Naruto could understand Black Zetsu's eagerness to save his mother.
After all, he also wanted to revive his parents quickly so the family could reunite and enjoy the warmth of family together. But...
Naruto still wasn't used to Black Zetsu's strange habit. He looked at Black Zetsu's dark face—his white teeth especially obvious against the darkness when he smiled. Naruto spoke helplessly, "Black Zetsu, can you stand up and talk?"
"I can, but after getting used to this, I always feel safer underground." Black Zetsu's voice carried stubborn justification.
"Then you'd better stand up and talk to me." Naruto sighed heavily. He himself was very tall. With Black Zetsu showing only his head, Naruto always had to lower his head when talking to him. This would easily cause spinal problems over time.
"Okay!" Naruto was now his only hope. Black Zetsu relied on Naruto to save his mother. Black Zetsu would listen to some of Naruto's requests. Besides, Naruto was so powerful—Black Zetsu genuinely feared Naruto might beat him in anger.
White Zetsu and Obito had both died at Naruto's hands.
As for his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—who was stronger than Naruto—in Black Zetsu's heart, his mother would always be number one in the world.
Humans in the ninja world are just captive animals of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Of course, what he thought privately would never be so foolishly spoken aloud to Naruto. Though he feared Naruto's strength, wasn't he also using Naruto?
Just like when he'd used Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito in the past.
Thinking this, Black Zetsu first stretched a pair of thin, black, skeletal hands from the ground. Then, placing his thin hands on the earth's surface, he pulled himself out of the soil like pulling up a carrot.
"Damn it!" As soon as Black Zetsu emerged, Naruto couldn't help but curse.
"Why are you cursing at me?" Black Zetsu looked at Naruto with visible grievance. You called me out, then why are you cursing me again? Don't think that just because I can't beat you, you can insult me. I'm from the noble Ōtsutsuki family.
"Black Zetsu, you should go back into the ground." Naruto couldn't bear to look directly at him. Black Zetsu wore absolutely no clothes—completely naked and pitch black. Naruto felt disgusted by the sight.
"You were the one who told me to come out, and now you're the one telling me to go back in..." Black Zetsu cursed under his breath and burrowed back into the soil. Only his black head remained visible, expressing his anger at Naruto's capriciousness through stubborn silence.
"Who told you not to wear clothes?" Regarding Black Zetsu, Naruto felt truly speechless. This was completely inhuman behavior.
Hearing Naruto's complaint, Black Zetsu spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I've been working underground all year round. What's the difference between wearing clothes and not wearing them? Besides, it saves money."
After finishing this explanation, Black Zetsu didn't forget his primary purpose for finding Naruto. He asked again with renewed urgency, "Naruto, when are we going to save my mother?"
Some time ago, he'd been recovering from his injuries. Now that he'd healed, he'd rushed to find Naruto, wanting him to save his mother quickly.
According to Naruto, he disagreed with the original plan to resurrect his mother.
If not the original plan, then the new plan rested with Naruto. But Naruto had never told him the details of this plan, which made Black Zetsu deeply confused.
He felt that Naruto didn't truly want to save his mother.
Of course Naruto sensed Black Zetsu's worry. He squatted down and looked at Black Zetsu seriously. "Black Zetsu, don't worry. I will definitely rescue your mother. I genuinely want to become good friends with her."
"It's just that now isn't the time. The moment hasn't come yet."
"So all I can do now is wait until the time comes?" Black Zetsu still asked with clear unwillingness.
Sensing Black Zetsu's reluctance, Naruto felt it necessary to establish clear boundaries. Otherwise, this creature might turn destructive again and do anything to save his mother.
A chaotic ninja world was definitely not what Naruto wanted.
He preferred a relatively stable ninja world. If everyone focused on war, there would be no time for people to be friends with him.
Thinking this, Naruto spoke with a serious expression. "Black Zetsu, I know you desperately want to rescue your mother. But I don't like your plan. So here, I want to warn you—you'd better not make trouble for me. Otherwise, I'll let you join Obito. In this lifetime, you'll never rescue your mother."
"I keep my word. If I say I'll rescue your mother, I'll keep that promise. If you mess around and force me to kill you, that's also a promise I'll keep."
