Chapter 108: My Rinnegan is Gone Again
The afternoon sun cast long, lazy shadows across the dirt path leading back to the shinobi hotel. Jiraiya, having just submitted his mission report, strolled down the road with his hands tucked behind his head. Up ahead, a familiar silhouette caught his eye. He immediately broke into a wide grin and jogged forward.
"Jia! Is your mission finished already?"
Jia stiffened, her shoulders tensing before she slowly turned to face him. "Yeah. It's finished."
Jiraiya tilted his head, his white hair shifting over his shoulder. "Then why didn't you head back with your teammates?"
A faint, completely fabricated blush dusted Jia's cheeks. She averted her gaze, staring intensely at a nearby pebble. "Um... I was just taking a stroll."
Jiraiya blinked. He studied her rigid posture, the way she refused to meet his eyes, and the deliberate pacing of her 'stroll' right outside his usual route. A spark of realization ignited in his chest. He leaned in, his voice bubbling with uncontainable excitement.
"Jia... you were waiting for me, weren't you? You stood out here specifically to run into me!"
"I was not!" she snapped, her voice pitching up in textbook defensive panic.
"Yes, you totally were!" Jiraiya beamed, stepping closer.
"I said no! I have things to do, so I'm leaving."
Leaves scattered as Jia abruptly activated the Body Flicker technique, darting into the dense treeline. She moved swiftly, but her footwork was deliberately sloppy. Her sandal caught on an exposed root, causing her to stumble and flail her arms wildly before regaining her balance, fleeing deeper into the foliage.
Jiraiya let out a booming, hearty laugh that echoed through the trees. He pushed chakra into his legs and dashed after her. Was his relentless optimism finally breaking through her icy exterior? He knew it. He always knew that if he just refused to give up, he could pull Jia out of the dark abyss she had trapped herself in.
"Hey, hey, wait up! That's too much!" Jiraiya called out, dodging low-hanging branches. "Is it really okay to just dump your precious companion and run off like that?"
Up ahead, Jia's frantic pace slowed to a halt. She stood in a small clearing, her back to him, shoulders rising and falling with exaggerated breaths. Slowly, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, carefully wrapped gift box. She hesitated, her fingers gripping the edges tightly, before she spun around and thrust it toward his chest.
"Um... I read those books you were reading," she muttered, her eyes glued to the dirt. "If we're really companions, we should give each other gifts, right? I didn't know what you'd like... so I just bought something."
Jiraiya froze. The rustling leaves seemed to quiet down as he stared at the small box. A wave of immense, overwhelming joy crashed into his chest. Jia... was actually giving him a gift?
When his stunned silence stretched on a second too long, Jia panicked. She yanked her hands back, her expression twisting into a mask of embarrassment. "Of course, if you don't want it, that's fine! It's not anything expensive anyway. I'll just throw it—"
Before she could withdraw completely, Jiraiya's hand shot out, snatching the box from her grasp. "Who takes back a gift after giving it?" he scolded gently, a massive grin splitting his face.
He tore away the wrapping paper with zero hesitation, popping the lid off the box. Inside rested a pair of high-quality, reinforced wristguards. He slid them over his forearms, flexing his wrists. The fit was absolutely flawless. She hadn't just 'bought something' randomly; she had carefully measured this out for him.
"I love anything Jia gives me," Jiraiya said softly, his eyes shining with genuine warmth. "Thank you."
"Um... as long as you like it," Jia replied softly. She offered him a small, fragile smile, gazing at his overly bright, hopeful face. Internally, however, a completely different thought crossed her mind. 'Since he already accepted the gift... I really hope he doesn't cry too hard next time.'
Far away, hidden from the light of day, a completely different entity was attempting to engage in human activities.
As a physical manifestation of Yin-Yang Release, Black Zetsu did not require sleep. He did not require sustenance. Usually, when normal humans were sleeping, he was out in the shadows, causing trouble. When others were eating, he was plotting, scheming, and causing even more trouble. His dark energy was entirely infinite.
