FWF Chapter 558 Black Zetsu's Retreat
Chapter 558 Black Zetsu's Retreat
Because the chasm he had spent his entire life trying to cross, the object of his revenge, was a godlike being whom he could not even touch, whose back he could not reach.
The last bit of strength that kept her standing vanished with that bitter laugh.
Chiyo's legs went weak, and she collapsed backward.
But she didn't fall on the cold sand.
Her younger brother, Ebizo, appeared behind her at some point and supported her with his body.
"elder sister……"
Ebizo's voice was dry and pained.
Sakumo Hatake ignored the siblings' sorrow. He calmly sheathed his white dagger with fluid and steady movements, as if he had merely severed a spider's web.
The crisp sound of the sheath returning to its sheath was particularly jarring in the silent canyon.
At that very moment, Shimura Danzo, who had been silent all along, finally took a step.
He slowly walked to the front of the group, to Sakumo Hatake's side. His gloomy and sharp eyes coldly swept over all the Sand Village ninja present, finally landing on the dejected Chiyo.
"This farce should end now."
Danzo's voice was devoid of any warmth, like a block of ice that had never melted.
"Sakumo Hatake is the leader of the delegation sent by Konoha to Sunagakure."
"I, Shimura Danzo, am the deputy envoy."
"We have come to convey the Hokage's goodwill and desire for peace."
These words, like thunderclaps, exploded in the minds of all the surviving Sand Village ninja.
The desire for peace?
A feeling of humiliation began to frantically grow on the ruins of fear and despair.
It turns out that from the very beginning, the other side never considered them as enemies that required their full effort.
This is just... a show of force.
A chillingly cold greeting from the victor...
Chiyo suddenly raised her head, and for the first time, an emotion stronger than hatred appeared in her cloudy eyes.
That was the immense shame and resentment of being completely manipulated.
Danzo took in all her reactions, but he didn't care.
He took a step forward, looking down at the Chiyo siblings sprawled on the ground, and declared the ultimate purpose of his trip in an unquestionable, commanding tone.
"Take us to see your Kazekage."
"Now, immediately."
At the other end of the canyon, behind the shadow of a huge rock.
Clad in the Wind Shadow Divine Robe, Lie Men took in everything that was happening in the canyon.
His body remained motionless, like a sculpture fused with the rock.
However, deep within his mind, an ancient and chilling consciousness was churning violently.
Black Zetsu felt a long-lost flutter in his heart.
It was an emotion akin to fear.
It has seen far too many so-called strong beings. From the time of Indra and Asura, over the course of thousands of years, there have been very few beings that have truly made it feel threatened.
Sakumo Hatake's sword is very strong.
That kind of return to simplicity, honing skills to this level, truly surpasses the scope of most ninjas.
But that's all. As long as the power of the Six Paths isn't touched, in Black Zetsu's eyes, it's ultimately just the limit of a mortal.
What truly made it uncomfortable and wary was another person.
Uchiha Kagami!
It's those Mangekyou Sharingan!
When Uchiha Kagami activated his eye technique called Mind Mirror, a pure power fluctuation that Black Zetsu found repulsive flashed by.
Uchiha Kagami's eye technique possesses a penetrating power that reaches directly to the very essence of the soul.
Black Zetsu had a strong intuition that if those eyes had just been fixed on the body of the demon he was possessing, if the other's pupil power had penetrated even a little deeper...
Its secret, hidden deep within the consciousness of the Liemen, may be illuminated in an instant.
It's like a shadow that has been hidden in a dark corner for thousands of years, suddenly being directly exposed by a blinding, inescapable ray of sunlight.
The risk of being seen through and understood made Black Zetsu extremely uncomfortable.
More importantly, it smelled that scent it hated most on Uchiha Kagami.
It shares the same lineage as Hashirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the so-called Will of Fire.
In Black Zetsu's view, this will was the biggest obstacle preventing it from realizing its plan to resurrect its mother.
