Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The 3,000-Strong Puppet Army
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In the clan leader's study, Fūma Yukishi was reviewing a series of letters.
"This month's expenditures totaled 70 million ryō, with most of it invested in building the Moon Clan's army."
"The clan's negative sentiments are steadily growing. We need to find a way to alleviate them."
Skimming past issues like military preparations, transportation, and trade, Yukishi's gaze landed on the most critical piece of data.
"The puppet army has surpassed 3,000 in number and continues to grow rapidly."
This single accomplishment made all the previous investments worthwhile.
"It's almost time. The Fūma clan will soon reign supreme over the entire Land of Fire."
"Senju Butsuma, Uchiha Tajima—I'll show you who the true master of this world is," Fūma Yukishi declared.
In a corner of the eaves, Kyōsuke, hidden within a snake's belly, sneered silently.
If it weren't for considering the summoning beast's feelings, he would have spat on the ground in disdain.
Tajima was a scheming villain, and Butsuma was an obstinate fool, but at least they were at the pinnacle of the Warring States period.
And this Yukishi? What was he, to even dare to measure up?
As Kyōsuke silently ridiculed him, the Fūma clan leader's shadow began to tremble.
Before long, half of Yukishi's body was completely engulfed by a dark shadow.
Black Zetsu had appeared!
"Taking down those two fools won't be difficult," Black Zetsu said, also focused on the intelligence report. "Three thousand isn't enough—we'll need at least seven thousand."
"The human puppets of the Moon Clan are designed to sustain themselves in battle—every enemy they kill becomes their nourishment," Black Zetsu explained.
"When enough resources are accumulated, we'll launch a blitzkrieg to annihilate several prominent clans. By the time others react, the Land of Fire will no longer have the strength to resist us."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu silently muttered to himself, 'When the time comes, I can execute my plan—to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in Indra's reincarnation.'
'I'll bring him under my control and wait for the other one to mature.'
'When the powers of yin and yang combine, he will become the vessel for Mother's release from her seal.'
The devoted Black Zetsu had meticulously planned everything. It was merely waiting for the Moon Clan to complete the puppet army.
However, even the cunning Black Zetsu was unaware that Ōtsutsuki Sugito's descent this time was not to assist, but to destroy the entire shinobi world.
While Black Zetsu thought it was using Sugito, the grieving clan leader of the Moon Clan who had lost his child was also manipulating Black Zetsu.
If the day ever came when he truly ascended to rule over the Land of Fire, it was highly likely that things wouldn't go as this devoted son had envisioned.
Fortunately, perhaps Black Zetsu wouldn't have to wait long for that day of disappointment.
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"So, it really is him," Kyōsuke muttered as he stood up involuntarily.
Ever since the issue began to involve money exchange offices, he had suspected Black Zetsu's involvement.
He hadn't expected the Fūma Clan to be mere puppets, with the true mastermind being none other than Kaguya's third son.
As his emotions stirred slightly, Kyōsuke suddenly noticed Black Zetsu's shadow starting to detach from its host, its gaze shifting as though searching for something in the room.
It didn't take long for its eyes to lock onto him, meeting Kyōsuke's gaze through the snake's skin.
"Damn it, are you kidding me?!" Just as he prepared to urge the snake to flee, a pitch-black rod shot forth, pinning the snake's body to the ground.
This was a Yin-Yang Release Black Rod, crafted by a person who possess both yin and yang chakra attributes through Yin-Yang Release techniques.
Anyone struck by it would experience a disruption in their internal energy, rendering them incapable of molding chakra.
Essentially, it was an advanced version of Gentle Fist, not even requiring a strike to the body's pressure points.
Additionally, those with the Rinnegan, such as the resurrected Madara and Rinnegan Obito, could freely create these Black Rods.
Fūma Yukishi's mastery of this technique was entirely thanks to Black Zetsu. Without its assistance, there was no way someone of his caliber could grasp the nature transformation of yin-yang chakra.
Staring at the dead snake on the ground, Black Zetsu frowned. 'Could my senses have been wrong?'
It had clearly detected an unusual mental fluctuation, yet now there seemed to be no sign of anything amiss.
"Mr. Black Zetsu, is something wrong?"
"Nothing, let's continue."
Just as Black Zetsu was about to give up its search, a white figure suddenly emerged from the ground.
It was one of the White Zetsu clones, carefully preserved.
After thousands of years of use, the remaining stock was already scarce, so Black Zetsu was particularly cautious about deploying them.
"I've found the whereabouts of that Uzumaki girl, Mito," White Zetsu reported, providing a piece of rather valuable information.
"Uzumaki Mito..." Black Zetsu's eyes narrowed, and its mind immediately conjured several sinister schemes.
For now, the priority was to capture the Uzumaki princess.
"Yukishi, I'll need you to dispatch two reliable subordinates for this task," Black Zetsu instructed, fully aware of Mito's formidable power. With her mastery of the Yin Seal, ordinary ninja would only throw their lives away in vain.
To ensure success, they needed elite jōnin-level fighters.
"Leave it to me." Fūma Yukishi nodded, rising to make the necessary arrangements.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, still uneasy, moved forward to inspect the dead snake.
Upon closer examination, it truly noticed something unusual.
"A creature from Ryūchi Cave?" Black Zetsu's gaze darkened instantly.
The other two of the Three Great Sage regions, Mount Myōboku and the Shikkotsu Forest, were closely connected to Black Zetsu's two elder brothers.
The only exception was Ryūchi Cave. But who could truly understand the stance of the White Snake sage, a creature that had lived for thousands of years?
"Let's hope I'm just overthinking things," Black Zetsu muttered darkly.
---
Outside the Fūma Clan's territory.
Thanks to the pre-marked Flying Thunder God coordinates, Kyosuke successfully escaped being pinned down by the black rod, avoiding the disastrous fate of losing his combat abilities.
The rod's effects were troublesome, a single misstep could render a fighter powerless.
Using the dying senses of his summoned snake, Kyosuke caught sight of White Zetsu's appearance and learned that their group had set their sights on the traveling Mito.
"White Zetsu…" Kyōsuke's eyes flickered. He had something he needed to verify.
Back when Mito ambushed him, it had put him in the greatest danger he'd faced since arriving in this world.
But upon reflection, Kyosuke found her behavior during the encounter to be rather strange.
Combining this with Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's warning and White Zetsu's sudden involvement, a bold theory emerged in his mind.
The person who had placed a sealing technique on him that day—was it possible that she weren't actually Mito at all?
No matter what the truth was, he had to see it for himself.
As for whether this was a trap...
Kyosuke touched the tomoe marking on his shoulder and smiled faintly, exuding an unshakable confidence.
Having replicated Orochimaru's signature cursed seal, and harnessing the power of diluted natural energy, Kyosuke had achieved the combat capacity of an elite jōnin.
With his diverse and intricate offensive techniques, he could even hold his own against clan leader-level opponents.
At this moment, Kyosuke had truly ascended to the pinnacle of the Warring States' power structure.
Focusing his mind and calming his breath, he extended his senses to locate the Flying Thunder God coordinates in his range.
It didn't take long for Kyosuke to pinpoint Uzumaki Mito's location.
What he hadn't considered yet was this: if the culprit truly turned out to be the Uzumaki princess, what choice would he make then?
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