After running what felt like a long distance, Uchiha Makito finally stopped in his tracks.
"Who are you?"
"Where is this? Why did you bring me here?"
"Uh...."
Having finally regained control over his body, Nagato was startled to see the man in black before him. He immediately demanded answers, leaping backward in alarm.
But before he could even jump, Uchiha Makito drove a punch into his stomach. The immense strength knocked the already exhausted Nagato out cold on the spot.
As he looked down at the unconscious Nagato lying on the ground, Uchiha Makito crushed his own mask in one hand, revealing his shadowed face and the eerie glow of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Zetsu, I know you're here. Come out."
"This is already outside Amegakure's territory. That bastard Gekko Chizan won't chase us this far."
Yes, thanks to his ocular jutsu, in such a short time Uchiha Makito had already taken Nagato far from Amegakure. As for where exactly they were, even he wasn't sure.
After all, he only cared about fleeing. The map would take care of the rest.
"Hmph, Makito, what the hell are you trying to do?"
"You actually took Nagato out of Amegakure? You're sabotaging the plan!"
"If Nagato refuses to follow the plan, everything will fall apart!"
Zetsu slowly rose from the ground, Black Zetsu's voice filled with displeasure, furious at Makito for derailing everything.
Uchiha Makito glanced at him, slowly withdrawing his Mangekyō Sharingan, but even his regular Sharingan still gleamed with a bloodthirsty light.
"And what exactly are you supposed to be?"
"You're nothing more than something Madara created to assist me."
"In the end, all we need is to keep Nagato safe until he grows strong enough to use the Rinne Rebirth technique. That's his only value."
The blunt tone made Black Zetsu even angrier.
But he didn't argue back. After all, the identity he showed the world was indeed that of Madara's creation.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the truth.
Black Zetsu wasn't created by Uchiha Madara at all—he was created by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. To put it plainly, he was essentially the brother of the Sage of Six Paths.
Everything he had done was simply to revive his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
"Hmph, even so, you shouldn't have just taken Nagato away. You know perfectly well—he can only grow quickly around those people."
"Now that you've taken him, what do you plan to do next?"
Uchiha Makito slowly looked at the unconscious Nagato on the ground, his eyes glinting coldly.
"I'm taking him to Kirigakure. I'll make him experience slaughter. I'll use killing and blood to awaken the Rinnegan completely."
"Leaving him in Amegakure to play is pointless. It's better to have me train him personally."
"With the two of us, we can completely brainwash him, turn him into the blade in my hand."
Ever since Uchiha Seim's death, Uchiha Makito had completely lost it. Things like friendship or family meant nothing now.
As long as he could baptize this world in blood, he was willing to sacrifice everything.
"Tch..."
Suddenly, the pain surged through him again—the wound left behind by Gekko Chizan.
"You're injured?"
"Was it Gekko Chizan?"
White Zetsu immediately noticed something was wrong with Uchiha Makito and asked right away.
Uchiha Makito said nothing. But to White Zetsu, that silence was as good as confirmation.
"Unbelievable. Someone like you, with that kind of ocular power, actually got hurt? Looks like Gekko Chizan's strength has reached the Kage level."
"I got a glance at your battlefield earlier. That intense heat... His Fire Style techniques are stronger than yours?"
Black Zetsu had already forgotten his earlier anger, now curious about the battle between Uchiha Makito and Gekko Chizan.
Fire Style...
Thinking back to the sea of flames unleashed by Gekko Chizan, anger flared up in Uchiha Makito's heart once more.
"Hmph, just an ordinary Fire Style."
"That's not the point."
"The point is—he saw through my ocular jutsu..."
Both Black and White Zetsu were shocked. He saw through a Mangekyō Sharingan technique? In just one clash?
Impossible.
"Don't be surprised. He did see through it. And he marked me with the Flying Thunder God technique."
"I can still feel the mark—it's still active."
"Zetsu, is there any way to replace this body part?"
Uchiha Makito slowly looked down at his left leg, where a Flying Thunder God mark named: お父さんが來た (Daddy's here!) was still glowing faintly.
"He marked you, huh..."
"Luckily it's the left leg—that's a replaceable body part. Once we're back, I'll help you swap it out."
With Black Zetsu's answer, Uchiha Makito nodded.
"My ocular jutsu is called: Mukyō."
"It lets me ignore any distance in my line of sight—or extend that distance infinitely."
"Never thought someone would see through it..."
"Tch!"
The proud Uchiha would never admit it was carelessness on his part.
One setback didn't matter—he would get his revenge next time!
"Let's go, Zetsu. Take Nagato. We're heading to Kirigakure."
"The Third Mizukage is dead. I wonder if they have a new one. Hopefully not. If they do, maybe I'll follow Madara's example—use my ocular jutsu to control him."
"Turn Kirigakure into our base."
As he spoke, Uchiha Makito didn't even see Kirigakure as anything significant.
More like his personal backyard.
Zetsu didn't argue. He simply grabbed the unconscious Nagato, and the two of them walked off like they owned the place.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the cliff—
Yahiko and Konan were both at their breaking point, unable to accept that Nagato had been taken.
"Damn it! Who the hell was that guy?!"
"Why did he take Nagato?!"
"Ahhhh!!!"
Listening to Yahiko's furious roar, Gekko Chizan stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.
Then he looked at Konan and Akatsuki's remaining members nearby, letting out a helpless sigh.
"That man's strength was immense. I wounded him, but killing him was impossible."
"The power of the Uchiha he displayed was terrifying. Those eyes held strength you can't underestimate."
The name Uchiha made Yahiko and the others freeze.
"Uchiha? From Konoha? Why?!"
"Not from Konoha."
"How do you know? The Uchiha have always been Konoha's main force!"
Seeing Yahiko practically losing his mind, Gekko Chizan felt a headache coming on.
Great... time to start the Talk no Jutsu routine again.
"Bury your comrades first."
"As for that man, I'll tell you the whole story, piece by piece."
Gekko Chizan and his clones moved in unison, helping Yahiko and the others bury their fallen teammates.
When everything was finally done, under Gekko Chizan's lead, the group took shelter in a cave from the rain.
And there, he began telling Yahiko and the others the story...