After finalizing his plan, Black Zetsu no longer hesitated. He signaled the pitcher-plant White Zetsu to move past the group of Uchiha clansmen and approached Tobi, saying in a low voice:
"Something's wrong. Someone is secretly tracking us from above.
I suspect Gekko Hoshiyomi has found us."
Hearing that, Tobi visibly tensed.
As the key figure in Madara's intelligence network, he had heard Gekko Hoshiyomi's name countless times over the years. He knew full well how terrifying Hoshiyomi's power was — far beyond what two White Zetsu could possibly handle.
"Then what should we do?"
At Tobi's question, Black Zetsu put on an expression of deep thought before replying gravely:
"No matter what, Lord Madara's plan must continue.
Here's what we'll do — we'll split up.
You take most of the Uchiha and bring them to the Akatsuki's underground base for temporary shelter.
I'll lead a smaller group of Uchiha in another direction to lure Gekko Hoshiyomi away.
Under no circumstances can we allow Lord Madara's location to be exposed."
Tobi nodded, seeing nothing suspicious in this plan. He turned to the Uchiha and said:
"You — a few of you come with my partner to meet your clan head.
We'll need some of you to handle the transaction with him.
The rest, follow me. I'll take you to a safe place to hide.
Once things settle down, your people will come to bring you back."
Hearing this, the captured Uchiha were even more convinced that these strange men were just black-market shinobi.
This practice — taking part of a captured group to exchange for bounty money while hiding the rest — was exactly how black-market mercenaries operated. If these two really were smugglers, it made sense they wouldn't risk bringing everyone out at once.
After a quick discussion, the Uchiha divided themselves:
three went with Black Zetsu toward what they thought was the Uchiha district,
while the rest followed Tobi toward the Land of Rain.
Once the larger group was far enough away, Black Zetsu said softly:
"Let's go. I'll take you to see your clan head."
Without another word, he began walking ahead.
The three Uchiha followed without suspicion — none of them noticed that a small patch of black liquid had silently appeared on the back of the rearmost man's clothing.
The farther they went, the more uneasy they felt.
All three were born and raised in Konoha; even underground, they could still tell directions — and this path clearly wasn't leading toward the Uchiha compound.
Realizing this, the three stopped and activated their Sharingan, shouting at the White Zetsu ahead of them:
"Where exactly are you taking us?
This isn't the way to the Uchiha district!"
Before White Zetsu could even answer, the man at the back suddenly stiffened — his body seized by Black Zetsu's will.
Even Obito, when he was the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, had struggled to resist Black Zetsu's control.
For an ordinary jōnin, resistance was impossible.
He couldn't even speak — only watch in horror as his own hands reached forward, grabbed the man in front of him by the head, and twisted sharply.
The crack of a breaking neck echoed in the tunnel.
The second Uchiha had no time to react — one moment alive, the next lifeless, collapsing to the floor with a dull thud.
The last surviving Uchiha spun around at the noise, but before he could react, the pitcher-plant White Zetsu lunged forward like lightning.
In the blink of an eye, all three Uchiha were dead — slaughtered by the black-and-white duo.
Black Zetsu looked down at their corpses and let out a satisfied, sinister smile.
"Perfect. Now we have the Sharingan Lord Madara needs.
With their eyes, his power will rise another level.
Maybe… just maybe… this time he'll be able to kill Gekko Hoshiyomi outright.
And if that happens, my path will finally be clear."
With practiced precision, Black Zetsu directed White Zetsu to extract the three Sharingan.
Then, sensing the faint presence of Gekko Hoshiyomi still pursuing from above, he smiled darkly — and burst forward at full speed, heading straight for Madara's underground cavern.
...
Gekko Hoshiyomi had been tracking the underground movement of the Uchiha clan members for quite some time.
At first, he was certain they hadn't noticed him — confident that he could quietly follow them all the way to Madara's hidden base.
But unexpectedly, the group of Uchiha underground suddenly halted… and then split into two directions.
Hoshiyomi paused for a moment, surprised.
"Splitting up, huh? Like a cautious rabbit with three burrows?"
Still, he didn't hesitate. He quickly formed a hand seal and released a shadow clone.
The clone went after the larger group, while Hoshiyomi himself followed the smaller one at full speed.
Halfway along, he noticed something alarming — the smaller group had suddenly gone berserk and slaughtered all three of their own Uchiha companions.
After killing them, the last remaining figure began moving rapidly forward, alone.
That strange behavior only piqued Hoshiyomi's curiosity even more.
"Could it be… that White Zetsu realized I was following them,
and killed the slower Uchiha to avoid being held back — planning to either warn Madara or prepare to confront me directly?"
With that thought, Hoshiyomi accelerated, eager to see what was really going on.
The pursuit continued for an entire day.
By the time they reached the border of the Land of Earth, Hoshiyomi suddenly realized — the underground presence he was tracking had vanished.
"What? That's impossible!"
Taking a deep breath, Hoshiyomi instantly entered Sage Mode.
His sensory perception multiplied severalfold, and within moments, he understood what had happened.
There was a concealment seal underground — an artificial barrier designed to block chakra detection.
No wonder the signature had disappeared so suddenly.
But with Sage Mode enhancing his senses, nothing could stay hidden for long.
Beneath the surface, he immediately sensed the faint trace of that same fleeing presence —
and, along with it, another chakra so faint it was nearly imperceptible… yet unimaginably powerful.
A thrill ran through Hoshiyomi's eyes.
No mistake. This is Madara Uchiha's hideout!
Feeling the ominous chakra emanating from below, Hoshiyomi's expression hardened.
He muttered a sharp command under his breath, then slammed his foot against the ground.
The earth beneath him split open with a deafening crack, forming a fissure wide enough for a man to pass through.
Drawing the Mikazuki Munechika at his waist, Hoshiyomi leapt straight down into the opening.
The sword shimmered with an earthy yellow light — the glow of Earth Release chakra —
and Hoshiyomi shot downward through the stone at incredible speed, tunneling toward the source of the mysterious sealing formation.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally broke through and emerged into an enormous underground cavern.
Gazing around at the vast hollow chamber, Hoshiyomi's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Finally… I've found it."