"Transmitting complete," the Orochimaru clone whispered, his fingers glowing faintly with blue light.
From both palms, pulses of chakra shot inward. The coded Yin techniques that Black Zetsu had given him flowed through the invisible seal network etched beneath his skin, crafted by Kakashi-sama himself.
"Hmph… these Yin-based illusions and constructs," the clone muttered, eyes gleaming as he glanced at the technique scrolls scattered across the lab table. "So subtle. So powerful. So… incomplete."
He leaned back in his chair and chuckled to himself.
"As expected… these are fragments of Black Zetsu's understanding," he whispered. "But not the whole truth."
The clone's tongue flicked out in amusement. His fingers danced over the parchment, then pressed together in a meditative seal.
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, Kakashi's voice echoed clearly from their last hidden meeting.
"Yin-Yang Release can be used to create form from nothing and breathe life into it. It can cancel all ninjutsu. That's how the Sage of Six Paths made the Tailed Beasts. If we understand it… truly… we could reshape the world itself."
The clone's eyes snapped open.
"I will learn it all, Kakashi-sama," he whispered.
The room pulsed with faint chakra as the stolen techniques continued transferring through the seal directly back to Kakashi.
As always, the data was layered beneath chakra signatures that disguised the transmissions. The clone himself looked like he was simply meditating, studying… obeying.
But beneath that facade, his mind raced.
He turned slowly toward Madara Uchiha's preserved body, lying like a fallen god upon a smooth slab of chakra stone. His expression became sharp and serious.
"No incisions. No chakra imprints that would linger," he muttered. "Just light, superficial analysis."
His hands hovered over the corpse.
"I need to scan, bloodline resonance. Cell memory. Yin chakra mapping."
A shimmering veil of chakra fanned out from his palms. Soft hums echoed in the chamber.
"Hashirama's cells… still perfectly merged," the clone observed. "This isn't standard cellular grafting. It's fusion. Like… a permanent Sage Mode, but… deeper."
He leaned closer, fascinated.
"And this chakra network… It's not like other Uchiha. It's deeper. Denser. As if… his body was prepared for something greater."
The clone's eyes widened.
"Could this be the vessel that Black Zetsu prepared for the Rabbit Goddess herself?"
He suddenly remembered another thing Kakashi-sama had told him.
"Madara isn't just a man. His body was being groomed. Shaped by Black Zetsu for many years. Madara probably thought that he was a genius. Understand that, and you'll see why his corpse still holds that power."
The clone stepped back, his heart racing.
"Then this body… it isn't just a sample. It's a blueprint. For the next vessel of a god."
He clutched his own wrist tightly.
"If we can recreate this… no, refine this… then with Kakashi-sama's genes, chakra control, and seal mastery-"
His body shivered in excitement.
"The potential… is limitless."
Just then, he caught a flicker of movement in the shadows. Someone watching.
He didn't turn. Instead, he returned calmly to his lab bench and began scratching notes into a fake scroll. They were simple, convincing, but mostly fluff.
He clicked his tongue and sighed loud enough for the spy to hear.
"So fragile. If only Kakashi hadn't sealed off the most important part of that corpse…" he mumbled.
From the far corner, where blackness clung unnaturally thick, Black Zetsu watched silently.
'He's obedient. Clever,' Black Zetsu thought. More useful than the original Orochimaru. And less obsessed with immortality. That obsession always made Orochimaru untrustworthy.
The creature didn't move. His form melted perfectly into the wall like living tar.
This one studies with purpose. Efficiency. Maybe Kakashi's clone crafting wasn't a mistake after all.
Still, there was something odd.
Black Zetsu narrowed his one visible yellow eye.
'Why does this clone feel so… focused? Even Orochimaru wasn't this disciplined.'
But he waved the thought away.
"It doesn't matter," he whispered to himself, unheard by even the white Zetsu in the next tunnel. "As long as he revives Madara. As long as he properly builds the vessel. Let the ants do their work."
He melted deeper into the shadows, fading into stone.
The clone, sensing the retreat, finally exhaled.
"Predictable fool," he whispered. "He didn't notice a thing."
The white Zetsu in the side corridor shuffled slightly, still watching. But this one lacked intelligence, it was a basic watcher, with no real initiative.
The Orochimaru clone ignored it.
Instead, he turned back to the preserved body.
"Madara… your secrets will serve Kakashi-sama soon," he whispered with a grin. "Just a little longer."
His fingers danced again in the air, triggering a new analysis jutsu. He whispered more to himself as the night grew long.
"Your bone density… exceeds anything human. Your chakra still resonates like a beacon. And there is no decay at all."
The clone paused.
Then he remembered what Kakashi-sama told him during one of their secret scroll briefings.
"If I'm right… Then Madara's true failure wasn't strength, it was timing. He was born too early. But with what we know… we can fix that. And we can control it."
The clone's smile returned.
"Recreating the Rikudō Sennin's power… the body of Asura, the eyes of Indra…"
He gazed at the body with reverence.
He stepped back and clapped his hands together.
"But not yet. First, I have to make Black Zetsu trust me fully. I'll leak just enough progress… and then I'll vanish."
He looked down at his arm.
The invisible seal etched by Kakashi-sama pulsed softly in acknowledgment. Another ping of data was transferred silently to Kakashi.
…
Back in Kirigakure…
Far from the underground lab and the ghosts of ancient things, Kakashi sat with Mei once more in her cozy office, now quiet and dim.
He held a thin scroll in his hand, sealed moments ago from the clone's latest report.
"Still feeding information without being caught," Kakashi murmured.
"The clone's holding up?"Mei looked over from her desk.
"More than that. He's very enthusiastic when it comes to science." Kakashi nodded.
"Loyal?"
"Absolutely."
"Of course. He's your masterpiece."Mei smiled.
Kakashi tapped the scroll against his palm.
"And he's found something interesting. Madara's chakra system… It's not just Uchiha and Senju. It's something in between. Balanced. But… tilted toward dominance."
"Like a Sage of Six Paths?"Mei raised an eyebrow. Kakashi had told her about these things, and she was very surprised at how things had become like this.
"A prototype, maybe. But now that we know how it was made…" Kakashi nodded slowly.
"You want to finish what Madara started?"Mei asked as she leaned closer.
Kakashi shook his head.
"No. I want to correct it."
He looked at her seriously.
"What Madara wanted… was power. What I want… is control. Balance."
"And peace," Mei added.
"Exactly."Kakashi smiled.
"Then… you better stay alive, genius."Mei walked over and sat beside him, her fingers brushing his.
"I'm planning on it," Kakashi smirked.
But inside, he was already calculating.
Black Zetsu was moving. The pieces were aligning.
And soon… he'd have to make his next move.