Chapter 107: Come, Let's Farm Black Zetsu in Duo Queue
Before their casual small talk could even reach a natural conclusion, the surrounding foliage rustled violently. Several more figures vaulted out from the dense canopy of the forest, their eyes fixed greedily on the prize. They were just more desperate servants, still foolishly attempting to snatch the box.
There was absolutely no need for Jia to lift a single finger. Jiraiya stepped forward, his movements sharp and decisive. With a flurry of kinetic strikes and precise martial arts, he settled the ambushers cleanly, leaving them groaning in the dirt within seconds.
Just as the dust began to settle, Jia—or rather, Stelle, currently operating under this guise—suddenly retrieved a cold steel shuriken from her ninja tool pouch. With a casual, almost lazy flick of her wrist, she sent the bladed star spinning violently through the air directly toward Jiraiya's face.
Jiraiya stood his ground, his feet planted firmly in the soil. He didn't even blink. The spinning shuriken whistled past his ear, slicing off a few stray strands of his white hair, before sinking deep into the carotid artery of a hidden assassin lunging out from the bushes right behind him. The man crashed heavily into the underbrush, his body twitching erratically for a few fleeting moments before falling completely still.
Is this what it feels like to finally become stronger?
Jiraiya slowly clenched his fists, feeling the steady thrum of chakra in his veins. He hadn't bothered to dodge just now for two reasons: first, he harbored absolute trust in Jia's aim; and second, he had already sensed the malicious intent creeping up his blind spot.
Unfortunately, during their last encounter... he had allowed himself to drown in the bitter memories of the past for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. He swore he wouldn't make that mistake again.
After a few more hours of travel, the tree line broke, revealing the bustling borders of the Land of Hot Water. This was a prosperous, steam-veiled nation famous for its luxurious hot springs, serving as the ultimate vacation destination for wealthy dignitaries, arrogant nobles, and exhausted chamber of commerce executives.
The scent of sulfur and sizzling street food hung heavy in the air. Jiraiya generously pulled out his toad-shaped wallet, insisting on treating Jia to a massive meal. The streets were lined with vibrant snack vendors, and the two of them practically ate their way from one end of the bustling district to the other, leaving a trail of empty skewers and bamboo boats in their wake.
With their stomachs full, an energetic Jiraiya dragged Jia toward the festival games, heavily insisting they try their hands at ring toss, balloon darts, and whatever else caught his eye.
While casually tossing a wooden ring, a strange, instinctual tug pulled at Jia's consciousness. It was a familiar telepathic ping. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted a small child standing quietly near a steaming takoyaki stall.
Yes, it was the little brat—the physical clone split off by Stelle herself, the very same one snatched directly from the experimental operating table by Black Zetsu. Hidden beneath the child's innocent facade were two Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, resting quietly in her eye sockets.
Their eyes met across the crowded street. A silent, high-speed exchange of information passed between them.
Little Brat: "Yo, Jia. Out for a leisurely stroll? What a funny coincidence."
Jia: "Yeah, the mood value income has been painfully low lately. Black Zetsu is hiding in his shell and refusing to cause trouble, which is making the main body really anxious. She let me out for a walk to see if I could fish up some new opportunities."
Little Brat: "Can't be helped. That shadowy coward was completely traumatized by the previous eye-snatching incident. He stares at me twenty-four-seven and absolutely refuses to go outside and stir up shit. But hey, since we're both free... why don't we just farm Black Zetsu directly? Let's do something big."
A virtual party invitation practically materialized in Jia's mind as the brat smirked. "Wanna team up?"
Jia's golden eyes lit up with predatory amusement. She gave a subtle nod. "Come on. Let's duo queue."
With just a few brief glances, the two trash raccoons reached a flawless agreement.
The little brat turned on her heel and vanished into the crowd. She slipped into a secluded alleyway, her body melting smoothly into the earth using the Kagero technique. Traveling rapidly through the subterranean roots, she soon emerged in a dark, damp underground cavern where Black Zetsu had just finished compiling his latest batch of stolen intelligence.
"Hey, Pitch-Black, are you done with your boring chores yet?" She trotted right up to the ancient mastermind, casually reaching out to tug at his slippery, soft, liquid-like skin.
"It is done. Let us depart," Black Zetsu rasped, his voice echoing like grinding stones.
He naturally flowed upward, wrapping his dark, gelatinous form around her small body like a protective cloak, and the two of them sank back into the earth.
Ever since the overwhelmingly powerful body of 'Mie' had been discovered and confiscated by Ida Mutsuki, Black Zetsu had relocated his primary base to a suffocating depth dozens of meters underground, far beyond the reach of any ordinary sensory ninja.
To be completely honest, after successfully securing Uchiha Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and planting them inside a child whose genetic makeup perfectly balanced both Uchiha and Senju DNA... Black Zetsu had lost all his usual ambition. He hadn't actively caused trouble in months, restricting himself strictly to passive intelligence gathering.
He had simply learned far too many painful lessons.
He had originally planned to use the Sage of Six Paths' altered stone tablet to manipulate Uchiha Madara, but before the grand scheme could even take its first breath, Madara was completely trolled to death by Ida Mutsuki.
He then tried to pivot and manipulate Uchiha Setsuna, but Setsuna was brutally beaten to death by Ida Mutsuki.
He then attempted to use Mie's world-shaking physical strength to forcefully collect the Tailed Beasts, but Mie mysteriously died too.
