SWNOVELXO Chapter 99: Chapter 109
"Let's go, Sasuke!"
"Follow me, Naruto!"
"We don't need to rely on Sasori's exclusive weapons anymore," Naruto said.
"If we start cutting corners now, how are we supposed to get stronger?" Sasuke replied.
… … …
"..."
Kitahara Kaede watched them. It seemed that with a little more time, these two would grow into the perfect enforcers.
The group had already arrived at the coastline where Shukaku had fled.
"Surrounded by the sea, my Fire Style is suppressed," Sasuke said.
"Ah…"
"You finally came!"
Shukaku had swum all the way back from the sea.
Its massive body squatted down heavily onto the ground and just sat there.
It hadn't been fleeing because it feared Sasori. Sasori's puppets could swim and pursue him, which was troublesome, yes, but what truly scared Shukaku was that while Sasori was chasing him, the leader of the Akatsuki—Pain—was standing completely still on the shoreline.
Beside Pain stood Black Zetsu.
The two were silently watching Sasori's actions.
"Konoha reinforcements, huh—"
"Doesn't matter—"
Sasori's voice came, that of a young and refined man. Though he hid in an ugly puppet, he no longer felt the need to mask his voice.
Because yesterday, his grandmother had died.
To save Gaara.
Really now…
Sasori despised his grandmother, who had sent his parents to the ninja war only for them to be killed by Sakumo Hatake.
He somewhat regretted not taking revenge for his parents personally.
Yes.
Just like now, the stronger the Sand Shinobi were, the more irrational they became.
Sasuke and Naruto quickly coordinated, one flanking left, the other right, launching a joint pincer attack on Sasori.
Sasori looked down on the two rookies, but he did glance at the rocky shore nearby.
He could handle Sasuke and Naruto himself, but someone else would need to take care of intercepting Shukaku.
That someone was Zetsu.
[Zetsu] was also a member of Akatsuki, half white and half black. Although not strong, he had many white clones who could move quickly through rock, dirt, and sea, making him ideal for information gathering.
Originally, it had been Sasori and Deidara working together, but Deidara had blown himself up for the sake of "a moment of true art."
So [Zetsu] came to replace Deidara.
However…
Just as Sasori glanced in Zetsu's direction… [Zetsu] was gone.
…
Of course [Zetsu] was gone—because Zetsu was actually Black Zetsu.
Obito had tricked Nagato just like he tricked that fool, and even borrowed Tobi's identity to get his own codename within Akatsuki.
Like a method actor fully immersed in the role.
And Black Zetsu, the mastermind, had also "immersed" himself in the role, giving himself the codename [Zetsu].
At that moment, [Zetsu] was sitting on Shukaku's back.
Because Kitahara Kaede was also there.
Black Zetsu looked visibly displeased.
"What do you mean by this?" Black Zetsu said. "You clearly told me to go capture the Tailed Beasts."
"Yet now you're here saving Shukaku!"
"Aren't you sabotaging my plan?!"
"You're stopping me from saving Lady Kaguya—what does this mean?!"
Shukaku had thought Zetsu had come to kill him, but the moment Black Zetsu opened his mouth, Shukaku realized… oh crap.
So this was the truth behind him being chased?
He quickly shut his mouth and pretended to be a mountain, saying nothing.
"I did tell you to capture the Tailed Beasts. But Shukaku is different. He may be the One-Tail, but he's not the weakest."
"..." Black Zetsu. "So you mean we should capture them from weakest to strongest?"
"That's one way to consider the order," Kitahara Kaede replied.
"But," he continued, "this is also something I've only recently realized. I think you need to take a trip to the moon."
"..." Black Zetsu.
"The moon?"
"Why?!"
"That would mean leaving the Shinobi world!"
Black Zetsu found it hard to believe.
Kitahara Kaede explained,
"The Rinnegan wielder has a special ability—Chibaku Tensei."
"And the current moon is actually where the Sage of Six Paths sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya long ago."
"But the Rabbit Spirit is currently in my house."
"Yet the moon still hangs in the sky."
"I realized the plan might go awry, so I came to find you," Kitahara Kaede said.
"Because I can't be sure if my Rabbit Spirit is truly the complete Otsutsuki Kaguya."
"Imagine—what if the Rabbit Spirit devours the Tailed Beasts? What would happen?"
What would happen?
Black Zetsu's wide eyes widened further.
The Tailed Beasts would disappear.
Wait. The Tailed Beasts would disappear!?
"..."
"..." Black Zetsu was instantly alarmed.
Because—
Everything could've been ruined.
For a thousand years, the plan to resurrect Lady Kaguya relied on this:
A descendant who inherited the Sage of Six Paths' power, using the Rinnegan to summon the Ten-Tails, reuniting the chakra that had been split apart by the Sage.
Then using Black Zetsu—Kaguya's will—as assistance.
Because Kaguya was the progenitor of all ninja, the original core.
So the plan was to work backward from there.
Yet now, he had been urgently gathering Tailed Beasts… to feed to the bunny?
If the Rabbit Spirit devoured them, the Tailed Beasts might be gone for good.
Because Kitahara Kaede had tested it before—he had transferred chakra to the Rabbit Spirit, but Kaguya only returned for one second before the chakra was exhausted and she reverted back to a bunny.
So if they fed the Tailed Beasts to the Rabbit Spirit, would they really be preserved? It was far from guaranteed.
But… what if Kaguya's true self was still sealed on the moon?
Wouldn't that fulfill the conditions for a full resurrection?
Then what should he do?
Ah!
So he almost ruined everything out of excessive "filial piety."
He had to confirm whether Kaguya still existed on the moon!
This was now essential.
Because even Kaguya herself once said she couldn't be sure whether her current Rabbit Spirit form was truly her.
So this was the most important matter of all.
"Then…" Black Zetsu's heart raced. "What I need to do now…"
"Is dig the moon, Black Zetsu!" Kitahara Kaede said. "Go confirm whether Kaguya is really still there!"
"..." Black Zetsu froze.
"Go on," Kitahara Kaede said.
Leave the Shinobi world, and go stir things up elsewhere.
"Ugh…"
"Then…" Black Zetsu looked at Kitahara Kaede. "You're not lying to me, right?"
Whenever someone says that, they're about to be lied to.
"What would I gain from lying to you?" Kitahara Kaede replied. "Besides, verifying whether Kaguya is still on the moon is something you need to do."
"Whether you dig or not has nothing to do with me."
Kitahara Kaede said, "Because I want the Rabbit Spirit—not Otsutsuki Kaguya."
"And I already have the Rabbit. But you don't have your mom."
"..." Black Zetsu.
Fair enough.
Kitahara Kaede just looked like someone who wanted to raise a pet bunny.
But Black Zetsu couldn't confirm whether Kaguya's true body still existed on the moon.
"..." Black Zetsu clenched his teeth.
Let's do this!
Black Zetsu was a filial child. Once Kitahara Kaede reminded him, he immediately came to his senses.
Although the Rabbit Spirit stayed beside Kitahara Kaede, it had once said it didn't know why it appeared here.
Because the Rabbit Spirit had lost its power.
So many possibilities opened up…
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