Yet, having just completed a grueling intelligence-gathering mission regarding the locations of the Nine Tailed Beasts, Black Zetsu decided he wanted to take a nap. He was his mother's son, after all. He absolutely had to be just like his two older brothers, Hagoromo and Hamura. Whatever those traitors could do, he had to prove he could do as well. He slithered onto a wooden cot, morphed his shadowy mass into a vaguely humanoid shape, and closed his glowing yellow eyes, pretending to drift into an eternal, peaceful slumber.
A short while later, the faint rustling of footsteps echoed from the corridor outside his hideout. It had to be Ye returning from her outing. He stubbornly kept his eyes shut, ignoring the noise to maintain his charade of sleep.
Then, the door slammed open.
"Pitch-black! Where are you?!" Ye's panicked, frantic shouts shattered the silence, immediately followed by the sound of helpless, agonizing crying. "Pitch-black... Help me! Pitch-black!"
Black Zetsu's yellow eyes snapped open. What in the world happened? That stoic little brat had never shed a single tear since he found her. He instantly abandoned his nap, his liquid body wriggling off the bed and sliding rapidly along the stone wall toward the entrance.
He oozed out of the doorway and froze.
His gaze locked onto Ye's fair, delicate face. Where her priceless, irreplaceable Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan used to be, there was nothing. The eyes were completely gone. In their place were two gaping, hollow sockets, brimming with dark crimson blood. Thick strands of gore flowed down her cheeks, painting her entire lower face in a horrifying mask of bloody tears.
Black Zetsu felt his non-existent heart stop. He nearly fainted on the spot, his shadowy form bubbling in sheer, unadulterated horror. Where were they? Where were his massive, beautiful Eternal Eyes?!
As Ye fumbled her way forward, her hands grasping blindly at the empty air, a single, cheerful thought echoed in her mind.
'Surprise.'
Time seemed to stand entirely still in the damp cavern. A few agonizing seconds later, a distorted, ear-piercing screech erupted from Black Zetsu's gaping maw. It sounded exactly like rusted nails violently dragging across thick glass.
"Where are your eyes?! Where did they go?!"
The sheer, unhinged fury in his voice was thick enough to choke on. Ye immediately began to tremble violently, playing her part to perfection. Without her vision, her sensitivity to sound was naturally heightened. Pitch-black was furious.
Her erratic footsteps faltered. She tripped over her own feet and crashed heavily onto the cold stone floor with a dull thud. Despite the fall, she weakly reached her trembling arms out toward the sound of his voice, instinctively seeking a sliver of comfort in the dark.
"Pitch-black..." she whimpered, her voice cracking pitifully. "It hurts... it hurts so much..."
Black Zetsu did not care about her pain. His liquefied, shadowy mass boiled and contorted, expanding outward in a grotesque display of absolute rage. He lunged forward like a striking viper. A thick tendril of darkness shot out from his core, seizing Ye roughly by the collar and hoisting her dangling body into the air.
"Quickly! Tell me right now! Where are your eyes?! Where did they go?!"
Suspended a foot off the ground, Ye kicked her legs wildly, her hands desperately clawing at the shadowy grip choking her. The simulated terror of sudden blindness clearly invaded her mind, but the monstrous, booming presence of her caretaker seemed to terrify her even more. She wailed helplessly, thrashing in his grasp.
"Stop crying!" Black Zetsu roared, his patience entirely vaporized. "Tell me right now, where did your eyes go?!"
He violently slammed her back onto the hard stone floor. Without a second of hesitation, he formed a single hand seal. The dormant Curse Seal he had previously planted on Ye's body flared to life. Dense, jagged black markings erupted from the center of her chest, crawling rapidly over her pale skin until they covered her entire body in an complex, suffocating web.
"Ugh... Ahhh!" Ye gasped, her back arching off the floor.
It felt as if a massive, invisible hand had plunged directly into her chest, wrapping its thick fingers around her heart and squeezing relentlessly. The pressure tightened bit by agonizing bit, sending waves of endless, white-hot pain radiating through her nervous system. The heart-piercing agony forced wave after wave of shrill, blood-curdling screams from her throat.
