(Welcome back to the next installment. We're winding down to it now. But this chapter the boys find out the truth behind Black Zetsu and what his true mission was.)
The morning after Naruto and Sasuke had that conjoint dream about Hagoromo Otsutsuki and receiving his powers, the two along with the rest of Squad Seven, the Bending Girls, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen met with Tsunade in her office.
After explaining everything to the group about what they were told, everyone was in shock, "This is unbelievable." Jiraiya gasped.
"Sounds impossible." Yuzuru said in disbelief.
"But it's all true." Naruto assured them.
"This changes the course of history throughout the land." Hiruzen said.
"Everything we thought we knew about the tailed beasts suddenly feels like we knew nothing." Tsunade added.
"I know," Naruto agreed, "It seems the Akatsuki's goal might've been more than just about stirring up fear in the ninja land."
"Especially if this Zetsu was controlling it from the shadows." Sasuke added.
"You think Zetsu knew about the tailed beasts origins?" Sakura asked.
"I have my suspicions." Naruto answered.
"If only we could find him and beat the answers out of him." Ming suggested.
"Even if we did find him, you think he'd crack so easily?" Yami asked.
Tsunade spoke up, "Still with this new information and Naruto and Sasuke's new abilities we'll be that much closer to putting an end to the Akatsuki and Orochimaru for good." And so the meeting came to a close, and everyone headed off.
Later on, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ming, Mitsuki, Yami, Yuzuru, and Naomi were sparing against each other. After a few rounds of sparing, they decided to take five and towel off. Mitsuki spoke up, "So, Naruto, Sasuke, can we at least see what your new powers are like?"
"Yeah just so we know how you look when they're activated." Sakura added.
"All right, but we won't use them for demonstration." Sasuke warned them.
"Yeah, especially mine." Naruto said.
The two boys concentrated as Naruto entered his six paths chakra mode, and Sasuke activated his Rinnegan. The girls looked in awe at the sight of them. Naomi spoke up to Naruto, "With all that chakra built up inside you, you should be able to fight for days."
"And with this mode combined with the Avatar State, you do not want to be on the receiving end of an attack." Naruto warned her.
Sakura and Ming looked at Sasuke's eye, "So that's the Rinnegan?" Ming asked.
"Looks a lot different than Nagato's." Sakura noted.
"All due to combining with my Sharingan." Sasuke answered.
"Just looking at you two alone, I can tell you're strong enough to destroy Orochimaru or any opponent." Mitsuki said.
"Thanks for that bode of confidence," Naruto replied, "And we'll need this power if we're going to successfully defeat Orochimaru and even Zetsu."
Suddenly a voice rang in the air, "Did somebody call me?" Suddenly the group got into attack positions, waiting for any sign of the intruder they heard, "So quick to react. You really do take the ninja life seriously."
"Who's there?!" Naruto demanded.
"Show yourself!" Sasuke ordered.
"Ok." rising up from the ground was Zetsu without his fly trap cover or Akatsuki cloak.
The bending girls looked disturbed by his appearance, while Sasuke and Naruto eyes him, "So you're Zetsu, huh?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, we both are." Zetsu answered.
"We?" Sakura asked.
"They don't get it do they?" a different voice came from the white half.
"Indeed, so let's enlighten them." the voice they were familiar with said, as the two halves split in two and grew their own halves making them each a full white half and a full black half.
"What the hell is this?" Naomi asked.
"So which one is Zetsu now?" Ming asked.
"We're both Zetsu." Black Zetsu answered.
"Just what the hell are you?" Sasuke asked in confusion.
"Are you some kind of experiment gone wrong?" Yami asked.
"Well, experiment in a sense, but gone wrong? Quite the opposite," White Zetsu answered, before turning to his black half, "Mind if I tell them my story?"
"Go ahead." he answered.
"You see, kids, I am an artificial creation from the God tree thousands of years ago."
"Created from the God tree?" Naruto asked.
"Correct. And we can assume you've been told the tale of Kaguya Otsutsuki?"
"More or less." Sasuke answered.
"Good then I don't have to explain that story," White Zetsu continued with his own, "Thousands of years ago when Kaguya Otsutsuki captured people and drained them of their chakra their corpses were turned into creatures like myself to be used as her servants. I was one of those individuals. Then one day I came upon Madara Uchiha not long after he was defeated and badly injured by the First Hokage. He had attached himself to the remains of the God tree using tendrils that extended from its stem, allowing him to continuously receive the Demonic Statue's chakra keeping him alive for so many years after his defeat. I made it so I originally came from the ten tails husk leading him to believe I and many others like myself were created by the First Hokage's cells that were cultivated from the tree."
"You met Madara Uchiha?" Sasuke gasped.
"Whoa." Yuzuru gasped.
