Chapter 4: Raising a Monster?
Amamiya Rei wanted to test this theory, so he looked at Black Zetsu with firm determination in his eyes.
"I want to tear it off myself."
Black Zetsu: "..."
...Fine.
You cannot lure a wolf without offering it meat.
The monster standing before him — this creature that seemingly could not be killed no matter what — might indeed have some value.
Black Zetsu extended his arm. A black shadow flickered before Rei's eyes.In one swift motion, Amamiya Rei sank his teeth into the flesh of that arm and tore away a chunk.
Black Zetsu: "..."
The speed at which this creature devoured flesh was astonishing!
Moments ago, when sitting on the ground, it looked like nothing but a slack-jawed fool. But when it came to eating, this monster's movements became frighteningly sharp and precise.
A deeper shade of disgust appeared in Black Zetsu's yellow eyes.
He could only hope this monster might prove to be of some use.
[Ding!]
[Scanning...]
[Scan Successful.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained "Black Zetsu Flesh Chunk" × 1.]
[Analyzing...]
[Analysis Complete.]
[Abilities contained within "Black Zetsu Flesh Chunk": Mental Fusion, Basic Wood Release, Sensory Perception, Spore Parasitism...]
[Converting...]
[Conversion Complete.]
["Black Zetsu Flesh Chunk" × 1 = Primary Wood Release+ 600 Minutes of Sunlight + 6,000 Chakra]
[Host — please continue striving to obtain more flesh.]
So it was true. The flesh only yielded results when torn off personally.
Above Amamiya Rei's head, the blue health bar labeled "600 min" instantly climbed to 1,200 min, and the green chakra bar labeled "6,000" surged to 12,000.
But... why was this no longer considered a high-quality cut of meat?
Confusion clouded Rei's mind.
Wasn't it all Black Zetsu's flesh?
Could it be... the meat on Black Zetsu's body was divided into different grades?
Rei's gaze toward Black Zetsu slowly grew strange.
Black Zetsu: "..."
He did not understand the monster's thoughts, but the look in Rei's eyes made something inside him twist with irritation. For a brief, startling moment, he even felt the urge to strike the creature down.
Suppressing that peculiar sadistic impulse, Black Zetsu forced himself to remain calm.
Even so, the monster's appearance seemed perfectly suited for whipping.
[Ding!]
[Notice: A high-quality flesh sample can only be obtained once per individual. Subsequent flesh from the same source will not qualify as high-quality. Please target other high-quality shinobi instead.]
Amamiya Rei: "..."
Was the system... beginning to despise Black Zetsu's flesh?
Only one high-quality piece per person — and not everyone even had high-quality flesh to begin with.
It seemed the road ahead, the road of flesh and sunlight, was going to be long.
Long and arduous.
But he would search, up and down, no matter how far.
Resolving himself, Amamiya Rei steeled his heart with silent determination. For the sake of a future bathed in sunlight, he shouted inwardly with resolve.
When his emotions calmed, Rei turned back to Black Zetsu and stated solemnly, "I only like to tear flesh myself."
The meaning was obivous: if Black Zetsu were to bring him rations in the future, it had better be an entire living person rather than lifeless scraps of meat that the system could not recognize.
Black Zetsu read the unspoken demand in Rei's eyes and could only fall silent. "..."
Very well.
A monster was still a monster.
It was natural for monsters to have peculiar preferences.
After all, humans themselves harbored countless quirks.
Why not something beyond human?
Still...
Black Zetsu's gaze narrowed as he studied Rei.
...Did this count as raising a monster?
No. He did not have time for that.
His voice dropped coldly, carrying a clear edge of threat.
"I will capture prey for you from time to time. But in return, you must strengthen yourself. If, after one month, you remain useless... I will seal you away."
Black Zetsu loathed wasting time.
With his threat delivered, his figure sank into the earth and vanished without a trace.
Amamiya Rei: "..."
Why was Black Zetsu so sinister?
Seal him?
Only something as pitch-black as Black Zetsu could come up with such vile tactics.
The worst part was that the tactic worked. The threat genuinely unsettled Rei.
He had no choice. He needed to grow stronger — quickly.
Stronger meant more flesh.
Sunlight meant more flesh.
No matter which path he followed, the destination was the same: an endless feast.
Yet as the echoes of Black Zetsu's departure faded, Rei realized something peculiar.
