"The spy is Zetsu of the Akatsuki." I spoke, timing my words with Hiruzen's own. He was the only one I trusted to be able to keep speaking without faltering. "He's not a normal Human. He has two large venus fly traps attached to his shoulders. One half of his body is extremely pale white, the other is completely black except for the eye."

Hiruzen finished speaking, and so did I. Mei asked him a question, and Hiruzen started again. "He's probably related to the Juubi, somehow. He has two souls, and both are similar to the Juubi. Expect something weird."

Hiruzen didn't even so much as twitch.

"He's stopped moving." I noted. "I recommend capture and interrogation. I will teleport him into the centre of the room, in mid-air, upside down, and facing away from Mifune. Hopefully, this will disorientate him enough to make capture easy. Springing trap in five."

Hiruzen pulled his pipe out of his mouth, tapping it on the side again.

"Four."

I threaded My Darkness around him, starting the preparatory twisting of space. At the same time, I also put a little bit of it into his clothes, just in case.

"Three."

Naruto took a slow breath, Natural Energy beginning to flow into him.

"Two."

Onoki raised his hand.

"One."

I sprung the trap.

Zetsu appeared as I wanted; upside down, in mid-air, facing a wall, totally and completely unprepared for it.

The gathered ninjas acted as he did. Sasuke's hand blurred as he launched a bundle of wire, glowing with Chakra. They wrapped around Zetsu and embedded into the ceiling, leaving him hanging. Naruto stamped the ground, a black seal crawling from his foot, over the floor, up the walls and across the ceiling. Killer B moved like lightning, drawing two of his swords and launching himself forwards, stopping just in front of Zetsu and holding them to his neck and his heart. Han did similar, his body steaming, literally, as he stopped behind Zetsu, holding a hand to the back of Zetsu's head.

It was... a little surprising how dangerously happy I was about his predicament.

"Zetsu of the Akatsuki." Hiruzen spoke. Sasuke's hand moved, and Zetsu slowly spun around to face everybody.

The spike of terror was far more satisfying than I'd like to admit.

I slipped out of Sasuke's shadow, hovering over his shoulder.

Hmph. That second soul, the one that reflects the Juubi's primary soul, isn't nearly as frightened. Still deeply worried, however. Probably a trick up its sleeve.

"Well." Zetsu spoke. "This is bad."

"This guy is weird." Naruto said, his eyes orange. "The black half of his body is exactly the same as the Natural Energy around us. It's like he's only half there."

And now, the other soul is beginning to separate from the first. Physically, nothing is showing, but...

I paused, and then truly looked at him.

It is nothing more than an echo.

The Will of another being, made living itself.

A reflection that lingers. An idea that walks. A plan that executes itself.

It will never be more than what it is. A thousand years hasn't changed it. A thousand more will not change it.

My eyes narrowed.

"He's planning something." I noted. "Han, Killer B. Be careful of his black side."

The souls separated completely.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The black half spoke. "You do not understand what you see."

His head doesn't shift. He's bound too tightly for that. The eye of his white half, however, does shoot towards me. "And you. The complication. You make things so difficult."

"Hah." I answered him, this time actually letting him hear my words. "That makes me quite happy. Thwarting the plans of the Akatsuki is something I've come to enjoy."

Anger. And anticipation. Whatever he's planning will come soon.

I make sure that my counters are prepared.

"I suppose there would be satisfaction in that."

Now.

The black half of Zetsu bursts, leaping off of the skin and through the wires as if he's made of water.

There's just a slight problem; Han and Killer B are already prepared. The moment he started moving, they had backed up, and the blackness touches nothing as it passed through where Han used to be.

My Darkness spears through it an instant later, thirteen spikes piercing through it and carrying it into the wall.

It was... a strange being. Humanoid, made entirely out of some black substance, with the only actual feature of its body being a pair of solid, sickly yellow eyes.

It wasn't, despite the description, a Heartless. The eyes did not glow. The black substance of its body was not Darkness, but something else.

It quivered, mass shifting and changing, flowing around my spikes-

A shimmering pulse interrupted that, slamming it back into the wall. A barrier formed around it, keeping it contained.

"What the hell is that thing and why does it look like a discount version of you?" Naruto asked.

"A good question." I floated forwards. The black mass inside the shield attacked, producing a ringing hum, but it didn't break through the barrier. It was surprisingly strong, though. "One that I actually do know the answer to, now that I've gotten a good look at him."

The black mass shifted again, flowing like liquid around the inside of the barrier. Trying to find an exit. Useless.

"And what is it?" Hiruzen questioned, his voice light.

"An echo." I spoke. "An existence spawned from another being; a will made physical for a specific purpose." I stopped in front of the mass. "And judging by its soul, it was the Juubi who spawned it. Which is quite a problem."

"Wait. The Juubi only woke up recently." Naruto noted. "And Jiraiya said Zetsu was active for years."

"Which means..." Sakura breathed out. "It must have been created the last time it was active. Before the Sage of Six Paths."

"Amazing." Zetsu -Black Zetsu?- said, his voice flat. "You can use simple logic."

"So, what do we do with him?" Sasuke asked.