The funeral came to an end.
People in black filed out of the solemn cemetery in small groups.
Some wept quietly, some wandered in a daze, and some even had a glimmer of joy in their eyes...
People's sorrows and joys are never truly shared.
In the grove beside the cemetery, Rinjin leaned against a tree, gazing up at the sky.
At the Memorial Stone, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru stood apart, silently staring at the engraved names, lost in thought.
After a long silence, Jiraiya finally spoke.
"Getting ready to leave?"
Tsunade nodded quietly, saying nothing.
The war was over. The Senju clan—and she herself—had given too much for the village. It was time to live for herself.
Seeing her nod, Jiraiya forced a stiff smile.
He was leaving too.
Over a year ago, he'd ended three years of teaching and left Yahiko's trio behind, returning to the battlefield.
And just as the war was drawing to a close, he'd received devastating news:
The toads brought word—Yahiko and his friends were dead.
It shook his faith in Nagato as the Child of Prophecy.
Was it really Nagato? Or perhaps Minato Namikaze?
Thinking about the future, Jiraiya grew more and more melancholy.
He wanted to see the world, to train himself, to become the teacher worthy of the true Child of Prophecy.
The three fell silent once more.
Orochimaru stared at Nawaki's name on the stone, his face grown cold and unreadable.
The deaths of his parents and his students had made this once-gentle man acutely aware of life's fragility.
He thought of those two strange pieces of flesh Rinjin had deliberately given him. After a pause, his raspy voice broke the silence:
"I'll stay. There's still some loose ends with the war-related cell experiments."
At that, Jiraiya's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
"Didn't the old man already order those experiments shut down?!"
Orochimaru nodded, still staring at Nawaki's name.
"Exactly. That's why I need to wrap things up and seal away the data."
He'd already begun to lose interest in Hashirama's cells;
Now, his focus was on something new: cloning.
He'd secretly reached an agreement with Riyi, the first Rain Shadow and leader of Amegakure.
Amegakure would provide funding, scientific equipment, and experimental cells;
He would offer his genius to research this so-called cloning technology.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru clenched his fists inside his sleeves, shot a subtle glance at the grieving Tsunade, and then turned and left.
As dusk fell, golden sunlight spilled through the trees and onto the solemn Memorial Stone.
Tsunade took one last look at Nawaki's name, waved at Jiraiya, and turned toward the village.
She was ready to leave behind this place of contradictions and seek out her own life.
…
On the Hokage Rock, a black-and-white head poked out from the earth-toned cliff, surrounded by green leaves.
It was Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
"This place… why does it feel so familiar?"
Black Zetsu stared at Konoha, his pitch-black face blank.
Beside him, White Zetsu darted a nervous glance to the right.
"Bro Black, this is Konoha! The Hidden Leaf Village! Don't you remember?"
Black Zetsu pursed his lips, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"I… I don't know. I feel like I've forgotten a lot. What happened to me?"
He raised his black hand and knocked on his skull.
What's wrong with me?
Did something happen? Why are there so many holes in my memory?
No.
Let me think this through.
My purpose… is to save Mother!
Mother is… Ōtsutsuki Kaguya…
I waited countless years for someone with both Uchiha blood and Senju cells—Uchiha Madara.
Right, I tricked Madara into thinking I was his will incarnate, so I could revive Mother.
Wait…
What were the exact steps to revive Mother again?
!!!
Damn it, I think I've forgotten how to revive Mother!
!!!
For a moment, Black Zetsu was completely dumbfounded.
Who could he even ask about this?
Uchiha Madara? That'd be suicide!
Just as Black Zetsu began trembling, on the verge of collapsing into a puddle of mud, White Zetsu suddenly pointed down and whispered urgently,
"Bro Black, look! It's Rinjin!"
Rinjin?
Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat as he looked in the direction White Zetsu pointed.
Below the Hokage Rock, an unfamiliar green-haired man strolled down the street, a white-haired young man at his side.
For some reason, rage surged inside Black Zetsu.
This guy… he must be my enemy!
A huge enemy!
Anyone with hair that green can't be a good person!
"Bro Black, let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling!" White Zetsu muttered, already sinking into the ground.