From the moment he had awakened until now, Black Zetsu had never once asked for his name.
Slowly, Rei pieced together a fragment of Black Zetsu's inhuman thought process. It seemed that only after a month would Black Zetsu decide whether Rei was even qualified to be asked his name.
How arrogant — for a pitcher plant!
Rolling his eyes, Rei clenched his teeth... and once again felt drool gathering at the corner of his mouth.
"...I really want to eat all of him."
The thought was absurd. Impossible.
His body might be unkillable — but it was far too weak to accomplish such a thing.
He needed more flesh. Without it, even the faintest ray of sunlight could burn him to ashes.
Bathed in pale moonlight, Amamiya Rei stepped out into the courtyard.
He was living in a small, detached house.
The yard and structure had clearly been abandoned for a long time — overtaken by creeping weeds and cobwebs. Spiders and insects nested freely in every corner. Dust lay so thick that the original colors of the walls and floors were impossible to discern.
Rei had neither the time nor the energy to clean.
Crossing the yard, he approached an old stone well.
He approached. The well was not dry.
Moonlight shimmered upon the water's surface — and in that reflection, Amamiya Rei finally saw his current appearance.
What stared back at him was hauntingly beautiful.
Long, black curls cascaded over his cheeks and shoulders, trailing down his back like flowing seaweed. His eyebrows and eyes were strikingly gorgeous; blood-red pupils glowed faintly under the moonlight. He wore a black kimono — an ethereal beauty, as though he had stepped straight out of a meticulously inked and vividly colored ukiyo-e painting.
A woman's form.
Was this... Muzan in women's clothing?
Rei frowned. He remembered clearly — when cosplaying Muzan Kibutsuji, he had been dressed in male attire.
A stray thought flitted through his mind: Muzan in men's clothing.
At that moment, the reflection in the well shifted with his imagination. The delicate feminine figure faded away. His body grew taller, broader; his frame became muscular and masculine.
Rei's eyes widened in astonishment.
The Perfect Mimicry worked flawlessly.
Curious, he continued experimenting — imagining himself as a child.
The reflection shrank accordingly. Short limbs. Tiny stature. He had to strain just to peer over the well's edge.
After some thought, Rei reverted to his female form.
Even in the future, he decided, he would only alternate between female and child forms.
Women and children disarmed suspicion far more easily than men.
And he needed to eat human flesh.
Not from ordinary civilians — only from skilled shinobi.
Not devouring them whole, merely tearing chunks of flesh.
Rei did not consider himself cruel enough to swallow a living person whole. He only needed their abilities and sunlight value.
Perhaps because he had become Muzan Kibutsuji, Rei discovered that when he imagined blood-drenched human flesh...
He did not feel nausea.
Instead, his mouth watered.
Returning to his female form, Amamiya Rei pushed open the dilapidated wooden gate of the courtyard.
Creak—
The aged wood groaned like an old man's labored breath.
If he had not dodged quickly, the dust above the doorway would have poured over him completely.
Stepping across the threshold, Amamiya Rei observed the surroundings.
The courtyard sat halfway up a mountainside.
From here, he could see the brightly lit village at the mountain's foot, and beyond it, the endless expanse of terraced fields climbing the slopes.
Though he had encountered Black Zetsu, Rei had no idea what period of the shinobi world he had arrived in.
He needed to gather intelligence — and, if fortunate, locate a lone shinobi to hunt.
But the moment he stepped outside, his feet halted.
He turned back.
First, he needed the means to protect himself.
If he stumbled upon a lone but powerful shinobi, he might not even get the chance to take a bite before being subdued — or worse, captured for study.
Unkillable did not mean uncontrollable.
A creature like him, impossible to kill, would undoubtedly be an object of research.
Orochimaru.
The name alone sent a shiver racing down Rei's spine.
He slammed the door shut.
He had no interest in becoming anyone's test subject.
First, the sensory ability obtained from Black Zetsu. Rei decided this would be the first power he trained — perfect for escape.
If he could sense an opponent's powerful chakra in advance, he could flee immediately.
Black Zetsu's sensory ability far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. This much was evident from its survival through countless eras and its role as an intelligence operative within the Akatsuki. Its perceptive reach was extraordinary.
Amamiya Rei resolved to develop and master this ability to its fullest potential.
Survival depended on it.
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