After Kaguya's power entered Kazuki's body.
Tobirama pondered the Child of Prophecy of Mount Myoboku, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
Who knew those toads actually had some vision? If Tobirama had to find an explanation for Kazuki's almost mystical experiences, that theory would fit perfectly.
If he's not the Child of Prophecy, then who is?
Tobirama took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions as he considered his next steps.
Meanwhile, Kazuki's real body stepped into the Ryuchi Cave palace, ready to meet the White Snake Sage.
[A strong sense of surprise and doubt has been detected in the White Snake Sage towards the host. The target is being linked.]
On the other hand, Kazuki's clone...
Black Zetsu's eyes widened. In an instant, he dropped his pretense.
He felt Kaguya's chakra with absolute clarity.
It was not possible to fake something like that...
"Who are you to my mother Kaguya?" Black Zetsu made a big decision and stopped hiding the secret he had kept for a thousand years. "Do you also want to save her?"
"Who am I…?" Kazuki smiled and effortlessly pulled Black Zetsu out of the ground, shaking his head. "Who else could be my stupid little brother…"
"Stupid little brother...?"
It was at that moment that Black Zetsu finally understood. Kaguya, his mother, had given them both her kekkei mora.
So...
Black Zetsu wasn't Kaguya's third son.
He was the fourth.
Kaguya's true third son was Uchiha Kazuki, someone with a complete body and bloodline.
Someone infinitely more noble than him...
"That's impossible! You can't be Kaguya's third son... my older brother!"
Black Zetsu looked at Kazuki in disbelief. Deep down he had already accepted this situation, but his mind was filled with questions.
For a thousand years, he had fought alone, pulling the strings from the shadows, doing everything possible to revive his mother...
What was this brother of his doing?!
If he had been there to help, the Eye of the Moon Plan might have already succeeded!
Why?
Why did he appear only until now?
Upon revealing the truth and understanding Kazuki's identity, Black Zetsu felt the tension within him ease. But immediately afterward, indignation washed over him.
Kazuki...
Kazuki had the nerve to criticize him for not achieving anything!
"You, are you worthy of being called the son of our mother and my brother…?" Uchiha Rin/Black Zetsu gave a sarcastic smile, his face now tinged with coldness.
"You say I have the right attitude but lack the skills?" His tone turned sharp. "And what about you? For a thousand years, you watched impassively as our mother suffered in her seal without moving a single finger. It is the height of ridiculousness!"
The more he spoke, the more anger Black Zetsu grew. He remembered all the times Kazuki had scolded him and made innuendos.
'How dare he criticize me without having done anything? He even tries to scare me! Doesn't he realize that this only makes things worse?'
He had already decided: today he would clear things up with Kazuki. He would not allow him to continue acting as if he had the right to judge him after disappearing for almost a thousand years and then returning only to reproach him for things.
If that's the kind of brother he is, then it's better not to have him.
"What have I done?" Kazuki chuckled and looked at Black Zetsu with a mix of pity and mockery.
"The question here is, why are you in such a hurry to break the seal of the Chibaku Tensei? If the Sage of the Six Paths and Otsutsuki Hamura managed to seal our mother once, they can do it again. Can you guarantee that you will defeat those two rebellious brothers this time?"
He paused, before calmly continuing, "It's been a thousand years. In all this time, Kaguya has been trapped, receiving no chakra or natural energy, and to top it off, she lost the Ten-Tails…"
Kazuki raised an eyebrow indifferently. "With all due respect, but with our mother's combat level and having been inactive for so long, she's most likely even weaker now."
Black Zetsu's hands were shaking with rage.
How dare he!? Damn Kazuki, how dare you bastard!
How dare he speak of the great mother like that? How dare he even call her by her name?
But the angrier Black Zetsu became, the deeper the blood bond in Kazuki's body became. His Ōtsutsuki aura grew increasingly dense.
As Black Zetsu raged in helpless rage, Kazuki just looked at him with a gentle smile. At that moment, the gap between the two became apparent.
One possessed the pure, noble kekkei mora and a real physical body.
The other… did not even have a corporeal form of his own and had to hide in a puppet created with White Zetsu.
Black Zetsu couldn't help but think of the romance novels that the princesses in the capital of the Land of Fire used to read. Stories about the abysmal difference between a lazy legitimate son and a bastard son who tried tirelessly.
"You have no right to speak of Mother Kaguya like that!" Black Zetsu bellowed, completely losing his composure. "And stop calling her by her name, treat her with the respect she deserves!"