Uchiha Kagami, whose clan should have represented hatred and curses, became the most loyal practitioner of this will, which is an irony that he could not understand.
The situation has completely spiraled out of control.
Chiyo's ambush had completely failed.
With the destruction of the Chikamatsu Ten, the will of the entire pursuing force was utterly crushed.
What should we do now?
Black Zetsu's thoughts were operating at a speed that surpassed that of a computer.
Option 1: Let Retsumon take action personally. With the reputation of being the strongest of the Third Kazekage, and combined with the powerful Magnet Release, there might be a chance to defeat these three in the complex terrain of Thousand Wind Valley.
But the risks are... too great.
Once they engage in combat, Uchiha Kagami will inevitably use his strange Mangekyou Sharingan.
At that time, the chances of exposing oneself will exceed 50%.
Once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Those old monsters in Konoha—especially Madara Uchiha—will definitely arrive immediately. At that point, forget about reviving my mother; even escaping will be a problem.
A thousand years of forbearance were not meant to be lost in a pointless gamble.
Therefore, only option two remains.
—Temporarily withdraw to preserve yourself.
There was not the slightest hesitation in Black Zetsu's mind.
His true trump card, the perfect material being slowly modified by the First Hokage's cells and his own will in the underground base—Uchiha Ran—is the core of the entire plan's future.
To risk exposing Uchiha Ran's trump card for the sake of a single gate or the temporary gains or losses of Sunagakure is utterly foolish.
Millennia of planning have instilled in Black Zetsu an ironclad rule: when risks exceed control, immediately cease operations, sever all ties, and re-enter the shadows.
Where there is life, there is hope.
That's enough.
Black Zetsu's consciousness left behind a final, chilling whisper in the spiritual world of the Retsumon.
The next moment, the chilling consciousness that had been deeply rooted in Lie Men's limbs, bones, and spiritual core, like countless black threads, was rapidly withdrawn like the receding tide.
Without the slightest hesitation, it was utterly decisive and efficient.
In an instant, Black Zetsu severed all connections with Retsumon's body. Its true form transformed into a pool of formless black fluid, silently merging into the shadows of the rocks beneath its feet, and sped off toward the secret base deep beneath Sunagakure.
"Well……"
Liemen, who was intently observing the battlefield, suddenly trembled.
An indescribable emptiness and coldness suddenly surged from the depths of my soul, instantly engulfing my entire body.
It's like a vital organ in your body has been forcibly removed.
He felt his mind suddenly become clear after a long period of confusion and fervor.
Liemen shook his slightly dizzy head.
He raised his head and looked back at the canyon.
Chiyo had a short sword pressed against her throat, her life hanging by a thread.
Hundreds of elite Sand Village soldiers, their fighting spirit shattered, collapsed to their knees.
The three envoys from Konoha were unharmed and exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
lost.
A crushing defeat.
Liemen's fists were clenched tightly in his sleeves, but his cold and stern face showed no trace of anger or despair.
As the Wind Shadow, he knew better than anyone that in times like these, it was crucial not to panic.
"Calm down... things haven't gotten to the worst yet..."
He muttered to himself, forcing himself into a state of absolute rationality.
Konoha did not immediately carry out the killing, but instead chose to reveal the identity of the envoy. This meant that the other party's goal was not slaughter, but... negotiation.
An unequal negotiation backed by absolute force.
Since it's a negotiation, there's still room for maneuver.
At least, the village is still there, and the foundation of Sunagakure remains.
Having figured this out, Retsumon took a deep breath, straightened his back, and once again gathered the aura of the strongest Kazekage.
He channeled his chakra, controlling the iron sand beneath his feet, and slowly rose into the air, flying over the heads of all the Sand Village ninjas from the other side of the canyon, and slowly flew towards the center of the battlefield.
*Slap.* *Slap.* *Slap.*
A crisp clapping sound suddenly rang out in the deathly silent canyon.