Bang!
Uchiha Gen's palm slammed into Black-and-White Zetsu's back. The impact launched him into the air, smashing him against the pale-gold barrier arm before he slid down helplessly.
Black Ninjutsu rippled across his back as pale-gold chains burrowed straight into Tobi's body, sealing White Zetsu's chakra from the inside out.
Black Zetsu immediately sensed the disruption within Tobi. His expression darkened.
Bad... very bad.
Without hesitation, he abandoned Tobi, melting into a puddle of black liquid that shot toward the ground. But instead of sinking in, he splashed flat against the hardened earth.
"Don't waste your effort," Uchiha Gen said calmly. "Everything inside this barrier, ground and trees, has already been turned into metal. No technique or jutsu will get you through."
Black Zetsu refused to believe it. He slithered toward a nearby sapling, tried to force himself into it… and failed again.
He seethed in frustration, but he forced himself to regain composure.
"How did you two collude?" he demanded.
"It's not collusion," Uchiha Gen replied. "He's already under my control."
He smiled faintly.
"Your biggest mistake was letting Obito come to Konoha."
Black Zetsu's tone sharpened. "How could you control Obito?"
"Nothing is impossible. Don't overestimate Obito and don't underestimate me."
"How did you hide from my perception?"
"You perceive chakra," Gen said. "I cloaked my chakra with natural energy. In your senses, I was no different from a flower or tree on the island."
Black Zetsu hissed. "Then how did you suddenly appear?"
"Flying Thunder God Technique."
While they exchanged words, Uchiha Gen strolled toward him without hurry.
Black Zetsu used all his remaining strength to lunge at Gen. His plan was desperate but simple, force a mental fusion, seize Uchiha Gen's mind, undo the barrier, and escape.
But Uchiha Gen was not some ordinary ninja.
He sidestepped with effortless ease. A bluish-green gourd appeared in his right hand with a flicker of motion.
Gen aimed it at Black Zetsu and poured Senjutsu chakra inside. The gourd flashed with dark patterns as a powerful suction burst forth.
Black Zetsu's liquid form was dragged in, inch by inch, like a tide being devoured.
"I—I'm not reconciled!"
His voice echoed with unwilling rage as the last of the black sludge was pulled into the gourd.
Uchiha Gen smiled and looked down at the fallen Akatsuki cloak on the ground along with Tobi, still lying there pretending to be dead.
Tobi's strength was decent, but without fusing with the Wood-Style-enhanced Yamato, he couldn't use his oversized "robot-mode" techniques.
Gen flicked his black robe with fiery patterns. A gust of wind swept through, blowing the Akatsuki cloak aside and revealing a small puddle of black fluid beneath it.
"You really are cunning. Anyone else might've ignored that tattered piece of cloth."
If the barrier had been lifted, Black Zetsu could've vanished into the ground unnoticed.
Exposed, Black Zetsu froze. Despair flickered across what served as his expression. But driven by survival instinct and the obsession to save his mother, he transformed into a tiny black worm and tried to flee.
"Don't bother," Gen said. "I'm not going to kill you. You're still useful."
"For example… taking you to see Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
At the mention of his mother's name, Black Zetsu stopped instantly. His tiny eyes widened in panic.
"H-How do you know that noble name?"
Uchiha Gen smiled.
"Don't be so alarmed. One day, I'll take you to see your mother."
"You, a child who still can't leave his mother after thousands of years…"
Humiliated, Black Zetsu snapped, "You're the child, you bastard! Tell me... how do you know-"
"Collect."
Uchiha Gen didn't bother answering. He activated the gourd again. A powerful suction dragged the black worm into the air.
"Ah—! You bastard, tell me—!"
The tiny worm vanished inside. Gen sealed the gourd with a matching stopper, then tossed it upward. As it hovered, he formed a series of hand seals.
Pale-gold barrier light shrank rapidly, forming a net around the gourd. Intersecting gold lines appeared, merged into the surface, then vanished entirely. The gourd returned to its vibrant green.
With a beckoning gesture, it flew back to his hand. He flipped his palm, and it disappeared into storage.
Then he turned his attention to Tobi, sprawled awkwardly on the ground.
"In Obito's memories, you're called Tobi, right?" Gen asked. "So, do you want to die, or do you want to follow me?"
Tobi immediately sprang up, sat cross-legged, and waved his arms.
"This choice is way too easy! Of course I'll follow you! I haven't even experienced what it feels like to go to the bathroom yet!"
He tilted his head.
"Can you tell me what it's like to go to the bathroom?"
Uchiha Gen smiled lightly. "No. I've forgotten that feeling too."
"Ah? Humans who don't need to go to the bathroom exist?" Tobi gasped. "Then could it be, you and I are the same kind?"
Gen's expression darkened.
"I am not the same kind as you. And I'm also different from ordinary humans... qualitatively."
Tobi blinked in confusion, but Gen waved it off.
"I told you, you wouldn't understand."
After reaching the final realm of Refining Spirit and Returning to Void, Gen had already stepped one foot into the threshold of an immortal. Among mortals, he was practically no different from one, sword flight, cloud-riding, the works.
Tobi opened his mouth again, but Gen gestured sharply. Tobi floated helplessly into the air and landed in front of him.
"What are you going to do?"
Gen didn't answer. He placed his right hand on Tobi's shoulder, imprinting a Flying Thunder God mark. Then a pale-gold orb the size of an apple emerged from his forehead.
It drifted toward Tobi's glabella and merged in. A sun-shaped mark appeared in its place.
"Do you feel the power inside?" Gen asked.
"I feel it!" Tobi said excitedly. "Such powerful mental energy and natural energy! But, there's also something else… a very strange power I can't describe…"
Uchiha Gen explained:
"Besides boosting your strength, that power lets you absorb the souls of those who fear you or submit to you, and store them temporarily."
"Your task is to divide a portion of that power among the higher-intelligence White Zetsu. They will gather souls for me across the world."
"First choice: ninja souls.
Second: souls of bad people.
Do NOT take the souls of good people."
"For the less intelligent White Zetsu, assign them to monitor all the ninja villages and major shinobi forces outside of Konoha."
"Do you understand?"
Tobi nodded vigorously. "I generally understand!"
"What don't you understand?" Gen asked.
"What's the standard for a bad person?"
Gen paused.
Good question.
If he didn't set clear criteria, the low-intelligence Zetsu would absolutely cause chaos.
Before, he needed to increase his strength quickly and accepted all souls. But now, there were countless souls in the Pure Land—no need to rush.
It was more important to give the Zetsu work so they wouldn't cause trouble out of boredom.
He finally answered:
"Use each country's legal definition of serious criminals."
"If you're unclear, study their legal codes."
"Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Go."
White Zetsu nodded and vanished into the ground.
Uchiha Gen turned his gaze toward Obito, who stood nearby in a daze.
This problem… needed to be handled next.