Once Obito and Black Zetsu decided to act against Akatsuki's members, they immediately sent White Zetsu to infiltrate the organization.
White Zetsu controlled his spores to silently emerge from underground and attach themselves to Akatsuki members without anyone noticing.
These spores could both monitor the members' movements and absorb their chakra to grow into new White Zetsu entities capable of launching attacks.
After doing all this, White Zetsu quickly left. After all, Nagato wielded Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan and might detect him.
Black Zetsu, meanwhile, tunneled through the earth and quickly arrived at the meeting spot between Hanzo of the Salamander and Danzo.
As Black Zetsu emerged slightly from the ground, intending to eavesdrop, he suddenly spotted Uchiha Yuan trailing behind Hanzo and Danzo.
Startled, Black Zetsu immediately ducked back underground.
He reacted quickly—but not fast enough. Uchiha Yuan, who had kept his Mind's Eye active the entire time, had already noticed him.
"Why is Uchiha Yuan here? Is it because of his previous agreement with Uchiha Madara?" Black Zetsu muttered underground.
Uchiha Yuan didn't act recklessly upon discovering Black Zetsu. On one hand, Hanzo and Danzo were nearby. On the other, Yuan wanted to confirm whether White Zetsu or Obito were also present.
After thorough probing, Yuan confirmed that Black Zetsu was alone—this made things easier.
In the rain-soaked Land of Rain, the environment—full of water—was perfect for Uchiha Yuan to maximize his abilities.
Yuan waited until Hanzo and Danzo had moved far away. Then he formed hand seals, thrusting a meter-long lightning blade directly into the ground.
His move was swift and sudden. Black Zetsu had no idea Yuan had already detected him.
While moving underground, Black Zetsu was suddenly pierced by a bolt of lightning. Only then did he realize he'd been exposed.
With a flick, Yuan pulled Black Zetsu from the earth and tossed him to the surface—this was the first time Black Zetsu had been revealed before Uchiha Yuan.
"Are you White Zetsu? No… the color's different. But you're one of Uchiha Madara's? Why are you tailing me?" Yuan pretended not to recognize him and questioned coldly.
Black Zetsu remained silent, deeply shocked by Yuan's perceptiveness. He hadn't expected Yuan's sensory ability to detect him even this deep underground.
"No response? Then I'm going to act," Yuan declared, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Yuan did not underestimate Black Zetsu. This being had the power to stab through even the body of Six Paths Madara.
Without hesitation, Yuan teleported behind Black Zetsu, summoning his katana. Enhanced by the Mangekyō ability Wozu, his Chidori Blade glowed with a deep violet light.
With blinding speed, Yuan slashed Black Zetsu's body before he could react.
Immediately afterward, Yuan activated his second Mangekyō technique: Inari.
Black Zetsu's chakra and life force began to trickle toward Yuan.
At first, Black Zetsu wasn't concerned. As a creation of Kaguya, he believed Yuan could injure but never kill him. He'd encountered many Mangekyō abilities over the ages, none of which ever posed a threat.
Moreover, since he was made from Kaguya's will and Yin-Yang Release, Black Zetsu believed no genjutsu or spiritual technique could harm him.
But he soon realized he was wrong.
Yuan's Magatsuhi wasn't a genjutsu—it was a technique akin to Amaterasu.
Amaterasu emitted black flames that wouldn't extinguish until the target was incinerated. Yuan's jutsu, though invisible, inflicted ongoing damage just like Amaterasu. The wounded areas on Black Zetsu's body continued to deteriorate, and his chakra and vitality steadily drained away.
Black Zetsu immediately sensed danger. If this continued, he'd lose all his chakra and be rendered immobile. If Yuan knew any sealing techniques, he could seal Black Zetsu easily.
Black Zetsu burrowed back underground, trying to create distance between himself and Yuan.
Only by distancing himself could he try to find a way to break the technique. If he remained entangled, he'd be incapacitated for sure.
But Yuan could teleport. No matter where Black Zetsu ran, Yuan kept up.
Realizing he couldn't escape like this, Black Zetsu gritted his teeth and veered toward Hanzo and Danzo.
If he couldn't deal with Yuan himself, he'd lead him to those two and let them distract him while he figured out how to undo the jutsu.
Yuan, sensing Black Zetsu's direction, instantly guessed his intent.
Naturally, Yuan had no intention of letting him succeed. He used Lightning Release attacks repeatedly to hinder Black Zetsu.
But this time, for some unknown reason, Black Zetsu seemed immune to Lightning Release.
Since Yuan didn't know Earth Release, he couldn't manipulate terrain to force Black Zetsu back up.
Seeing Black Zetsu drawing dangerously close to Hanzo and Danzo, Yuan had no choice but to stop his pursuit.
He didn't want to alert either of them just yet.
Seeing that Yuan had halted, Black Zetsu let out a sigh of relief and sped away from the Land of Rain.
Once outside the borders, his body squirmed, and the piece of him that Yuan had wounded was severed and expelled.
The small black mass twitched continuously, as if it were alive.
The chakra and life force within it drained away until it stopped moving completely.
"That should do it…" Black Zetsu muttered and reabsorbed the piece back into his body.
But the very next second, his chakra and life force started draining again.
It dawned on him: unless Uchiha Yuan deactivated it himself, the effect of his Mangekyō jutsu would persist—just like the Flying Thunder God seal.
Left with no choice, Black Zetsu painfully abandoned that part of his body.
"Damn you, Uchiha Yuan. I'll make you pay," he snarled, and finally left, bitter and unwilling.
(To Be Continued...)