Danzo had been exchanging words with him for quite some time, making his stance very clear. He just needed proof and an excuse!
Proof that he wasn't lying.
Proof that he wasn't aligned with Orochimaru or Nara Kagetsu.
Proof that Uchiha Madara was still alive!
"You seem to know a lot about the Uchiha?" Danzo stared at the creature in front of him, one that could wield Wood Release. The combination of Wood Release and Uchiha Madara unsettled him.
"Of course. Lord Madara is aware of all the Uchiha's secrets, including every forbidden technique from the past millennium!" Black Zetsu answered naturally.
"Normal genjutsu or feigned death wouldn't have been able to fool both Hashirama and Tobirama. However, the Uchiha clan possesses a forbidden technique called Izanagi."
"Izanagi?" The unfamiliar term caused Danzo to frantically search his memory for any related information. However, after mentally reviewing everything he knew, he found no recollection of such a jutsu.
Danzo's understanding of the Uchiha clan's secret techniques mainly came from the teachings of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and from his former Uchiha ally, Uchiha Kagami.
Yet, neither the Second Hokage nor Uchiha Kagami had ever mentioned this technique.
"Izanagi is a jutsu that can turn any unfavorable events that happen within a certain period into something that never occurred. At the same time, it transforms favorable events into reality.
In other words, once Izanagi is activated, the Sharingan that bears this technique records the user's current physical state. During the technique's duration, the user can restore themselves to that recorded state at will.
Even if you were to chop them into pieces during Izanagi's effect, they could still fully resurrect.
The duration of Izanagi depends on the strength of the user's ocular power. However, the price for using this technique is steep—the Sharingan used for Izanagi becomes permanently blind!"
"This is why it was classified as a forbidden technique by the Uchiha clan!"
Zetsu spoke confidently, revealing the Uchiha's secrets to Danzo as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube. This also served as proof of his origins to Danzo.
After all, such detailed knowledge of the Uchiha clan's centuries-old forbidden techniques and history was known to only a select few.
At the very least, it proved that even if Zetsu wasn't directly associated with Uchiha Madara, he had a connection to the Uchiha clan close enough to be privy to their secrets.
"If he were still alive, he should have sought revenge on Konoha long ago after the First Hokage's death!"
During the era when the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara were active, Danzo and his peers were still young. However, they had witnessed firsthand the founding of Konoha and the earth-shattering power of these two men.
Otherwise, why would Danzo have developed a near-obsessive fixation with the power of the Wood Release and the Sharingan after failing to become the Third Hokage following the Second Hokage's death?
It was because these powers were immensely strong—and they represented Konoha's legacy.
Especially the Wood Release!
Danzo had often wondered if obtaining the power of the Wood Release would elevate both his strength and reputation enough to surpass Hiruzen Sarutobi and finally become Hokage.
Unlike the kind and benevolent nature of the First Hokage, Uchiha Madara's personality was a classic representation of the Uchiha—arrogant and domineering. He cared nothing for those he didn't acknowledge.
Given Madara's overbearing nature, if he were still alive and the only person who could stop him, the First Hokage, had passed away, it was hard to imagine that he wouldn't have launched a revenge attack on Konoha.
"Your prejudice and understanding of the Uchiha surpass even Tobirama Senju's extremes!" Zetsu said, looking at Danzo curiously. "Why would Lord Madara seek revenge or destroy Konoha?
His fight with Hashirama was rooted in their ideological differences! They couldn't agree on the path to peace! Back then, Lord Madara merely wanted to take the Uchiha clan and leave the village he helped create to start anew.
He simply hadn't anticipated that his own clan would betray him."
Danzo remained silent, deep in thought about Zetsu's words.
"Of course, back then, although Lord Madara used the forbidden technique Izanagi to escape death, his body and strength were severely damaged as a cost of the technique.
Lord Madara is now on the verge of dying from old age."
Everything Black Zetsu said was true, but he deliberately concealed even more information.
"So, what does he want?"
Danzo stared at Zetsu. He absolutely did not believe that Uchiha Madara had any goodwill toward Konoha or toward them, Tobirama's disciples.
If the other party came forward at the end of his life to propose cooperation, it clearly meant that Danzo had something Madara needed.
In fact, Danzo wasn't even sure if Uchiha Madara was truly still alive, and if he was, whether his life was genuinely nearing its end.
But regardless of whether the person in front of him truly represented Uchiha Madara or was just someone acting under his name, Danzo didn't mind extracting more information from him.
"I don't know!"
Black Zetsu's response left Danzo stunned.
Danzo had anticipated that "Uchiha Madara" might make some extreme demands—something harmful to Konoha, like confidential information or something else.
As for Zetsu's claim that Uchiha Madara neither hated nor wanted to destroy Konoha, Danzo, with his own mindset, refused to believe it at all.
He also considered that if the demands weren't too excessive, he might be willing to give up some classified information in order to gain Wood Release and uncover the mastermind behind the scenes.
But Zetsu's answer completely shattered Danzo's earlier assumptions and mental preparations, as if his punch had landed on cotton.
"Are you mocking me?" Danzo's eyes betrayed his displeasure.
"Not at all! Lord Madara indeed didn't tell us anything. But besides that, I have a rather important question to ask you."
This time, it was the cheerful White Zetsu speaking. As he spoke, he enthusiastically raised his hand high.
"Do you know what it feels like to defecate?"
Danzo was infuriated by the sudden, ridiculous question. To him, this meaningless provocation was a blatant challenge to his patience and a mockery of his authority.
"Shut up, fool!"
Black Zetsu's cold voice suppressed the overly jubilant White Zetsu, forcing him to quiet down once again. Only when Black Zetsu saw that Danzo refrained from taking any action did he internally breathe a sigh of relief.
Although White Zetsu's irreverent and erratic behavior constantly gave him headaches, as the pair's combat force and military asset, Black Zetsu had no choice but to endure it.
"I'm genuinely curious about what it feels like, though!"
Under Black Zetsu's suppression, White Zetsu muttered a light complaint, his eyes still filled with anticipation as he looked at Danzo, hoping for an answer.
"First, let me see your so-called technology."
Realizing he could no longer extract any meaningful information from them, Danzo immediately pushed forward two of his Root operatives.
"These are my subordinates. You can choose one of them for your experiment! If he gains the Wood Release, we'll discuss further matters."
Danzo's caution came as no surprise to Zetsu. He knew that gaining the trust of someone as cunning and scheming as Danzo was practically impossible from the start.
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