On the border of the Land of Fire, Urashiki sat quietly on the edge of a cliff. Below him lay a wide, flowing river. In his hand, he held a bright red fishing rod.
The fishing hook dangled in the river below, giving an air of serenity. Since the day he joined forces with the Akatsuki to invade Konoha and got defeated by Akira, Urashiki had stayed here, fishing quietly.
He used this ti to recover from his injuries and found a deep sense of calm within himself. It felt peaceful, and Urashiki truly enjoyed it. Thus, he had spent these past days in this tranquil spot.
By now, Urashiki could feel that his wounds were mostly healed.
A gentle breeze passed by, making the surface of the river below glisten in the sunlight. Suddenly, Urashiki's fishing rod twitched slightly. With a lift of his hand, a large fish flew out of the water!
Urashiki caught it mid-air, a carp weighing at least seven or eight pounds.
"You've grown pretty big, haven't you? Lucky for you, I'm not hungry today," Urashiki said, patting the fish's head. He then unhooked it and threw it back into the river.
The tranquil atmosphere returned. Urashiki resud sitting quietly, but after a short while, he suddenly spoke, "Who's there? Co out, stop hiding."
As his voice fell, a shadowy figure, pitch black and seemingly a part of the darkness itself, erged from the grass nearby. The figure had no visible facial features, rely a dark silhouette.
"The product of yin-yang release fused with spiritual willpower, is it?" Urashiki glanced at the figure and spoke calmly, instantly recognizing Black Zetsu's nature.
"Impressive, as expected of a mber of the Otsutsuki clan," Black Zetsu responded with a tone filled with admiration.
Whether he was impressed by Urashiki's ability to sense him or by his capacity to see through his true nature, the praise was ambiguous.
"Oh? From the way you talk, it seems like you know a lot about the Otsutsuki clan," Urashiki said, for the first ti properly looking at Black Zetsu.
"I know a little, here and there," Black Zetsu nodded.
"That's impossible," Urashiki said, raising an eyebrow. "In this tiline, there shouldn't be any Otsutsuki other than ... Wait."
Urashiki's face grew contemplative, and then sothing dawned on him. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Black Zetsu. "You... You know Kaguya-hi, don't you?"
As soon as Urashiki spoke the na, Black Zetsu felt a spark of delight in his heart. "So, he knows Mother, Kaguya, after all."
But, before Black Zetsu could respond, Urashiki shook his head again. "Sothing doesn't add up. Kaguya arrived on this planet over a thousand years ago. How would you know about her?"
"Wait a minute," Urashiki said, as he took a step closer, glaring at Black Zetsu. "You were part of the Akatsuki, weren't you? Where did you learn about the traitor, Kaguya-hi?"
"Traitor!?" Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat.
Until that point, Black Zetsu had hoped that Urashiki, as a fellow Otsutsuki, might assist him in freeing Kaguya. That was why he revealed himself. But now, hearing that Urashiki called his mother a traitor...
"This is bad... things are really not going the way I thought," Black Zetsu thought, suddenly anxious. "Mother only gave one mission: to release her from the seal. She never explained much about the Otsutsuki clan!"
Indeed, Black Zetsu was born from Kaguya's will, with only one purpose-to free her from her imprisonnt. He knew all about Hagoromo and Hamura, as well as Indra and Ashura's conflict, which he secretly orchestrated. But when it ca to the details of the Otsutsuki clan, or the fact that Kaguya was considered a traitor, those were things Kaguya had kept from him.
If Black Zetsu had known about Kaguya's status as a traitor, he wouldn't have been so eager to confront Urashiki. And now, here he was, face to face with the Otsutsuki, desperately trying to fix his mistake.
"Where is Kaguya-hi? Where is she hiding?" Urashiki's eyes turned crimson, evolving into Tomoe Rinnegan. He glared down at Black Zetsu, demanding an answer.
"I don't know... I have no idea who this Kaguya-hi is!" Black Zetsu lied. He was quick to adapt, and as the slyest of schers, he instantly understood that it would be better for him to pretend ignorance.
"You don't know? Then how did you co to know about the Otsutsuki clan?" Urashiki's suspicion had not yet subsided as he stared intently at Black Zetsu.
"I did encounter two individuals who claid to be Otsutsuki, but their nas were different," Black Zetsu said quickly.
"Two people claiming to be Otsutsuki? What were their nas?" Urashiki pressed.
"One was called Otsutsuki Hagoromo, and the other was Otsutsuki Hamura. They were brothers and natives of this planet. Otsutsuki Hagoromo was even revered by the shinobi world as the Sage of Six Paths," Black Zetsu explained. "However, their appearances differed from yours. Especially Hagoromo, who had purple Rinnegan eyes and even a red Rinnegan on his forehead."
Knowing now that Kaguya was a traitor to the Otsutsuki clan, Black Zetsu had no intention of revealing anything about her. Instead, he shifted the focus to Hagoromo and Hamura.
"Otsutsuki Hagoromo? Hamura?" Urashiki's face showed surprise.
The Otsutsuki clan's lifespan was long, and most mbers knew one another. But he had never heard of anyone nad Hagoromo or Hamura. Furthermore, they were supposedly native-born Otsutsuki on this planet.
"So, these two are Kaguya's children, then?" Urashiki thought to himself. He suspected that the two unknown nas were the offspring of Kaguya-hi.
Although the current tiline seed quite different from his original one, Urashiki felt restless knowing that there were people with Otsutsuki blood out there. Especially this Hagoromo, revered as the Sage of Six Paths-he must be quite well-known in the shinobi
world.
If he could track him down, perhaps he could learn more about Kaguya's whereabouts.
"I'm satisfied with the information you've given . But surely, you didn't co all this way just to give this information out of goodwill, did you?" Urashiki asked, shifting his gaze
back to Black Zetsu.
"A favor? Is that what you want to know?" Black Zetsu thought. Truthfully, he wasn't here for personal gain-he had wanted to enlist Urashiki's help in freeing his mother. But now, knowing that Kaguya was considered a traitor, Black Zetsu was eager to keep her existence
hidden.
He knew he needed to ask for sothing, otherwise Urashiki would never believe he was acting without any ulterior motive.
After a mont of thought, Black Zetsu finally spoke, "Your fishing basket, I found it interesting."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu extended his hand and pointed to Urashiki's fishing basket. "I saw you extract chakra from others and store it in that basket, turning it into these pills. Could you perhaps give one of them?"
To be honest, Black Zetsu didn't really understand what those pills were, but they seed valuable to Urashiki. It was the only thing he could think to ask for.
"Oh? You took a liking to my pills? Quite an eye you have," Urashiki said, raising an eyebrow
in surprise.
After a mont's hesitation, he reached into his fishing basket, rummaging around before pulling out a pill the size of a dragon's eye. He held it in front of Black Zetsu.
"I'm not unreasonable. Since you've given information I wanted, I'll give you what you
asked for," Urashiki said.
"Thank you," Black Zetsu said, taking the pill with both hands.
But as soon as he did, he noticed that Urashiki was still staring at him, making it clear what he
expected next.
Black Zetsu sighed inwardly, realizing what he had to do. He opened his mouth and swallowed the mysterious pill.
POWER STONE!!!
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