He was a newly-made clone, unaware of his predecessor's grudge with Rinjin.
But Black Zetsu glared down, teeth grinding.
"No! I wanna tear that bastard apart! Just looking at him pisses me off!"
The next second, White Zetsu let out a startled yelp.
Below, Rinjin suddenly looked up, a sly smile on his lips.
Then, blue steam and crackling lightning flashed—Rinjin vanished.
In less than a tenth of a second, that annoying green hair appeared right in front of Black and White Zetsu, grinning as he studied the furious Black Zetsu.
"Strange… You're not afraid of me?"
"Why should I be afraid of you?!" Black Zetsu roared, neck straining.
He swung a pitch-black hand at Rinjin.
But Rinjin reacted instantly, grabbing Black and White Zetsu by the neck and yanking them out of the ground like pulling up weeds.
"You're a fake Black Zetsu, aren't you?"
"Rinjin, you bastard, let me go!" Black Zetsu struggled desperately in his grip.
He didn't remember, but his sly, devious nature kicked in, and he started lying on instinct.
Being a mass of inky black mud had its advantages—it was built for deception.
Rinjin frowned in confusion.
Weird.
Why does he hate me so much?
Shouldn't he hate the monster that ate part of him instead?
Most importantly, he should be trembling with fear when he sees me.
This is odd. Really odd.
Wait… could he have amnesia?!
The thought made Rinjin's lips curl into a wicked grin. Mischief bubbled up inside him.
Time to test him—see if he's faking.
"Kaguya-hime's figure is absolutely fabulous~"
Instantly, the right half controlled by Black Zetsu went wild, sprouting countless branches and stabbing furiously at Rinjin.
Rinjin feigned panic, tossing Zetsu aside and retreating quickly.
"Reviving Kaguya-hime sure is tough, huh?"
As soon as he said it, Black Zetsu, still flailing with sharp branches, paused for a split second.
Then he hurled out a Wood Release, dove underground, and vanished—heart pounding with terror.
He's testing me?!
Damn, this guy's sharp—did he notice I lost part of my memory?
Did I really used to match wits with someone this scary?!
No way! I can never let him see me again!
But Black Zetsu didn't realize that Rinjin had already gotten what he wanted.
He'd never underestimate this shadowy manipulator who'd schemed for centuries.
Even after noticing something was off, Rinjin only chose to probe with those first two moves.
Once this guy realized he was being tested, he'd counter with lies and misdirection.
Only those first, unguarded reactions could be trusted.
In other words: with old foxes, only their first, unprepared response is real—anything after that isn't worth squat.
But Rinjin had gotten his answer.
The moment he sensed Black and White Zetsu show up, he started to suspect.
After all, he and Black Zetsu had played sensor games more than once in the Land of Grass.
So, from the start, there were two possibilities:
One: Black Zetsu had lost part of his memory to the monster inside Rinjin, and was now confused.
Two: Black Zetsu was unharmed, and showing up in his sensory range was just a trap.
If it was the second, then every move after that was just bait.
So, Rinjin opened the Gate of Wonder and Lightning Release Chakra Mode, appearing right in front of him.
Black Zetsu's first reaction was to attack.
If he really had amnesia, then he'd forgotten a lot about Rinjin.
But then, how did he know his name?
With that much hatred, he should remember being eaten—so his first reaction should be fear, not anger.
Paradox!
That meant he must've heard Rinjin's name from somewhere else, not from the memory of being devoured by the monster.
When Rinjin brought up Kaguya-hime's figure, Black Zetsu's rage was genuine, not faked.
But when he mentioned how hard it was to revive her, Black Zetsu clearly hesitated.
Wait—could he have forgotten how to resurrect his mother?!
It was possible.
After that, he threw out Wood Release and escaped underground, clearly realizing he was being bluffed and tested.
Thinking of this, Rinjin looked down at Konoha and flashed a cunning smile.
If that's the case, things just got a whole lot more interesting.
No, he'd have to probe him again!
He'd find a White Zetsu clone, wrap it around a shadow clone in Sage Mode, and hide it nearby.
If this guy really had forgotten how to bring his mom back, he'd definitely start snooping around for answers.
Heh~
This little bastard. Time to set him up for a wild ride~
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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