Click! Black Zetsu was separated from White Zetsu by Kamui and banished into the Kamui dimension. Whoosh! Obito followed immediately, vanishing into the same space.
In the distorted realm of Kamui, Black Zetsu lay sprawled across the ground, staring up at Obito with wide, furious brown eyes. "Why are you doing this?! I am Lord Madara's will!"
Obito smiled coldly. "No, you're not Madara's will. You're Kaguya's will. You manipulated the Uchiha stone tablet, pushed Madara to pursue the Eye of the Moon Plan—all for the sake of reviving your mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
Black Zetsu looked as though he'd been struck by lightning. "You—how do you know this?! You're no ordinary brat! Who are you?!"
"It doesn't matter who I am," Obito replied. "What matters is that you're going to die here."
Forming a seal, Obito summoned flames enhanced by Kamui's spatial power.
Fire Style: Dance of the Burning Tempest!
Fwoosh! A raging inferno surged forth. Twisting unnaturally through Kamui's warped space, the fire burned far hotter and brighter than any normal jutsu.
Black Zetsu's primary survival ability—merging with the earth—was rendered useless in this otherworldly dimension.
"Damn it! No—!!"
The flames engulfed him. He shrieked in agony.
But as the will of Kaguya herself, Black Zetsu was not easily destroyed. He turned to White Zetsu, still attached to Obito's physical body in the real world.
"White Zetsu! Stop this lunatic!!"
White Zetsu didn't move. It hesitated, clearly uncertain.
Obito paused and turned to him. "Now's your chance to choose a side. Think very carefully—there's no going back."
Silence fell. After a long pause, White Zetsu's playful voice echoed through the space. "Hmm… I only care about meaning. So, Obito—can you tell me what meaning looks like?"
Obito chuckled. "Oh, I can tell you more than that. I'll tell you what poop looks like. I'll explain the entire digestive process."
"…Deal," White Zetsu said.
And just like that, White Zetsu chose a side—his own curiosity piqued by literal toilet humor.
"You traitors!!!" Black Zetsu screamed.
"Let's wrap this up, Juan Juan Tou," Obito said, using his nickname for White Zetsu.
Kak! Kak! Kak! Wooden branches sprouted from the artificial Hashirama body grafted to Obito's right shoulder. With a sweep of his arm, he launched them at Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu dodged most, but a few pierced his body.
"Dammit…" he grunted, clawing at the wooden spears embedded in him.
"Not so fast," Obito said, changing hand seals.
Wood Release: Piercing Thorn Burial!
KAKAKAKAKAKA!
Barbs burst out from the wooden spikes inside Black Zetsu's body, twisting and tearing from within. He howled.
Obito followed up with another Fire Style jutsu, enhanced again by Kamui.
FWOOM!
The inferno roared.
"No—my thousand years of manipulation—undone by a punk Uchiha transmigrant—!"
And just like that, Black Zetsu—the shadowy conspirator behind the entire ninja world's history—was incinerated and destroyed by Obito, once known in another world as Yamato Arata.
Huff… Huff… Obito breathed heavily. His body was enhanced by Hashirama cells, so his chakra reserves were vast. But using unfamiliar hand seals and powerful jutsu still drained him quickly. He wasn't a native shinobi, after all. Yet.
Over time, as his skill with chakra and seals improved, that strain would lessen.
He exited the Kamui dimension and returned to the cavern. The sudden dimensional activity had alarmed the nearby White Zetsu clones. They emerged from the Gedo Statue and surrounded him.
Obito was immediately on guard, ready to retreat into Kamui if necessary.
But White Zetsu waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. We're all connected, remember? Besides, we don't even like Madara. He called us inferior androids and used us like tools. But we androids… we have feelings too."
"A Fei, you really are a good boy," Obito muttered, shaking his head in reluctant amusement.
For the next few months, Obito remained in the cavern. Under White Zetsu's guidance, he trained relentlessly—learning chakra control techniques like walking on water and clinging to ceilings, mastering basic ninjutsu, and getting used to the overwhelming power of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Uchiha Obito's chakra nature was surprisingly broad—Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Yin. Only Yang was absent.
Deep within the cave, Obito also found the storage tank that Madara had used for preserving living organisms. He placed Rin's body inside, preserving her perfectly.
He discovered Madara's old weapons and scrolls, too—a treasure trove of forbidden knowledge and tools.
Six months passed.
With rigorous training and the might of his dual Mangekyō, Obito was now confident he could defeat even a Kage-level ninja.
But against beings on the level of the Sage of Six Paths…?
That was another story.
Forget Kaguya for a moment.
There were others—Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, Kinshiki, even future threats like Jigen and Isshiki. All absurdly powerful.
To take them on, he needed more power.
He needed the Ten-Tails.
To awaken the Ten-Tails, he needed the Rinnegan.
Sure, Nagato already had a pair. But they were originally Madara's—and transplanting even one Rinnegan would severely burden his body. More importantly, he'd lose the power of one of his own eyes. Obito wasn't willing to make that sacrifice.
The Rinnegan could evolve naturally—from the Sharingan—provided the wielder had both Uchiha and Senju power.
Obito already had the Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes.
But the Senju half? That was incomplete.
The artificial Hashirama cells in his body were low-grade—White Zetsu level. Far too weak.
"The top priority," Obito muttered, "is obtaining a true Hashirama Cell body."
He looked toward the artificial Hashirama clone that Madara had grafted into the Gedo Statue. White Zetsu had told him it was extremely accurate—nearly indistinguishable from the real First Hokage. It lacked consciousness but preserved immense power.
The problem was: how to fuse with it safely?
Madara had only transplanted small tissue samples from Hashirama. Even then, it took decades before his body produced the Rinnegan. Obito wanted more. He wanted everything.
But doing so recklessly could destroy him.
There was only one person in the ninja world with the knowledge to make such a fusion work.
Orochimaru.
One of the Legendary Sannin. A genius of genetic manipulation. The mad scientist of the shinobi world.
"White Zetsu, where is Orochimaru now?" Obito asked.
Gurulu! A clone emerged from the base of the Gedo Statue. "He's in a secret hideout, in the southern forests of the Land of Fire. But it seems he's preparing to relocate…"
"Then let's not waste time."
Whoosh! Obito pulled a black cloak from the wall and draped it over his shoulders. With a final glance at the cavern, he turned and strode into the darkness.