บท 41: Meeting After Ten Thousand Years
Kaguya trembled and slowly turned around.
A figure stood not far away, wearing a cloak with red clouds and wrapped in leaves.
If she wasn't mistaken, it was Black Zetsu.
"Zetsu, is that you?" Kaguya asked, turning her head.
"Yes, Mother, I didn't expect you to return," Black Zetsu's raspy voice carried a hint of excitement. "But how did you..."
"The one sealed was the Ten-Tails and my body," Kaguya said slowly. "What you see now is a fragment of my escaped consciousness."
"But your power seems different from before," Black Zetsu said, puzzled.
"I was too careless before and underestimated their power," Kaguya replied coldly. "Now, I have new strength."
"I see," Black Zetsu said. "It's all because of your daughter who was so ruthless to seal you."
"I remember having only two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. I don't recall having a daughter," Kaguya glanced at Zetsu.
"Oh, my mistake," Black Zetsu said, patting his head.
"Are you questioning me?" Kaguya's eyes flashed with cold light, her gaze icy and intense.
Black Zetsu trembled, his heartbeat quickening as he was overwhelmed by her aura, his body stiffening.
"I'm sorry, Mother," Black Zetsu quickly lowered his head. "I was just so excited that I couldn't believe it."
"I shouldn't have been angry with you," Kaguya said, walking over and patting Black Zetsu's head gently. "You've worked hard."
Black Zetsu stared blankly at Kaguya, his eyes gradually moistening. Wiping his eyes, he said, "I'm so glad to see you again."
"And now we are finally together again, aren't we?" Kaguya's face softened with a rare gentle expression.
Black Zetsu nodded lightly, his eyes narrowing in delight like a child.
"Before we proceed, let me help you," Black Zetsu said, extending his hand, which transformed into threads that reached toward Kaguya.
Watching the black threads approach, Kaguya maintained her composure, though she felt a trace of nervousness. Although she was a fragment of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, sharing her constitution, there might be differences.
At that moment, a surge of chakra flowed through the threads into her body, the energy vast and replenishing her depleted reserves. Not only that, but Kaguya also felt her chakra capacity increase significantly.
"I have restored some of your chakra," Black Zetsu said, retracting the threads. "If you don't mind, I hope you can stay with the Akatsuki to recover your strength."
Having regained her strength, Kaguya initially thought of attacking Black Zetsu to defeat him while he was off guard. However, she dismissed the idea. Apart from Black Zetsu likely being powerful, she now had a new plan.
Rather than staying in Konoha passively taking blows, it might be more advantageous to infiltrate the enemy, the Akatsuki. This way, she could gather information more easily. Moreover, Black Zetsu didn't seem suspicious of her, and she might use the "Mother" persona to influence him in her favor.
Playing the role of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki wouldn't be easy, but so far, she hadn't revealed any flaws.
"The organization you are with now is called the Akatsuki?" Kaguya asked suddenly.
"Yes," Black Zetsu nodded. "That is part of my plan."
"Alright," Kaguya said, not asking further.
The Akatsuki had many bases, and the nearest one was within the borders of the Land of Wind, which was also the closest meeting point. Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki had already departed ahead, leaving Kaguya to travel with Black Zetsu.
During their journey, Kaguya gradually became accustomed to being called "Mother" by Black Zetsu or at least grew numb to it. It felt strange to have a towering creature address her, a little girl, as "Mother," but thankfully, he only did so in private.
Perhaps because Kaguya and the original Kaguya Ōtsutsuki were almost indistinguishable, Black Zetsu completely trusted Kaguya and was utterly defenseless around her. He even revealed his entire plan to her, like a child showing off his accomplishments to his mother.
Amidst her surprise, Kaguya also felt a bit of affection for Black Zetsu. No matter what, his feelings for his mother were genuine and unwavering.
From Black Zetsu's perspective, it was a touching story of a son painstakingly rescuing his imprisoned mother. In his eyes, everyone else were just antagonists obstructing his mission to revive his mother.
As Kaguya walked deeper into the cave that served as the Akatsuki's base, she found that others were already present.
The orange-haired man was likely Nagato, the purple-haired woman with a paper flower in her hair was Konan, the tall masked figure was Kakuzu, and the shorter masked individual was probably Sasori. She had already met Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki earlier.
Deidara and Hidan were not present; they had likely not joined the Akatsuki yet. Uchiha Obito, disguised as Tobi, was also absent.
"Welcome, newcomer," Nagato said.
From Nagato's demeanor, it seemed that Black Zetsu had already arranged for Kaguya to join the Akatsuki. How he managed it was unclear.
"Is it really this person?"
"She looks so fragile."
"Not suitable material for a puppet."
Kaguya glanced at them but remained silent, observing them coldly.
"She seems to be the girl with the one 100 million bounty," Kakuzu said, pulling out a poster with Kaguya's portrait and bounty amount. "Should we consider killing her? It could fund our organization significantly."
"You can try," Kaguya said, casting a cold glance at Kakuzu, her eyes emitting a faint starry glow.
"Oh, really?" Kakuzu reached into his cloak, looking eager to fight.
"Stop," Nagato said coldly. "She is a new member, not an enemy."
Kakuzu grunted but reluctantly withdrew his hand.
"Lucky for you, you didn't make a move," Kisame said with a grin, addressing Kakuzu. "Or you might have been taken down."
Kakuzu scoffed but started taking Kaguya more seriously, knowing that Kisame never spoke lightly.
"Here are your clothes and ring," Nagato said, handing over the items to Kaguya.
Kaguya took them. The clothes were nothing special, but she examined the ring. It was silver with a black character for "Night" inscribed on it.
"From now on, Kaguya is an official member of the Akatsuki," Nagato announced calmly. "Kaguya will partner with Sasori for missions."
"Let's hope this little girl isn't too weak and doesn't drag us down," Sasori said coldly.
Kaguya remained silent, not even glancing at Sasori.
"Since there are no objections, it is decided," Nagato declared.
Kakuzu snorted and started to leave, with Kaguya following.
As they exited the cave, Kakuzu suddenly turned around, and countless black tendrils emerged from his arm, rushing towards Kaguya.
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