The early morning mist had not yet dissipated, leaving the gates of Konoha Village looking exceptionally deserted.
Hiashi Hyuga adjusted his broad robes and stepped toward the village entrance.
He had received an urgent summons from the Hokage this morning.
But as he turned the street corner, Hiashi's footsteps came to a sudden halt.
Several people were standing before the gate.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, stood with his back to him, clad in his Hokage Cloak.
Lord Jiraiya leaned against a gate pillar, scribbling away in a small notebook.
To Minato's left, Uchiha Fugaku stood with his arms crossed, eyes closed as he rested his mind.
Hiashi's pupils constricted slightly.
The Hokage, a Sannin, and the Uchiha Clan Head.
The simultaneous appearance of such a lineup at the village gate usually meant only one thing—war.
Hiashi hurried forward, his hand instinctively moving toward the ninja tool pouch at his waist.
"Hokage-sama."
Hiashi came to a stop, his gaze sweeping over those present. "What has happened? Is there an invasion, or has the Nine-Tails...?"
Minato turned around, a gentle smile on his face.
"Good morning, Clan Head Hiashi."
Minato waved his hand dismissively. "There is no need for tension. We are merely here to welcome a special guest."
"A guest?"
Hiashi frowned.
What kind of guest required such a display of force?
Fugaku opened his eyes and looked toward Hiashi.
Their gazes met.
Fugaku gave a slight nod.
Since the night of the joint action between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, the relationship between the two families had eased significantly.
Hiashi nodded back in return, though his hand still hadn't left his tool pouch.
"They're here."
The purple toad perched on Minato's shoulder suddenly spoke.
It spat out a grass root from its mouth, its golden horizontal pupils fixed on the ground ahead.
Hiashi and Fugaku turned simultaneously.
The earth suddenly churned as if something was about to burst through the surface.
A massive pitcher plant rose from the ground.
The leaves unfurled to both sides, revealing a half-black, half-white humanoid creature within.
"Is this how Konoha treats its guests?"
Black Zetsu's yellow eyes scanned the crowd, its voice raspy. "Summoning the heads of the two great clans... it seems you are quite afraid I might run away."
"That is..."
The veins around Hiashi's eyes bulged instantly.
"Byakugan!"
In his field of vision, the chakra flow of this black-and-white monster was incredibly bizarre, completely outside the realm of humanity.
Furthermore, the nature of the chakra in half of its body caused him to feel an inexplicable sense of both familiarity and dread.
It was a resonance originating from deep within his bloodline.
"Ha!"
Hiashi gave a low shout, shifting into the starting stance of the Gentle Fist.
On the other side, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan surfaced in Fugaku's eyes as his crimson gaze locked onto Black Zetsu.
The two of them stepped forward almost in unison, their auras pinning Black Zetsu down.
"Stop."
Minato's silhouette flickered instantly, appearing between them.
He reached out, placing a hand on the shoulders of Hiashi and Fugaku respectively.
"This is the guest we have been waiting for."
Minato's voice was calm, yet it carried an indisputable authority.
Hiashi froze, looking at Minato and then back at the monster.
"Hokage-sama, this thing..."
"Enough talk."
Black Zetsu interrupted Hiashi, having no regard for the two clan heads.
It looked at Minato, its body writhing slowly. "Take me to see that experiment of yours. If you dare play me for a fool, you know the consequences."
It was truly in a hurry.
Fugaku and Hiashi exchanged a confused glance.
Experiment?
What kind of experiment required letting such a monster into Konoha?
Minato gave the two of them a reassuring look.
"Clan heads, please hold onto my shoulders."
Though Fugaku and Hiashi remained wary of the half-black, half-white monster, they followed instructions out of trust for the Hokage.
Jiraiya closed his notebook and placed a hand on Minato's other shoulder.
"Flying Thunder God Technique."
In a flash, Black Zetsu was also taken along by Minato.
Swoosh.
A second later.
The pungent smell of chemicals filled their nostrils.
Hiashi opened his eyes.
They were no longer at the clearing by the village gate, but inside a massive underground laboratory.
Glass containers filled the surrounding area, housing unknown biological tissues immersed in fluid.
Harsh white lights reflected off the metal operating tables with a cold glint.
"Welcome."
A raspy, magnetic voice rang out.
Orochimaru, wearing a white lab coat and holding a test tube, turned to face the group.
A fanatical light flickered in his golden snake-like pupils as his tongue flicked over his lips.
"Orochimaru?!"
Hiashi blurted out in shock.
He instinctively retreated half a step, dropping into a defensive posture.
Since Minato took office and Danzo 'committed suicide,' Orochimaru had vanished. Hiashi had assumed the Fourth Hokage had already liquidated him.
Yet here he was, appearing to be in some kind of collaborative relationship with the Hokage.
The Hokage really has incredible methods to be able to recruit one of the Sannin like Orochimaru!
Fugaku's reaction was steadier than Hiashi's, though the shock in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Don't get worked up."
Gamakon hopped from Minato's shoulder onto the lab table, kicking aside an empty beaker. "This snake is our technical advisor now. His personality is garbage, but his craftsmanship is undeniably top-tier."