"Yes, and for a long time I and many others were there for Madara up until his demise. But I'll let my brother tell you his side."
Black Zetsu spoke up to Naruto and Sasuke, "You boys recall that Kaguya Otsutsuki was banished to the moon by her two sons?"
"Yes." Naruto confirmed.
"Well, before she was sealed she created me as a manifestation of her own will. You might say I was her third child." Black Zetsu joked.
"Based off your looks you were in the deep end of the gene pool." Yami said.
Black Zetsu ignored her and continued, "She created me with one objective to see to it that her return would happen."
"Her return?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. But to do that so much preparation had to be done," he explained, "Over the course of the centuries I had caused plenty of events to take place in history. Particularly, igniting the curse of hatred in the Uchiha clan starting with it's original ancestor Indra Otsutsuki."
"Hagoromo's oldest son." Sasuke said.
"Correct. I had secretly been communicating with him praising him for all his potential and how it should be him to inherit his father's legacy. And since then the Uchiha had continue to be fueled by their curse, even Madara himself. Before he passed on he was under the delusion that he created me as an extension of his will by imbuing his will into White Zetsu, thus combining us. With Madara dead, I had to put my plan to restore my mother into action by seeking out Nagato and his Akatsuki Organization."
"And that's where the collecting of the tailed beasts began?" Naruto wondered.
"Indeed. For you see I needed Nagato's Rinnegan as part of the plan."
"And how would that work?" Ming asked.
"We would collect the tailed beasts and seal them inside the ten tails husk and reawaken it where it would bloom into the God tree. Then using the Rinnegan to create a powerful genjutsu known as the Infinite Tsukuyomi to trap people in an illusion and absorb their chakra back into the tree so mother would be reborn again and take her rightful place as ruler of this pitiful planet!"
"Well, that plan isn't working is it?" Naruto asked smugly.
Black Zetsu answered, "No. Thanks to you and all your shinobi and bending allies you've put a humungous strain in my plan. With you removing the Rinnegan from Nagato, and hiding the tailed beasts from me I had to resort to partnering up with Orochimaru!"
"So you're allies with Orochimaru?" Sakura asked.
"What're you hoping to gain from this?" Sasuke inquired.
"The utter destruction of you and your friends. But once the Avatar is taken down, and you Sasuke are neutralized I will use the chakra from inside him and your Rinnegan to once again put my plan into action."
"Great, but there's one problem in your plan," Naruto began, "We're going to stop you."
"You think so?" White Zetsu asked.
"That's right." Sakura confirmed.
"We've defeated all the other Akatsuki members and Orochimaru's un-dead Benders." Sasuke added.
"Even so, with what Orochimaru and I have in store for all of you, I'd best think twice about trying to come between me and my goal." Black Zetsu warned them.
"Why bother telling us all this?" Naomi inquired.
"Because there will be war, and when it happens you and all your allies will be at our mercy." White Zetsu answered.
Naruto and Sasuke quickly tried to attack, but the two Zetsu's merged into the ground before the boys could land a blow on either one. The two Zetsu's poked their heads out, as the Black one spoke, "Until then." they sank into the ground and were gone.
Naruto sighed, "Great both enemies are working together."
"Well, at least that means we can take them both out together, right?" Mitsuki asked.
"Still not that simple." Sasuke replied.
Sakura nodded, "Both Zetsu's said they have a plan to bring us down. You can be sure it's something very bad."
"Agreed," Yuzuru nodded, "They both were confident in their plan. And knowing what Orochimaru can do, and just what these two Zetsu's really are, we've really got our work cut out."
"We better report this." Naruto suggested, as they hurried to relay this message to the Hokage.
Meanwhile back at Orochimaru's lair, he and Kabuto were standing before a construction table where the resurrected corpse of Fire Lord Ozai lied. The two shinobi were experimenting on it, until the two Zetsu's walked in, "How's it coming along?" Black Zetsu asked.
"The procedure is going well." Orochimaru answered.
"Combining the cells of the First Hokage that you supplied us with into Fire Lord Ozai will give him more stamina and endurance when in battle." Kabuto explained.
"He'll be able to truly match the Avatar this time around." Black Zetsu promised.
"And how is your army coming along?" Orochimaru inquired.
"Come see yourself." White Zetsu said, as he and his brother led Orochimaru outside his compound and saw approximately a hundred thousand full body White Zetsu clones.
"Yes. This is perfect." Orochimaru marveled at his army.
"With our combined forces, the Avatar will fall and the so will the ninja land." White Zetsu said.
"Yes. I hope Naruto and Sasuke have a nice day for it will soon be their last days." Orochimaru snickered.
(And there you go. Without Obito and Madara as part of the main plot I had to make due with what I have when mentioning Black Zetsu's original mission. But be looking out for next time for war is upon the Avatar and his comrades.)