Thanks to G.H.K. Hades for subscribing on Patreon, And congratulations on becoming a member of the Otsutsuki Clan.
Thanks to Sir.Recruit for subscribing on Patreon, And congratulations on becoming a member of the Otsutsuki Clan.
Chapter 110+ on patreon.com/dzeref887
---
Since Lady Kaguya had spoken, Black Zetsu could no longer oppose it.
After all, she was the mother, and he was just a child.
"But, Lady Mother, you said not to lay a hand on Kitahara Kaede…"
"How should I put this…"
"Black Zetsu, I chose this willingly, so you must not interfere."
"You may have noticed—his physique is very special."
"This world, a thousand years after Hagoromo and Hamura, developed ninjas and ninjutsu. Most current shinobi are descendants of Hagoromo."
"But over time, their bloodlines have become diluted."
"However…"
"I conducted an experiment. I merely bit a girl from the Hyuga clan, and she ended up splitting into a second personality."
"Although both had Byakugan, that new Byakugan was… hard to describe."
"But Kitahara Kaede is different. When I bit him, his bloodline directly regressed to an ancestral state."
"He is currently gaining my power."
"What!" Black Zetsu reacted. "Then, Mother… you're trying to nurture Kitahara Kaede?"
"At first, that idea wasn't clear—more like just going with the flow."
"But," Rabbit-Kaguya said, "after reading books with him for decades, constantly expanding my knowledge, I'm certain now. This person is the one."
"Uh…"
"He has potential—and a reason for that potential."
"You don't know—he's read an entire library's worth of books."
"For a normal person, that's completely impossible."
"Black Zetsu, have you ever read books?" Rabbit-Kaguya asked.
"..." Black Zetsu.
"..." Black Zetsu.
Reading?
In a thousand years, Black Zetsu spent most of his time deceiving or on the road to deceive someone. Reading? Not a chance.
Being literate was already quite an achievement.
Rabbit-Kaguya looked at Black Zetsu, as if feeling that a child without reading comprehension wasn't much worth talking to.
"You should read more."
"I will follow my own path."
"Don't interfere."
"Ugh…" As she said that, Black Zetsu found himself back in the apartment, expelled from the Heavenly Realm of Middle Distance.
Meanwhile, Rabbit-Kaguya continued reading.
"..." Black Zetsu could only reconnect with White Zetsu and transform into Moonlight Hayate again.
Because the livestream in the descendant chat group was ending soon, and from the view, Kitahara Kaede had already left the Valley of the End.
Which meant… he was heading home.
He had to go…
???
Black Zetsu suddenly felt this was strange.
His mother was right here—so why he was the one leaving!?
Chapter 052: Taking the Progenitor Kaguya to the Chūnin Exams! (Please support the first subscription)
Kitahara Kaede thought the Third Hokage had summoned him for something important, but it turned out to be a delegation for the Chūnin Exams.
To be honest, although the Third Hokage wasn't great at managing the village—too weak both internally and externally, and thus not a qualified leader—
Not a competent Hokage—
But this decision… was the right one.
If left alone, the Third Hokage would eventually die in duty and be buried with that title.
His Hokage career would be considered flawless.
He would have died while holding the position of Hokage, regardless of the actual facts.
So, he'd be remembered positively.
In that sense, it would be… worth it.
However… a Hokage dying in duty would demand a full memorial, and likely lead to the Find Tsunade mission.
And the Hokage would then shift to the Fifth—Tsunade.
Now Tsunade… she carried the legacy of the First and the rationality of the Second…
Which meant she'd likely mobilize all shinobi…
And the mission workload would instantly skyrocket…
"..."
A shinobi who doesn't want to go on missions… is still a shinobi?
But there would be no time to slack off.
So from that perspective, Kitahara Kaede was genuinely considering whether he should save the Third.
To others, the Third Hokage may have made many mistakes and seemed cowardly.
But.
To him, ever since he came to Konoha, the treatment had been decent.
Aside from the old man constantly preaching about the Will of Fire, which didn't work on him anyway—
So, whether to keep the old man alive… still needed more thought.
While pondering, Kitahara Kaede had already returned to his apartment.
"Hm…?"
Kitahara Kaede found his Ninja Rabbit… was cleaning the floor.
Yes.
It was wiping the floor with a towel.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]:
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Yo, that cold and aloof Ninja Rabbit of Kaede's? Turns out it's pretty homey.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Never seen a summon beast doing chores.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Chores? My summon beast Pakkun does them too, though he loves to talk back.
[Minato Namikaze]: Pakkun, huh. So Kakashi, you really did make a summoning pact with dogs.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Yep… Pakkun's super useful.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Especially for tracking and search missions. His nose is amazing.
[Minato Namikaze]: I see.
[Devoted Son - Black Zetsu]: I see…
Minato felt like Black Zetsu's "I see" probably had a different meaning than his own.
[Minato Namikaze]: What is it, Mr. Black Zetsu?
[Devoted Son - Black Zetsu]: Oh, nothing.
Black Zetsu felt the heavy weight in his heart lighten.
He thought Lady Kaguya disliked him—thus wiping the floor to remove his presence. But it turns out… she was erasing his scent.
As expected.
Lady Kaguya had changed.
All because of that man.
But it was good that Lady Kaguya had become more meticulous—Black Zetsu had always believed her being sealed away was partly due to her naivety and lack of experience.
If only she had used Heavenly Realm of Middle Distance to separate Hagoromo and Hamura during the sealing… maybe it wouldn't have ended that way.
[Minato Namikaze]: Compared to when we first met, Kaede and the Ninja Rabbit seem much closer now.
[Tobirama Senju]: Yeah, probably because he brought the Ninja Rabbit into a genjutsu world—and they spent decades together there.
[Minato Namikaze]: Emotional bonds would definitely build up.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Sixty years, huh…
[Tobirama Senju]: Our own relationships improved too, right? @Tobirama Achievement - Izuna
[Tobirama's Achievement - Izuna]: No. Ours didn't.
Izuna instantly shut that down.
Honestly, he felt this chat group was cursed.
In here, Tobirama Senju—the man he hated—was ever present. Hashirama Senju, the one who influenced his brother Madara, was here too.
Tobirama killed him. That grudge wouldn't fade so easily.
Even sixty years wouldn't fix that.
[Tobirama's Achievement - Izuna]: Tobirama, don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're trying to get close to me now.
[Tobirama's Achievement - Izuna]: So that when my brother joins this group, you'll act like nothing happened and brush it off lightly.
[Tobirama's Achievement - Izuna]: Maybe even try to rope him into working for you.
[Tobirama Senju]: …Tch.
Tobirama clicked his tongue—clearly, that might've been the plan.
Izuna nearly became a tool once again.
[Devoted Son - Black Zetsu]: …
To Black Zetsu, his goal was lofty but solitary.
He had spent a thousand years working tirelessly to break Kaguya's seal.
Too weak to act directly, he had taken many detours.
But… now that he was in this little group chat, he could see Lady Kaguya every day… he felt a sense of fulfillment.
Was this the same power that corrupted Obito?
Drowning in happiness—and when that happiness is destroyed, descending into madness… becoming the next abnormal Uchiha after Madara.
Just as he thought that—
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Oh…
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Incredible. She's truly been tamed.
[Minato Namikaze]: Yeah…
[Minato Namikaze]: The Ninja Rabbit didn't even react when Kitahara Kaede kissed it.
[Minato Namikaze]: I thought it would've run away immediately.
---
Chapter 110+ on patreon.com/dzeref887