"I wonder how Madara and That Cat's fight is going. I'm really curious."
"Most likely dead. It has already mastered a higher level of chakra energy. Apart from Kekkei Genkai and such, just in terms of chakra, that cat's almost comparable to Hagoromo and Hamura back in the day. Madara with eyes could still put up a fight, but without eyes..."
Underground, Black Zetsu was stealthily moving while communicating with White Zetsu.
He kicked away his teammates decisively and swiftly, without any hesitation. Of course, saying it wasn't a pity would be a lie, if Madara were alive, he could teach Shisui more, continue leading that child down the crooked path.
With only himself left, causing trouble was too difficult.
As for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Black Zetsu didn't even think about it for now. Given that black cat's personality, he definitely had left his claws all over the statue. His biggest hope now was to snatch the eyes in this wave.
The Rinnegan was too important for him.
However...
"Hopefully Madara can die cleanly. If he's half-dead, it's really troublesome. He has too much intel about us in his head. Although much of it is wrong, it would still be a headache if it gets dug out." Black Zetsu commented coldly.
Madara knew too much. As long as he wasn't dead, Black Zetsu couldn't feel at ease. But the situation at the time made it impossible for him to kill Madara himself. After all, even if he possessed White Zetsu, he still couldn't change the fact that he was a trash-tier fighter.
Including snatching the eyes.
Black Zetsu didn't think he could obtain the eyes from Nagato through force. He just needed to possess someone, forcibly dig out the eyes, then directly scram and find the next sucker.
If possible, Black Zetsu hoped that after Madara died, he could personally raise the next generation Indra from childhood.
Children were easiest to brainwash.
Mm, except for Shisui.
After spending time together, he discovered that Shisui, though seemingly obedient, actually had his own set of ideas. He seemed to be in sync with Madara currently, but if he were cooperating with Black Zetsu, it probably wouldn't work as well.
Small person with big ideas, a subpar choice.
He pondered his plan for after obtaining the eyes. Before he knew it, White Zetsu had already brought him to the Land of Snow.
The further north they went, the colder it got. Fortunately, White Zetsu wasn't afraid of the cold. He brought Black Zetsu north, following the route of their previously missing comrade. Soon, they discovered traces of the Ice Forest.
"Terrain created by Ice Release, and quite a few people. Inside should be that black cat's base. Hehehe, should we..."
"Don't cause trouble. We grab Nagato and leave."
Black Zetsu stopped White Zetsu's dangerous idea.
They infiltrated from underground. However, shortly after entering, Black Zetsu felt White Zetsu below him stop dead.
He took a look, then couldn't help feeling a wave of frustration.
Caught in a genjutsu.
Black Zetsu sorted out the chakra, and White Zetsu quickly woke up.
"Position is exposed. Speed up."
"Yes."
White Zetsu was fuming. Getting caught in a genjutsu silently like this, that black cat was really too cunning, throwing such a large-scale genjutsu here. Wasn't it worried about harming any creatures? Getting caught in genjutsu creates chakra surges, and with chakra surges, enemies will most likely detect it.
Black Zetsu reached a certain range and directly separated from the possession. Then he discovered that Nagato didn't seem to be on the ground, but was climbing a strange Tower. Not only that, when he used sensory perception to investigate, Black Zetsu found that Nagato had gone into the air.
Then he poked his head out and saw Nagato, Konan, and Sage Mode Kanna floating in the sky.
Only Black Zetsu could see them, the three would have a hard time discovering him.
However, getting close to Nagato in the air wasn't easy, because Black Zetsu's strongest ability was merging with the earth. As long as there was earth, he could escape wherever he pleased. And his constitution meant not even Flying Thunder God could attach a seal.
"Zetsu?"
"Not sure. Better to call Takeshi-sama."
"Wait a bit more."
The three exchanged words in low voices. Floating in the air, they could immediately spot any Zetsu or Black Zetsu emerging. However, Black Zetsu was also very cunning, he emerged in the shadows of the Tower.
Using Shadow Release to perfectly conceal himself, he remained undiscovered. But no matter how well he could hide, he couldn't directly reach Nagato's side.
This was clearly well-practiced.
