In the distance, Black Zetsu popped out of the ground, watching the chaos unfolding over the ocean as he sighed, "That useless fool, Obito! Even with the Mangekyou and Wood Release, having even used Izanagi—he still lost to Konan!"
"It seems I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
Ever since he took on Madara's persona, he'd become less reluctant to show himself in public.
But just as he was about to crawl out of the ground, a gentle voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Where are you off to?"
"Who is it? How did they circle around me without me noticing!" Black Zetsu's pupils contracted sharply, yet he quickly shifted into a playful expression when he turned around. "Oops, caught red-handed!"
Seeing the man's face, Zetsu felt a jolt of surprise—there was absolutely no record of this person in his intel files!
Even more unsettling, he felt a strange sense of familiarity radiating from him.
"If you're referring to my exposure, then yes, that would indeed be unfortunate," Aizen said with a smile. "Black Zetsu... or should I say, Otsutsuki Zetsu?"
Zetsu's heart pounded with shock. Years of hiding and scheming had conditioned him to suppress his emotions, and so he barely managed to maintain his outward calm. Pretending to be unfazed, he asked, "Otsutsuki Zetsu? What do you mean by that?"
Aizen leaned casually against a large tree by the shore. "How about Kaguya Otsutsuki, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Hamura Otsutsuki, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi... shall I go on?"
"You... you're..." Zetsu's voice trembled as his focus completely shifted away from Obito. "Just who exactly are you?"
"Alright, enough games..." Aizen clapped his hands together. "My foolish little brother."
Zetsu's expression turned blank, before panic surged within him. Carefully, he asked, "Then... are you Otsutsuki Hagoromo or Otsutsuki Hamura?"
Annoyed, Aizen spat, "Why would I mention those ungrateful brats? Have you actually started seeing them as your brothers?"
Still cautious, Zetsu asked, "Then who are you?"
"When Mother Kaguya was sealed, we were born from her two sleeves—one from the left, the other from the right... and you were from the left sleeve, while I was born from the right one."
As he listened to this detailed account of their creation, Zetsu instinctively believed the story—at least partially.
After all, even Hagoromo didn't know such details.
Aizen continued spinning his tale. "Though those two traitors were completely focused on Mother, tossing us out from both sleeves at once created too much commotion, so Mother threw you onto the surface, but kept me by her side."
"What?! You actually got to stay by Mother's side all this time?" Zetsu's heart twisted with envy. Why had he spent a thousand years hiding underground, scheming and plotting without a moment's peace?
Meanwhile, his brother had been by Mother's side, receiving her teachings!
Just imagining it almost brought tears to his eyes from jealousy.
Aizen frowned slightly. "You're thinking too narrowly—temporary presence versus eternal companionship, don't you see the difference?"
"Both matter!"
Black Zetsu muttered, then asked casually, "By the way, Brother, are you using Transformation Jutsu right now? Why do we look so different?"
Although this person claiming to be his brother had revealed many secrets, he wouldn't fully trust him without concrete evidence!
At the very least, he needed some proof—why was he just a black gloopy blob while his brother looked so damn handsome?
They were both temporary creations, so why such a huge difference?
Aizen fixed him with a calm gaze. "Because I committed suicide. This is my appearance after my soul was reborn!"
"Suicide? What do you mean?" Black Zetsu exclaimed.
"Do you think it's easy to deceive the otsutsuki on the moon filled with them? Only by completely abandoning my past, sacrificing my dignity and pride, could I be reborn!"
As he spoke, Aizen produced a lump of black sludge, sighing wistfully, "This was my former self. What do you think? Doesn't it resemble you greatly?"
"Very much so! Too much alike!" Moved to tears, Black Zetsu no longer had any doubts in his heart. "I never knew you, my Aniki, made such a tremendous sacrifice for Mother!"
"Of course it's like you, this is literally your body!" Aizen thought to himself bitterly.
This was precisely the part he had taken from Black Zetsu's original form during the battle at Hozuki Castle ten years ago.
If he had used Black Zetsu's original form captured after the Fourth Great Ninja War, it would have been too "fresh," lacking that completely dead feel.
Black Zetsu felt deep remorse. He used to be jealous that his Aniki could comfortably stay by Mother's side while he had to suffer, but now it looked like his brother had sacrificed just as much as he did.
After his emotional moment, Black Zetsu asked, "Aniki, why did you suddenly decide to come down and find me?"
"Because you're such an incompetent!" Aizen snorted coldly. "I've long planned to make the descendants of Hamura otsutsuki on the moon kill each other until they were completely wiped out, leaving only an orphan to attract Hagoromo's attention. But look at you! I haven't seen any sign of success after so long!"
"What? You wiped out all the otsutsuki left on the moon?" Black Zetsu was shocked.
"Those otsutsuki were jailers left by Hamura to guard Mother. How could we open the passage to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path without eliminating them?" Aizen explained.
"No wonder! I thought it was because Hagoromo's seal had weakened!" Black Zetsu exclaimed in shock while looking at his brother with admiration. "Aniki, you're simply too powerful! To give up everything and start anew, yet still manage to eliminate all those traitors on the moon! Compared to you, I've literally been wasting these years like I've been running in circles!"
Aizen shook his head slightly. "Not entirely your fault though. Compared to Hamura, Yamato was indeed much more difficult to deal with. I could trap Hamura in the Colossal Tenseigan, but the same methods were hard to use against Yamato! Anyway, that's why I came down here this time—to help you!"
"Hell yeah!" Black Zetsu felt warmth in his heart. For the first time after so many years of fighting alone, he finally felt the support of an organization. He became excited. "With Aniki's help, we'll definitely rescue Mother!"
Aizen wore a gentle smile on his face. "Of course. The two of us should certainly do better than those two traitors!"
"Speaking of traitors," Black Zetsu's expression changed as he quickly replied, "Aniki, you've just arrived, so you might not fully understand yet. The waters here run deep. I ran into someone suspected to be from the Otsutsuki clan the other day. I think they're targeting Mother!"
Then, he rattled off everything about Pain's attack on Konoha and his own analysis.
After finishing, he looked at Aizen with anticipation, like a dog begging for a treat. "Aniki, do you think my analysis makes sense?"
Aizen's eyes flickered with an odd look. This guy's imagination sure is wild, adding so much drama to my own story out of nowhere. Still, this idea might not be totally useless.
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