"The Nine-Tails brat is hanging around with your kid again. You're not going to stop them?"
"Stop them? Why?" Rasa gave Black Zetsu a surprised look. "Shukaku isn't even here right now—nothing's going to happen. Even if he were here, if he tried anything… I'd put him down with one hand.
"And besides—why are you here in the middle of the night instead of helping your mother with her… business?"
Didn't he know that the ancestor needed to be catered to?
Letting her work herself to exhaustion all on her own—was that really okay?
"There's a White Zetsu keeping watch over them."
Black Zetsu rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to punch this foul-mouthed Fourth Kazekage in the face, the problem was… he couldn't beat him.
"By the way, I haven't asked yet—why did you come back this time?" Rasa frowned slightly. "Don't tell me it's just to help your mother with her business."
If it really was for that… then what a filial child~
"Of course, Mother's affairs are the most important," Black Zetsu said, mouth flattening. His face, as always, was unreadable—just like the Fourth Raikage in a game: no expression at all. "And it's been a while since I last saw her. I figured I should check in about her next plan."
Originally, he'd thought Mother would take part in the competition. But apparently she'd gotten bored. After joining the very first 4WD Grand Prix, she'd lost interest.
So this time, she hadn't signed up for the 4WD Grand Prix, not even for the Beyblade Tournament—only for Shinobi King.
"Oh, right—is there anything that can help Mother win?"
That Shinobi King game… cheating there wasn't exactly easy.
"Sorry, but this is a fair, open, and impartial competition. Sunagakure absolutely won't cheat, and won't allow anyone else to cheat either."
"Heh~"
"I mean it. I'm not lying. Honestly, tell your mother not to participate. If she loses, it'll just be embarrassing."
That Ōtsutsuki Kaguya must've been trapped for so long that now she found everything novel—she'd played with the 4WDs, the Beyblades, opened a shop, and now wanted to try Shinobi King.
As for why she wasn't joining the Beyblade Tournament this time—reason: she was sick of it.
With Shinobi King, though, it seemed she wanted to gauge the true strength of shinobi from other villages.
Rasa even suspected that her nightly public "business ventures" were just a cover for gathering intel on foreign ninja. With Black Zetsu and tens of thousands of White Zetsu at her disposal, she'd probably already dug up every secret worth finding.
But imagine if she wonShinobi King.
When the final boss appeared—
Kakashi: "I know her. She's insanely good at Shinobi King—the first champion of both the 4WD Grand Prix and Shinobi King."
Others: "I know, I know, I've fought her before. Didn't think she'd be the final boss!"
That level of gravitas…
…would nosedive.
Why didn't Black Zetsu get it?
A final boss only stays a final boss by remaining mysterious.
If she won championship after championship, even MVP titles…
When the Ten-Tails appeared, the skies darkened, and scarlet Rinnegan gazed down upon the land—Black Zetsu's introduction would go something like:
"Standing before you is the champion of Konoha Year 52's first 4WD Grand Prix, Year 53's Shinobi King first place, Year 54's XXX MVP, last year's Intercontinental XXX, this year's Intercontinental XXX, Summer Season Mid-Lane Champion…"
Uchiha Madara and Obito would be devastated.
I slaved away for the peace of the shinobi world, got tricked, and now you're telling me… every ninja in the world has already played games against the final boss?!
What was all my scheming and ruthlessness even for?
The mental image alone was terrifying.
Rasa sighed in exasperation. Even the plain water in his hand seemed to lose its sweetness.
"Spare the shinobi world. Spare Obito and Madara. They've suffered enough already. Just lay low and wait for the grand finale before making your move!"
"???"
What nonsense was this Fourth Kazekage spouting again?
Mother was just joining a competition. Did he have to exaggerate it this much?
Black Zetsu gave him a flat look. "So there's really nothing?"
"Nothing."
"I don't believe you."
"I'm serious! Don't let her join—if she loses, it'll be humiliating~"
"Mother is the strongest."
"Heh~ In Shinobi King, you can't cheat. Same for this 4WD Grand Prix!"
Twenty-four-hour surveillance. Let's see how your White Zetsu cheats now!
"…!"
Black Zetsu's eyelid twitched. Even if his own face showed nothing, the half of his body that was White Zetsu clearly displayed his irritation.
Finally, staring at the uncompromisingly serious Fourth Kazekage, Black Zetsu could only let out a helpless sigh, sink into the ground with White Zetsu's half, and leave.
Damn Kazekage… if Mother's unhappy, my countless White Zetsu brothers will make you pay.
Not that he'd say it out loud—not because he was scared, but because secrecy was everything. That way, the strike would come unexpectedly!
Really!
A sneak attack from the shadows—Black Zetsu's specialty.
Just then—
"Kazekage-sama."
Rasa looked up at the Suna-nin who had suddenly entered.
"What is it?"
"Adviser Ebizō has returned."
...
"Whoa, that's amazing—you're in Shinobi King?" Naruto stared at Gaara in awe. "We can't even join. All the spots got taken by adults. They won't even let us play Shinobi King at the arcade."
"Of course. There are only ten spots," Nara Shikamaru said lazily, rolling his eyes. "If you want to win, you need the adults—they've got faster reflexes and better thinking than us."
"But why can Gaara join?"
"This is Sunagakure!"
"Actually, I'm just going through the motions—wanted to see what it's like," Gaara said a bit awkwardly, scratching his head. "A lot of strong shinobi are competing this time. Big Brother Kabuto's in it too—he's really strong."
At that—
"Itachi-niisan is the strongest," came a sullen voice from the black-haired, spiky-headed boy with the permanent stoic face. "He's a genius."
"Kabuto-nii is a genius too. He's already a jōnin."
"My brother's been a jōnin for ages. He's the best."
"Kabuto-nii is the best!"
"…"
Shikamaru rubbed his temples, already getting a headache. Sure, he was from Konoha, so obviously he'd think Konoha was the strongest. But this kind of childish bickering… he had no interest in it. He'd rather be over by Chōji's side, eating chips.
And so—
Gaara ended up getting picked on. As a kid, surrounded by girls from other villages telling him "Sasuke-niisan is definitely the strongest", what was he supposed to do?
He couldn't lose face.
He blinked rapidly to hold back the tears welling in his large, clear eyes.
Because he was a man—a real man—he couldn't cry. Especially not in front of shinobi from other villages.
But just as he was about to turn away and shout, "I'm not friends with you anymore, and I'm not letting you ride the kiddie rides!"—
"Yo, kid—someone bullying you?"
A familiar voice drawled from behind, low and cold.
"Tell me who it was, and I'll bury them all in sand—one mouthful each."