Orochimaru glanced at Gamakon and didn't argue, merely letting out a soft chuckle.
"Identity is irrelevant as long as one can touch the truth."
Orochimaru set down the test tube, his gaze moving past the group to land on Black Zetsu.
"Is this the 'special specimen'?"
Orochimaru walked toward Black Zetsu, his eyes looking as if he were viewing a rare treasure. "The product of Princess Kaguya's will... what a truly marvelous structure."
Black Zetsu felt a bit unnerved by Orochimaru's gaze.
It had lived for over a thousand years, yet this was the first time it had been stared at by a human with the eyes of someone dissecting a frog.
"Where is the vessel?"
Black Zetsu asked coldly. "Don't tell me you intend to revive Mother in this dump."
"Follow me."
Orochimaru turned and pressed a switch on the wall.
A wall slid open slowly, revealing a hidden chamber behind it.
In the center of the chamber stood a massive cylindrical cultivation tank.
A pale body was suspended within the green nutrient solution.
It was a female body.
Though not yet fully grown, the tightly closed eyes, the slightly protruding bone horns on the forehead, and the slowly growing white hair were all incredibly familiar to Black Zetsu.
"This..."
Black Zetsu walked to the tank, its palm pressing against the glass.
Its body trembled slightly.
Though the aura was faint, it could feel that the power of Hashirama Cells flowed through this body, fused with other elements it couldn't quite name.
"This is a base body cultivated using Hashirama Cells as a foundation, fused with genetic segments from the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki clans."
Orochimaru stood behind Black Zetsu, his tone boastful. "I put a great deal of effort into solving the genetic rejection issues."
"Uchiha? Hyuga?"
Black Zetsu turned its head to look at Fugaku and Hiashi standing at the door.
It vaguely understood why Minato had called these two here.
"Correct."
Minato walked over. "The Uchiha clan inherited Indra's Yin Style chakra—that is, mental energy. The Hyuga clan inherited Hamura's Byakugan bloodline—the blueprint for the physical structure."
"To host Princess Kaguya's power, the Yang Style of Hashirama Cells alone is not enough."
Minato pointed at the cultivation tank. "Yin and Yang must be unified, combined with the purity of the Byakugan, to create a vessel closest to the Otsutsuki origin."
Hiashi and Fugaku listened, completely lost.
Indra? Hamura? Princess Kaguya?
These names sounded like characters from ancient myths.
"Clan heads."
Gamakon hopped onto Fugaku's shoulder and patted his head. "Stop dazing. We didn't bring you here to listen to a lecture."
Fugaku's body stiffened, but he stood perfectly still.
"We need your chakra."
Gamakon pointed to the tank. "During the process of injecting the soul and chakra into this body, we need extremely precise monitoring."
"Fugaku, your Sharingan will be responsible for monitoring the fusion of Yin Style chakra, ensuring the mental energy doesn't overwhelm the flesh."
"Hiashi, your Byakugan will monitor the remodeling of the meridian system, ensuring this body can withstand the flow of chakra."
"This is something only your two clans can accomplish."
Hiashi took a deep breath.
Although he still didn't fully understand everything, he understood one thing.
The Hokage was conducting an unprecedented experiment, and he and Fugaku were the keys to its success.
What a supreme level of trust.
Hiashi and Fugaku exchanged a look, both seeing the resolve in the other's eyes.
Now was the time to offer their loyalty.
"I understand."
Hiashi stepped forward, the veins around his Byakugan bulging as his vision pierced the cultivation tank. "This body's meridians... are very strange. Some parts are severed, while others are abnormally thick."
"That was specifically modified to adapt to Princess Kaguya's chakra,"
Orochimaru explained. "A normal person's meridians are too fragile; they could never withstand that level of power."
As Black Zetsu listened to their conversation, its doubts gradually dissipated.
These people weren't just talk.
They had not only produced a vessel but had also brought the descendants of Indra and Hamura to assist.
This scientific and rigorous attitude gave this ancient schemer a rare sense of security.
"You people call this science?" Black Zetsu muttered to itself while staring at the tank.
"It's called technology,"
Jiraiya leaned in with a grin. "As long as it works, who cares what it's called. Well, Mr. Black Zetsu, are you satisfied with this vessel?"
Black Zetsu remained silent for a moment.
It looked at the body suspended in the liquid, at the face that bore a slight resemblance to its mother.
"It's barely acceptable,"
Black Zetsu retorted stubbornly. "Compared to Mother's original body, this thing is like a low-quality imitation."
"But it works, doesn't it?"
Minato hit the nail on the head. "Furthermore, this is currently the only way to allow your mother to reappear in this world without alerting the main family."
Black Zetsu did not argue.
Its body turned into a pool of black water, flowing along the ground toward the bottom of the cultivation tank.
"Then let us try."
Black Zetsu's voice drifted up from the floor. "I will attempt to inject my chakra into this body. If the plan fails, you will all pay the price."
"Relax."
Orochimaru licked his lips and began weaving hand signs. "I have prepared a long time for this moment."