novelraw Chapter 495 Black Zetsu: I haven't been fooled, have I?
Chapter 495 Black Zetsu: I haven't been fooled, have I?
Chapter 495 Black Zetsu: I haven't been fooled, have I?
Young Sasuke sat blankly on the cold, hard cement floor. The spot on his cheek where Gaara's fist had struck him burned with pain, and soon a clear mark swelled up, but he seemed completely oblivious to the pain.
His entire being was gripped by Gaara's blood-curdling roar and his face, streaked with tears under the dim streetlights, a face etched with immense pain and compassion.
Mother—is she thinking of me every moment?
Even though there are so many Uchiha clansmen living in the Land of Stars, she doesn't dare to set foot in the Uchiha clan's territory because of that man and because of the tragedy that night.
He always thought he was the one who was abandoned, an orphan forced to struggle alone in hatred.
He had resentful thoughts about why his mother hadn't taken him with her.
Why leave him alone to face those nightmares and the strange looks from the villagers?
Why is it that she can start a new life in the Star Kingdom with a clear conscience, and even adopt other children?
But Gaara told him that his mother had unspeakable secrets, unbearable pain, and a longing and guilt a hundred or a thousand times stronger than he had imagined.
The starkly different truths collided violently in his mind, making his already chaotic thoughts even more bewildered and helpless, almost tearing him apart.
He stared blankly at Gaara, at that tearful face, and for a moment forgot to get up, and forgot the pain on his face and in his heart.
Just then.
Squeak—
A soft sound broke the heavy, frozen atmosphere on the street and instantly drew the attention of everyone outside the door.
The sound came from the tightly closed iron gate of the courtyard.
Young Sasuke, like a puppet on strings, slowly turned his head, his movements somewhat stiff, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
The iron gate was gently pushed open from the inside.
Immediately afterwards, a figure appeared in the warm glow behind the door.
She was a woman wearing simple dark blue loungewear.
Her long, black hair was loosely tied back, secured with a simple wooden hairpin, with a few soft strands falling around her ears and neck.
Her face was still beautiful, but between her brows were faint traces left by the passage of time and her own worries, as well as a lingering sorrow.
It was his mother, Uchiha Mikoto.
Her pupils contracted sharply for a moment, and her fingers gripping the doorknob tightened abruptly, her knuckles turning white.
Even after six years, she recognized him at a glance.
His hair is much longer than it was six years ago. It's no longer the short, ear-length hair she cut for him when he was a child, but has grown to a length that covers the back of his neck.
He grew taller, his baby fat completely disappeared, and the lines of his jaw became more defined.
He was wearing a black turtleneck bodysuit, with bandages wrapped around his arms and calves, and a standard ninja sword from the Anbu slung at his waist.
Just like the weasel.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. Only her beautiful black eyes were instantly overwhelmed by a surge of joy and guilt.
Then, under Sasuke's blank stare...
A dark shadow flashed by.
The next moment, Sasuke felt a familiar and warm body crash into his arms and hug him tightly!
The force was so great that his body, which was already sitting on the ground, was knocked backward again.
It is a mother's embrace.
His body trembled slightly as the gradually unfamiliar fragrance and his mother's gentle scent enveloped him like a tide.
Mikoto knelt on the ground, her bare feet touching the cold floor, completely unaware that her shoes had fallen off.
She buried her face deep in Sasuke's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around him, as if if she let go, this treasure she had regained would disappear again.
She started by crying silently, but soon suppressed sobs escaped from her tightly clenched lips, and scalding tears quickly soaked the fabric on Sasuke's shoulders.
"Sasuke—" Her voice was hoarse and broken, with a heavy nasal tone and endless pain, as it softly rang in his ear.
"I'm sorry—Sasuke. It's all Mom's fault—Mom is useless—I shouldn't have left you alone in Konoha—I'm sorry—I'm so sorry—"
She repeated "I'm sorry" over and over again, her voice growing increasingly choked with emotion, until she was almost sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mom—I miss you so much—I miss you every day—every moment—I wonder...whether you've eaten well—whether you're hurt—whether you've been bullied—whether you—hate Mom—"
When Sasuke heard his mother's call filled with guilt, longing, and pain, and felt her trembling in his arms, the last wall in his heart, built with stubbornness, resentment, and loneliness, collapsed and shattered into dust.
All the grievances, all the misunderstandings, all the resentment, all the coldness and pain that he had endured alone in Konoha, seemed to find an outlet at this moment, and seemed to find some belated comfort in this warm and trembling embrace.
His stiff body gradually relaxed.
He slowly raised his equally trembling arms and embraced his mother's thin, trembling back.
