"We're releasing Hashirama Senju and holding Menma off with him."
"Orochimaru will get Nagato's Rinnegan, and then the plan starts over..."
Black Zetsu's words hung in the air as Obito pulled his gaze away from the Four-Star Village. He suppressed the fear rising in his chest and forced his voice to remain level.
"Understood."
With that, Kamui activated. Space twisted, swirling into ripples, and Obito vanished.
Watching him disappear, Black Zetsu fully emerged from the ground. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke to his other half.
"Alright, White Zetsu, we provide the distraction out here."
"Hehehe," the white creature chuckled. "As long as we don't run into that freak Menma, these grunts are nothing!"
Sizzle!
As they spoke, the two—one black, one white—stretched out sticky, white filaments. Then, they split, becoming two distinct entities.
The White Zetsu charged straight for the guards at the main gate. Behind it, Black Zetsu plunged the pitcher plants embedded in the soil around him into the earth.
The ground buckled instantly. Rubble exploded upward as thick vines erupted from the dirt, whipping violently against the walls of the Four-Star Village!
"Wood Release!"
The attack was spotted immediately, but Black Zetsu's eyes widened in surprise. The guards didn't panic. Instead, they looked almost relieved as crimson Nine-Tails Chakra Cloaks flared to life around their bodies.
"It's the one Menma warned us about—the black one and the white one!"
"You hold the White Zetsu off! I'll notify Lord Menma!"
In a flash of motion, one guard intercepted the White Zetsu. The other retreated, pulling out a slip of paper marked with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
No! Black Zetsu's instincts screamed. They knew! I can't let him send that signal!
Thick vines lashed out, targeting the guard with the seal, but another guard fighting the White Zetsu severed them instantly with a fox tail of pure chakra. The sacrifice bought the time needed. The guard channeled chakra into the paper.
It vanished.
A split second later, a figure stood in its place—a silhouette that made Black Zetsu's mind race back to a night of pain and humiliation.
"Menma!"
Black Zetsu didn't hesitate. Using the Mayfly Technique, he shrank into the ground, desperate to escape.
But Menma simply looked down, concentric circles spinning in his Rinnegan eyes.
"We meet again, Black Zetsu."
Menma raised his hand. A terrifying gravitational force erupted, kicking up a violent gale.
Banshō Ten'in!
The pull was absolute. Black Zetsu, head still exposed, was yanked from the earth like a worm. His body flew uncontrollably toward Menma's waiting palm.
Mid-air, shock and disbelief twisted his features.
"This pull... is that the Universal Pull? Did you take Nagato's Rinnegan?!"
During the battle between Menma and Nagato, Black Zetsu had hidden outside the village, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. He hadn't witnessed the aftermath. He assumed the four Chibaku Tensei that had destroyed Konoha were Nagato's doing, meant to stop Menma but failing.
He rejected the possibility that Menma possessed the Rinnegan. The White Zetsu clone in Konoha had confirmed it hadn't been taken.
"There's only one possibility left..."
The realization hit him like a physical blow. "You evolved it yourself? Just like Madara?"
Crack.
Menma's hand clamped around Black Zetsu's neck, hoisting him into the air. Despite the grip, Black Zetsu managed to speak, his voice strained with confusion.
"How did you do it? Even if you developed the Uzumaki Sage Body to Hashirama's level, you shouldn't be able to evolve the Rinnegan this fast!"
Menma's eyes narrowed. Veins bulged along his hand.
"You talk too much."
Snap.
The sound of bone breaking echoed sharply. Menma crushed the neck in his grip, dropping the lifeless body to the ground.
But he wasn't finished. Black rods materialized in his other hand, shooting down into the soil beside the corpse. They pinned a pool of rapidly seeping black liquid to the surface, preventing it from sinking away.
Menma casually crushed the head in his hand, flicking a black speck onto the pinned pool.
Then, he squatted down, a mocking glint in his eyes.
"Trying to run already? You were talkative enough a second ago."
Outlines of eyes, a nose, and a mouth formed on the liquid as it trembled. "How did you..."
"Know you were only possessing a White Zetsu?" Menma cut him off, his voice cold. "I knew more than that. I know you're the brother of the Sage of Six Paths. A creation of Kaguya Otsutsuki."
He paused, savoring the terror that flooded the black mass. "Maybe I should call you Otsutsuki Shinobu instead?"
"Impossible!" The liquid convulsed. "How do you know—"
Suddenly, the liquid stilled. A horrifying realization dawned on it. "No... To know all this... you're from my era too! You aren't Naruto's personality at all!"
Menma ignored the shout. His Rinnegan glanced toward the distant, motionless White Zetsu.
Shinra Tensei.
The repulsive force obliterated the creature and the spores clinging to the nearby guard, reducing them to dust in an instant.
Menma's gaze snapped back to the pinned liquid. "As for you... Otsutsuki Shinobu. Goodbye."
Chains of pure adamantine erupted from behind Menma. In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around Black Zetsu and the earth beneath him, sealing him shut.
While Menma dealt with Black Zetsu, Obito stepped into the Four-Star Village and froze.
Before the Adamantine Sealing Technique that contained Hashirama Senju, a scene played out that made his heart stop.
Nohara Rin, looking shy and demure, leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Kakashi's right cheek while he was distracted.
"No!"
Snowflakes fluttered. The north wind howled.
---
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