"What a heartless bastard you are! Obito trusted you with everything, and that's how you repay him?! You damn Ōtsutsuki freak, chasing after nothing but power!"
"You wouldn't even spare Kaguya!"
Black Zetsu screamed in despair, its voice twisted with bitter disappointment: "What the hell is it you're trying to do?! Don't let me see you again! I swear, I'll make you pay—for Obito, and for Kaguya, I will av—"
But before the word avenge could leave its mouth, Black Zetsu suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure by the distant creek, just at the edge of its vision.
Its whole body trembled.
That silhouette had already embedded itself in every one of its nightmares—there was no mistaking it.
It was Kazuki—Uchiha Kazuki.
Black Zetsu let out an excited, beastlike screech, instantly forgetting all the harsh words it had just spat out moments ago. Like a rabid wild dog, it surged forward—recklessly unleashing its Kamui dōjutsu, madly rushing toward Kazuki!
This might very well be the only chance it would ever get in this lifetime!
Black Zetsu no longer dared to play games with Kazuki. His brother's heart was as hard as iron and as black as ink—something far beyond what it could bluff or manipulate.
"You… You've finally shown yourself, Uchiha Kazuki!"
Space rippled as Black Zetsu appeared before him, carried by the power of Kamui. There were so many things it wanted to say—
It wanted to curse him, to question him, to vent its rage, and to beg…
But the moment Kazuki's gaze swept across him, all those boiling emotions were snuffed out in an instant—replaced by an overwhelming sense of unease.
The only reason Kazuki had ever reasoned with him at all was because he still held onto the faint thread of familial ties.
In Black Zetsu's eyes, Kazuki was the ultimate terror—someone who, just like it, had begun life as a Yin-Yang Release construct. Someone who had crafted his own body step by step from nothing, created the strongest dōjutsu through research, then buried himself deep within the Shinobi World… ensnaring every single shinobi, the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya, and even the Ōtsutsuki from beyond the stars.
Would someone like that still give Black Zetsu the slightest sliver of respect?
"Uchiha… Uchiha Kazuki, I have a request…"
Black Zetsu averted its gaze, lowered its head, and spoke in a trembling voice, "I'm willing to give up everything. I want you to help me—to help me save…"
"No, Black Zetsu."
Kazuki cut him off cleanly and without hesitation. He slowly stood up, his towering figure casting a long shadow over Black Zetsu, and a natural, oppressive aura—born purely of his overwhelming level of power—tightened around Black Zetsu's soul like a noose.
"I have no intention of helping you with anything."
Looking down at the now visibly shaken Black Zetsu, he said softly, "Why do you call me Uchiha Kazuki?"
"You won't even call me… Brother."
Why did he refer to him as Uchiha Kazuki?
Faced with this question, Black Zetsu certainly couldn't just say, "That's your name, so what's wrong with me saying your full name…"
When it came to the matter of calling someone "big brother" or "little brother,"
Kazuki really did like calling him "foolish little brother"...
Black Zetsu would act irritated on the surface, but whenever he heard those words, deep down, he would always feel a faint stir of emotion—because, in terms of bloodline, he could count as family...
Only Kaguya and Kazuki, really.
As for those two pure-blooded traitors, Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Hagoromo, Black Zetsu had long since disowned them, removed them from the family registry entirely...
Although truth be told, he also considered Kazuki a traitor.
But even among traitors, there were levels...
Kazuki truly never treated Kaguya as a person. From the very beginning, he'd looked down on her power and combat ability, never once—as Black Zetsu had—viewed the so-called "Mother of Chakra" as the core of some grand plan.
In Black Zetsu's eyes, compared to Kaguya, Kazuki was the one who actually embodied the real Ōtsutsuki temperament and bearing.
Even so, Kazuki still had some limits... for instance, he never laid a hand on Black Zetsu.
And Black Zetsu knew this very well. All those behind-the-scenes deals it had made with Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara to undermine Kazuki? His so-called "older brother" had been perfectly aware of all of them.
With Kazuki's abilities, he could have erased Black Zetsu long ago. Killing him would've been perfectly reasonable.
But Kazuki never did. He just let him act out.
Over time, after failing to resist again and again—only to be spared each time—Black Zetsu itself had started to break down a little.
It began to feel like a bratty little brother, throwing tantrums and making trouble simply because his big brother was too tolerant. Like some childish fool who didn't know any better...
On quiet nights, when the world was still, Black Zetsu would sometimes calm down and reflect. And in those moments, it occasionally found itself thinking: maybe Kazuki's logic wasn't entirely wrong...
In fact, some of it made a lot of sense.