The tears that had been swirling wildly in his eyes finally burst forth like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly blurring his vision. The scalding liquid flowed freely down his cheeks, dripping onto his mother's disheveled black hair, and also onto the cold lake of his own heart, rippling out circles of bittersweet warmth.
He closed his eyes tightly, buried his face even deeper into his mother's shoulder and neck, his lips moved for a long time, trembling, and from the depths of his throat, he squeezed out the word he had called out a thousand times in his heart: "Mom—Mom—"
Mother and child embraced, weeping uncontrollably on the quiet street, under the dim streetlights, enveloped in the gentle embrace of the night.
Six years of separation, six years of longing, six years of misunderstanding and pain, all seemed to find silent expression and reconciliation in these tears and embraces.
Temari had already covered her mouth, turned around, and her shoulders shrugged slightly.
Kankuro's eyes also reddened, and he turned his face away.
Gaara stood there quietly, watching the mother and child embrace, his tears long since dried, leaving only a sense of relief and envy.
Sheren silently stepped back a few paces, leaving the space entirely to them. He tilted his head slightly, as if looking at the night sky, lost in thought.
Across the street, at the window on the second floor of the hotel.
Boruto leaned on the windowsill, his chin resting on his crossed arms, his bright blue eyes fixed on the touching scene of the mother and son reuniting downstairs.
He watched as young Sasuke went from being stiff and blank at first, to being bewildered after being hugged by his mother, and finally breaking down in tears and crying out "Mom!"; he watched as the black-haired mother rushed out without hesitation, and apologized and expressed her longing through sobs.
He glanced discreetly at Sasuke, the young man who stood silently beside him like a statue, out of the corner of his eye.
Young Sasuke remained in that position, his head slightly tilted, his gaze piercing through the glass window and landing on the two figures embracing downstairs.
The night breeze blew in through the half-open window, carrying the coolness of the night, gently blowing the black bangs that always covered his left eye, and also stirring the hem of his dark coat.
His face was expressionless, as calm as a deep pool, and even his eyes showed little emotion; he simply watched quietly.
But Boruto keenly sensed that his master's aura seemed even more subdued than usual.
Boruto didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
After a long while, Mikoto, who was downstairs, gently helped young Sasuke to his feet, nodded to Gaara and the others, and then they walked slowly back to the house together.
Young Sasuke's gaze lingered on the closed door for a few seconds, as if trying to etch the scene deeply into his mind.
Then, he slowly turned around and said calmly, "Get ready, we'll go back tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Boruto straightened up from the windowsill, put his hands behind his head, stretched his stiff body, and asked, "Should we say goodbye to Menma before we leave? After all, we were invited as guests, and it seems impolite to leave without saying goodbye."
Young Sasuke walked to the table, glanced at the "" icon that was already in standby mode, and nodded.
"Yes. Before leaving, I should at least say goodbye to my master." He paused, then added in a low voice.
"Moreover—we might be able to get some different information about the Otsutsuki from him."
He did not express the complex and indescribable emotions deep within his heart.
In this timeline, Sasuke made up for some regrets that he could never make up for.
Meanwhile, deep underground, in a cold and damp place.
A man wearing a black robe with red cloud patterns and an orange-red swirling tiger-striped mask is slowly walking down a stone staircase into this long-sealed underground space.
This is one of the secret bases left behind by the elderly Madara Uchiha.
After Madara Uchiha defected from Konoha, he hid and conducted research here, accumulating a large number of ninjutsu manuals, experimental data, and some unknown secrets.
It was here that the dying boy Obito received his White Zetsu body and Hashirama cells transplanted by Madara Uchiha, and received his first "teachings" and "ideological indoctrination" here.
Obito was no stranger to this place. It could be said that this was the starting point of his "rebirth," as well as the nightmare place where he was manipulated and used.
He walked to a rock wall, made a mudra with one hand, and then placed his hand on a specific spot on the rock wall.
Click—
-
Click—
A low, rumbling sound of gears turning filled the air as the rock wall silently slid open to one side, revealing an even more concealed dark chamber behind it.
The room was dark, with no lights except for a pale green glow coming in from the doorway, barely outlining the interior.
The air was even colder, carrying a pungent, peculiar medicinal odor.
In the center of the dark room, there was a stone coffin without a lid.
Obito slowly walked inside. The scarlet Sharingan beneath his mask glowed eerily in the dim light, its gaze fixed firmly on the interior of the coffin.
Inside the coffin, a corpse lay quietly.
It was the body of an old man.
He was tall, but his muscles had atrophied, and his skin had an unhealthy grayish-white color, covered with deep wrinkles and age spots.