Being threatened so directly by Naruto, Black Zetsu felt aggrieved. But he didn't dare talk back. Right now, he genuinely didn't dare turn against Naruto. If he wanted to oppose Naruto, he could only rely on wisdom to lure others—like Obito and Madara—to do things for him.
Seeing Black Zetsu remain silent, Naruto knew his warning had worked. He looked at the protruding head. "Is there anything else? If not, you should go back. When the time comes, I'll let you know."
"I don't have anything else to do anyway. Why don't I just stay by your side?" Black Zetsu thought for a moment, then suggested this.
"Suit yourself." Naruto spoke indifferently. As long as Black Zetsu didn't go out causing trouble, Naruto didn't care where he stayed.
Next, Naruto went to find Jiraiya. He planned to fulfill his agreement with Jiraiya. Before setting off to find Tsunade, Naruto had made an agreement—after Jiraiya recovered, Jiraiya would be willing to become friends with Naruto.
Naruto walked toward Jiraiya's residence. Black Zetsu followed Naruto like a lump of coal rolling along the ground.
Soon, he reached Jiraiya's house. Naruto knocked on the door and called out, "Jiraiya-sensei, are you there?"
No one answered.
After a few seconds, Naruto knocked again.
It seems Jiraiya-sensei isn't home. Naruto thought with mild disappointment.
At that moment, Jiraiya's voice came from behind. "Naruto! What do you need me for?"
Naruto turned his head. Sure enough, he saw Jiraiya rushing toward home. When Jiraiya noticed Naruto knocking on his door, he hurried over quickly.
Suddenly, Jiraiya let out an "Ow!" as if his foot caught on something. His body pitched forward. He fell face-first to the ground in an embarrassing sprawl.
"Jiraiya-sensei, are you alright?" Naruto asked with genuine concern.
Jiraiya pushed himself up with both hands, stood, and patted dust from his clothes. "I'm fine. I don't know who threw this lump of coal in the middle of the road, making me fall. Just watch me kick it away..."
Saying this, Jiraiya moved to kick the coal lump beside Naruto.
"Jiraiya-sensei!" Seeing this scene, Naruto hurriedly tried to tell Jiraiya it wasn't coal, but a person.
However, just as Jiraiya's foot was about to connect, the lump suddenly turned around. It spoke angrily to Jiraiya, "Who are you calling a lump of coal?"
Hearing these angry words, Jiraiya's kick suspended itself a centimeter from Black Zetsu's forehead. Jiraiya frowned slightly, looking at the protruding face on the 'coal lump.' Then he withdrew his foot awkwardly. "So it's not coal. It's a person."
After speaking, ignoring Black Zetsu completely, Jiraiya addressed Naruto. "Naruto, do you have important business? If not, I need to help Tsunade repair her house. She hasn't lived there in years. It's been in disrepair for so long—if I don't fix it, it won't be habitable at all."
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Naruto understood immediately. He smiled with knowing amusement. "So Jiraiya-sensei was just at Sister Tsunade's helping her..."
Jiraiya didn't care about Naruto's teasing tone. He spoke with complete seriousness. "Right now, Dan hasn't been resurrected yet. I need to take advantage of this time to demonstrate my value in front of Tsunade. Otherwise, after he's alive, it'll be too late."
"Okay. Then Jiraiya-sensei, you should help Sister Tsunade repair her house first." Naruto's tone carried understanding and approval.
What Jiraiya needed to do wasn't unimportant compared to making friends. In Naruto's heart, training was as important as making friends.
It was just that because it involved Sister Tsunade—in order for Sister Tsunade to stay in Konoha without worries—and ultimately so he could go out and make more friends...
Giving up befriending Jiraiya now was actually for the sake of making more friends in the future.
Besides, Jiraiya had a relationship with him. They could become friends at any time. In an instant, Naruto figured this out completely.
Jiraiya smiled with appreciation for Naruto's understanding. He grabbed a few hammers from inside his home. After greeting Naruto, he left to repair Tsunade's house.
Unable to become friends with Jiraiya at this moment, Naruto simply brought Black Zetsu to the Hokage Building. He found a relatively thin staff member. "Go find some of your clothes. I need them."
These clothes were obviously for Black Zetsu. It wasn't acceptable to always have a black head following him around.
After a short while, the staff member returned respectfully with a suit of clothes. He placed them in the Hokage's office. Naruto picked up the clothing, reached out, and lifted Black Zetsu by his head. Then he vanished in a flash.
