Ever since the first plan failed, Black Zetsu had no longer set his sights on Itachi. He was afraid of getting himself dragged in.
In the Ninja World, Black Zetsu was not afraid of anything else. No matter how strong Uchiha Madara was, no matter how amazing he thought he was as a savior, in reality, he was just someone living in a beautiful dream woven by him. There was nothing to fear.
Only that Fujiwara Nagasawa made Black Zetsu feel a full sense of pressure.
His rise had been silent, and the moment he made a move, he was already a powerhouse capable of suppressing a Tailed Beast with one hand. It was very difficult to deal with him through schemes.
Then there was his extreme mysteriousness. Even now, Black Zetsu still had not figured out why Fujiwara Nagasawa had appeared in the Land of Water that day and directly captured Obito.
Logically speaking, for the Land of Water at that time, how could it be worthy of Nagasawa personally following the envoy group? It was not as though they were going to conquer and occupy the Land of Water.
So Black Zetsu decisively adopted the backup plan and no longer obsessed over Uchiha Itachi.
Black Zetsu's line of thought was like this: White Zetsu cultivated with Hashirama cells could be absorbed by the Chimera Technique.
Then if he used Madara's cells to cultivate a new type of White Zetsu again, could it also achieve a similar effect?
His backup plan was not limited to this one. There was also the biological Uchiha plan.
Different from the first, the second required Hiruko's biological technology to create an Uchiha, then have Nagato absorb it.
Aside from this, Black Zetsu also had other wild ideas, such as extracting from corpses. If one corpse did not work, then dig up several more.
For Nagato to become stronger, Black Zetsu had truly racked his brains. He felt that he should be the person most concerned about Nagato's strength. Perhaps even Nagato himself was not as worried as he was.
Looking at the new model White Zetsu before him, Black Zetsu's gaze flickered.
"If this can succeed, then only Hyuga is left. Perhaps the Kaguya Clan should be added too."
Black Zetsu had already done everything he could to improve Nagato's strength. If Nagato was still useless, then Black Zetsu could not be blamed for forcibly switching people.
The cautious habit developed over a thousand years made Black Zetsu always prepare multiple hands. He had many backup plans.
If Nagato after completing his strengthening still could not resist Nagasawa, then Black Zetsu would forcibly possess Nagato and use Samsara of Heavenly Life to revive Madara.
Although Black Zetsu did not think very highly of Madara either, he had to admit that Madara was already the most outstanding and capable tool he had ever seen, the person most suitable to revive his mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya.
Compared with Madara, Nagato and Obito were far inferior. Whether in strength or schemes, Madara was also more decisive and ruthless than them.
If even Madara did not succeed, then Black Zetsu could only do the same as a thousand years ago, wait until Nagasawa died of old age, then come out and cause trouble again.
In any case, human lifespan was at most around a hundred years. If he hid for several decades, he could come out again and restart the plan to revive Kaguya.
Black Zetsu brought the modified White Zetsu and went to find Nagato.
When Black Zetsu found Nagato, Nagato was training.
Previously, when he was crippled, he had been unable to train, because using Chakra to maintain the movements of the Six Paths of Pain was already somewhat difficult. Fighting was slow suicide, let alone actively training.
Last time, using the Chimera Technique to absorb White Zetsu not only restored his legs but also greatly increased his Chakra, so Nagato now also carried out normal training.
He did not place all his hopes on the Chimera Technique and Zetsu, so he had to use normal training to strengthen himself.
Although Nagato did not touch Zetsu and still assigned him various jobs as before, as though there were no difference from before.
But the last battle with the masked man made him know that Zetsu was not as simple as someone sent to monitor him.
He did not kill Zetsu only because Zetsu was too useful. Zetsu was the strongest intelligence personnel in the Ninja World. He alone was stronger than a specialized intelligence organization.
"Hehe, Madara has prepared the material for your Chimera Technique. Your strength can increase again," Black Zetsu said with a grin.
Nagato remained calm on the surface and gave a faint hum, but inwardly, he became vigilant.
Still talking about something prepared by "Madara." Your "Madara" has already defected.
"Why is it White Zetsu again?" Nagato frowned after looking at the so-called material Zetsu had brought.
"Although they are all White Zetsu, the cells inside them are different. Before, it was Senju, and now it is Uchiha," Black Zetsu explained.