He wore a simple white robe, his messy white hair was draped behind his head, and his face still vaguely showed the heroic features of his youth, but now only the stiffness and old age brought by death remained.
This is the remains of Uchiha Madara.
Obito stood before the coffin, his expression behind the mask complex and difficult to discern.
He instinctively raised his hand and pressed it against his heart through his clothes and skin.
There, the faint phantom pain seemed to emanate again.
He knew that when Madara Uchiha saved him, he planted an indelible curse mark on his heart.
That was a backup plan left by Madara Uchiha to ensure the plan would go perfectly.
Obito did not want to, and was absolutely unwilling to, become Madara Uchiha's pawn forever, a tool that could be sacrificed at any time.
He orchestrated Yahiko's death, manipulated Nagato, and pushed for the transformation of the Akatsuki organization, attempting to seize control of the "Eye of the Moon" project. He once believed that he was the true mastermind behind the scenes!
However, Shura's appearance completely disrupted all of Obito's plans and rhythm.
Nagato, along with the Six Paths of Pain, suffered a crushing defeat in the Land of Stars. Even Nagato himself seemed to be affected in some way, and his attitude became subtle.
This put Obito under unprecedented pressure.
The power that guy possesses, and the Star Kingdom he created, is rapidly rising, becoming the biggest and most unpredictable variable in the "Eye of the Moon" project.
Now, perhaps only by truly reviving Uchiha Madara and harnessing the power of this legendary ninja can we possibly confront that unfathomable demon and bring the derailed "Eye of the Moon" plan back on track.
Just as Obito was deep in thought, weighing the pros and cons and risks of reviving Madara Uchiha, a strange figure, half black and half white, slowly emerged from the ground behind him.
That's absolutely right.
The white Zetsu half, upon seeing Obito, brightened up and immediately said in a slightly playful and mischievous tone, "Oh, Obito, so you're here! I've been looking for you everywhere. The boss has been looking for you; it seems he has something important to discuss."
Obito didn't turn around immediately, still facing away from Zetsu. His gaze lingered on Madara Uchiha's corpse, and his voice, coming through the mask, sounded somewhat muffled: "What is it?"
Black Zetsu spoke, his deep, hoarse voice carrying an inhuman chill: "We've just received reliable intelligence that the Four Kage Summit, convened by the four great nations, is about to officially take place in the Land of Iron."
"Onoki has made contact with Nagato through secret channels. It seems that the old man is preparing to join forces with other ninja villages to attack the Land of Stars."
"This might be a good opportunity for us to collect the tailed beasts."
When the tailed beasts were mentioned, Obito seemed to be brought back to reality.
He slowly turned around, his single eye beneath the mask sharply fixed on Jue, especially the black half of it.
"Tailed Beasts—" Obito's voice carried a hint of doubt and coldness.
"Speaking of the Tailed Beasts, Hidan and Sasori's attempt to capture the One-Tailed Jinchuriki was a complete failure; we only managed to gather a small portion of Shukaku's chakra. With just that little bit of chakra, plus the chakra of the other Tailed Beasts, can we really activate the Gedo Mazo and initiate the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
Black Zetsu replied calmly, "As long as the subsequent tailed beast capture plan is successful, the lack of some chakra won't have a significant impact."
"The activation of the Gedo Mazo and the completeness of its final form depend more on the Rinnegan and a sufficient total amount of chakra than on the completeness of a particular tailed beast."
"Then—" Obito's tone suddenly became more aggressive, and he took a step forward, an invisible pressure spreading out.
"What if even the Nine-Tails' chakra is severely insufficient, or even completely absent?"
According to the latest intelligence from White Zetsu, who is lurking in Konoha, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has defected from Konoha and is now confirmed to have entered the Land of Stars, where he is under strict protection.
They failed to capture the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, so how could the Star Country, which was clearly prepared, really capture the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki from Shura?
The air seemed to freeze.
The light shone on Obito's swirling mask and Zetsu's eerie face, half black and half white, and the atmosphere suddenly became subtle and tense.
Black Zetsu remained silent for a moment.
This brief silence, however, seemed to Obito to confirm some of his suspicions.
A few seconds later, Black Zetsu finally spoke: "There will always be a way, Obito."
"The Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts cannot stay in an absolutely safe place forever, and the Land of Stars cannot be all-encompassing. As long as we wait patiently, we will eventually find an opportunity."
However, Obito clearly did not believe this explanation.
He kept his eyes fixed on Black Zetsu, his Sharingan beneath the mask flashing with suspicion.
"Zetsu." Obito's voice was even lower, carrying an almost blunt question, "You—you wouldn't have some kind of deal with that Shura in private, would you?"
