Chapter 85: Deidara and Naruto
"...The recruitment mission failed?"
In the forests of the Land of Grass, Uchiha Obito frowned deeply as he listened to Black Zetsu's report.
Lately, he'd been preoccupied with many matters. To keep Kakuzu in check, he had resorted to a strategy of "sustainable over-exploitation" on certain wealthy merchants. With the power of Kamui, he didn't have to worry about being discovered—yet, this situation had still managed to arise.
"Yes, it failed," Black Zetsu replied flatly, as if nothing serious had happened.
"I don't know how, but Konoha got wind of the operation. They dispatched Kitagawa Gen, Hatake Kakashi, and Jiraiya to the Land of Earth. Fortunately, I noticed their movements in advance and had Pain prepare accordingly. Otherwise, things could've gotten out of hand—Ōnoki himself showed up."
"What a headache…"
Obito snorted coldly, clearly displeased. On the side, White Zetsu curled his lips into a grin—after all, this mess was his doing.
"They actually managed to draw out Ōnoki? What the hell were they up to?"
Obito didn't notice White Zetsu's expression, too preoccupied with his own irritation.
"And how does Konoha keep getting this intel? Every single time, they manage to show up at just the right moment. What's going on?"
Obito couldn't help but feel something was off. Despite all the complicated connections involved—especially how Kitagawa Gen had once exposed him—it was all too precise.
Back then, Gen had uncovered his identity and suspected Kirigakure's involvement. Then by sheer bad luck, they'd stumbled upon the internal conflict in the Hidden Mist, leading to his current predicament.
But how had they gotten intel about Kakuzu and Hidan? And now again, during this recruitment attempt?
"Any movements from Uchiha Itachi?" Obito suddenly asked, a thought striking him.
Black Zetsu immediately shook his head, with White Zetsu mimicking the motion.
"None. We're fully aware of his situation and are keeping a close eye on him."
As a known double agent, Itachi was under tight surveillance by both Black Zetsu and Obito. As a pawn—regardless of his motives—they had no intention of letting him act freely.
"If not him, then who?"
Obito's frown deepened. The endless complications lately were driving him to frustration.
"Does Konoha have any particularly skilled intelligence operatives?"
"Well… there's one," Black Zetsu muttered, falling into deep thought. After a while, he raised his head and looked at Obito.
"Do you remember the Konoha shinobi who were with Hanzo of the Salamander during the operation to wipe out Nagato and his group?"
"Konoha shinobi… with Hanzo?" Obito thought for a moment. "Weren't those Danzo's people?"
When Hanzo and Danzo attacked Yahiko and the others, Obito had kept an eye on the situation—after all, Nagato possessed the Rinnegan originally belonging to Madara Uchiha. The event remained vivid in his memory: the overwhelming power of the Rinnegan and Yahiko's death, which had played out exactly as he had predicted.
"Yes, Danzo Shimura," Black Zetsu nodded, his tone turning grim.
"Rumor has it Danzo controls a hidden ANBU faction separate from the Hokage's authority. He holds significant power and is an expert in intelligence gathering. Because of this, he's earned a nickname… 'The Darkness of the Ninja World.'"
"The Darkness of the Ninja World?"
Obito fell into contemplation. He knew of Danzo—he was a powerful figure in Konoha and a so-called 'advisor to the Hokage.' Moreover, he'd been involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Many of the stolen Sharingan eyes from that night had reportedly ended up in Danzo's possession—possibly even one of Shisui's eyes.
Beyond that, Obito hadn't given him much thought. To him, Danzo had always seemed like an inconsequential rat.
"Hmph. A sewer rat like him, capable of all this?"
Obito wasn't entirely convinced. After a long pause, he finally spoke again.
"Still, look into it. Get me a full report."
"Of course. We'll investigate thoroughly," Black Zetsu nodded seriously. However, White Zetsu's face twitched—he'd been holding back his words for a while.
Too bad Black Zetsu, as the dominant personality, wouldn't let him stir up trouble at such a crucial moment.
"Good. You handle this, and keep an eye on Konoha's people. They've been nothing but a pain lately."
Obito glanced at the time and added, "I've got something to take care of—after this, I might finally get a break."
