Uchiha's personal opinion

The problem is that, although it also believes that Uchiha Tokumitsu must have other plans and that he is definitely not so easy to help it rescue its mother, it has no other choice but to cooperate and pray that Uchiha Tokumitsu's little conscience can still work.

After all, the Gedo Mazo, the Nine-Tailed Beast, and even the Rinnegan had all fallen into the hands of Uchiha Tokumitsu. Even the remains of Uchiha Madara were personally delivered to Uchiha Tokumitsu. Having lost all his trump cards and once again reduced to the solitary fate he had when he was first born, Black Zetsu had no chance to bargain with Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"Kuroko~ That's enough for today, it's time to go home!"

Ashura, who had just emerged from a hilly cave, dusted himself off and spoke cheerfully to Black Zetsu.

"So early?"

Black Zetsu looked up at the sky; the sun hadn't completely set yet!

"Although we are located in the Land of the Earth, our working hours still depend on Konoha's hours."

Ashura's expression remained unchanged as he stated matter-of-factly, "Eight hours of work, eight hours of study and entertainment, and then eight hours of rest every day—this is the blessing bestowed upon the mortals of the ninja world by His Majesty the Venerable One!"

"That's right, that's right. As staff members of the Shinobi World Government, we absolutely cannot let His Majesty down!"

As for the other ninjas, they naturally also absolutely supported Ashura's statement.

"All right……"

Although he didn't understand why ninjas had to live such a lazy life, Black Zetsu couldn't fight against the crowd and had to go along with everyone's wishes.

Then, it transformed into a dark, round ball and bounced into the backpack that Asura was opening for it.

Next, the pursuit team, led by Captain Ashura, will head to the nearest town's izakaya for a good meal.

With a heavy heart, Black Zetsu ended his day's work.

However, in the dead of night, after Ashura and the others had fallen asleep, Black Zetsu, as usual, slipped out of the inn, found a deserted spot, lay down on the ground, and silently felt the moonlight in the sky.

"My dear Mother Goddess... please give me some guidance!"

Gazing at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, Black Zetsu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Mother Goddess?"

Suddenly, a questioning voice came from behind Black Zetsu.

"hiss!"

Black Zetsu, who was feeling the light of the Mother Goddess and seeking spiritual solace, suddenly coiled his body and was about to escape underground!

"it's me!"

The sound that followed froze Black Zetsu in place!

But at the same time, it also sensed that the soil beneath it had become as hard as steel, and it would take a long time to even try to enter it.

"...Chief Asura's sealing technique is truly extraordinary!"

Black Zetsu slowly turned his head and looked at Ashura, whose left foot was covered with sealing runes protruding into the ground. His tone was unusually gloomy: "To be able to set up a steel ground barrier in such a short time, I'm afraid even the Uzumaki clan can't find a second person who can do this!"

"It's nothing..."

Ashura calmly said, "It's just a case of the prepared mind catching the unprepared."

Black Zetsu fell silent.

Yes! It should have realized long ago that with Ashura's strength, there was no way it wouldn't have noticed that it had escaped outside at night!

but……

Thinking of this, Black Zetsu felt heartbroken and deeply regretted his recent irrational behavior!

Looking up at the Asura, who seemed to be looking down at a magical creature, Black Zetsu felt somewhat dejected.

'Am I such a failure...?'

However, under the light of the Mother Goddess, Black Zetsu looked up at the bright moon in the sky and once again found the meaning of survival and struggle.

'I must save the Mother Goddess!'

But faith cannot change reality. Apart from a power bestowed upon him by the Mother Goddess and which he had always regarded as his last trump card, Black Zetsu had no other means to deal with the menacing Ashura before him.

"You're not the kind of ordinary monster you introduced yourself to be, are you?"

Ashura spoke again, saying, "I have exterminated and sealed away many demons, but I have never seen such a strange kind as you..."

"Not much power, but possesses amazing escape techniques..."

"And he's also very good at disguise, and seems to have a special ability to sense White Zetsu..."

"...How should I put it, it's as if you're a variant of White Zetsu."

As Ashura stated his judgment, Black Zetsu became increasingly alarmed—of course, since he was still in a state of utter chaos, he didn't appear to have changed much on the surface.

What did De Guang say to you?

After a long while, Black Zetsu finally responded.

"It's nothing, I just received an urgent call that I have to return to Konoha tomorrow."

Ashura shrugged and said casually, "Besides, the telegram clearly stated that you had to go back with me, so I just came out to find you."