These words struck like a thunderbolt.
The white Zetsu half seemed startled and uttered a sound of "Wait?"
Black Zetsu remained completely unresponsive. Facing Obito's sharp gaze, his voice didn't even waver: "How could that be, Obito? Don't think nonsense. I am the embodiment of Madara Uchiha's will. Everything I've done is to complete Lord Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan and create a perfect world without war or suffering."
"Shura is a huge obstacle to our plans, how could I possibly cooperate with him?"
However, Obito's doubts did not disappear; instead, they deepened.
Hidan was captured by a Star Ninja during the operation to capture the One-Tailed Beast, an event that was itself full of strangeness.
Hidan's "Death Possession Blood" technique possesses an almost unbeatable ability to kill on first sight. Even Kage-level shinobi could easily be caught off guard and defeated if they did not understand the principles behind the technique.
Moreover, Hidan was part of his faction, and such an important combatant was inexplicably captured during the first official operation to capture the tailed beasts.
The Star Kingdom seemed to have been prepared all along, and their response was far too composed.
Obito would never have believed this without an inside informant.
However, he did not press Black Zetsu any further. Some things are better left unsaid; revealing them completely would leave no room for maneuver.
He slowly turned around and looked again at Madara Uchiha's corpse in the coffin, as if he had made up his mind.
"Zetsu," Obito said, his back to Zetsu, his voice regaining its previous calm, "The plan to revive Madara Uchiha must be brought forward."
After saying that, without waiting for Black Zetsu's reply, a wave of ripples spread around him, and his figure quickly became blurred as it twisted, eventually disappearing completely from the spot and entering his own divine power space.
The dark room fell silent once more.
Only a single ray of light illuminated the aged face of Uchiha Madara within the coffin, and Zetsu's eerie figure, half-black and half-white, standing silently.
After confirming that Obito's presence had completely disappeared, the white Zetsu half said in a playful tone, "Hehe, that Obito guy is getting more and more suspicious."
"If he knew that we really cooperated with Shura and even provided a thousand White Zetsu as part of the deal in exchange for a portion of the One-Tailed Beast's chakra, he'd be furious! He might even attack us directly!"
Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu's teasing.
After being directly questioned by Obito, even an old monster like him who had lived for thousands of years couldn't help but think again about his secret cooperation with Shura.
Admittedly, his revelation of the ancient secret that "the Sage of Six Paths was the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails"—a secret that could shake the entire ninja world—successfully piqued Shura's interest.
To demonstrate his sincerity in the cooperation, and in exchange for some of the One-Tailed Beast's chakra to later activate the Gedo Mazo, he even gritted his teeth and paid with a thousand White Zetsu.
At the time, this deal seemed like a win-win situation: Shura obtained a batch of special experimental materials, while he received the One-Tailed Beast's chakra.
However, Hidan's precise capture by the Land of Stars during the operation was indeed beyond his expectations.
Could it be that Shura saw through his true intentions from the very beginning?
Is the so-called "cooperation" just a scheme by Shura to turn the tables and use him and the Akatsuki organization against him?
This thought crept into Black Zetsu's mind, making him feel a persistent unease.
No, it won't happen.
Black Zetsu quickly dismissed this overly alarming idea.
He remained hidden for over a thousand years, and even Indra, Asura, and their successive reincarnations never recognized him.
How could a teenager, no matter how talented or strong, possibly see through his millennia-long scheme?
Now, Shura has publicly declared war on the entire ninja world, becoming the common enemy of the old order nations.
The upcoming "Four Kage Summit" will most likely see the formation of a ninja alliance to attack the Land of Stars.
Even Iwagakure, which is ostensibly affiliated with the Land of Stars, has been secretly colluding with the toads of Mount Myōboku, accumulating power.
When the great war breaks out, it will inevitably be the Fourth Shinobi World War, which will sweep across the entire shinobi world!
On that chaotic battlefield, Nagato and Obito will surely take the opportunity to intensify their search for the tailed beasts.
If Shura wants to become a god like the Sage of Six Paths, he must collect the tailed beasts and revive the Ten-Tails, which will inevitably lead to a conflict with Nagato and Obito!
Regardless of which side ultimately succeeds in collecting all the tailed beasts and reviving the Ten-Tails, as long as Black Zetsu can find an opportunity to approach the complete Ten-Tails form and infuse it with his mother Kaguya Otsutsuki's chakra—
Then we can rescue our sealed mother!
The goal that has been a long-cherished wish for thousands of years can be achieved!
As for Obito, Nagato, Shura, and even the possibly resurrected Madara Uchiha—
Before the power of a mother, they are nothing but clowns jumping around!
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