Lately, he'd been fed up with Kakuzu, who never stopped pestering him about money. The greedy miser only cared about profit, making everything a hassle.
Still, Obito admitted—it could be worse. At least Kakuzu only wanted money. That made him somewhat manageable.
"Hmph, if only Kirigakure were still under control, things wouldn't be such a mess…"
After Obito vanished, Black Zetsu, still with White Zetsu, sank into the earth. A long moment passed before he finally cursed under his breath.
"Tch. All this fuss, just to get revenge for Rin Nohara…"
Now that he could finally speak, White Zetsu muttered to himself from the side. Black Zetsu scoffed in response.
"I know. But there are better ways to get revenge. We bleed them slowly—drain their talents, quash all resistance. Isn't that more effective? Doesn't that give us more resources in the long run?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? That sounds complicated…"
"..."
Black Zetsu massaged his temples, feeling like he was talking to a wall. Meanwhile, White Zetsu chuckled mischievously.
"And you're so bad, too! This whole mess was our doing, but you dumped the blame on someone else. And Obito's just as dumb as I am—he didn't notice a thing!"
"Oh, so you know you're dumb…"
Black Zetsu cast a sideways glance at White Zetsu but ultimately said nothing.
As for pinning it all on Danzo… that had always been part of the plan.
"With everything blowing up like this, someone has to take the fall—and it can't be one of us. Since the chaos points to Konoha, then Danzo Shimura…"
He was the perfect scapegoat. After all, they called him The Darkness of the Ninja World, and the man was constantly up to something shady.
Black Zetsu clearly remembered seeing Danzo standing right beside Hiruzen Sarutobi when Obito's mask was knocked off during the attack on Konoha.
"Hard to say. With everything that's been happening lately, and that guy not being involved at all, pinning it on him seems perfectly reasonable."
And if things went badly, well… he could always make Danzo into a fait accompli.
"By the way, Black Zetsu—did you get any results this time?"
Black Zetsu was deep in thought, but White Zetsu couldn't hold back.
"I mean, I'm not that worried, but… I'm really scared Obito's gonna be mad at us."
"If he doesn't know, he can't get mad."
Black Zetsu gave White Zetsu a glance and shook his head. As for the results this time…
"That brat… he's really a problem."
This time, although Kitagawa Gen didn't have an explosive outburst like before, nor did his chakra feel as wild and overwhelming…
…He somehow felt even more dangerous.
"His chakra was calm. Too calm."
"And there's natural energy. That kid…"
Black Zetsu, with his thousand years of experience, instantly recognized what Gen was using.
What shocked him, though, was when the boy entered Sage Mode—his eyes turned white.
"In that moment… even my body trembled."
But then he paused.
Sure, Sage Mode can affect the eyes. That wasn't unheard of.
He'd lived for over a millennium—he'd seen plenty of things. A pair of white eyes wasn't supposed to be anything special.
"So why… why does something still feel off?"
The more Black Zetsu thought about it, the more uneasy he became. The kid was far more complicated than he'd expected.
He thought investigating him would bring peace of mind. Instead, it only made him more confused—and more anxious.
After a long silence, Black Zetsu sighed and looked up, as if he could see through the earth to the sky above.
"Let's just hope… it's not the worst-case scenario."
---
"Huh? My ears are burning… is someone badmouthing me?"
Konoha – Ichiraku Ramen
Kitagawa Gen was eating ramen at the counter when he suddenly reached up to rub his ears, then glanced suspiciously at the blond-haired boy next to him.
"What?"
Deidara looked up in confusion, then broke into a grin.
"Hey, not gonna lie, this ramen really is better than the stuff back home. Mm!"
"Er… glad you like it. Eat as much as you want."
"Oh! Let me show you a trick!"
For some reason, Deidara got a sudden burst of excitement. He tossed his chopsticks aside, then put both hands into his ramen bowl.
And right before Gen's wide eyes, Deidara opened mouths on both his palms—each of them grabbed noodles and started slurping them up. Meanwhile, his real mouth also started eating.
Three mouths slurping at once—he finished his bowl in moments. Then he looked at Gen proudly.
"Ta-da! Pretty cool, huh?"
Gen rubbed his temples. He didn't even know how to respond.
