Black Zetsu was completely lost.
He had no idea what to do anymore.
The mont an Ōtsutsuki appeared, a treacherous thought even flashed through his mind.
"Maybe... it's actually safer for Mother to stay sealed?"
At least while she was sealed, she was safe.
But the problem was, his very existence—the mission of his birth—was to bring Mother back. If he did nothing now, wouldn’t that be a betrayal of his purpose?
Besides, after all these years of effort, he had finally glimpsed the light at the end of the tunnel.
Even if Uchiha Madara had chosen an idiot like Obito as his successor, at the very least, things had been steadily progressing.
To give up now—his heart simply couldn’t accept it.
“Hey, Blacky, what are you even doing right now?”
Black Zetsu was lost in confusion, but White Zetsu was far from content. Standing out in the blazing sun wasn’t comfortable in the slightest.
“And what’s been going on with you lately? You’ve been acting all gloomy and preoccupied.”
“Shut up. You wouldn’t understand.”
White Zetsu’s interruption left Black Zetsu irritated.
“My troubles are far beyond the comprehension of an idiot like you.”
“Hey, not all idiots are the sa, you know. Take Obito—he’s an idiot too, but he’s always sulking. I’m also an idiot, but I’m cheerful every day. Heehee!”
“…”
Black Zetsu felt his intelligence had just been personally insulted. Was he seriously arguing that idiots just co in different flavors of stupid?
“C’mon, tell ! Who knows, maybe I could actually help you figure sothing out.”
White Zetsu sounded utterly confident, enough to make Black Zetsu want to roll his eyes.
“If I had to rely on you for help, then we’d really be dood.”
“Oh.”
White Zetsu nodded solemnly. But then, to his surprise, Black Zetsu suddenly spoke again.
“You’ll never understand my confusion. Everything I’ve done—every move I’ve made—was all for a single goal. And now, I’m starting to realize… things might be even worse than before.”
“…”
White Zetsu blinked. Didn’t you just say relying on would spell doom?
“Do you know what that feels like?” Black Zetsu sighed deeply.
He felt completely stifled. The news that Uchiha Obito had been brought back had nearly driven him to despair.
If he didn’t vent so of this frustration, he felt like he might fall apart completely.
“That feeling of working so hard for so long, only to end up with nothing—it’s terrifying.”
“Mhm, I get it. It’s like how no matter what I do, I can never take a proper dump. I’ve never experienced the joy of pooping, so yeah, I totally understand you.”
White Zetsu nodded with the utmost seriousness.
That statent nearly pushed Black Zetsu to strangle the fool on the spot. But in the end, he just sighed again.
“It’s not the sa. We might be up against an enemy beyond imagination, and all our preparations might not be enough to face it."
"You’ll never understand just how terrifying they truly are—or the power they wield. With people like that around, we…”
“Wait, they? Isn’t it just one guy?”
White Zetsu tilted his head, puzzled, and scratched his chin.
“Oh! I get it! Like cockroaches, right? If you see one, there’s bound to be a whole nest?”
“Idiot! Even dealing with one of them is nearly impossible!”
Black Zetsu could no longer hold it in—he was seriously considering strangling this bastard beside him.
He was already close to total despair. Maybe he should just give in and go full ‘I’m tired, let it all burn’ and take these bastards down with him?
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t get mad, don’t get mad! You’re even scarier than Obito!”
White Zetsu imdiately sensed the killing intent radiating off Black Zetsu, but still grinned as he spoke.
“So what if there’s just one of him? We’ve got numbers! More people fighting fewer—why should we be scared?”
“Fool. In front of a true powerhouse, numbers are aningless.”
“Then… why don’t we try making soone like that ourselves?”
“Idiot! You think soone like that can just be replicated?!”
Black Zetsu roared in frustration—but then, sothing in his mind clicked.
His mother—and her kin—were indeed unique, their power unfathomable.
But… that didn’t necessarily an there was no way to get close.
Take Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, for instance. Their strength didn’t quite asure up to the Ōtsutsuki, but that didn’t an they were helpless.
“Besides, that pawn Madara… If everything had gone according to plan, he would’ve been powerful enough—not far off from that ‘good big brother’ of mine.”
Roughly speaking, anyway…
“Power like that should still be enough to cause serious trouble.”
Black Zetsu realized—maybe it really was too soon to give up. After everything he’d invested, how could he just abandon it now?
Maybe there was still room to struggle… Maybe he could run more simulations… Maybe—there was still more he could do?
“Hey, hey, hey! Looks like you’re back on track, Blacky!”
White Zetsu imdiately noticed the shift in Black Zetsu’s expression and bead at him.
“See? I told you! Talk to , and maybe I can help. Sure, I’m an idiot—but not a useless idiot!”
“…True. You may be an idiot, but you’re occasionally useful.”
Black Zetsu nodded almost unconsciously—then shook his head again.
“But this isn’t sothing I can rush. Nothing about it is simple.”
Reviving Uchiha Madara wasn’t a trivial task, and finding soone else to take his place wouldn’t be easy either.
Especially if he had to sacrifice White Zetsu units in the process—it could bring more complications. He needed to think it through thoroughly.
'But Mother… I will do everything I can for you.'
Raising his head, he looked toward the sky once more—except this ti, his eyes weren’t clouded with confusion.
'…Still, this Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—why does sothing feel off about him?'
'Ōtsutsuki Genshiki… Kitagawa Gen…'
'Why do all the troubleso guys these days have ‘Gen’ in their na?'
