Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Yugito Nii stepped forward, looking down at Zetsu on the ground with a slight frown.

She didn't get too close, maintaining a step's distance with her hand still resting on the hilt of her ninja blade. Bending down, she carefully examined the bizarre creature whose lower half was buried in the dirt, her gaze shifting back and forth between the white and black halves of its face.

"Is this a human? Something's not right. Why does it look like two different things stitched together?"

Yugito's voice carried a hint of confusion.

She sensed two completely distinct types of chakra from Zetsu. One came from the white half of the body; it was bland and seemingly harmless.

The other came from the black half; this chakra was cold and clammy, as if something was hiding deep within.

The two chakras were entirely distinct and unblended, yet tightly pressed together as if forcibly fused by something.

Uchiha Taiga nodded, crouching down in front of Zetsu as well. "Your senses are spot on. This is a composite of two different organisms."

He reached out and poked the white half of Zetsu's face with his index finger.

White Zetsu's cheek caved in under the poke before bouncing right back, showing excellent elasticity.

The half-smiling expression on White Zetsu's face didn't change, but its eye seemed to dart around, tracking Taiga's finger.

"The white one should be an artificial lifeform. As for the black one..."

Taiga's finger moved from White Zetsu's face to Black Zetsu's, tapping the latter on the forehead.

"This thing looks much more interesting. The purity of its chakra is incredibly high—too high for a normal biological creature. It's more like a pure spiritual entity."

Taiga naturally knew the origins of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, but he didn't state them outright.

Yugito's frown deepened.

She wanted to ask more, but footsteps approached from nearby. Tsunade and Shizune had arrived.

Tsunade's face was still pale, her clothes stained with dirt and streaks of blood. She hadn't fully recovered from her hemophobia, but she was doing much better—at least she could stand and walk.

Shizune supported her as they emerged from the woods, spotting Taiga crouched on the ground in front of a bizarre creature half-buried in the soil.

Shizune's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in a silent gasp.

Tsunade, however, furrowed her brow tightly, her gaze lingering on Zetsu for a moment.

"Are there still enemies here?"

Tsunade's voice was slightly hoarse.

Her gaze shifted away from Zetsu, sweeping over the surroundings. She noticed the pool of blood on the ground and the severed arm, her pupils contracting slightly.

Taiga stood up and turned to look at Tsunade.

"It was Uchiha Obito. You should know him, right?"

Hearing this, Tsunade's heart sank.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, her frown deepening.

She was naturally familiar with the name Uchiha Obito. He was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails incident, the one directly responsible for the deaths of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife, and an S-rank rogue ninja of Konoha.

Even though she had left Konoha and no longer involved herself in the village's affairs, she still received the necessary intelligence.

"The guy who single-handedly caused the Nine-Tails incident?"

"Yeah, that's him."

Taiga's tone was casual. "A completely absurd guy."

Tsunade took a deep breath and exhaled, suppressing the frustration in her heart.

Even though she had left the village, her background as the First Hokage's granddaughter and the Third Hokage's disciple meant she could never completely sever her ties with Konoha.

Facing someone who harbored such absolute malice toward Konoha, she couldn't possibly feel any goodwill.

She subconsciously clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, but quickly relaxed them.

She wasn't an impulsive person and knew she couldn't be of much help in her current state.

Taiga turned around and crouched back down, looking at Zetsu.

He raised his hand and spread his fingers. He slightly loosened the spatial lockdown of Tokoyokuni, unfreezing only the space immediately surrounding Zetsu while maintaining the lock on the outer perimeter.

Zetsu's body recovered from its stasis. The grinning expression on White Zetsu's half became more animated, while the bitter, distressed look on Black Zetsu's half grew even more profound.

White Zetsu spoke first. "Well, looks like we're caught and can't escape. Black Zetsu, what should we do?"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Black Zetsu's voice was filled with rage. It was trying to think of a plan, its mind racing to find a way out of this awkward predicament.

