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Chapter 335: Second Time Around
🕑 Added 2025-02-01 15:12:29 +0000 UTCChapter 335: Second Time Around
Hearing Black Zetsu II's response, the real Black Zetsu immediately panicked. A second too late, he followed up with his own rant, cursing at Nagato.
"You shameless bastard! If it weren’t for you stealing the Rinnegan, how could Hyuga Fuji be so arrogant once Madara-sama returned?! You're just a pathetic waste of space!"
Despite his quick reaction, Black Zetsu still felt a deep unease as he noticed the hostile glare Nagato was giving him.
If people insulted Kaguya, he could instantly hurl back a thousand different insults, each more brutal than the last.
If people praised Kaguya, he could recite poems about her glory for days.
But when it came to Madara…
Yeah, no.
Ever since Madara betrayed him, Black Zetsu had lost any passion for playing the role of Madara’s will. He could no longer immerse himself in the role like before, nor could he match the natural conviction of Black Zetsu II.
Because at the end of the day… he was a fraud.
Nagato expressionlessly looked between the two Black Zetsus. For a moment, he felt the urge to simply destroy them both—but he still needed at least one of them alive to extract valuable intel.
Before interrogating them about Ideal City, there was one thing he had to confirm first.
“Where are your White Zetsu halves?” Nagato narrowed his eyes. “You two always act together with White Zetsu.”
This time, Black Zetsu didn’t dare hesitate.
“They betrayed us!” he spat. “That’s why Madara-sama lost—because White Zetsu stabbed him in the back!”
Just thinking about it made Black Zetsu furious.
Originally, he should have been the one in that moment.
The one who would stand behind Madara at his peak, when he became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki—then deliver the fatal betrayal that would bring Kaguya back.
He should have been the ultimate mastermind behind the scenes, at the pinnacle of history.
But what happened instead?
Madara was captured.
Now, he was still forced to serve others. Worse yet, Nagato was even less trusting than Madara, which made it significantly harder to backstab him.
If things continued this way, the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan might never come to fruition.
Had Kaguya not left him a portion of her chakra, Black Zetsu might have already given up hope.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu II, though slightly slower to respond, gave a completely different answer.
His voice was lower now, his pitch-black face seemingly tinged with sadness.
“To throw off our pursuers, White Zetsu had no choice but to separate from me and lure the enemy away,” he said solemnly. “He is… probably dead by now.”
"……???"
Black Zetsu's jaw nearly hit the floor.
Wait. Hold on. What?!
Was this guy serious?!
Was he really making up this nonsense with a straight face?!
‘Since when was this guy such a damn good actor?!’
Black Zetsu II noticed Black Zetsu’s stunned expression out of the corner of his eye—and sneered inwardly.
After working alongside White Zetsu for so many years, he had observed and learned their ability to blend in and deceive.
Sure, he later found out that White Zetsu’s acting skills were so good because they had actually been real shinobi all along.
But still, he had learned from the best.
And now, it was his turn to use that knowledge.
Black Zetsu II didn’t give Black Zetsu any chance to recover. He kept pressing forward.
"If it weren’t for White Zetsu," he continued, "I wouldn’t have had the chance to escape!"
Nagato fell silent as he replayed the scenario in his mind.
If he were in Zetsu’s position…
Without a distraction, there was no way Zetsu could have escaped.
The imposter had failed the final test.
White Zetsu was a weapon Madara personally created—how could they possibly betray him?
Nagato's eyes turned ice-cold as he looked at Black Zetsu.
Then, with a flick of his wrist—
“Banshō Ten’in! (Universal Pull!)”
This… was what it meant to walk into a trap.
As he was yanked forward by an unstoppable force, Black Zetsu froze in horror.
‘But I didn’t even betray you yet!’ he thought desperately.
‘The one next to you is the real enemy!’
If he had known this was how it would turn out, he never would have sought out Nagato!
‘And you—Madara!’
‘I’m not done with you!’
The last time, it was because of Hyuga Fuji that Madara sold him out.
And now?
It was happening again.
Once more, because of Hyuga Fuji, Madara’s will had betrayed him.
'Working for Madara was the worst decision of my entire existence!'
One by one, the faces of every human he despised flashed through his mind—until finally, he settled on the image of his mother, Kaguya.
Unlike the others, he didn’t curse her.
Instead, he sent a final, desperate plea:
‘Mother, run!’
But Kaguya didn’t need the warning.
The moment Nagato made his move, her chakra immediately sank underground.
As she watched Black Zetsu get crushed into a tiny black sphere, Kaguya seethed with hatred.
‘Black Zetsu… You damn humans!’
‘I will return.’
Memorizing Nagato’s face, Kaguya vanished into the distance.
Nagato, meanwhile, looked in the direction Kaguya had fled, his brow furrowed.
Just now, he had sensed a strange chakra signature.
‘Did Hyuga Fuji plant something inside this imposter?’
Curious, Nagato studied the black sphere in his hand—and then let out a soft hum of surprise.
‘This chakra is exceptionally potent.’
‘Did Hyuga Fuji really create this?’
His expression flickered for a moment.
Instead of destroying Black Zetsu, he decided to seal him away for future research.
Black Zetsu: “……”
‘Wait a second.’
‘Haven’t I… been through this exact scenario before?’
‘This is literally the second time I’ve been sealed like this!’
Déjà vu.
With his task complete, Nagato stored away the black sphere and turned his gaze back to Black Zetsu II.
His face was completely unreadable.
“You’re coming with me.” Nagato ordered. “Tell me everything about what happened in Ideal City.”
Black Zetsu II followed without hesitation.
As they traveled, he carefully constructed his narrative, presenting his version of events.
Of course, he made Uchiha Madara sound far more capable than he actually was.
In the end, he blamed everything on Tobirama’s cunning tactics.
"That’s how it all went down," Black Zetsu II finished. "Before he fell, Madara-sama used the last of his strength to shield me, allowing me to escape—so I could warn you to stay away from Ideal City."
Nagato narrowed his eyes.
“So, Madara didn’t even fight Hyuga Fuji?”
Black Zetsu II had deliberately avoided mentioning Hyuga Fuji, because Madara lost before even facing him.
Nagato thought for a moment.
This was… difficult to accept.
‘You all lost before even encountering Hyuga Fuji?’
‘You’re telling me you were scared away by a scheming Tobirama?’
‘Do you seriously think that’s enough to stop a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki?’
Black Zetsu II shook his head.
“No, Hyuga Fuji has gotten even stronger. In Ideal City, he—”
BOOM!
Before he could finish his sentence, a massive explosion shook the earth.
A terrifying chakra presence surged toward them—far stronger than Nagato’s own.
Black Zetsu II paled.
“It’s Hyuga Fuji! Nagato, we have to leave!”
Nagato didn’t need the warning.
Feeling the overwhelming pressure, he immediately grabbed Black Zetsu II and fled.
Moments later, Hyuga Fuji arrived at the scene.
Glancing in the direction Nagato had escaped, he issued a command to his subordinates:
“Issue a global bounty on the remaining Akatsuki members.”
“Emphasize that Nagato is now a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.”
“Make sure the entire world knows.”
(End of Chapter)