Nagato quickly inspected it and did not discover anything.
"I understand." Nagato put away the material Black Zetsu gave him, then said calmly.
He now did not trust Zetsu very much, so it was impossible for him to absorb it directly after a brief inspection. He had to properly investigate it after returning.
Seeing that Nagato did not immediately fuse with it, Black Zetsu felt somewhat disappointed. There was still a difference between this time and last time. Madara's cells did not have as much vitality as Hashirama cells, and he also did not know whether it could succeed. If it failed, he could quickly proceed with other backup plans.
But for the sake of disguise, he did not say anything, because in Akatsuki, his persona was that of a small fry sent by Uchiha Madara to monitor Nagato and the others, while also part-time as intelligence personnel.
"Go investigate the intelligence of the Land of Frost. We can begin acting over there," Nagato ordered.
Zetsu nodded, then sank into the ground and disappeared before Nagato's eyes.
"What exactly is your purpose?" Nagato looked at the place where Zetsu had disappeared and fell into thought.
He did not know what Zetsu was after.
If it was according to his previous understanding, that Zetsu was sent by the masked man to monitor him, then that would still make sense. But this had already been overturned, so Zetsu's current actions were very strange.
Clearly, the masked man had already defected. Last time, he had even tried to persuade Nagato to quit together.
But Zetsu had always been devoted to creating the illusion that the masked man still existed. If Nagato had not fought with the masked man that day, perhaps he really would have been fooled, because the masked man originally rarely showed himself, so it was not easy for Zetsu to be exposed when playing this kind of operation.
Like Hiruko. He did not know that Obito had already defected from Akatsuki. In reality, the one who had always been trading with him was Black Zetsu.
Nagato thought carefully for a while but still could not think of anything, so he could only temporarily give up.
No matter how one put it, at this stage, Zetsu had not shown any hostility toward him. Instead, he was an indispensable and excellent intelligence tool of Akatsuki.
Although powerful fighters were not easy to find, there were still quite a few. But intelligence personnel at Zetsu's level probably did not exist elsewhere.
Nagato brought the material Zetsu gave him into a secret room specially built for himself, attempting to discover something from it.
...
In the morning, the Hyuga family's training field.
The training field was extremely quiet. There was only the sound of practicing fists, without the noise of whispering.
Neji and Hinata rarely communicated. Only when Hinata had doubts would she actively speak up to ask, and then Neji would answer.
At this time, Hinata had already not gone out for half a month. Apart from eating, sleeping, and the courses specially given by the clan to main family members, almost all her other time was spent training.
Hinata's seriousness made Neji somewhat puzzled. What exactly could make a person suddenly become so serious?
Was it only being unable to go out for a month?
Neji felt that there was a deeper reason. In the past, Hinata had also once gone a month without going out, but he had never seen her work this hard.
Neji thought of the group of people he had met when he went to pass on the message before.
'Could it be that she became so hardworking because she wants to see those friends?' Neji guessed inwardly.
Neji was not someone who liked to talk much. It could be said that he was a comparatively cold person.
But even someone like him actually had friends. He was not like Hinata, who did not even have someone who could pass on a message.
Of course, he did not have many friends. Only two, both children from neighboring homes, and both of the same age.
However, Hinata being able to gain such great motivation from friends still made Neji rather surprised.
The reason he could be this diligent was first because of his own personality, and second because he wanted to change the situation between the branch family and main family. They were all members of the same clan, so why did branch family members have to be branded with the Caged Bird?
Even a four-year-old child knew the terror of life and death being controlled by others, even if the controller was a clansman, the clan head.
After training ended, Hinata once again found Neji with a red face.
"Um, Brother Neji, can I trouble you to go find Naruto again?" Hinata lowered her head with a red face and said, feeling very embarrassed.
She had already troubled him once before, and now she had to trouble Neji again. Hinata felt very ashamed.
Neji calmly replied, "No problem. I will go after lunch. What message is it this time?"
Hinata waved her hands and said, "This time it isn't a message. You only need to deliver a letter to Naruto-kun."
"Naruto-kun is very interested in First Hokage-sama and Uchiha Madara. He asked me before to pay attention for him if there were any familiar materials or stories, then I found some things about them in the clan's records..." Hinata explained.
