Inside Kazuki's body—
In the midst of darkness, Kaguya sat on the ground, feeling utterly disheartened.
Ever since her past deception had been exposed—
Kazuki had occasionally revoked her access, preventing her from sharing his vision. While it wasn't complete isolation like the one enforced in Chibaku Tensei, it was still a tornt for Kaguya, who had grown used to freedom.
A tornt not just of the body—but of the heart.
Kaguya was desperate for a chance to talk openly with Kazuki...
She believed the misunderstandings between them could still be resolved. In her mind, perhaps it was just that Kazuki had absorbed too much Ōtsutsuki chakra through his eye techniques...
After all, chakra didn't only carry power—it also bore consciousness.
After all, at the core of the Ōtsutsuki is the concept of the "Kama."
Having absorbed the chakra of several Ōtsutsuki, Kazuki might, for the ti being, be unable to fully control such imnse power—causing his usually gentle nature to veer toward extres…
"If I were to give all of my power to Kazuki, maybe... it could help stabilize the Ōtsutsuki bloodline and chakra within him—help him rediscover that gentle self he used to be…"
In the pitch-black void, Kaguya murmured to herself, "I'll apologize to Kazuki... I didn't an to deceive him. How could I have known, the first ti I saw him, that he was the one destined to be special to …"
"I need to help him rebuild his trust in loyalty."
A fleeting image of Black Zetsu crossed her mind.
Ironically, ever since she had descended into Kazuki's body and begun experiencing the warmth of affection, she had, for a long while... all but forgotten about Black Zetsu.
After all, Black Zetsu was nominally Kaguya's third child.
But compared to sons like Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Hagoromo, who had inherited her true power, Black Zetsu's incomplete physical form marked a stark contrast.
To put it unkindly, calling Black Zetsu rely a creation of Yin-Yang Release—or even a puppet—wouldn't be inaccurate.
But now, in this mont of crisis, Kaguya finally rembered her loyal Black Zetsu.
Perhaps only Black Zetsu could prove to Kazuki that loyalty does still exist... After all, it had labored for over a thousand years just to bring her back. That kind of devotion should carry weight, shouldn't it?
On the battlefield, Kaguya had seen Obito—possessed by Black Zetsu.
It proved that Zetsu had never stopped trying. Its lack of results wasn't from a lack of effort—only limited capability…
And as Kaguya pondered these things—
The darkness she had slowly grown accustod to suddenly gave way to light.
Kazuki slowly appeared before her, his gaze unreadable as it fell upon her.
Kaguya stared blankly at him.
Their eyes t, but neither spoke.
That long-planned mont, the one she had prepared for endlessly in her mind… now that she was face-to-face with Kazuki—the one she thought of day and night—she no longer knew what the right words were.
She felt as though she and Kazuki had beco the most familiar of strangers.
"Kaguya… the 'Zetsu' you spoke of found ."
Kazuki looked at her—tired, hollow, and with a faint, ironic smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"It seems it wants to show the 'loyalty' you once spoke so highly of…"
"Would you like to listen in together?"
Kaguya's heart trembled.
Black Zetsu... actually found Kazuki? It managed to locate him?
She had just been wondering how to get Kazuki to go find Black Zetsu…
Yet that seemingly useless third son of hers had actually taken the initiative—and succeeded!
"Yes! Of course!"
Kaguya nodded rapidly. "Kazuki, trust —Zetsu can prove to you that loyalty still exists within the human heart…"
"Alright."
Kazuki gave a curt nod and, for the first ti in a long while, walked over to stand beside Kaguya, waving his hand lightly.
At that mont—
After a millennium apart, Kaguya and Black Zetsu were finally reunited.
Kaguya, barely containing her excitent, couldn't help sneaking several glances at Kazuki…
If she could get through this mont—perhaps Kazuki would go back to standing beside her, just like before, and never leave again.
She drew in a deep breath, focusing her full attention on Black Zetsu in front of her, heart brimming with anticipation.
You've got this, Zetsu!
Show Kazuki how loyal you've been to …
If you do that, not only will we finally be happily reunited—
You'll also gain another family mber!
anwhile, from Black Zetsu's perspective—
The mont Kazuki opened his eyes, a jolt ran through Black Zetsu's heart. It instantly shifted into combat readiness!
It knew—
The one watching it now wasn't just Kazuki… Kaguya was watching too.
This was a historic mont.
Kazuki, eyes gleaming with amusent, studied Black Zetsu—he, too, was curious how this performance would unfold.
"Kazuki-sama, I beg of you…"
To everyone's surprise, Black Zetsu slowly knelt down and bowed low, pressing its head to the ground!
