Once the dust had settled down, a figure gleaming with dark scales all over his body and with a pair of wings behind his back stood inside the crater.
A faint frown creased his face, tinged with irritation.
"Tch. These damned Zetsus sure are slippery," Kuro muttered, glancing at his charred arm and leg.
He tried to sense the Zetsus again, but there was nothing.
As he focused, Blackbeard and his crew came running toward him.
"LORD!" Blackbeard shouted, falling to his knees in front of Kuro. "Thank god you arrived! I don't know what would've happened to me if you were any later!"
He glanced behind himself with a shiver, placing both hands protectively over his rear. Sweat dripped down his face.
"And that white bastard... he kept looking at my rear while snickering," he said, voice dropping to a whisper. "It was like he found something... delicious."
Kuro raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching in vague disgust.
"Anyway, what are you going to do next?" Kuro asks Blackbeard.
"I want revenge!" Blackbeard shouted with a raised fist.
"Well then, I doubt there would be more trouble. Knowing the Zetsus, they would probably hide for a while without showing their faces."
With that, Kuro flew into the air and disappeared as his voice echoed in Blackbeard's ears.
"Take complete control of the Village Hidden in the Mist."
Blackbeard's eyes shone when he heard his Lord.
"Gyahahahaha! Looks like we will be having a party, boys!"
"ARGH!!!"
***
Kuro reappeared on a windswept cliff, the setting sun casting a golden hue across the landscape. His wings were gone, his dark scales receded, leaving him in his usual form. He stood still, letting the breeze wash over him, his expression unreadable.
Suddenly, a voice exploded inside his mind.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Kirama's voice crackled like a storm.
Kuro blinked lazily, tilting his head.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that transformation!" Kirama roared.
Kuro shrugged, casually watching clouds drift across the sky.
"Oh. That. It's nothing special."
"NOTHING SPECIAL MY ASS!"
Kirama's outrage echoed so loudly in Kuro's skull that he winced.
Not wanting to hear her anymore, he severed the mental connection.
"Ah. Peace." He sighed, a faint smile on his lips as the breeze brushed past him.
After enjoying the view and the breeze, he disappeared from the cliff.
Kuro reappeared inside Mito's villa as he lowered himself into a chair across from Mito, who sat poised with a delicate porcelain cup in her hands. The steam rose gently, curling in the light.
Mito looked up briefly before returning to sipping her tea.
Kuro leaned back, resting an arm over the chair's edge.
"It is so quiet here when that Red Habanero is not around."
Mito didn't look up this time, but a faint smile played on her lips.
***
"ARHHHHH!"
White Zetsu's scream tore through the underground chamber as he lay on the bed.
He writhed on the crude bed, blood soaking into the stained sheets beneath him. His body trembled uncontrollably. Where his left arm and leg should have been, there was nothing but blackened stumps with thick, shadowy smoke curling from the wounds like living tendrils.
"D-damn that monster..." he muttered, eyes wide with terror.
"What... is he...?"
He tried to sit up, but the pain slammed into him like a wall, forcing him back down with a strangled groan.
From the shadow, Black Zetsu appeared as he looked at White Zetsu with a frown.
"Your wound is not healing?" He asked.
"Tch—damn it! You see, it's not healing, and you still ask?!" White Zetsu's face contorted with pain and fury.
Black Zetsu crouched beside the bed, peering closely at the blackened stumps. The smoke was still rising, curling unnaturally.
"This isn't chakra," Black Zetsu muttered.
White Zetsu's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of fear surfacing. "Then what the hell is it?"
Black Zetsu stood slowly, turning his gaze toward the stone ceiling above.
"That... is what we must find out."
He turned back toward White Zetsu, who still trembled on the bed, his body steaming from wounds that refused to close.
"Also," Black Zetsu continued, "we'll be laying low for the time being. Until we understand exactly who… or what we're facing."
White Zetsu scoffed, pain making his tone bitter.
"Tch. I liked it better when we were the monsters people feared."
Black Zetsu said nothing.
But the silence was telling.
For the first time in centuries, even he wasn't sure who the predator was anymore.
***
Far from the Land of Water
Village Hidden in the Clouds
The villagers and cloud ninjas moved through their daily routines beneath an endless blue sky. Children laughed as they practiced gliding techniques on gentle winds, merchants called out their wares, and elders sat quietly, watching the bustling life below.
Suddenly, a colossal shadow blotted out the sun.
All eyes snapped upward.
Hovering above the village was a giant black bird, its immense wings crackling with jagged streaks of lightning. Thunder rumbled as the creature sliced through the air, wings wrapped in storm clouds, feathers shimmering like molten obsidian.
The villagers fell silent, heartbeats quickening. No one dared breathe as the ominous shadow loomed closer.
The villagers stood frozen, eyes locked on the massive shadow above.
The black bird soared low, wings beating with the power of a storm, thunder rolling in its wake.
A hush fell over the village as they looked at the bird that gave off a presence no less than that of the Eight-Tail.
"Alert! Alert! Unknown beast attacking!" a sentry shouted, his voice cracking with urgency.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The alarm rang out throughout the village as the villagers snapped out of their stupor, screams erupting as panic rippled through the streets. Mothers grabbed their children, merchants abandoned their stalls, and everyone scrambled for shelter.
The air filled with chaos—footsteps pounding on wooden walkways, shouts of warning, and the crackle of chakra as cloud ninjas readied themselves.
Just as they thought the black bird was about to attack, they heard a voice echo throughout the village.
"Eh? Where's the little octopus? I just wanted to say hello… and maybe borrow a tentacle or two for a barbecue."
The villagers froze, jaws slack, exchanging bewildered glances.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before the black bird, stepping into the village square with a commanding presence. Like the great beast behind him, he was cloaked in crackling lightning.
Seeing the figure, the villagers' expressions shifted instantly. From fear to hope.
"It's the Third Raikage!" someone shouted.
Cheers erupted through the crowd as people cheered.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
The black bird tilted its head. "Me? I am Zapticuno. My Lord first ever Shadow. I am here for the little octopus. My Lord says he would be tasty."
The Raikage's gaze hardened, frustration flashing across his face. He could feel it. There was no reasoning with a creature like this.
Without hesitation, he launched forward, lightning crackling around him like a storm unleashed.
With a powerful burst of speed, he surged toward the black bird, intent on defeating it or, at the very least, driving it away from the village.
Thunder roared as the battle for the skies above the Village Hidden in the Clouds erupted.