NOVEL WEB Chapter 282: Chapter 282
Chaos. Complete and utter chaos.
As the will of the Kaguya, Black Zetsu naturally knew many things.
He also knew that his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, had some terrifying enemies.
It was precisely to deal with those enemies that his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, had created the White Zetsu and eventually fell out with his two "brothers," Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
And now, the leader of this mysterious organisation that had suddenly appeared might be one of his mother's enemies, an enemy thought to be long dead!
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!
This thought sent a chill down Black Zetsu's spine.
"No, I must understand the truth about this organisation and find out if that person is truly Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!"
Muttering to himself, Black Zetsu's form once again disappeared into the ground.
He could soon erase Uchiha Madara's mental imprint completely. Once rid of Madara's interference, he could stay close to this person at all times and determine whether the master behind him was truly Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!
…
At the same time, Uchiha Madara frowned, sensing his weakening mental imprint. He realized that soon, the imprint might be completely eradicated.
Without this mental connection, he might lose all traces of this mysterious individual.
This meant he needed to seize his final opportunity.
A cold smile appeared on Madara's lips.
Did this mysterious individual really think he hadn't noticed being diverted so many times?
He had been tracking that strange monk. Even when tangled up with Madara, the individual still followed the monk, proving that the monk was of great importance to him.
That strange monk was Madara's last lead.
"Things are getting more and more interesting," Madara muttered, following Black Zetsu once more.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of raindrops echoed in the cave where the Shadow Avatar was seated cross-legged, a gloomy expression on his face as he muttered incessantly.
"Sigh, still no suitable candidates. It's been so many years now. I'm starting to doubt if I'll ever find one in my lifetime."
"I wonder how the master is holding up. How much longer can his body endure? Sigh."
"This cursed weather, always raining and delaying my search for suitable people for the master. It's driving me mad."
"I wonder where the others are and if they've found anyone suitable…"
"Maybe… I should check out Konoha. With so many people in the Village, there's bound to be someone suitable."
"No, there's that Hui there. If we're exposed, the consequences would be disastrous."
The Shadow Avatar perfectly played the role of a chatterbox, voicing his every thought aloud without stopping for a moment.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, now perpetually shadowing this clone, listened intently to every word.
Having completely erased Uchiha Madara's imprint, he was now free to focus entirely on investigating the monk and the organization behind him.
'This guy really talks too much,' Black Zetsu thought, a black line forming across his "face" as he listened to the endless words.
He wanted nothing more than to charge out and sew the monk's lips shut, but he couldn't. Not only could he not act rashly, but he also had to carefully listen to every word. This chatterbox might inadvertently reveal the intelligence he sought.
The Shadow Avatar, unaware of Black Zetsu's presence in the wall behind him, was thoroughly immersed in his role as a chatterbox, becoming the very embodiment of one.
"So, what kind of person is this 'Kaguya' anyway? And that monster… what was it called? Ten… something? Ugh, I didn't catch it clearly last time. If only I had, I might have already found that 'Kaguya.'"
These words made Black Zetsu's heart sink entirely.
Kaguya. Betrayal. Monster. Ten…
What else could it be but the Ten Tails?
If it was the Ten Tails, then Kaguya could only be his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
And the person Kaguya betrayed could only be Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
This meant the organization behind the monk was created by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, and the monk's master was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki himself.
Unbelievable. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was still alive and had been hiding in the shinobi world for thousands of years!
But from the monk's words, it seemed Ōtsutsuki Isshiki required a vessel…
If Isshiki had escaped from the Ten Tails, he wouldn't have emerged unscathed.
Not only was he injured, but his injuries were severe enough to necessitate having a vessel.
A suitable vessel presented an opportunity.
Countless schemes and plots began swirling in Black Zetsu's mind, but he quickly suppressed them. The priority now was locating Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's whereabouts.
Black Zetsu calmed himself but soon grew alarmed once more.
For years, as the hidden manipulator of the shinobi world, he had controlled events from the shadows.
Even extraordinary figures like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had danced in his palm, fostering a deep sense of invincibility within him.
But Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was different.
Isshiki wasn't a mere shinobi; he was an Ōtsutsuki, a being of a higher order, fully capable of harming him.
And if Isshiki discovered his existence, he might kill him outright!
Fear struck Black Zetsu.
If he were killed, who would free his mother from the seal of the Chibaku Tensei?
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki…" Black Zetsu murmured. His usual methods for dealing with shinobi wouldn't suffice against Isshiki. He needed a new strategy.
After much thought, Black Zetsu realized that the only way to deal with Isshiki was through his vessel.
Isshiki was of the same level as Black Zetsu, perhaps even stronger.
"Looks like I'll have to stick with this chatterbox for now," Black Zetsu muttered, hoping the monk would quickly find a suitable vessel.
…
Elsewhere, Uchiha Madara focused on the distant chakra, deep in thought.
The mysterious individual thought he had eluded Madara, but Madara had a rough idea of his location and his target.
Now that the mysterious individual was exposed and Madara remained in the shadows, how should he proceed?
Should he kidnap the target to lure out the mysterious individual?
No. If the mysterious individual abandoned the target, Madara would lose his only lead.
Even if the mysterious individual appeared, Madara might still be unable to deal with him.
Although he could once again imprint a mental mark, the mysterious individual could easily retreat to an unreachable place and erase it.
Madara pondered this dilemma. Unless he could control the mysterious individual's target in secret…
Could he?
Thinking quickly, Madara recalled one of his techniques: the Forbidden Individual Curse Tag
This juinjutsu, capable of subtly influencing a person's mind and manipulating them from the shadows, had been used by Madara before—on Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha.
Although both eventually broke free, the technique had allowed Madara to achieve his goals, particularly with Obito.
Obito's drastic transformation couldn't be solely attributed to his despair; this technique had played a significant role.
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