"Wouldn't that mean..."

Black Zetsu was taken aback upon hearing this.

"That's right, what I said just now was all a trick to fool you."

Ashura readily admitted, "Although I knew you often sneaked out at night, I didn't really care. I just assumed it was like my ninjas sneaking out to izakayas in the middle of the night..."

"However... it seems that Kuroko, who calls upon the moon to invoke the Mother Goddess... you really are hiding a secret!"

As he said this, Ashura's eyes gradually narrowed into slits.

Although he still wore a faint smile, the cold light in his eyes revealed a murderous intent!

"...His Majesty knows all this."

Black Zetsu said calmly.

That said, if we're talking about seniority in the ninja world, Ashura should be considered Ashura's nephew.

Black Zetsu is also gambling.

It's betting that its nephew won't rashly attack it!

After all, Ashura just said that Uchiha Tokumitsu needed to recall it in his urgent telegram!

"You're really clever... Your words and actions certainly don't seem like those of a wild monster..."

Ashura raised an eyebrow, understanding the implication in Hei Jue's words: "And for some reason, I always have a feeling... as if we have some connection~"

"..."

Black Zetsu stopped talking and just silently watched Ashura.

"Alright, since His Majesty knows your background, I won't investigate further..."

Ashura suddenly smiled, "However, you still need to cooperate, otherwise I won't feel at ease~"

"...How can we cooperate?"

Black Zetsu asked cautiously.

"Come in here..."

Ashura pulled a jade bottle from his robes and pointed the bottle at Black Zetsu, "If I call your name, will you dare to answer me?"

Amber Vase...

Upon seeing this object, Black Zetsu's heart tightened immediately, and the thought of fleeing arose instantly.

But in the end, it suppressed its inner thoughts and replied, "What..."

Before it could even utter the word "了", Black Zetsu felt an extremely strong suction force rushing towards it. However, it still resisted the urge to resist and obediently let itself be sucked into the amber bottle by its power.

"Don't worry, you won't die..."

Ashura resealed the bottle, shook it slightly, muttered something to himself, and then carefully put the Six Paths Divine Artifact away from his body.

This Six Paths artifact, which was stolen from Kumogakure, was originally given to him by Uchiha Tokumitsu to capture Tobi, but unexpectedly, the first to taste it was his 'teammate' Kuroko.

Moreover, while using this divine artifact, Ashura, overcome with nostalgia, once again thought of his father…

"Ugh!"

Ashura sighed slightly and then instantly returned to the town.

……

"Minister Shuimen, I have a special task for you."

Inside the Konoha Imperial Palace, Uchiha Tokumitsu, who had temporarily returned to the ninja world, summoned Namikaze Minato.

"I need you to take over all intelligence work in the One Piece world and lead the core team to explore the second half of the Grand Line..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu handed over a stack of documents and said in a deep voice, "Especially collect information about Devil Fruits and Seastone!"

"I obey Your Majesty's command!"

Minato Namikaze bowed respectfully with a solemn expression, then took the documents handed to him by Tokumitsu Uchiha and began to read them on the spot.

"I've assigned Aburame Shiguro, Inuzuka Jacques, and Akimichi Touto to be your direct subordinates. They are all Jonin from ninja clans, and they are all quite capable in both combat and intelligence gathering..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said to himself, "In addition, there are three juniors who need you to take them on a training trip."

"Yahiko, Konan, and..."

Minato Namikaze also happened to turn to this page, "Nagato Uzumaki?"

He was familiar with the first two, as they were both members of the New District Police Station and his old subordinates; as for Nagato Uzumaki, what Minato found most strange was that the description of his personal abilities in the data clearly stated the words "Sharingan"!

"Yes……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu rubbed his temples, looking somewhat troubled, and said, "The intelligence work on Nobutora has been difficult to carry out, so I need you to lead the team. Although this will delay your regular duties, there's no other way..."

In addition to his position as the head of the police department, Minato Namikaze also handles affairs for the reserve management bureau, making him quite a busy man.

But there's nothing we can do about it. Right now, there are only two people in the entire ninja world who can use the Flying Thunder God Technique freely, and Uchiha Tokumitsu has no better choice.

"The country of Wano..."

Minato Namikaze pulled out the map from the documents and looked at it over and over again, feeling both apprehensive and eager to try.

"Based on the results of the interrogation of the prisoners, the Seastone that can restrain Devil Fruit users in the One Piece world most likely comes from Wano Country, so I need you to lead a team to conduct reconnaissance."