"Why are none of these blond kids normal…?"
"That was amazing!"
Before Gen could even speak, a familiar voice rang out behind him. Naruto was standing there, eyes wide in amazement.
"Three mouths! You can eat three bowls at once!"
Gen facepalmed. He didn't even want to look anymore. Deidara, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Pretty cool, huh? Wanna see another?"
As he spoke, he put his hands up to his face… then all three mouths stuck out their tongues at Naruto.
Naruto stared in awe.
"That's awesome! How do you do that?!"
"Tch. That's a secret."
"Wait, hang on… I don't think I've seen you around before?"
"Of course not—I'm not from this village. I'm just here to pursue art, mm!"
The two blondes started chatting like they'd known each other for years. Gen stared at them, dumbfounded.
"They're… actually pretty similar. Same age, both blond, even their personalities are kind of alike."
He shook his head as he slurped some noodles.
Hard to believe these two nearly fought to the death in his original memories.
"Well, at least now it looks like Deidara probably won't end up joining the Akatsuki…"
Back in the original story, Deidara joined the Akatsuki for a weird reason—he made a bet, lost, and then kept his word.
Well, that, and Uchiha Itachi's techniques really challenged his ideas of art. He got obsessed with proving his own artistic vision by defeating Itachi.
But now, after getting completely stomped by Gen's Flying Thunder God technique, all those plans had gone out the window.
His drive for art, though, had only grown stronger.
"Still… maybe now he won't learn Dust Release? Could've been helpful, though."
Gen muttered to himself, a little worried that Deidara might still be too stubborn to be of any use.
But honestly, it didn't matter. Even if Deidara didn't help, Gen would figure it out on his own.
He had always had a clear goal and direction.
At first, it was just about not becoming cannon fodder during the Chunin Exams or the Fourth Great Ninja War. But once he unlocked his bloodline, his ambitions rose.
"Refine my bloodline… explore the limits of the Ōtsutsuki heritage. At the same time, perfect my combat techniques and strategies. I refuse to become like those Ōtsutsuki."
With determination in his heart, Gen glanced at the two bickering blondes beside him, then pulled up his system panel.
---
[Exclusive Mission: Jiraiya's Side Quest ②]
[Title: Life or Death]
[Assist Jiraiya in investigating the Akatsuki's operations.]
[Reward Acquired: Nagato's Unique Yang Release Chakra]
Gen raised an eyebrow.
"Another Yang Release chakra? Seriously?"
"Wait… was Nagato really from the Uzumaki clan?"
He couldn't figure it out. There had always been rumors about Nagato being a descendant of the Uzumaki, but the original story didn't say much.
He did have the same red hair as Kushina Uzumaki, and his chakra reserves and potential were absurd.
"Those Rinnegan eyes didn't even belong to him originally, and he could still handle the Gedo Statue's power…"
Just those two facts alone proved Nagato wasn't ordinary. Maybe he really was from an exceptional bloodline.
"At this point… I've pretty much collected all the chakra from Asura's descendants, haven't I?"
He wasn't exactly sure how many Asura descendants there were, but if Nagato was an Uzumaki, then this might complete the set.
Which was great—he was aiming to complete a full "chakra collection" achievement.
"And that wasn't the only reward from the trip to the Land of Earth…"
In addition to the Yang Release chakra and a first taste of Dust Release, he had also experienced Magnet Release firsthand during the fight with Sasori.
Magnet Release might not seem powerful on the surface, but Gen hadn't forgotten its true potential.
"Gold mining!"
His eyes lit up.
That ability alone was enough to get him excited.
After all, since arriving in this world, the only time he'd had money was after graduating. Poverty had left trauma.
"All in all, this mission really paid off."
Gen nodded with satisfaction—until he heard the two loud voices next to him again.
"Not fair! You're using three mouths! That's cheating!"
"Shut up, brat! This is my ability. If you suck, just train more! Don't cry about losing, mm!"
"You bastard! I'm not gonna lose to a cheater like you!"
"Tch! Then quit whining and admit defeat, mm!"
Gen covered his face again.
Yeah, the rewards were great, but…
"The side effects are killing me. Damn it…"
Should I just kill them both and be done with it…?