Black Zetsu felt this trip wouldn't go smoothly and might encounter all sorts of difficulties and obstacles. Although that cat had left, it had left behind layer after layer of schemes, clearly explaining what to do and how to solve problems when encountering situations.
This was really difficult to deal with.
Now he was more worried about White Zetsu's safety. These people didn't seem like easy targets, he might lose another White Zetsu.
As expected.
A moment later, he saw chains emerging from the girl in the air. These chains looked very familiar, passing through the earth and deep underground. White Zetsu, who had been wondering whether to show himself, fled for his life frantically.
But before he could get far...
*Boom boom boom!*
Sheets of paper shot down from the sky. These papers were all explosive tags. Under the intense bombardment, the ice surface was blown apart. White Zetsu was impacted and couldn't stabilize his body. At the same time, Kanna's chains quickly trapped him.
'Opportunity!'
Nagato and Black Zetsu simultaneously had the same thought flash through their minds.
The former raised his hand, coordinating with Almighty Pull, while the latter lurked in White Zetsu's shadow, waiting to be pulled over.
"Almighty Pull!"
White Zetsu was pulled over. Black Zetsu was lurking, waiting for a chance to act. However, as he got close, he sensed a chakra fluctuation and emerged to take a look...
Black Cat?
'Damn it!' Sure enough, this guy had a hand in it. How was he everywhere? Although it was just a Shadow Clone, judging from its chakra, this Shadow Clone also possessed that high-level energy similar to the God Tree's chakra.
Black Zetsu was now in a dilemma. He had kicked away Madara to come here and snatch the eyes, but the opponent had a Shadow Clone waiting.
Should he go for it or sell out White Zetsu and run? That was a good question.
"Meow~ White Zetsu again? No, there's something behind it. Is that you, Black Zetsu? I see you!" Takeshi's Shadow Clone was in Six Paths Mode.
However, even in Six Paths Mode, he couldn't instantly sense and discover Black Zetsu. He just felt something was off. So this was a bluff.
"..." Black Zetsu didn't dare to show himself.
Anyone who responded to such a call would be a fool. He had absolute confidence that he couldn't be discovered. But another problem at hand was that the opponent clearly wasn't prepared to waste words with him.
"Run run run!"
White Zetsu was incoherent, his voice full of terror.
Black Zetsu emerged to take a look.
He saw the black cat's fur bind White Zetsu and hold him in the air. And in the air, the cat's paw touched Nagato's hand. Between the two of them, a black sphere slowly formed.
"Six Paths Planetary Devastation?"
'A fake!' Black Zetsu's first thought was that this cat was bluffing him. But he quickly reconsidered, what if it wasn't a bluff?
"Meow~ Speaking of which, I have to thank you and Madara. If you hadn't given Nagato the Rinnegan, he wouldn't have been able to awaken such a powerful dojutsu. Coordinating with me to use sealing techniques, Black Zetsu, you have no chance."
The black cat spoke with great seriousness, his aura impressive.
Black Zetsu was frightened. He decisively abandoned White Zetsu and fled through the shadows.
Kanna's eyes were bright, and she was very fast. She quickly controlled the Adamantine Chains to grab at him, hoping to seal him in the same way. But she quickly discovered her attack was ineffective.
"Well delivered, Black Zetsu. I'll take this experimental subject, but don't you leave either, meow."
Takeshi's Shadow Clone, wrapped in the created black ball, charged toward Black Zetsu at maximum speed.
'Can't be sealed! I'm the only hope!' This was the first time Black Zetsu felt his escape ability wasn't strong enough. He wished he could master Spatial Ninjutsu right now and flee directly. Black Zetsu fell to the ground like a water droplet, and in the middle, he split into two balls, making it hard to distinguish real from fake.
The two balls ran in separate directions. This was Takeshi's Shadow Clone, which didn't have the ability to create more clones.
The key was, there was only one black ball.
Black Zetsu had brought out his hidden ace ability. Takeshi pondered for a moment, then decisively chased after one. The other ball fell to the ground and disappeared. The remaining one still had some consciousness. He stared at Takeshi unwillingly.
"Is this real or fake?"
"Meow~ Guess."
Takeshi shook the black ball in his hand, continuously infusing it with Six Paths power.
===============
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