Black Zetsu's shadowy form solidified, a decision made.
He had always been a creature of pragmatism, and against Sullivan's overwhelming power, there was only one logical choice.
"I accept," Black Zetsu rasped, the words feeling foreign on his non-existent tongue, yet undeniably true.
Sullivan's smile widened, a genuine warmth radiating from him. "Excellent. A wise choice, Black Zetsu."
With a casual flick of his wrist, Sullivan extended a hand towards Black Zetsu.
A ripple of energy, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, flowed from Sullivan and enveloped Black Zetsu.
It wasn't a forceful energy, but one of pure, unadulterated creation.
Black Zetsu felt a surge of ancient power, a connection to something far older and more profound than even Kaguya's chakra.
This wasn't a binding, he realized, but an empowerment.
It was as if a part of his very being, long dormant and confined, had just been awakened.
"Now, for your mother," Sullivan said, turning his gaze towards the empty space.
Black Zetsu watched, a mix of apprehension and anticipation swirling within him.
He had spent millennia working towards this moment, yet it was happening in a way he never could have foreseen.
Sullivan extended both hands, his eyes glowing with a soft, ethereal light.
He didn't perform any hand signs, didn't chant any incantations.
He simply focused, and the air around them shimmered, distorting like heat rising from a desert.
A vast, shimmering portal, swirling with colors that defied earthly description, began to open in front of them.
It was unlike any space-time ninjutsu Black Zetsu had ever witnessed; this was an opening to a realm beyond comprehension.
From within the swirling colors, a figure began to emerge.
First, a pale hand, then an arm, followed by a regal white robe.
As she stepped fully into the room, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Progenitor of Chakra, stood before them.
Her eyes, usually cold and calculating, were wide with confusion and a hint of terror. She looked around, her gaze darting from the strange, expansive room to the calm, smiling man in front of her.
Her pure white Byakugan eyes narrowed, instantly perceiving the immense power radiating from Sullivan.
It was a power so vast, so alien, it sent shivers down her spine, a sensation she hadn't felt in eons.
"You!" Kaguya's voice, though initially a whisper of confusion, quickly hardened into a furious roar.
Her eyes locked onto Sullivan, recognizing the immense power that had freed her, yet also instinctively sensing a threat.
"What have you done to me? What is this place?"
Before Sullivan could respond, Kaguya unleashed a torrent of bone ash projectiles from her fingertips, aimed directly at him.
She was a creature of instinct and immense power, and her first thought upon being freed was to eliminate any potential threat.
This man, who had freed her, clearly possessed power that rivaled her own, a dangerous variable she needed to eliminate.
But Sullivan didn't flinch. He didn't even move. The bone ash, capable of reducing any shinobi to dust, simply disintegrated into motes of light as it approached him, vanishing harmlessly before it could even touch his clothes.
Kaguya's eyes widened further in disbelief. Such a feat was impossible.
"Kaguya," Sullivan said, his voice still calm, yet with an underlying firmness that left no room for argument. "I understand your confusion. But I am not your enemy."
Kaguya, however, was past listening.
She activated her Byakugan fully, her veins bulging around her eyes, and shifted her gaze to her third eye, the Rinne Sharingan, which opened on her forehead, revealing its hypnotic pattern.
She prepared to unleash her most devastating attack, the Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb, a world-destroying mass of chakra.
But before she could even gather the necessary chakra, Sullivan simply raised a hand.
A wave of force, invisible but undeniably present, emanated from him. Kaguya froze, her movements halting mid-motion.
It wasn't a genjutsu, nor a physical restraint. It was as if the very concept of her attacking had been negated. She was utterly powerless, unable to even twitch a muscle.
"Stop," Sullivan commanded, his voice echoing in the silent room. "There is no need for violence."
Kaguya struggled, her every fiber screaming at her to resist, to fight, but it was futile.
The invisible force held her captive, her immense power rendered useless.
She, the progenitor of chakra, was being effortlessly subdued by a mere human. It was unthinkable.
"Black Zetsu," Sullivan said, turning his head slightly towards the shadowy being, "please explain the situation to your mother. She seems to be a bit... disoriented."
Black Zetsu, still reeling from the ease with which Sullivan had nullified Kaguya's attack, stepped forward.
"Mother," he began, his voice devoid of his usual manipulative edge, replaced with a genuine urgency.
"This man... he freed you. He is beyond anything we have ever encountered. You cannot fight him."
