"Damn it, damn it, damn it—what is this? What is this?!"
"Ughhh—this is unbearable! So painful! What is this?! Is this a taste? Why can I taste something?! And why is it so disgusting?!"
"My eyes! My nose! Why? Why do I have these sensations?! Aaaaah—!"
"Mom... I'm sorry, Mom, I'm not clean anymore..."
"Damn humans! Damn Uchiha Kei! Why does he have such an ability?! Why is this thing so disgusting?! Gaaaahhh—!"
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! That's why I hate the Uchiha! Those cursed eyes always come with all kinds of strange and bizarre powers!"
"That bastard who stole Mother's power dares to—dares to...! Someday, I swear I'll wipe out the Uchiha clan! Aaaaaaah!"
Deep within a mountain cave in the Valley of the End—a place of symbolic weight in the Hidden Leaf, the Land of Fire, and the entire shinobi world—Black Zetsu howled with pain, hatred, and terror.
For the first time in its existence, a completely new experience had shaken Black Zetsu to its core. This creature born of Yin-Yang Release, which had never even known pain, was now mentally scarred. Twisted and deranged, it squirmed like a maggot, overcome with chaotic frenzy.
Despite its vicious words, its speech was saturated with panic and cowardice, impossible to hide.
Though this creature was a master schemer and incredibly patient, fans of the original work know it relied on its nature as a Yin-Yang Release being—essentially immune to most threats in the shinobi world. That was how it had roamed freely for a thousand years without challenge.
But when faced with incomprehensible or threatening power, Black Zetsu would completely lose its composure, revealing an ugly, impulsive side.
Additionally, as the ultimate mama's boy, Black Zetsu's intelligence dropped dramatically around Kaguya, turning it from a manipulative mastermind into an annoying, foul-mouthed brat—hard to believe it had survived for centuries.
Now, Uchiha Kei's eye technique had caused it immense suffering. The unfamiliar pain left Black Zetsu utterly shaken and disoriented.
In fact, don't expect Black Zetsu to show up within ten kilometers of Uchiha Kei any time soon.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Tobi was also experiencing something unusual. Underground, he turned his head in shock and confusion.
Because Uchiha Obito was right there... and yet the ground showed no sign of disturbance, as though he existed between reality and illusion.
Just moments earlier, Obito—who should have been fully wrapped up—had vanished. Now, in his fleeting awareness, Tobi turned and saw Obito hovering like a phantom.
What on earth had happened?
Tobi didn't understand. He reached out—but his hand passed straight through Obito.
"What happened? What's going on? What's all this?"
Tobi scratched his head in confusion, unable to make sense of what he was seeing.
If Uchiha Madara had been there, he might've realized that Obito's Sharingan had just unleashed an ability usually reserved for the Mangekyō stage.
The trigger was Obito's fear and regret—his anguish at the thought of never seeing Rin, Kakashi, or Minato-sensei again.
Even though he was unconscious from being enveloped by Tobi, the intense emotion from before had thrown him into a nightmare—one based on the horror game *Outlast*.
That overwhelming loss struck Obito's heart, and as the nightmares accumulated, his right eye—already at the three-tomoe level—erupted.
Just like in the original series, Obito had accessed the phasing ability typically unlocked by the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although he couldn't do anything else, this involuntary phasing allowed him to slip free of Tobi's restraint.
But the phasing wouldn't last long. Once it ended, the surrounding pressure would crush Obito under layers of earth—a problem not even Tobi could fix, unless he could rewrap Obito at the exact moment the phasing ended.
At that moment, a massive tremor shook the ground. A golden chakra claw tore through the earth, digging and churning with force. Rock and soil burst open, revealing a jagged, uneven pit lit by an unnatural light.
Obito and Tobi were exposed to daylight. Tobi let out a startled "Ah—?" and looked up to see a figure glowing gold above them.
It was Minato Namikaze—in his Nine Tails Chakra Mode!
Before Tobi could react, the golden figure vanished from above and reappeared right in front of him. A massive Rasengan slammed into him.
Boom—!
Tobi was blasted away, crashing violently into the edge of the pit.
The White Zetsu attached to him died instantly without so much as a grunt. Its body destabilized, transforming into Wood Style plant matter. Because the impact was absorbed by White Zetsu, Tobi was injured but not dead. He slipped away from the body and melted into the ground.
Minato noticed this and immediately used a giant chakra claw to pursue, tearing through the earth again.
He had already marked Tobi with the Flying Thunder God Technique—though technically, the mark was placed on the White Zetsu host, now a plant.
