In the living room.
"Mr. Zenshu, the upper echelons of the village are not as benevolent as you think. If you don't make plans, your younger brother will probably..."
Fugaku Uchiha sat kneeling before the table, his words stopping right at the point.
Although less than a year had passed, Zenshu opposite him seemed to have aged over a decade.
His originally white-and-blue hair had turned entirely blue. His eyes looked as if they could barely open. His skin was extremely loose.
"Clan Head Fugaku... matters of the young... let the young handle them... I believe they can handle... their own lives well."
Zenshu's tone was very slow.
Fugaku's heart sank completely. The other party's aged appearance exceeded his expectations—looking as if he could die at any moment.
His thoughts were also as stubborn as an old man's. Even the powerful Uchiha clan couldn't withstand the targeting of the entire village, from the Hokage downward.
Let alone a small clan of less than ten people.
"Since that is the case, I will not disturb you any longer."
Fugaku slowly stood up. He paused slightly at the door and left a sentence behind.
"My offer is valid at any time. As long as Zenji is willing, I can even acknowledge him as my younger brother—allowing him to bear the Uchiha surname."
Zenshu slowly took a sip of tea and opened his cloudy eyes.
Fugaku's visit will definitely provoke Danzo. And even the other three.
However, my preparations are also complete. And my body has reached its limit. It's time.
Thinking of this, he cast a glance out the window. In the tall buildings opposite, some Root ninjas were monitoring.
As Zenshu's appearance grew increasingly aged, Danzo no longer held back like before. His actions had become increasingly obvious and intense.
The door was pushed open. Zenji walked in and sat casually on the opposite side of the table.
"You've made up your mind." Zenji's tone wasn't quite a question.
"It's time. What about you—are you ready?"
"Don't worry. Self-preservation is no problem. Moreover, we still have Toji Fushiguro as a trump card."
"Even without using that final resort, Hanami has basically taken shape."
A smile appeared at the corner of Zenji's mouth.
Hanami's essence was the fear of the forest. In other worlds, although the fear of such natural disasters was widespread, its upper limit was hard to define.
But in the Naruto world—especially in Konoha—it was different.
Because of the existence of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
A portion of the fear toward him overlapped with the forest. Hanami grew very fast and was highly likely to become the strongest among the three Disaster Curses.
"I set up a hidden laboratory on the edge of the village. It's bait—and also the beginning of my new life. You can push it out. I also left traces in the Forbidden Jutsu Laboratory."
Zenshu spoke slowly.
His heart pounded. He had had enough of this aged body.
It wouldn't be long before his new life began.
Hearing this, Zenji's gaze focused. He suddenly thought of something.
"Let's make a trip. I also want to leave some bait."
Zenshu had no objections. With a casual wave of his hand, the two instantly vanished.
In an underground laboratory, light illuminated the surroundings. Various materials and equipment were piled up around.
In the center was a giant cultivation pod. In the pale green nutrient fluid floated an embryo resembling an infant.
It looked very ordinary. No different from a normal infant.
Zenji walked up to it. His gaze easily discovered multiple physical talents within.
The vitality and Wood Release talent of Hashirama's cells. The physical talent of the Akimichi clan. The constitution of the Uzumaki clan.
There was also the Kurama clan's manipulation of the five senses, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's all-attribute chakra talent.
All were concentrated in this embryo. It could be said to have condensed the essence of the entire Konoha Village.
Zenshu looked at his creation. Joy in his eyes—but also dissatisfaction.
He finally had a body brimming with vitality. But it fell far short of his expectations.
"It's still lacking a lot." Zenshu spoke softly.
"By the way, have you really thought this through?" Zenji suddenly asked.
"Of course. This current state severely affects my research talent."
Zenshu turned his head and stared at Zenji. His expression was extremely serious.
The division of the Tiger Talisman did not completely sever the connection between the two individuals.
It merely differentiated the two sides of good and evil. Essentially, they were still one individual.
But perhaps because it wasn't the genuine Tiger Talisman, this differentiation wasn't thorough enough.
Zenji's consciousness of the good side—mixed with Yang nature chakra—wasn't all that good either. He was always thinking about baiting people, sacrificing the Uchiha clan to achieve his own goals.
Zenshu wasn't thoroughly evil either. Wanting to obtain the Uzumaki clan bloodline, he didn't even entertain the thought of killing Kushina Uzumaki. He merely waited until after she died to steal a portion of blood from her corpse.
This was entirely because the two were not completely separated. They influenced each other.
"I've thought it through. We cannot allow a complete division into two. At most, we use some soul fragments—coupled with the Soul Book—to shape a new soul of ultimate evil."
"When the time comes, the one bearing your memories will be nothing more than one of our creations."
"That's enough."
Zenshu looked at the embryo and slowly closed his eyes.
His glabella instantly opened, revealing a pure black eyeball and exuding an evil dark chakra aura.
Pure darkness continuously condensed, using specks of soul fragments as a vessel.
Three pages of the Book of Ages flew from Zenji into Zenshu's soul. All the research ideas and knowledge since descending to this world were engraved into the Book of Ages.
Bit by bit, hundreds of millions of words were quickly written out.
This not only included specific experiments but also various conjectures—some of which completely broke through the framework of human nature.
Finally, a pitch-black Soul Book flew out, drifting toward the infant embryo in the cultivation pod.
The moment it touched the glabella, it merged in. A soul began to form.
Because it contained Zenshu's soul fragments and the dark side of his mind, its self-awareness grew very rapidly.
At this time, Zenji also set up a wall with a seal. Nine masks were sealed onto the wall.
"Done. Now we just wait for the fish to take the bait."
Zenji clapped his hands.
The figures of the two instantly vanished—returning to the courtyard the next moment.
Zenshu silently looked at the scenery outside the window. He slowly walked to the door, opened it, went to the corridor, and sat down slowly.
His cloudy eyes slowly closed. The black eyeball on his glabella flew out.
The black eyeball arrived in front of Zenji, pressing against his glabella and slowly merging in.
The eye in his glabella merged with it. The pure black and pure white eyeball instantly changed—developing a sclera and a black pupil.
It actually looked like a normal eye.
It slowly closed. His glabella returned to its original state.
The chakra in Zenshu's body slowly dissipated.
The next moment, a vibration occurred nearby.
Gojo Satoru appeared beside them as if teleporting. His gaze fixed on Zenshu's corpse.
"The Clan Head... passed away."
"Mm. His final order is to invite the Hokage over to witness the cremation of his body." Zenji's face was grim.
"I'll go notify him."
Gojo Satoru instantly vanished.
Zenji withdrew his gaze, looking toward the direction of the Root base.
"Everything is ready. All we need is for the fish to take the bait."
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