Kaguya, her eyes still wide with rage and disbelief, could only glare at Black Zetsu. Her mind, however, slowly began to process his words, and the reality of her utter helplessness.
Sullivan lowered his hand, and the invisible force holding Kaguya dissipated.
She stumbled back a step, still wary, but no longer attempting to attack. Her gaze flickered between Sullivan and Black Zetsu, trying to reconcile the impossible situation.
"Kaguya," Sullivan said, his tone softening again, "I understand your fear and your anger. You believe you were sealed away by your sons, and you desire revenge. But there is more to your story, and to your family, than you realize."
Kaguya scoffed, her anger flaring. "My family? They are traitors! They sealed me away, abandoned me!"
Sullivan shook his head gently. "That is the simplified version of history. The truth is far more complex, and frankly, far more dangerous. You are an Ōtsutsuki, Kaguya. A member of a clan that spans across dimensions, devouring planets and their life force for their own selfish desires."
Kaguya's eyes widened, a flicker of something akin to fear replacing her anger.
"What are you talking about?"
"I am talking about the true Ōtsutsuki," Sullivan continued, his voice taking on a grave tone. "Those who sent you to this planet, who would have eventually come to harvest its chakra fruit and consume this world, leaving it a barren husk. They are coming, Kaguya. Or rather, they were coming."
He paused, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touching his lips.
"You see, I am not merely a powerful being from another world, Kaguya. I am an Elder God. A being whose power transcends dimensions, whose very existence is a force of nature."
Black Zetsu gasped, his shadowy form twitching violently.
An Elder God? He had heard whispers of such beings in ancient texts, but they were thought to be mere myths, tales to frighten children.
Yet, here was one, standing calmly before them, undeniably real.
"The Ōtsutsuki, as powerful as they believe themselves to be, are but ants before me," Sullivan stated, his voice resonating with an unshakeable authority. "Do you know how I could deal with them, Kaguya? With a snap of my fingers."
As if to demonstrate, Sullivan raised his right hand, his thumb and forefinger poised.
The air in the vast room crackled with unimaginable power, a silent hum that vibrated through Kaguya and Black Zetsu's very cores.
They could feel the immense, destructive potential radiating from his casual gesture.
It was a power that could reshape reality, extinguish stars, and wipe out entire bloodlines with effortless ease.
Kaguya stared, her eyes wide with a newfound horror and awe.
She had always believed herself to be at the pinnacle of power, the ultimate being.
But this man, this 'Elder God,' spoke of wiping out her entire clan, beings as powerful as, if not more powerful than, herself, with a simple gesture. The sheer scale of his power was beyond her comprehension.
"They will not be a threat to this world, or to you, ever again," Sullivan said, lowering his hand, the oppressive aura dissipating. "I have ensured it."
A profound silence filled the room. Kaguya, for the first time in millennia, felt truly helpless, truly insignificant.
Her entire life's purpose, her fight against her sons, her desire for revenge against her clan – it all seemed so trivial, so small, in the face of this being.
Then, a new emotion began to stir within her.
Not anger, not fear, but a cold, burning hatred.
A hatred for the clan that had sent her here, that had forced her to consume the chakra fruit, that had left her to be sealed away.
"You... you can get revenge for me?" Kaguya asked, her voice a low, guttural growl, her Byakugan eyes fixed on Sullivan.
The concept of someone else, someone infinitely more powerful, doing what she had only dreamed of, was intoxicating.
Sullivan smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes. "I already have, in a way. They are no longer a threat. But if you wish to see their demise, to truly understand the fate that awaits those who oppose me, and those who seek to devour innocent worlds... then yes, I can show you."
Kaguya's regal posture straightened, a fierce determination replacing her earlier confusion.
Her hatred for the Ōtsutsuki clan was paramount, a core part of her being.
If this Elder God could truly avenge her, then a new path, a new purpose, might be open to her.
"If you can truly get revenge for me," Kaguya said, her voice filled with a chilling conviction, "if you can make them suffer for what they did... then I, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, will swear my loyalty to you. I will serve you, Elder God, with every fiber of my being."
The weight of her words hung in the air, a solemn oath from a being of immense power. Black Zetsu watched, a strange sense of vindication settling over him.
His mother, the ultimate power, swearing loyalty to another.
It was a new beginning, a twisting of fate he never could have orchestrated.
...
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