In short, every single pawn he tried to place on the board ended up dead. He had only managed to salvage Madara's eyes after exhausting every trick in his millennia-old arsenal.
At this current moment, he kept a suffocatingly close watch on the little brat, terrified that she might trip, fall, or suffer some random accident that would result in Madara's eyes being lost forever. For now, Black Zetsu was perfectly content just keeping the child alive and hidden.
Surprisingly, this little brat wasn't too difficult to raise. Initially, she possessed a razor-sharp, venomous tongue that constantly mocked him, but as she grew more familiar with her surroundings—and after he intentionally scared her a few times to establish dominance—she had become quite obedient. Brats just need to be disciplined, he thought smugly.
Black Zetsu had thoroughly inspected her physical vessel. The little brat possessed terrifying innate talent, boasting chakra reserves rivaling a veteran Chunin despite her young age. Whenever he presented her with basic Ninjutsu scrolls, she mastered the simple hand seals on her very first try.
As long as he trained her carefully, the moment her chakra capacity grew large enough to support the evolution of the Rinnegan, he would finally harvest the ultimate ocular prize. Then, he would personally collect the nine Tailed Beasts, force the brat to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and finally rescue Mother from her lunar prison.
Although it would take several more years for the child's body to mature, he could easily afford to wait a decade. He had already suffered through a grueling millennium of hiding in the shadows; a mere ten years was a blink of an eye.
The only real downside was that the little brat asked far too many bizarre, headache-inducing questions.
"Why don't you take me to find my mom and dad? Is it because they're both dead?"
"What exact species of summoned beast are you anyway? I've looked through all the library books and I've never seen a slimy aloe-vera creature like you."
"Why are you so idle every single day? Don't you have a real job? If we run out of ryo one day, are you going to make me go out and beg on the streets?"
So incredibly noisy. Why was she starting her daily 'Hundred Thousand Whys' routine again?
What species was he? He was the direct, physical manifestation of the noble Rabbit Goddess's will! He was an existence far more exalted than this mere genetic experiment of a brat.
"Your father is already dead," Black Zetsu hissed, trying to inject some dramatic gravity into his tone. "His name was Mie. So cease your endless chattering and hurry up and learn your jutsu, so you can help your father get his rightful revenge."
The little brat's eyes widened, and she immediately balled her tiny fists, swearing loudly that she would train until her bones broke to become stronger and avenge her fallen father.
Black Zetsu mentally smirked. He loved hearing that naive determination. Yes, hurry up and cultivate. With the legendary bloodlines of the Senju and Uchiha Clans perfectly fused within one vessel, combined with Mie's monstrous physical lineage, she might actually possess the raw power to clash head-on with Ida Mutsuki when she grew up. She might even surpass her.
"Hey, Pitch-Black," the brat suddenly asked, tilting her head. "Why does everyone else in the world have a cool name, but I don't? You always just call me 'little brat'. Is 'Little Brat' my actual legal name?"
"A name?" Black Zetsu paused, his shadowy form rippling. He suddenly realized he had never bothered to officially name the weapon he was raising. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering. "Just call yourself Mie. Your father was called that."
Black Zetsu thought this was a stroke of genius. It carried his heavy expectations for the child. It would be absolutely perfect if her combat prowess reached the original Mie's level, allowing her to challenge the likes of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. That way, Ida Mutsuki would finally be crushed in a one-on-one duel.
The little brat scrunched up her face in disgust. This dog Black Zetsu is seriously so hard to farm, she complained internally. She had been hoping that if she raised his favorability high enough, she could stir up some massive drama and harvest a mountain of mood values. But he was being so lazy and perfunctory, he wouldn't even put effort into naming her.
Fine, fine, fine. If you want to play it lazy, don't blame me for dropping a nuclear surprise on your head tomorrow.
"Pitch-Black, my father's name was Mie! How can I also be called Mie? That's stupid and confusing. I hate this name. Hurry up and think of a better one!"
Truly a relentless hassle.
Black Zetsu let out an impatient, hissing sigh. "Then just call yourself Xiaobai."
The little brat stared at him deadpan....Isn't that literally the most generic name for a pet dog?
"Why that name?" she demanded.
Black Zetsu sneered, his yellow eyes narrowing. "You constantly call me 'Pitch-Black', and your skin is entirely pale and white. If you aren't called Xiaobai, what else should you be called?"
Why do I feel like I just dug a massive hole for myself?
The little brat lunged forward, throwing her arms around Black Zetsu's slimy, slime-like waist, aggressively tugging at his form. "No! Change it, Lord Black Zetsu! Change it right now!"
"Then call yourself White Zetsu."
The little brat went silent for a moment. "...How about Ye? You're Pitch-Black, and the night is also pitch-black. I'll be called Ye. Thanks, Pitch-Black!"
Black Zetsu rarely possessed the patience to argue over such trivial, mortal matters. He peeled her off his body and dropped her onto the cavern floor. "Fine. Now, go cultivate. You are currently in a state of ignorant weakness. Only the strong have the right to be a child I am satisfied with."
"Yes, yes, I'm going right now!"
The moment she turned her back to Black Zetsu and walked toward the underground training room, the innocent childishness vanished from her face. A twisted, highly unnatural, and downright weird smile stretched across her cheeks.
Thinking that just because you secured the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, you can finally sit back and act cocky, huh? Just you wait. I'm going to give you the biggest, most heart-stopping surprise tomorrow.
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