Its body was still immobilized in the dirt, unable to move.

Taiga's Tokoyokuni had sealed off the entire area. It couldn't sink underground or leave by any means.

In its heart, it had already cursed Uchiha Obito hundreds of times. That animal had actually run off alone, leaving it behind as a scapegoat.

In hundreds of years, it had never been in such a pathetic state.

Black Zetsu really wanted to take a deep breath, if it even had breath to take.

Finally, it spoke, its voice sounding sincere and carrying a sense of forced grievance.

"Uchiha Taiga, we are not your enemies."

It paused, as if organizing its words.

"All of this was caused by that guy, Uchiha Obito. We are his creations, under his control. We are just tools with no will or choices of our own. He abandoned us, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Taiga looked at it, the corners of his mouth curling up into a half-smile.

He didn't say a word, just staring at Black Zetsu as if watching a performance.

Black Zetsu continued, a pleading tone creeping into its voice.

"We can help you. We know many secrets of the ninja world, and we know a lot about Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara's plans. We can tell you their weaknesses and their next moves. We can be your eyes and ears, your source of intelligence. As long as you don't kill us, we'll do anything."

Taiga tilted his head, looking at Black Zetsu with an unchanging smile.

"Are you saying you're just tools controlled by Uchiha Obito?"

"Yes."

Black Zetsu's tone was firm. "We are his creations, his puppets. He didn't give us the right to choose; we can only obey."

Taiga laughed. It wasn't loud, but it carried an inexplicable undertone.

"Then can you tell me why the chakra in your body is so pure?"

Black Zetsu's voice faltered.

Taiga continued, "The feeling you give me isn't that of a living creature, but rather a pure spiritual entity. Based on my understanding of Uchiha Obito, he couldn't possibly achieve that. He can't even figure out his own mess, so how could he have the ability to create something like you?"

Black Zetsu fell silent. Its mind raced, searching for a reasonable explanation.

"I... I don't know either. I'm just a tool. I was like this when I was created. Maybe he used some special method when making me, I can't say for sure."

Taiga looked at it, his smile widening.

"Uchiha Obito created you?"

"Yes."

Black Zetsu's voice was earnest.

"Uchiha Obito created me and White Zetsu. As the executors of his and Uchiha Madara's plan, we are the extension of his will."

"Is that so? Then can you tell me how Uchiha Obito created you? What jutsu did he use? What materials? What method?"

Black Zetsu fell silent again.

This time, it stayed silent for a long time.

It rummaged through its mind for various possible answers, but every single one had flaws that this young man might see through.

It knew very well that ordinary lies couldn't deceive Uchiha Taiga. Not because it understood Taiga that well, but because it had seen too many smart people over the centuries. It knew what kind of lies would be seen through and what kind could last longer.

But facing this young man, it felt that no matter what lie it told, it would be exposed.

"I... don't remember."

It finally uttered these words. "My memories were flawed when I was created. There are many things I don't remember."

Taiga shook his head, stood up, and brushed the dirt off his knees.

"You're lying."

His voice was calm, but Black Zetsu's body trembled slightly.

"You weren't created by Uchiha Obito, or rather, not just by him. Your existence is far older than his, older than the Uchiha clan, and even older than the hidden village era."

Black Zetsu's body stopped trembling, the expression on its face freezing.

"Chakra doesn't lie. The feeling you give me is... too ancient."

Taiga looked down at it, his Mangekyo Sharingan gleaming crimson in the moonlight.

Black Zetsu didn't speak.

Taiga waited for a moment but received no answer.

He shook his head and turned around.

"Let's seal these two guys up first. I'll need to study them thoroughly later."

As Otsutsuki Kaguya's creation, Black Zetsu had many aspects worth studying. To be precise, its research value was immense, and Taiga naturally wasn't going to miss out on it.

For him at this stage, Black Zetsu's value might even surpass Uchiha Obito's.

This was a nightmare for Black Zetsu, who now had absolutely no idea what to do.