After several long seconds of torture, Black Zetsu abruptly cut the chakra flow to the Curse Seal. He loomed over her twitching form, his yellow eyes burning through the gloom. "Where. Are. Your. Eyes? I am asking you one last time."
Ye curled into a tight, trembling ball, sobbing uncontrollably into the dirt.
"I... I met a woman," she choked out between heaving gasps. "She seemed to know exactly who I was. As soon as she saw me, she lunged at me. I... I ran! I ran as hard as I could, but she was too fast. She pinned me down and... and she gouged out my eyes!"
"Who was it?!" Black Zetsu shrieked, the cavern shaking with his volume.
"I don't know! Ah—!"
The Curse Seal flared to life once more, cutting off her excuse with another jolt of excruciating pain. When the black markings finally receded, Ye lay completely limp on the stone. She didn't even possess the strength to twitch. Her voice was reduced to a fragile, raspy whisper, as weak as a mosquito's hum.
"That woman... she had... purple flames on her..."
Ida Mutzuki.
It was Ida Mutzuki. Black Zetsu's mind raced. Ye had originally been one of that monster's test subjects, which perfectly explained why Mutzuki recognized the girl at a mere glance. But wasn't that terrifying woman supposed to be deeply entrenched in the Land of Fire? Why on earth would she suddenly appear all the way out here in the Land of Hot Springs?!
Black Zetsu felt the edges of his sanity beginning to fray. He was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. If literally anyone else in the elemental nations had stolen those eyes, he wouldn't be this panicked. He could scheme, manipulate, or assassinate his way into getting them back. But Ida Mutzuki? She was far too powerful. He had absolutely zero confidence in his ability to snatch a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan from her cold, dead hands.
Even Uchiha Madara had Senju Hashirama to keep his overwhelming power in check. But Ida Mutzuki? She had absolutely no one. In the past, he could have used Senju Tobirama as use against her. But now? That woman was well into adulthood, yet she remained unmarried. She didn't even have a lover, let alone a child he could kidnap. What in the world could he possibly use to threaten her?
Everything had been progressing so perfectly. His grand, centuries-long plan was finally heading in a positive direction. So why were the eyes suddenly gone again?! He just wanted to cultivate a single pair of Rinnegan to resurrect his beloved mother! Why was the universe making this so impossibly hard?!
At the thought of his ruined plans, a fresh wave of blinding fury washed over him. Without a shred of mercy, he flooded the Curse Seal with chakra once again.
"I have spoiled you far too much!" Black Zetsu spat, watching Ye convulse on the floor. "I let you run around wherever you pleased! If it weren't for your precious Wood Release physique, I would slaughter you right here and now—"
He froze. The gears in his ancient mind suddenly ground to a halt.
"Wait. If it truly was Ida Mutzuki... how did you possibly escape her grasp?"
"I... I couldn't have escaped," Ye wheezed, blood bubbling past her lips. "She was dragging me away... but... suddenly, her hair turned completely white. She collapsed... she looked so very weak..."
Wait. White hair? Sudden weakness?
Black Zetsu straightened his posture, his shadowy form elongating as a crucial piece of buried intelligence surfaced in his mind. During the recent civil conflict within the Land of Wind, the Fourth Hokage had briefly appeared near the border region of the two countries. Shortly after, for reasons completely unknown to the public, Ida Mutzuki had been emergency-evacuated back to Konoha by Sakumo Hatake.
Black Zetsu had personally infiltrated Konoha to investigate the anomaly. He found Ida Mutzuki confined to the village hospital, but the security had been utterly impenetrable. There were elite sentries stationed every three steps and heavy guard rotations every five minutes. The entire perimeter had been locked down by sensory experts from the Uzumaki Clan and the Byakugan users of the Hyuga Clan. He hadn't dared to risk getting close enough to confirm her condition.
The pieces rapidly clicked together. Ida Mutzuki's severe injuries had never actually healed! The hidden leaf was simply covering it up so the outside world wouldn't know their greatest weapon was compromised.
For a fleeting, glorious moment, the suffocating despair in Black Zetsu's chest vanished. Staring down at the bleeding, broken girl on the floor, the ancient mastermind finally saw a brilliant ray of hope shining through the darkness.
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