All Flaws Must Be Repaired
Black Zetsu had not yet revealed himself to Madara. He knew very well that Madara Uchiha was not a man who easily placed his trust in others. The only exception was Hashirama Senju—proof that love and bonds could blind even someone as calculating as Madara, enough for him to fall for something as simple as a kunai feint.
But Black Zetsu was not Hashirama. He knew Madara would never accept him so openly.
Still, he had a plan. Strong men were always confident in themselves. Madara did not trust outsiders, but there was one person he would never doubt: himself.
This was the opening Black Zetsu needed. Under his whispered guidance, Madara had already begun shaping the Eye of the Moon Plan. To supervise its progress, Madara would inevitably look for someone he trusted completely—and who could be more reliable than himself?
When the time came, Black Zetsu would provide the means. With Madara's Rinnegan and mastery of the Six Paths techniques, he would eventually find a way to create an extension of his own will. That was when Black Zetsu intended to act.
But that moment was still far off. For now, Madara had only just awakened the Rinnegan and secretly passed them to Nagato. His understanding of the Sage's powers was still shallow. Black Zetsu would wait.
---
Meanwhile, Shirō and his companions continued their journey back to the village, utterly unaware of the schemes taking root in the shadows.
Shirō, though wounded, used the slow pace of their return to think over the recent battle.
Something about it gnawed at him. All of that chaos—mobilizing even a Jinchūriki—just to seize one member of the Uzumaki Clan? It was an absurd overreaction.
There were only two possibilities:
The leadership of Takigakure were fools.
Or there was a deeper conspiracy at play.
Shirō leaned toward the second. Takigakure had survived as the strongest village outside the Five Great Nations. They couldn't possibly be so brainless. Which meant… someone else was pulling the strings.
And in the world of shinobi politics, if you didn't know who the mastermind was, you could always safely blame either Danzō Shimura or Black Zetsu. Nine times out of ten, you'd be right.
But not this time. Danzō lacked both the reach and influence to meddle in another village's Jinchūriki affairs.
That left only one candidate: Black Zetsu—the ninja world's ultimate schemer.
Yet even that didn't fully add up. Why would Zetsu target him? Shirō wasn't famous. He hadn't displayed any overwhelming ninjutsu. He was still hiding most of his true strength.
Unless… the target wasn't him at all.
Shirō's gaze drifted to Katsuki, fast asleep at Shikamaru's side.
If Black Zetsu's eyes were on her, it made sense. The Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts were one of the few things in this world capable of binding Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself. In the original timeline, almost every clan tied to the Sage of Six Paths had been systematically destroyed—the Uzumaki among them. Only the Hyūga remained, and while their Byakugan was formidable, it had no impact on Zetsu's grand plan.
The Tenseigan? He doubted Black Zetsu even knew it existed.
It fits. Katsuki was the more likely target.
Still, there was another possibility. Shirō remembered the strange day when his damaged system was repaired with what looked like a fragment of the Ten-Tails. That alone was suspicious enough to put him on Black Zetsu's radar. And then there was his heritage. Through his exchanges with Orochimaru, he uncovered hints that the so-called "Weimiya Clan" he was borrowing as his alias had some faint connection to the Sage of Six Paths.
Either way, whether Zetsu's eyes were on him or Katsuki, he couldn't afford to be careless. Men like Black Zetsu couldn't be fought head-on. They were the kind you lost before the battle even began.
For now, though, it was a problem far beyond his reach. Black Zetsu was still too busy worming his way into Madara's trust. Shirō didn't know this—and probably wouldn't have cared. His hands were full with his own tasks: healing, regrouping, and preparing to restore Tai Yi.
---
The tool for that was one of the most broken weapons in his arsenal. If not for its crushing limitations, he might have thought it was the ultimate cheat—strong enough to let him slack off and just watch Might Guy train until victory fell into his lap.
The weapon's name: All Flaws Must Be Repaired.
---
All Flaws Must Be Repaired
Rank: C
Type: Anti-Magic Noble Phantasm
A healing Noble Phantasm corresponding to "Rule Breaker," wielded not by Medea the Caster, but by one of her alternate forms.
No matter what curse, poison, or magical injury, this blade restores the target to their original, untainted state. It is not true time manipulation, though to outsiders it looks like it—simply a complete reset of the body back to what it should have been. All unreasonable conditions except for death itself can be undone.
If you're not dead, you live. Perfect restoration.
---
The first thought in Shirō's head was obvious:
Combine it with Might Guy's Eighth Gate.
The potential was insane. Might Guy could be unleashed, body shredded, then instantly restored with a single cut. Repeat. Infinite Might Guys.
Madara? A fossil.
Kaguya? Just another target.
The true emperor of the shinobi world would be Might Guy with an unbreakable health bar!
…Except reality wasn't so kind.
The Noble Phantasm could only work once per person. A single use, a single reset. After that, nothing. Just a lifeline, not a strategy.
Shirō didn't understand why the rule existed. Maybe it was the clash of world laws—his magecraft against the shinobi world's chakra system. But for now, he accepted it.
Sometimes, limitations were blessings in disguise.
---
By the time they were half a day from the village, his wounds were mostly healed—enough that he could safely project All Flaws Must Be Repaired.
Shikamaru and Nakamura watched without concern. They were long used to Shirō pulling out strange blades and stabbing allies in ways that healed rather than harmed.
But Katsuki…
The girl had just woken up, her bleary eyes widening in horror as she saw Shirō approaching Tai Yi from behind—sword in hand. Tai Yi, oblivious, sat with his back exposed.
Katsuki's breath caught. Her throat wanted to scream, but fear froze her. If she cried out and Shirō grew angry, would he abandon her?
So she only clasped her hands over her mouth, trembling, as the blade plunged into Tai Yi's back.
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