"So, who exactly are you?"
In a dark underground fissure, in a muddy pit, Itachi stood covered in dirt, with a lump of black matter lying limply on the ground before him.
The black lump raised his head slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching, his bean-sized eyes looking somewhat unfocused.
"Heh, who knows?"
He spoke weakly, but his heart was filled with sorrow and self-reproach.
I got careless. I never thought my decision to possess him back then would bring me so much trouble.
If not for Orochimaru's interference, Itachi wouldn't have been able to get close to Asura, and I could have used Asura and Indra's power to sweep through the Shinobi World, restore the Ten-Tails, and revive Mother.
"Madara's will, Asura's uncle-which one is the real you?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing through the information in Asura's earlier words. Combined with the interaction between Indra and Black Zetsu, it made his gaze grow colder.
"..."
Silence was Itachi's answer.
Black Zetsu stared at the stone overhead. They were underground, with no sky for him to admire.
He was a little tired and did not want to answer Itachi. In silence, he considered whether there might be another chance to turn things around-even though this attempt had been an all-or-nothing gamble to begin with.
Forget it.
Itachi frowned at Black Zetsu on the ground, then simply picked him up by the neck and headed for the surface.
Before leaving, he did not forget to use Genjutsu to control the two humans who had fallen asleep on the ground, taking them up with him.
During the slow walk up, Itachi examined the two people who had appeared beside Black Zetsu and discovered that one of them was Mui, the lord of Hozuki Castle, whom he had