Shukaku was being very obedient.
Especially after being released from the seal—just one roar, followed by one of those nearly 999 missing hands suddenly materializing and slamming him into place—he had instantly settled down.
Couple that with a dozen White Zetsu surrounding him, it quickly became clear that the terrifying figure he'd seen in the seal space earlier was not an illusion.
Internally cursing, "Old man, your mom's out!", he huffed and sulked in the black tea kettle like a pouting groundhog, his cheeks puffed out and face chubby with grievance.
Sure, Shukaku's chakra might not be the most impressive, but his destructive capabilities—especially against terrain—were undeniably potent. That's why Rasa had decided to confine both his size and movement range.
He even speculated that when the Sage of Six Paths was distributing the Ten-Tails' chakra…
Sage of Six Paths: "Hmm, how should I divide the Ten-Tails' chakra?"
Kurama: "Leave it to me!"
And then: "One share for you, one for you, and… one more for me… and me again…"
Otherwise, how could the power levels of the tailed beasts be so lopsided, with the Nine-Tails being so utterly broken? Half of Kurama could beat up eight of the others!
Completely unfair! It was like the other tailed beasts were born just to be bullied!
No wonder Kurama cried so hard when he parted with the Sage—it was his real dad!
Looking at the now-well-behaved Shukaku huddled in the black tea kettle, Rasa nodded in satisfaction. Maybe compared to freedom, that dark space inside the seal really was more comfortable for the beast…
But unfortunately for him, he'd encountered a charismatic employer like Rasa, and ended up reluctantly accepting a part-time job.
Unpaid, of course!
Given Shukaku's danger level to ordinary people, Rasa decided it was best to keep him close and under watch for now.
He'd later check in on how Kaguya's space-time ninjutsu training was going—and place a marker on Shukaku.
If he ever dared escape…
Rasa would personally deliver him to the Land of Rain and have Nagato feed him to the Gedo Statue.
As for whether Sunagakure still needed a tailed beast?
Looking at the entire Naruto timeline, aside from Kurama, most of the tailed beasts were all bark and no bite. Their reputation was scarier than their actual usefulness.
If Shukaku hadn't shown such aptitude for tunneling, Rasa wouldn't have even bothered keeping him around. He'd even considered selling the beast to Konoha—or sealing it into Sasuke. It wasn't ideal to keep powering up potential enemy bosses on his own turf.
After all, Rasa was a refined man of elevated taste, who carried the burdens of the shinobi world's future.
He truly did worry for what lay ahead.
...
Meanwhile, in Kirigakure…
Black Zetsu was dead silent, watching Obito—who was occasionally swinging his legs, hands folded behind his head, gazing up at the sky.
It had only been a little over a year since they last saw each other, yet somehow, Obito had already managed to take control of the Fourth Mizukage?
Over the past year, while Black Zetsu had been enjoying "Mom's embrace" in Sunagakure, Obito had stayed here, quietly and tirelessly advancing their dream of peace for the shinobi world.
What a dedicated and promising young man…
With a sigh full of admiration, Black Zetsu decided not to disrupt his partner's momentum. As for the matter of temporarily "switching bosses"… best to keep that to himself.
After all, Obito still believed their "big boss" was Madara, and that Zetsu was his second-in-command—working together to spread the company's vision across the world.
Knowing the Uchiha clan's tendencies, there was always the chance that if Obito's performance improved too much, he'd try to overthrow the big boss himself.
Those Uchiha always get extreme once they start down a path…
Better not trouble Mom with something this small.
As that thought crossed his mind—
"Where have you and White Zetsu been lately?" Obito suddenly asked, his voice calm as he glanced down at Black Zetsu. "Why couldn't the others contact you?"
He had heard Black Zetsu sigh more than once just now.
Twice?
Maybe three times?
This was the guy who used to always wear a cheerful grin, never sighing, not even once. Was something wrong?
"Did something happen?"
"Just had a few issues to deal with," Black Zetsu replied with a familiar smile, the corners of his mouth curving upward. "So I wasn't available."
To keep Kaguya safe, he had personally ordered White Zetsu to cut contact with the ones stationed in Kirigakure.
"But it's all resolved now. I'm back."
"Oh? Must've been important then." Obito whistled casually, swinging his legs. "Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
"..."
How the hell was he supposed to explain this?
"Hey, actually, the real boss showed up. Yeah, neither you nor Madara is actually in charge—we're all just employees now."
If he said that out loud, there was a decent chance he wouldn't live to see tomorrow, let alone next year.
As he was frantically trying to come up with a cover story—
"Some leftover contingency from Madara?"
Obito chuckled dryly.
"So you're hiding it even from me, huh? Figures. Of course Madara would have some backup plans I didn't know about…"
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent.
After a moment, he sighed and nodded.
"Well, I am Madara's will, after all. But don't worry—it won't affect you. And it won't interfere with our plan."
"Let's hope not." Obito didn't press the issue, instead laying back and gazing at the sky again.
"I just don't want any more surprises."
Too late for that, Black Zetsu thought sarcastically.
"So then… why did you call me out now? Don't tell me it was just because you missed me~"
"No," Obito replied. "I just remembered something important."
Hearing that they were finally getting to the point, Black Zetsu's face turned serious. "What do you think our plan is missing?"
"Powerful allies? I've been thinking about that too." Obito frowned slightly, as if deep in thought. "But the Fourth Kazekage messed up our layout in the Land of Rain. As long as the Rinnegan's current wielder refuses to embrace darkness, we can't proceed with the original plan."
He had considered intervening personally to force the Rinnegan user to fall, but that would've been too obvious and risked exposing their organization.
"Still, I'm working on it. See?" He gestured proudly at the Hidden Mist Village.
"This'll be another base soon. Don't underestimate them—even if the Seven Ninja Swordsmen aren't fully assembled yet, there are still plenty of strong shinobi here."
"..."
I thought you were doing all this for your little crush… Black Zetsu thought to himself, blinking. He frowned.
"While powerful allies are important, that's not what I meant."
"The Rinnegan, then?" Obito's lone eye narrowed. "Yes, it's critical to our plan, but we're not quite at that stage yet."
The tailed beasts still hadn't all been collected, and their strength wasn't enough to confront the Five Great Nations head-on. Getting the Rinnegan now wouldn't help.
Wait…
"Are you planning to revive Madara now?"
"No. Reviving him is part of the plan, yes—but not yet."
In fact, if things kept progressing smoothly, they might not even need to revive him at all.
Black Zetsu shook his head. "What I mean is…"
He sighed again, a little bitter this time. Clearly Obito hadn't even considered this angle.
Recalling that annoying human's final request before parting, he took a deep breath and said seriously—
"Money."
His eyes locked on Obito.
"Don't you think we're kind of… poor?"
"???"