...
Mount Myōboku
“Little Jiraiya, it’s been a while since you last visited us here at Mount Myōboku.”
Within Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was walking with Fukasaku and Shima perched on his shoulders as they made their way toward the hall where the Great Toad Sage was enshrined.
Scratching his head, Jiraiya gave a sheepish smile.
“Things have been hectic lately, so I haven’t had a chance to co. Now that I finally have so free ti—and I’ve got a few questions that need answering—I figured…”
“Damn it, so you only show up when you need sothing, huh?”
Shima frowned at those words and gave Jiraiya a firm whack on the head.
“You little rascal, did you really forget all about us? Little Jiraiya, you—”
“Sorry, sorry! My bad, totally my bad!”
Jiraiya rubbed his head sheepishly, relieved when Fukasaku stepped in to smooth things over.
“So, what’s this important matter, Little Jiraiya?”
“There’s been a lot going on in the shinobi world lately, and…”
Jiraiya opened his mouth but found himself unsure how to explain it. In the end, he just let out a sigh and said, “And I think I’ve encountered one of my forr students… the one who possessed the Rinnegan.”
“…Hmm?”
That statent left both toad sages montarily stunned.
“But didn’t we investigate that for you back then?” Fukasaku asked. “The intel we got said they were all dead. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know either. But now… he might have beco our enemy—and even the enemy of the entire shinobi world.”
Jiraiya’s face was full of bitterness. These weren’t easy things for him to admit.
“Besides that, soone even more troubleso has erged in the shinobi world. That’s the main reason I ca this ti.”
“Well… sounds like real trouble,”
Fukasaku and Shima both wore serious expressions.
“Let’s pick up the pace—we’re almost there.”
Jiraiya gave a silent nod, saying nothing more. They accelerated, and before long, they arrived at the deepest part of the hall.
“Great Toad Sage.”
Fukasaku leapt from Jiraiya’s shoulder and spoke respectfully as he looked toward the massive toad reclining in front of them.
“Little Jiraiya has co.”
“Oh? Little Jiraiya’s here, is he?”
The Great Toad Sage squinted and smiled—but a mont later, his expression turned puzzled.
“Wait… who’s Little Jiraiya again?”
“…”
Jiraiya was used to the old toad’s forgetfulness by now and didn’t even react.
“You really are senile!” Shima muttered under her breath as she also hopped down beside Fukasaku.
“It’s Little Jiraiya—the boy who ca to train with us all those years ago.”
“Oh! I rember now.”
The old toad finally seed to co to his senses and chuckled.
“Getting old… my mory’s not what it used to be.”
Still smiling, he slowly turned his head toward Shima.
“So, Little Jiraiya, what brings you here this ti? Have you co to ask about the Child of Prophecy?”
“…”
Jiraiya almost cracked, but still answered patiently.
“It’s not about the Child of Prophecy—at least not exactly. There’s trouble in the shinobi world. I did once believe I had found the Child of Prophecy—a boy with the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. But now…”
“The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, you say?”
The Great Toad Sage’s eyes opened just a bit wider upon hearing that.
A thousand years ago, he had assisted the two brothers—the Sage of Six Paths and his sibling—in battling the calamity of the world: Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
That battle had nearly torn the world apart. If they hadn’t sealed Kaguya in the final monts, he couldn’t even imagine what the world would be like now.
Those eyes had left a deep impression on him—but in his dreams… they hadn’t looked like that at all.
“This situation… certainly seems troubleso.”
The Great Toad Sage fell into a thoughtful silence for a mont before slowly shaking his head.
“However, this wasn’t sothing I foresaw in my dreams. Perhaps there’s been an error… or perhaps, this is a trial the true Child of Prophecy must face.”
“A trial the true Child of Prophecy must undergo?”
Jiraiya fell silent.
He rembered the last prophecy the Great Toad Sage had given him: “A boy with sky-blue eyes, one who plays with the Tailed Beasts.”
Could it be that Nagato was never the one—even if he hadn’t died?
“Little Jiraiya, you must stay calm and believe in yourself. Perhaps… this is part of the test as well.”
“A test…”
Jiraiya was at a loss for words, but in the end, he simply nodded.
His own student becoming the trial for another student… it was a bit too cruel for him to accept easily.
“I understand, Great Toad Sage.”
He let out a helpless sigh, while the Great Toad Sage rely smiled, unconcerned.
“No need to worry, Little Jiraiya… So, what was it you ca to ask ?”
“….”
Jiraiya felt a headache coming on, but fortunately, the conversation hadn’t veered too far off course. He quickly continued.
“There’s sothing else. A strange man has appeared in the shinobi world… He’s collecting Tailed Beast chakra. That’s also part of why I ca.”
“Tailed Beast chakra, huh.”
The Great Toad Sage didn’t seem particularly surprised. After all, the future he had foreseen did hint at sothing like that.
But Jiraiya remained visibly tense.
“That’s right. He’s already made a move and managed to obtain a portion of the Nine-Tails’ chakra. What’s more… his na is bizarre. I was hoping you might recognize it.”
“Oh? A strange na? What does he call himself?”
“He claims to be… ‘Ōtsutsuki Genshiki’.”
Before Jiraiya even finished speaking, a vast wave of chakra suddenly swept through the entirety of Mount Myōboku.
In an instant, it was as if the whole sacred mountain trembled.
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I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar
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