Power... really should be held by those with brains. That's the only way to bring out its full potential—and use it properly in facing the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
If it were in Kaguya's hands, how much of that power could actually be wielded effectively?
If Kazuki hadn't existed, Black Zetsu believed it could've still played the part of a competent mastermind—reviving Kaguya from the shadows.
But even then, the best possible outcome would be Kaguya returning as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki—and Black Zetsu would still have to figure out how to teach her to fight, and get her through the trials of the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura...
Let alone deal with the likes of Urashiki, Momoshiki, and Isshiki—those three titans of the Ōtsutsuki.
As a puppet master pulling strings in the shinobi world, Black Zetsu's calculations could only extend to mortal affairs. When it came to anything on the level of the Six Paths... it was just groping around in the dark.
If things had followed its script—
Then most likely, both it and the resurrected Kaguya would've been intercepted mid-fight with the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura by one of those alien Ōtsutsuki—just like how Isshiki had ambushed Uchiha Madara and the rest—ruining a thousand years of scheming in an instant.
And when it compared that to Kazuki...
Well, even if Kazuki's treatment of Kaguya had gone too far...
However, the result had turned out far better than expected!
Those three alien Ōtsutsuki—each one a terror from beyond—hadn't even lasted a single exchange against Kazuki. With nothing but a few simple punches and kicks, they'd been completely annihilated, their souls scattered to the wind. And the very figures Black Zetsu had always feared the most—Hagoromo and Hamura—hadn't even dared to appear before Kazuki…
They only dared to sneak back into the shinobi world after Kazuki had vanished.
Judging by results alone, Black Zetsu had already submitted to Kazuki long ago…
His elder brother had seen through Kaguya's weakness from the very beginning. He hadn't indulged in any delusions about her—hadn't placed blind hope in her power. Instead, he had taken destiny firmly into his own hands.
Kazuki was the true victor—
And not just a victor, but a resounding one!
All of this… these were things Black Zetsu had already realized deep in its subconscious. It just hadn't wanted to admit them—because of the massive sunk cost of a thousand years of effort.
But now, standing face to face with Kazuki—
Its thoughts surged wildly, like a lightning current running through its brain, utterly beyond control.
So much so that, when the conclusion "Big Brother Kazuki is flawless" exploded in its mind, Black Zetsu—normally eloquent and full of rhetorical tricks—was left with its mouth half open, unable to speak a single word…
Kazuki looked at the foolish expression frozen on Black Zetsu's face and gave a slight shake of his head. A faint trace of disappointment flickered in his eyes as he slowly turned around—
As though preparing to walk away.
And in that instant—
Terrified that Kazuki would disappear again, Black Zetsu forced out a plea from deep in its throat: "Brother, I—I was wrong! There's something I need your help with!"
"Please! Help me!"
Kazuki let out a soft sigh. He turned back, locking eyes with Black Zetsu's panicked and desperate gaze, and slowly said: "Speak. What is it that you want from me?"
"It's about Obito! Uchiha Obito!" Black Zetsu said in a low voice.
"What about him?" Kazuki spread his hands and looked at Black Zetsu with a hint of puzzlement. "I don't know what's going on with him. What exactly do you want me to do?"
Black Zetsu drew in a deep breath.
How could Kazuki not know what had happened with Uchiha Obito?
Back on that battlefield, Black Zetsu had clearly seen Kazuki channel ocular power into Obito's body…
And judging from what it knew of Kazuki's personality, there was no way he'd allow Isshiki to seize control of Obito so easily.
To Black Zetsu, Kazuki—though cold, ruthless, and unfeeling—still maintained a strange kind of bottom line toward those around him. He would torment them mercilessly…
But he wouldn't discard them like trash once they outlived their usefulness.
Just like with Might Duy, who had opened all Eight Gates. To this day, Black Zetsu believed that the moment Kazuki had chosen to emerge wasn't the most tactically optimal…
Had he remained in hiding just a bit longer, he absolutely could've launched a more effective surprise attack against those three Ōtsutsuki.
And yet, Kazuki still chose to break free from the Blackwater Nine-Dragon Coffin and confront them head-on.
Black Zetsu believed there was a strong chance Kazuki had done that on purpose—to draw the attention of the Ōtsutsuki away from Might Duy, so the man wouldn't be finished off after burning himself out and end up truly dead by accident…
And after that, Kazuki hadn't held back his chakra either. He had freely poured out his precious Six Paths-level Yang Release chakra to fully heal all the injured shinobi on the battlefield.
Black Zetsu, who knew Kazuki's "Eye Techniques," understood that this might very well have been just another setup to harvest the next round of "fodder." But even so… it had provided an undeniable sense of reassurance.
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