But if he yelled at him like that, it was because he already considered Kazuki as if he were his brother.
After all, Kazuki wouldn't kill him... right?
So if he could vent his anger and frustration over the thousand-year hard work by yelling at him a little, what did it matter?
"Zetsu, stop yelling. Acting like a child won't get you anywhere great." Kazuki smirked and shook his head. "I knew it. Both you and Kaguya still think the same way as you did a thousand years ago. I've seen it too many times…"
He stared at him, but his smile turned icy. "Even if you manage to free her from the seal, what will you do next?"
"Suppose you somehow manage to surpass the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura… then comes the real problem: Kaguya's clan."
Kazuki tilted his head slightly and fixed his gaze on Black Zetsu. "Tell me, who will be responsible for confronting them?"
Black Zetsu's gaze towards Kazuki went from doubt filled with anger to total confusion...
From what he understood, Kazuki was implying that the almighty mother Kaguya was nothing more than a combat fool. That even if she managed to break free, her two traitorous sons would easily defeat her again, and that any effort on his part would be in vain.
What the fuck?! How dare you!?
To reinforce his argument, that bastard Kazuki even started talking about the Ōtsutsuki Clan and the true origin of Mother Kaguya…
Black Zetsu trembled with rage.
With such a detestable character, Kazuki dares to call himself Kaguya's son?
Not an iota of respect, calling her by her name without hesitation, and even questioning her power…
He wanted to answer him immediately, but when he opened his mouth… he went blank.
To his annoyance, some of what Kazuki said made sense.
At her peak, Kaguya was defeated by the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
With the character of Kaguya's mother...
After escaping from the seal, considering that she was not good at fighting, her mind would also be affected by anger. How much of her abilities could she still exert?
And although Hamura had gone to the Moon and his situation was uncertain…
Black Zetsu was sure of one thing: The Sage of Six Paths couldn't have died so easily!
Ever since Tobirama discovered the existence of the Pure Land by developing the Impure World Reincarnation, Black Zetsu sensed that something was very wrong.
Pure Land?
That place could be nothing other than an elaborate plan by the rebellious son, using the cycle of life and death of the shinobi world to secretly amass power.
A thousand years had passed. While his mother's power was declining, the other side was strengthening, and the Sage of the Six Paths had also divided the Ten-Tails… Who knows what other traps he had left behind?
The more he thought, the gloomier Black Zetsu's face became.
Kazuki looked at him in amusement and, with a mocking smile, said in a low voice, "Actually, you didn't need me to tell you… you already knew that, right?"
"Let me guess... You inherited some of Kaguya's memories and witnessed her battle against Hagoromo and Hamura."
"Objectively, her combat skills were no better than Uchiha Obito's, and were even below most of Konoha's special jonin…"
"Her emotional instability, her lack of mastery over her own techniques, and her limited combat experience meant that she was unable to harness even half of her true power. In short, she was a complete battle fool."
Black Zetsu clenched his fists tightly.
This insolent bastard! How dare he insult the great mother Kaguya?
The problem was that... he didn't know how to refute Kazuki.
Was he slandering Kaguya?
No… he was just stating the facts.
That thought crossed Black Zetsu's mind, who as a devout believer, felt so frustrated that he was about to slap himself.
Don't dare to think so!
"What's wrong? Are you speechless, Zetsu?" Kazuki looked at him calmly. "Just as I said, you know… but you don't dare to accept it."
"Because you are not capable enough."
"Even if you manage to free Kaguya, that will only be the first part of the problem. Then you would have to face the Sage of the Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, and even flee from the pursuit of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. For you, all of this is an impossible challenge."
"So all you can do is bury your head in the sand like an ostrich, convincing yourself that your hard work and dedication are worth it. You've spent a thousand years moving in the shadows of the shinobi world, but in the end… you've accomplished nothing. Am I wrong?"
At that instant, the concentration of Ōtsutsuki blood in Kazuki's body increased dramatically, in response to Black Zetsu's emotional fluctuation.
From this close, Black Zetsu did not need to use any detection techniques to sense the subtle yet unmistakable Ōtsutsuki energy emanating from Kazuki.
It's really infuriating!
A bastard who can only talk about war on paper and give orders actually has such a pure blood...
Why!?
Once again, someone unworthy had inherited the central power of Mother Kaguya, and to top it off, he was a total rebel!
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