Despite his surprise at all this, Minato's elite instincts kicked in. His control over the Nine Tails' chakra wasn't perfect, but even rough control—like his son Naruto's early attempts—was more than enough.
However, he had to stop when a dozen White Zetsu emerged from the ground. Some attacked Minato, while others rushed toward Obito.
Prioritizing his student's safety, Minato chose to fend off the attackers.
He knew more White Zetsu were hidden underground. His ability to track Obito and Tobi came from his Flying Thunder God mark and the good-evil sensory perception granted by the Nine Tails Chakra Mode.
Naruto used this same sensory power during the Fourth Great Ninja War to detect hidden enemies. Minato, as his father, could do the same—and even better.
Now came the battle to protect his student. The White Zetsu rushed in recklessly, clearly obeying Tobi's command to delay Minato.
Minato quickly assessed the situation. These White Zetsu weren't strong, but their vitality was monstrous. With his heightened perception, he could clearly sense their inhuman life force.
"So these are the White Zetsu Kei-kun mentioned? Incredible vitality... Kei-kun said they're excellent research subjects. In that case..."
Muttering to himself, Minato captured one with a powerful sealing technique. It worked—the Zetsu was immobilized.
Encouraged, Minato sealed two more, capturing a total of three.
The rest were eliminated.
Though physically strong—each with at least elite Chūnin-level power—their battle sense was weak. Their greatest strength was stealth—able to hide underground or within plants, avoiding even skilled sensors. Kei had mentioned their near-perfect disguise, though that hadn't been demonstrated in combat yet.
But none of that mattered against Minato's golden form. He crushed them effortlessly.
Meanwhile, he noticed that Obito's body was in a phased state. That explained why Tobi had stopped moving.
To be honest, when he first noticed Tobi's halt, Minato thought he'd been discovered. In truth, he had already caught up—Tobi was fast, but to Minato in this form, he was slow. Originally, Minato planned to follow Tobi all the way to his base and destroy it in one strike. But since the enemy stopped, Minato had to act.
He couldn't risk his student's life.
With his chakra-enhanced perception, Minato quickly confirmed that Obito's phasing came from his right eye.
"Such a special ability... Could this be what Kei-kun mentioned before—that some Uchiha can use Mangekyō-level powers even without awakening the Mangekyō?"
Minato whispered, glancing at Obito with a thoughtful expression.
As Uchiha Kei's closest friend, Minato naturally understood how much Kei valued Obito. Back during the *Outlast* trial, Kei had clearly sensed Obito's Mangekyō potential, which was why he pushed him so hard.
Obito had failed to awaken it then, instead opening a 3+2 tomoe pattern.
Still, this proved Kei's instincts were correct. The Mangekyō could be triggered—it was just that Obito hadn't built up enough emotional burden yet.
Even though Minato had pieced everything together, he had no intention of telling anyone.
He trusted Kei unconditionally. If Kei kept a secret, there had to be a reason. As a friend and a shinobi, Minato would protect it.
Besides, Obito was his student. News that he might awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan would make him a target—for foreign nations and even people within the village.
In particular, the head of Root—Shimura Danzo—would absolutely act against Obito.
Thanks to Kei's influence, Minato no longer blindly trusted or revered the old village leaders. Danzo, the master manipulator, was someone he always viewed with caution and suspicion.
Kei had once told him flat-out: Shimura Danzo's greatest ambition was to annihilate the Uchiha clan.
Minato had found that hard to believe. But between a stranger like Danzo and his dear friend Kei, he would always believe Kei.
To Minato, who cherished his friends and his village, someone who wanted to destroy the Uchiha was the worst kind of threat. Though he never said it aloud, Minato had long decided:
If Shimura Danzo ever tried to harm Uchiha Kei, he would kill him—even if it meant being punished by the village.
The people and things Minato Namikaze chose to protect... were always his top priority.
Never underestimate the power of bonds passed down in Konoha!
Having realized he couldn't touch Obito in his phased state, Minato deduced that it would last a little longer—which only emphasized how quickly he had dealt with the White Zetsu. Truly the fastest man in the shinobi world.
He probably could've caught up with Tobi... but he chose to stay, prioritizing his student.
He summoned a sealing scroll and tried to store the Zetsu inside.
It worked.
"So these White Zetsu really aren't human... Otherwise, sealing them would've been impossible."
Muttering, Minato stored the scroll. The rest would be discussed with Kei after returning to the village.