In the next second, Naruto appeared above the waterfall at the back mountain, still holding Black Zetsu.
Afterward, Naruto casually threw Black Zetsu into the pool below the waterfall.
Black Zetsu fell into the water like a melon. Just as he was about to ask Naruto why he'd done this, he heard Naruto's words echo in his ears. "Wash yourself thoroughly, then put on those clothes. Appear like a normal person. Otherwise, don't follow me."
After finishing this instruction, Naruto placed the clothes on the shore. His figure disappeared.
Black Zetsu sank to the bottom of the water and began bathing reluctantly.
After a short while, Naruto reappeared in the Hokage Building. He called Shikamaru over. "Shikamaru, is the dinner for Kirigakure ready?"
Shikamaru nodded efficiently. "It's ready."
"Sunset is in about two hours. Help me go home and tell Kurama and Sasuke that I won't be back for dinner. Before you go, have the staff serve the meal and receive the Kirigakure ninja properly." Naruto's tone was businesslike but warm.
"Understood." Shikamaru turned around, prepared to carry out Naruto's orders.
"Wait." Suddenly, Naruto stopped him.
"Is there something else, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru looked at Naruto questioningly.
Naruto smiled with slight embarrassment. "Actually, I'd better go back and tell Kurama in person. Otherwise, it'll be angry after it finishes making dinner. Go prepare everything for the dinner. I'll be back soon."
"Alright." Shikamaru didn't think too deeply about it. He immediately went to make preparations.
After Shikamaru left, Naruto's figure flickered. He returned to the back mountain farm. Unsurprisingly, Sasuke was still practicing in the open space outside the yard.
The practical experience given by Uncle Sasuke was enough to keep Sasuke occupied for a long time.
Once Sasuke became familiar with the Sharingan's abilities and understood Uncle Sasuke's lifetime of ninjutsu experience, his strength in this world could be said to rank second or third at worst.
As for first place? That would always be Naruto.
Naruto already stood on top of this world.
On a vertical line all his own.
Coming to the kitchen, Naruto heard the clang of the spatula against the wok. Kurama wore an apron, stood on a stool with his feet, and was cooking vegetables energetically.
Hearing Naruto's footsteps, Kurama didn't stop what he was doing. He turned his head. "Naruto's back! Wait a moment. The meal will be ready soon."
"Kurama, I won't be eating at home tonight. You can eat with Sasuke."
"You're not coming back to eat? But I've already cooked everything..." Kurama's voice carried profound disappointment.
Naruto had no choice but to concede. "Then I'll come back and eat. I'll have two meals tonight."
Sure enough, Kurama became happy again instantly. He looked at Naruto with visible warmth. "Then Sasuke and I will wait for you to come home for dinner."
Shaking his head with affectionate exasperation, Naruto returned to where the Kirigakure ninja were being received. The Kirigakure visitors were all seated. Konoha's reception staff brought plates of delicious food to the tables continuously.
Seeing Naruto arrive, the Kirigakure ninja stood up in unison. "Lord Naruto!"
"Everyone, please sit down." Naruto replied with a warm smile. He came to an empty seat next to Terumi Mei and sat. "Everyone has worked hard. Konoha's hospitality may not be perfect. Please don't be offended. Enjoy the meal."
After Naruto finished speaking, the Kirigakure ninja picked up their utensils. They placed them ceremonially on their chests and addressed the delicious food before them with solemn expressions. "Then let's begin."
Next came mealtime.
After eating, Naruto personally escorted Terumi Mei and the Kirigakure ninja to their departure point.
When all the Kirigakure ninja had boarded their boat, Naruto addressed Terumi Mei. "Sister Terumi Mei, I wish you smooth travels returning to Kirigakure."
Terumi Mei nodded. She smiled at Naruto with genuine warmth. "Naruto, remember to visit me first after you return from your long journey."
"Absolutely."
Watching Terumi Mei board the boat, Naruto observed as Kirigakure's vessel set sail. It gradually disappeared from sight. Naruto pulled his gaze away, thinking, I need to go home for dinner. Kurama must be waiting.
Just as Naruto turned around, a tremendous explosion suddenly resounded over Konoha.
Naruto frowned sharply. He looked in the direction of the sound and felt massive chakra approaching above Konoha.