"I will give you everything… I can help you master Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's power! I only ask… I only ask that you let Uchiha Obito live…"
As it spoke, Black Zetsu lifted its head, eyes shimring with tears, its face contorted in a way that almost resembled being struck by Kamui itself—clearly revealing the imnse tornt it had gone through just to utter those words.
That expression alone… was enough to leave one savoring its impact for a long ti.
'A true veteran perforr…'
Even Kazuki found himself slightly stunned by Black Zetsu's display.
anwhile, Kaguya's eyes went blank in an instant.
Monts later, her long white hair flared up in a fury as she shrieked: "Zetsu! I… I'm going to kill you!!"
Kaguya erupted into a frenzy of rage!
She had never imagined that Black Zetsu, the one she had placed so much hope in, would betray her!
"For a re mortal? How dare you!"
Within Kaguya's pure white eyes, her overwhelming fury caused a blood-red hue to flare up—an intense killing intent taking physical form.
Kazuki had no doubt that if Kaguya had been able to move right now, Black Zetsu would have already been rcilessly pierced by her All-Killing Ash Bones…
"This isn't right… This shouldn't be happening…"
After her wrath peaked, Kaguya fell into a daze, lost and aimless.
Her blood-tinged white eyes stared at Kazuki—carrying a hint of desolation, of pleading.
"Kaguya, don't speak."
Kazuki let out a cold smile, sighing with a trace of emotion. "Let speak to it. What a baffling world this is…"
"Betrayal… always cos so easily."
Kaguya opened her mouth weakly.
She still had so many things she wanted to say, but the look in Kazuki's eyes—his attitude—triggered the last sliver of reason within her. She understood she couldn't speak out now, not if she didn't want Kazuki to grow even more disgusted with her…
"Speak. Who are you? How do you know about Kaguya? And how did you find ?"
Kazuki cast a glance at Black Zetsu, still kneeling on the ground, and asked in a soft tone, "Tell . I want to know."
Black Zetsu took a deep breath. Its limbs remained prostrate on the ground, only its head slightly lifted.
Under the sunlight, its round, pitch-black head shimred with a dark gleam—almost glaring.
"I am the third child of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya… Or rather, a being she created through Yin-Yang Release. My mission was to find a way to break Kaguya free from the Sage of Six Paths' seal…"
Its body trembled slightly, fists tightening without a sound—conveying the fear it was supposed to feel. Yet its words were clear and steady.
"I tampered with the Uchiha Stone Tablet, trying to make the reincarnations of Asura and Indra awaken the Rinnegan, and mislead them into believing that Infinite Tsukuyomi was a path to peace left by the Sage of Six Paths…"
"From there, I guided them to gather the Tailed Beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, revive the Ten Tails, and descend using chakra to break Kaguya out of her prison."
Black Zetsu laid its identity bare—direct and unhesitating.
Kaguya grew more furious. As her anger cooled slightly, the last hope in her heart was extinguished.
Before Black Zetsu had spoken, Kaguya still clung to a fragile delusion—perhaps Black Zetsu was making a desperate gamble, trying to deceive Kazuki in order to rescue her from within…
And if that were the case, wouldn't that still count as a form of loyalty?
But the mont Black Zetsu began, it confessed everything without reservation, leaving no room for ambiguity. That confird it—her third son had truly beco a despicable traitor!
"This plan was progressing quite well at first… Uchiha Madara was the Indra reincarnation I had chosen. But because of his old age, he chose to manipulate Uchiha Obito as his proxy…"
"At that ti, I possessed a Yin-Yang Release creation made by Uchiha Madara and beca his confidant. I was then assigned to Obito's side, disguised as an Uchiha girl secretly in love with him. I got close to him and, in the midst of war, deliberately died right in front of his eyes."
"…That way, as a Uchiha, he would be forced to endure extre pain, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan and gaining sufficient power… At the sa ti, during our daily interactions, I instilled in Uchiha Obito a twisted ideology of peace—subtly reinforcing the legitimacy of Infinite Tsukuyomi."
As Black Zetsu spoke, it recalled the scene in question.
For a mont, what had originally been a fake tone of fear now naturally carried a trace of sorrow and bitterness.
But was Obito's descent into darkness truly part of Black Zetsu's script?
It was clearly Kazuki who had manipulated the puppet nad "Rin," forcing Black Zetsu to watch the entire scene unfold—while standing by and mocking it all, cracking cruel jokes with deliberate malice…
It was also in that mont…
That Black Zetsu, as an observer in third-person, witnessed firsthand Obito's emotions toward "Rin"—and for the first ti, sothing shifted deep within its own heart.
The sorrow Black Zetsu now displayed lent even greater realism to its performance.
Or rather…
Its performance had already ceased to be re acting—it was a genuine expression of feeling, albeit artistically embellished.
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