Black Zetsu was not without the desire to flee.
But Yuji's eye technique was clearly something extraordinary.
Surpassing both the Byakugan and the Sharingan in its perceptive range, it could not only see through surfaces and observe chakra directly but also carried an extraordinarily powerful danger-sensing intuition.
This meant that even White Zetsu, whose capacity for concealment and disguise was so complete that neither the Byakugan nor the Inuzuka clan's sense of smell could detect it, had nowhere to hide from those eyes. The only conventional method for locking onto a White Zetsu was through sensing hostile intent. And Yuji's eye technique appeared to carry precisely that effect.
Combined with the Fourth Kazekage's space-time ninjutsu, unless Black Zetsu and White Zetsu could instantly create enough distance in a single moment, escape was fundamentally impossible.
And beyond the practical obstacles, the person standing before him was mysterious in ways that went beyond mere strength. Even if Black Zetsu managed to escape temporarily and attempted to scheme again, as long as this man remained alive, success would be impossible. And Black Zetsu could not be certain there would ever come a day when it could move against this particular opponent safely.
Because in Black Zetsu's assessment, this Fourth Kazekage might not even be what he appeared to be on the surface. He seemed connected to the Otsutsuki clan in some way, knowing things from a thousand years ago as clearly as if he had been present, as though the entire ninja world held no secrets from him.
And he appeared to understand even Otsutsuki Kaguya herself.
This left Black Zetsu unwilling to gamble.
Because this person might, like Black Zetsu itself, live for a very long time. And his strength was formidable. If Black Zetsu refused to cooperate, attempted to betray him, and was caught, the outcome did not need to be stated aloud.
Taking everything into consideration, this was someone more terrifying than Madara had ever been. Someone whose existence made Black Zetsu's heart beat faster with unease.
"However," Black Zetsu thought to itself as they traveled toward the Land of Grass, "for someone like him, the only thing in the entire ninja world that could genuinely be worth pursuing would be the chakra fruit of the God Tree."
The Fourth Kazekage wanted to go to their base. Stripped to its simplest explanation, he almost certainly had his eye on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
If that was true, then the Fourth Kazekage's purpose might overlap with Black Zetsu's own plan to a meaningful degree. If Yuji was seeking the chakra fruit, then even if he had no genuine intention of helping resurrect Kaguya, there might still be an opportunity somewhere within that arrangement to act. To eventually bring Kaguya back to the ninja world once more.
"Cooperate with him for now. Then, gradually, determine what his true origins actually are."
Black Zetsu settled on this internally.
A person reborn after death? That would imply something like the Rinne Rebirth Technique, a power that defied natural law. Unless it was some form of parasitic existence inhabiting a host body. Or perhaps, as Black Zetsu's earlier instinct had suggested, this person shared the same bloodline as Kaguya herself, though no obvious corresponding traits were visible.
Whatever the answer, one thing seemed certain. The Fourth Kazekage had been silently observing the entire flow of the ninja world's history from somewhere in the shadows.
Less than a day later, under Black Zetsu's guidance, Yuji arrived at the deeply hidden underground base within the Land of Grass's borders.
Madara's stronghold.
The moment he appeared in the underground space, his eyes moved immediately to the enormous statue embedded within the rocky wall, its color and texture resembling dried and ancient wood. Its form was roughly humanoid, and every eye across its surface was sealed shut.
"So Madara used the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama's cells and produce the White Zetsu bodies, while quietly monitoring the ninja world's movements and changes across all these years. Ha."
The moment Yuji materialized inside the base, a large number of White Zetsu individuals appeared throughout the space, their expressions alert and questioning, directing their scrutiny toward Black Zetsu and demanding to know who the man beside it was. Black Zetsu offered a simple explanation.
Yuji paid no attention to the exchange and moved immediately to the Demonic Statue, closing the distance in an instant.
He reached out one hand and pressed it against the cold outer surface of the statue, then slowly closed his eyes.
"As expected. Only someone possessing the Rinnegan can summon it and exert meaningful control over it."