Although she really wanted to personally tell Naruto, she knew she could not do it. Perhaps after meeting him, she would not even have the courage to hand it to Naruto, so she could only look for Neji.
"I really troubled Brother Neji." Hinata bowed to Neji and said.
At this time, Hinata's face was already as red as a red apple. It was unknown whether it was an illusion, but Neji even saw several wisps of white smoke rise.
Hinata was truly extremely ashamed now, both shy and guilty. She did not even have the courage for such a thing.
"Delivering a letter, right? I understand. There is no problem." Neji nodded.
Delivering a letter was even simpler than passing on a message. For delivering a letter, even if Naruto was not at home, he could just leave the letter at his house. It was not like Naruto's mother could forget, since the letter would be right there.
Hinata hurriedly thanked Neji, then later took out a somewhat bulging envelope and handed it to Neji.
"I really troubled you," Hinata said again.
Neji nodded slightly and went home.
"Neji, did you encounter anything you did not understand in training today?" At the dining table, Hyuga Hizashi asked with a smile.
"No. The things I am currently learning are all very simple," Neji replied.
Hearing Neji say that the things being taught were all very simple, Hizashi laughed loudly and said, "Neji, your talent is better than mine. Among those of the same age, you are even more talented than my elder brother. In the future, you may become the strongest ninja of the Hyuga Clan."
His son's talent was very good, so Hizashi was naturally very happy.
Although Hyuga Hiashi was Hizashi's elder brother, in reality, the two were the same age, because they were twins.
Hizashi was only born fifteen minutes later than Hiashi.
But it was precisely these insignificant fifteen minutes that decided that Hiashi was the main family, the future family head, while Hizashi could only become a member of the branch family.
After Hizashi clearly understood the treatment of the branch family and the main family, he once developed extremely negative emotions.
Why? Why was the person born fifteen minutes earlier not him?
Even now, Hizashi could not completely let go of it.
Because the difference in treatment between the branch family and the main family was truly too great. Becoming branch family meant even one's life was controlled in someone else's hand.
Because of this reason, Hizashi had once had thoughts toward the young Hinata. If Hinata died, would his child then have the chance to become main family?
Although it was only a thought that disappeared in an instant, that faint trace of killing intent was still noticed by Hiashi, who immediately activated the Caged Bird on the spot, making Hizashi suffer so much that he struggled on the ground.
At that time, Neji had also been present. He stared blankly at the father he usually admired wailing and struggling on the ground, suffering an enormous impact. At that time, Neji had not yet been branded with the Caged Bird.
In the end, Hizashi was still Hiashi's younger brother and also a Konoha Jonin, so Hiashi only made him suffer for a while instead of killing him.
"Can the strongest ninja of the Hyuga escape the Caged Bird?" Neji asked.
The previous time his father had been tortured by the Caged Bird had impacted Neji too greatly. Because of this, the Caged Bird also became an obsession in Neji's heart.
He did not want his father to once again struggle on the ground and let out wails like that time, nor did he want himself to become like that in the future.
Hizashi's smile froze. He did not know what to say, and the atmosphere at the dining table suddenly fell silent.
"Neji, I'm sorry. It is because I am useless," Hizashi finally sighed and said.
He felt that he had wronged Neji. If he had been born earlier than Hiashi, then Neji would be main family and would not have been branded with the ugly Caged Bird.
"Dad, why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong?" Neji asked in confusion.
Hizashi said nothing and stroked Neji's head.
After eating, Neji took the letter Hinata had given him and went to Naruto's house.
The first time was unfamiliar, the second time familiar. This time, Neji was faster than before.
He knocked on the door of Naruto's house.
Soon, someone opened the door. However, it was not Naruto's mother, but a blond man. It should be Naruto's father, Neji thought.
"Minato, who is it?" A male voice came from inside the room.
Minato gave Neji a gentle smile, then turned his head and said, "It is a child from the Hyuga family. He should be here to find Naruto."
Immediately afterward, Minato asked, "Little friend, are you looking for Naruto? He is at home now."
Neji nodded.
Then Minato brought Neji into the house.
After entering the house, Neji quickly discovered Naruto. Naruto was sitting beside an adult man he did not know, excitedly saying something.
At this time, Nagasawa, who was listening to Naruto talk about his training results, also turned his gaze to the doorway and happened to see Neji and Minato walking in.