In the pitch-black and dim cave, Uchiha Madara, with his Rinnegan radiating a faint purple light, stared at the dark, amorphous being that had appeared before him, almost blending into the cave's environment. He felt utterly dismayed.
"Has the darkness within me truly reached such depths?"
He murmured a sentence of self-doubt, then gripped the scythe beside him, preparing to bring a swift end to this creature he had conjured using Yin-Yang Release.
"This is my first time using the Yin-Yang Release to create life, so it's understandable to be a bit rusty…"
"Next time, I will surely create perfect life!"
Finding an excuse for his lack of proficiency, Madara wiped his scythe down with a clear conscience.
"Screech!"
"Ouch!"
The black creature was sliced in half by the scythe, emitting a shrill cry.
Madara was clearly taken aback by the scream. He prodded the writhing liquid that was reforming into a complete mass with his scythe. Finally, in a place resembling a head, he spotted two large, amber eyes and a gaping mouth filled with sharp fangs, still screaming.
"So, it was successful after all?"
Madara hesitated for a moment, then dejectedly retracted his scythe.
"Then how did I create such a thing?"
"Is the creation power of Yin-Yang Release only capable of this?"
Seeing that Madara no longer intended to harm it, the dark creature's screams gradually subsided. After locking eyes with Madara for a while, its ferocious mouth suddenly stretched into a startling grin.
This must be a laugh, Madara surmised.
"Lord Madara!"
As Madara pondered why the Yin-Yang Release, which the Sage of Six Paths had used for creation, yielded such a result in his hands, the black creature suddenly spoke human words and called out to him.
Madara's expression froze. He nearly swung his scythe again.
As a warrior who had fought his entire life, his resilient spirit allowed Madara to quickly regain his composure. He looked down at the dark mass and remained silent for a while.
"You…"
"What are you?"
Seeing Madara's question, the black liquid wriggled and flowed to Madara's feet. From its body, two hands, seemingly cut out haphazardly like scissors, emerged. They clasped Madara's ankle, and the creature looked up at him with a childish adoration.
"Lord Madara, I am the embodiment of your will!"
Madara's expression stiffened, and a trace of unnaturalness appeared on his face. He turned his head away.
"Nonsense!"
"How could my will be such a defiled and dark existence as you!"
A hint of coldness flashed in the black liquid's eyes, then it said with a mournful tone:
"Lord Madara, I am truly formed from your will!"
"My thoughts originate from your thoughts, and I possess all your memories!"
"Although I know you may find it hard to accept, I am indeed a new life born from the totality of the darkness within your heart!"
"You are like my elder brother!"
Madara's body stiffened, and he kicked away the entity clinging to his ankle.
"I… do not have a brother like you!"
"The only ones I've ever acknowledged, besides Izuna, have been Hashirama!"
"How dare an incomplete life, created by my Yin-Yang Release, dare to call me brother?"
The black shadow nimbly rolled over on the ground, forming a humanoid outline from the pool of liquid. It looked at Madara with a wronged expression.
"Lord Madara and Senju Hashirama's bond is naturally the best, otherwise, you wouldn't have carved his face onto your chest!"
"But Lord Madara seems to have forgotten, Lord Izuna died because of Senju Hashirama's brother!"
This remark, like salt rubbed into a wound, instantly ignited Madara's hatred. He stood up abruptly, and the terrifying Sharingan power swept through the entire area.
The black shadow cried out in pain, violently repelled by a powerful force, and splattered against the cave wall with a thud.
"Shut up!"
Madara roared, his chest heaving.
The black shadow, however, paid no heed. Amidst its screams, it continued to yell loudly.
"Lord Madara, why are you deceiving yourself?"
"Doesn't this prove that I am the embodiment of your will?"
"You may appear angry, but I know that you have already accepted my existence, haven't you?"
Madara frowned, looking at the black shadow. He finally deactivated the power of his Rinnegan, let out a cold snort, and sat back down.
The black shadow was right. He had indeed accepted the fact that this being was the manifestation of his will. Otherwise, how could those tragic events, long forgotten by the ninja world, be known to a creature he had just created?
Of course, this embodiment of his will was rather unlikable…
"Izuna…"
Madara's expression turned sorrowful. His brother's death was a wound in his heart that he could never forget.
Yet, Senju Hashirama was the only close friend he had acknowledged since his youth.
Without Izuna's Mangekyo, he would never have awakened the Eternal Mangekyo and gained the power to contend with Senju Hashirama.
And without Senju Hashirama's Sage Body, he would not have awakened the legendary Rinnegan as he had.
Caught between emotion and hatred, the psychological pressure Madara had endured over the years would have driven anyone else mad.
Of course, he might have already gone mad, who knew?
After a moment of remembrance, Madara looked at the black shadow that had crawled back to his feet and said solemnly:
"Since you claim to be the embodiment of my will, I have some questions to test you!"
"If you cannot answer them, you have no reason to continue existing!"
The black shadow nodded repeatedly, its expression resolute.
"Please, ask, Lord Madara. Anything you know, even if you've forgotten due to the passage of time, I can answer."
"Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, the reason you say you have questions for me is simply because you want someone to discuss the content inscribed on the stone tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths, isn't it?"
Madara looked at him with surprise and nodded slightly.
"You do have some capabilities…"
"Then tell me, what is the credibility of the information recorded on the stone tablet?"
"Can the so-called ultimate genjutsu, Infinite Tsukuyomi, truly achieve eternal peace for the ninja world as described?"
The black shadow did not answer directly, but instead looked at Madara with a fawning expression.
"When Yin and Yang merge, all creation can be obtained!"
"Hasn't the content inscribed on the stone tablet already been verified by you?"
"Your Rinnegan, like the legendary Sage of Six Paths, already possesses god-like power!"
"Do you think a living god would ever make a wrong judgment?"
A proud curve formed on Madara's lips, and he nodded in agreement.
"Indeed!"
"As expected of my will. I acknowledge your existence!"
"However, the name Uchiha Madara can only be used by me. As for you…"
"You shall be called…"
Madara pondered, unable to come up with a suitable name for a long time.
It seems that difficulty in naming things is a trait of the powerful, similar to Minato Namikaze's Rasen Shuriken Uzu Kage Bunshin; Hashirama Senju's Taijutsu Ougi: Super Fire Style: Illusionary Jutsu: Great Shuriken: Second Stage Drop Technique; Jiraiya's All Shuriken Throwing Technique; and Tobi's Umbrella Lizard Technique…
Such jutsu names are truly breathtaking.
"Black Zetsu!"
"Lord Madara, my name is Black Zetsu!"
The black shadow, calling itself Black Zetsu, seemed afraid Madara would give it some other strange name. It quickly interjected:
"Your dark will possesses absolute control over the ninja world!"
"Therefore, from the moment of my birth, I gave myself this name."
"What do you think?"
Madara savored the name for a moment and nodded with satisfaction.
"Black Zetsu?"
"Excellent!"
"Then it shall be Black Zetsu!"