After a brief moment, Yuji withdrew his hand.
Black Zetsu watched from behind in silence.
Obito, who had fused Hashirama's cells into his body and activated the Mangekyo Sharingan, had technically been able to exert some degree of influence over the Demonic Statue. But the level of that control was incomparable to what a true Rinnegan wielder could achieve.
"Although the Tailed Beasts' chakra is absent, this vessel alone, once summoned to the battlefield, still carries enough power to be devastating."
Yuji dropped down from the Demonic Statue's surface and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Kaguya consuming the chakra fruit of the God Tree was, after all, the gravest transgression imaginable."
He glanced at Black Zetsu with an expression that was somewhere between a smile and something colder.
That single look, combined with those words, sent a violent tremor through Black Zetsu's ancient consciousness.
"But so much time has passed. Some things no longer need to be pursued to their conclusion. And besides, being sealed away by her own children could be considered a fitting punishment." Yuji said it with a light and almost mocking quality.
Black Zetsu said nothing.
"Clean this place up properly. Madara must have collected quite a considerable number of Sharingan over the years. Where are they?"
Yuji changed the subject, scanning the underground space before turning to Black Zetsu with the question.
The Demonic Statue was something he could not yet move or utilize in any meaningful way. He would leave it here for now and revisit the matter once he had acquired the key capable of controlling it.
At present, the only person in the entire ninja world who could genuinely command that statue was Nagato. And that would require waiting for him to fully awaken the Rinnegan's true power. Without the violent emotional shock of Yahiko's death, which meant Yahiko needed to remain alive for now, Nagato's path to fully unlocking the Rinnegan's depth would take considerably more time.
Madara's legacy extended beyond just this location. The forbidden techniques, Yin-Yang Release, and Six Paths jutsu he had transmitted to Obito were also part of it. Regarding those technique inheritances, Yuji was not particularly rushed. After all, he could use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon either Obito or Madara himself and extract that knowledge directly if necessary. Furthermore, with the system available to him, certain capabilities within it could also be developed along these lines in due time.
What held genuine immediate value for him were physical assets.
The first was Hashirama's cells. The second was the large number of Sharingan that had been collected during the war.
"The Sharingan are not here. Madara took them with him when he left, kept together with his body."
"Where is the body?" Yuji asked.
Madara's body's location was something even Obito himself had not known. The only being in the entire ninja world who knew where it had been hidden was Black Zetsu.
The old man had been extraordinarily careful to the very end.
"Deep within the mountains inside the Land of Fire," Black Zetsu answered, its tone entirely compliant.
"Even in death he chose to be buried near Konoha. His devotion to that village truly has no limits," Yuji said with a quiet laugh.
"Let us go."
The two of them set out once more, traveling toward the Land of Fire.
The following day, within a hidden hollow deep inside a mountain near Konoha, they found Madara's remains. White-haired and ancient in appearance, the body of the old man lay undisturbed.
"His body presents the same complication as Obito's. It cannot be summoned through the Impure World Reincarnation easily. He would almost certainly use the counter-seal to break free from the technique's control the moment he was summoned."
Yuji studied Madara's condition and turned the next matter over in his mind.
"The other consideration is the Sage of Six Paths."
"That old man may be dead, but he has been watching over the entire development of the ninja world from the Pure Land ever since. He appears to hold something close to absolute authority over the souls of the departed. He most likely has no desire to see Madara's body exploited by someone else. But even as the founder of ninjutsu, he cannot intervene in the physical world directly. Still, he is worth accounting for."
Thinking this through, Yuji proceeded to collect Madara's body along with the burial artifacts stored alongside it, sealing everything away carefully.
"You will return to the Sand Village with me. As for the White Zetsu bodies and the Demonic Statue, leave them at the base for now. Continue monitoring the ninja world's movements, and report anything of significance to me first."
After confirming everything had been secured, Yuji felt something release in his chest, like setting down a burden he had carried for a long time.
He gave Black Zetsu its orders.
"Understood."