. How do I put the material away without him noticing?
Ideally, I could milk another batch of points out of him, too.
A flash of inspiration struck Watanabe Ichiro, giving him a wicked idea.
He knelt beside Madara Uchiha's still-warm corpse, his expression grief-stricken and disturbingly obsessive.
"Lord Madara, please join me... in witnessing Konoha's growth."
Reverently, he raised his cupped hands toward his mouth. Using the angle to conceal his movements, he stowed the material in his system inventory and replaced it with a slice of salmon.
It was an ingredient left over from when he had played Watanabe Ichiro-the older brother card of the twins. Stored in the system, it stayed fresh forever.
Soft chewing echoed through the room, accompanied by faint swallowing sounds. Watanabe Ichiro wiped the corner of his mouth, smearing the blood on his hands across his face.
Mm, this fish is tender and delicious, with such a silky texture. The flavor's incredible. I should have caught a few more back then. Still, it's not too late. Once things settle down, I'll switch disguises and catch more to stock up.
Black Zetsu stared at Watanabe Ichiro's satisfied expression, utterly dumbstruck.
Before today, he could still boast, Heh, I've lived so long. What haven't I seen?
But today, he had been defeated. He genuinely had never seen anything like this!
For all his experience, he had never encountered anyone like Watanabe Ichiro. Just because his idol failed to live up to his expectations, he had killed the man himself. This was insane...
(Are you searching for: obsessive stalker fans in the idol economy?)
Does merging Uchiha and Senju bloodlines combine both clans' twisted tendencies, too?
Tsk. You're a little frightening, Uchiha Ichiro...
Black Zetsu's plan to emerge and explain [Infinite Tsukuyomi] died before it could get off the ground.
I feel the time isn't right. Yes, exactly. The time isn't right!
Uchiha Ichiro hasn't experienced the ultimate pain yet. He still needs to endure more trials before he can understand my plan.
Black Zetsu chickened out. His figure, which had been poised to move, vanished back into the darkness, while the points in the system shot up like a rocket.
Watanabe Ichiro was delighted.
Nice, very nice. That old bastard Black Zetsu really delivers. Keep up the good work!
Over the following days, Konoha remained peaceful on the surface, while undercurrents churned in the shadows.
With Watanabe Ichiro keeping the Uchiha in line through force, the clan remained fairly stable. Only one thing surprised him-Uchiha Kagami challenged him for the position of clan head.
Naturally, Watanabe Ichiro wasn't afraid of a challenger and accepted immediately. Following Uchiha clan rules, they marked off a large section of the training grounds as their dueling arena.
Who knew where Uchiha Kagami had gotten his intelligence, but every attack targeted Watanabe Ichiro's weak points. His every move showed an extraordinary understanding of Watanabe Ichiro's fighting habits, countering him at every turn. Watanabe Ichiro, who had intended to use only Uchiha techniques, found this rather troublesome.
As he was now, anything less than an overwhelming victory would make it difficult to maintain his prestige as the Uchiha Clan Head. He controlled the clan through force. If he couldn't silence opposition with one decisive blow today, a hundred more challenges were bound to follow.
Well, forget it. Watanabe Ichiro sighed inwardly. I'll use a few other abilities.
His overall strength was hardly lacking.
For starters, with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, along with Taijutsu and basic ninjutsu that the system's idle training had raised to this body's limits, he was already at Jonin level.
Add the [Wood Release] he had exchanged for through the system, [True Damage Infusion], which could be applied to any weapon, and the various forbidden techniques he had learned from Tobirama Senju, and it was no exaggeration to say that he could easily crush anyone in Konoha except Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju.
But if he counted only his Uchiha abilities, he still fell a little short.
It seemed he needed to find a plausible way to bring out his Mangekyō Sharingan. It had been sitting in his system inventory for ages.
[Purple Mangekyō Sharingan] came with an offensive Mangekyō ability, determined by his state of mind and wishes at the time of awakening. Although its ocular power could not be replenished, it could be gifted to someone else.
It was time to consider what abilities to give his Mangekyō Sharingan. One reason Watanabe Ichiro had never brought it out was that his current strength could handle most situations. There was no need to become stronger, or he might end up so invincible later that retiring this disguise would become difficult.
The emotional changes people experienced when a disguise died yielded enormous amounts of points-dozens of times more than the usual petty antics. He couldn't pass up that harvest.
If possible, it would be best to avoid [Impure World Reincarnation]. Life was precious because people only had one, and a death without any hope of resurrection struck far deeper. He needed to plan this carefully.
Watanabe Ichiro switched ninja tools in his hands, using Uchiha Shurikenjutsu to scatter kunai engraved with strange patterns across the arena. Uchiha Kagami immediately unleashed Fire Release to destroy them.
Watanabe Ichiro's gaze sharpened. Kagami's earlier counters could be explained as the result of carefully studying his fighting style and devising responses himself. But he shouldn't have reacted to the Flying Thunder God Technique so quickly. It was almost as if he knew Watanabe Ichiro could use it.
That was strange. Hashirama Senju was the only person in Konoha who knew Watanabe Ichiro had become Tobirama Senju's personal disciple.
When Watanabe Ichiro left the Uchiha Clan Compound to move into Tobirama Senju's laboratory, he had avoided everyone along the way. Officially, he had also used the excuse of carrying out a mission as the Hokage's personal guard.
He only ever addressed Tobirama Senju as his teacher when no one else was around, and he never used Tobirama Senju's signature techniques in daily life. No matter how he looked at it, Uchiha Kagami shouldn't have known he could use Flying Thunder God. So why had he reacted so promptly?
No! Besides Hashirama Senju, someone else in Konoha knows-Black Zetsu!
If it was him, everything made sense.
Black Zetsu follows me around every day. He knows practically everything about me. It would make perfect sense if he leaked that information.
Watanabe Ichiro pondered this without slowing his hands. While Uchiha Kagami diligently destroyed the ninja tools scattered across the arena, he used the Flying Thunder God Formula he had planted on the back hem of Kagami's clothing during their earlier close-quarters exchange to close the distance. Then he unleashed a Great Fireball Technique-the move that never managed to roast anyone to death in Naruto-and finished the fight in short order.
The clan physician led the burned Uchiha Kagami away for treatment. Watanabe Ichiro turned and, as expected, met his resentful gaze.
"Uchiha Ichiro! I'll make you pay... for looking down on me!"
Can't win, so you start talking trash. Fine by me.
But you need to be worth something. All that rage is only worth 0.01 points in the system. What do you think I am, a beggar?
Watanabe Ichiro's gaze passed over him as though he were a speck of dust, without lingering for a moment. He turned and left, letting Uchiha Kagami shout furiously behind him.
So why is Black Zetsu helping Uchiha Kagami? Does he want him as a backup candidate for awakening the Rinnegan, or does he have something else planned?
What can Kagami do? What does Black Zetsu need him to do?
Everything he knew about Uchiha Kagami flashed through Watanabe Ichiro's mind. Suddenly, he paused.
If I remember correctly, Uchiha Kagami has a pregnant wife...
Could it be?!
Before you continue