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NBB Chapter 53: The Shark, the Plant, and the Bounty Board
🕑 Added 2025-06-02 23:09:56 +0000 UTCLand of Rain. The downpour continued.
In this country, it was as if the rain would never cease.
Amid the curtain of rain, a pitcher-plant-like figure walked alongside Kisame, who had the Samehada blade strapped to his back, heading toward a building.
"Normally, being in this organization doesn’t come with many requirements. But for now, we need you to complete missions to earn enough money."
As they walked, Zetsu’s Black Half explained things to Kisame.
In the Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito operated under the alias Tobi, posing as an intern—allowing him to remain in the shadows.
The public-facing responsibilities fell to Black Zetsu, who didn’t mind taking over. After all, he didn’t trust some of Obito’s decisions in the slightest.
Case in point: that guy actually lost the Land of Water.
Zetsu didn’t even want to comment on Obito’s last trip to Konohagakure. But as for this most recent battle—he had watched the whole thing from start to finish.
He just couldn’t understand it—why was that guy carrying a Flying Thunder God seal?
Why didn’t he remove it?
Even if a cursed seal couldn’t be erased, you could just cut off a piece of flesh!
Just a bit—it’s not shameful.
At worst, he could’ve had White Zetsu patch it back up.
And now look what happened—someone tracked them down, defeated them, and even disrupted the genjutsu controlling the Fourth Mizukage.
Every time Black Zetsu thought about it, he couldn’t help but sigh internally. He had already warned Uchiha Obito to be cautious. After all, they’d long suspected that someone from Konohagakure was keeping an eye on them.
Yet clearly, all his warnings had been useless.
"I got it."
Kisame, unaware of what Black Zetsu was thinking, nodded in understanding.
"By the way, what’s the condition of the one who recruited me? Within the organization, is he..."
"He's recovered. That level of attack didn’t affect him much. He just needs a few days of rest."
Black Zetsu snapped out of his thoughts at Kisame’s question and answered calmly.
"As for his status within the organization—you can consider him the true leader operating from behind the scenes."
"I see."
Kisame grinned. His shark-like face made the expression all the more unsettling.
"No wonder he could control the Fourth Mizukage. You’d need some serious skill for that. But why doesn't he use his real name? Is he worried it doesn’t carry enough weight, or is he just afraid of Konoha?"
"..."
Black Zetsu felt relieved that Obito wasn’t here—he definitely wouldn’t have been able to take that.
Shaking his head, he was just about to respond when Kisame spoke again.
"Still, fearing Konoha is reasonable. I really didn’t expect someone from Konoha to have mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique again. And a kid, no less."
As he thought of Kitagawa Gen, Kisame subconsciously pressed his lips together. That uncanny ability to appear and vanish was deeply unsettling—even to him.
And he wasn’t alone. Black Zetsu also felt a profound sense of unease.
Alongside that unease came a growing sense of doubt.
'That brat... what’s the deal with him? His chakra signature...'
Recalling that moment in Kirigakure when he’d hidden in the shadows watching the battle, Black Zetsu felt a faint ripple in his chest the moment he laid eyes on Kitagawa Gen.
That strange sense of familiarity—yet unfamiliarity—had grown even stronger.
He couldn’t figure it out at all.
But one thing was certain: that kid was definitely hiding something.
'What is going on?'
Without any clear reason, Black Zetsu felt a twinge of panic. Unpredictable elements like this were truly dangerous.
He knew he had to investigate—he wouldn’t be able to rest easy otherwise.
In silence, he led Kisame toward the sewers beneath a building. This was one of the Akatsuki’s bases, and Black Zetsu stopped thinking about it and resumed speaking.
"I’ll take you to meet the Akatsuki leader. The one who serves as the face of the organization. He’s very powerful."
"Also—don’t mention his real name. And don’t bring up anything about Kirigakure. Understood?"
"Oh? Sounds like this leader has some real strength."
Kisame caught on quickly. He smiled as he asked: "Is it because relying solely on that other guy’s name wouldn’t be enough to keep everyone in line?"
"...Don’t overthink it. Someone’s coming."
Black Zetsu was starting to get a headache. Kisame was extremely capable, highly professional—and very clever.
But that sharp mind was the problem. He asked too many questions. Wouldn’t it be better to just do the job?
As he mulled it over, a shadowy figure began approaching them.
The man wore an Akatsuki cloak, a black cloth over his face, and a forehead protector from Takigakure. A deep scar running across it made his identity unmistakable.
His green eyes scanned Kisame, then turned to Black Zetsu.
"A newcomer, huh? And from Kirigakure, no less. Plus, he's got the Samehada… looks like a tough one."
"He is."
Black Zetsu nodded.
"Kakuzu, where are you headed? Another mission?"
"Recruiting a new member."
Kakuzu shook his head and replied flatly.
"I heard there’s an interesting one in the Land of Hot Water. The leader sent me to check it out. Rumor has it—he’s immortal too."
Immortal?
Kisame raised an eyebrow at those words, while Black Zetsu seemed to recall something.
Immortal… could it be those cultists?
“Oh right—you handle intel, so let me ask you something.”
As they pondered, Kakuzu suddenly spoke again.
“Hm?”
Black Zetsu was briefly caught off guard, then nodded.
“Go ahead.”
“Konoha recently issued a new wanted notice. I saw it posted on the black market.”
“Really? Who is it?”
“Some guy named Uchiha Obito. Unbelievable—there are still Uchiha alive?”
“???”
“The reward Konoha’s offering is very generous. Ever heard of this guy?”
“...”
“No? Well, I’d suggest you look into it. If we can find and kill this guy, we’ll make a huge profit!”
“...”
...
“Bastard!”
Inside a certain mountain cave in the Land of Rain, the sound of rainfall drizzled steadily outside, yet Uchiha Obito’s heart was burning hot with fury.
He stared at the wanted poster in his hand—one that bore his own face, though there were some notable differences. His mind buzzed with static.
Even though he had anticipated this outcome for some time, now that it had actually come to pass, he still found it hard to keep his composure—especially when...
“Even Kakuzu is targeting me?!”
“Well, there were indeed some discussions within the organization... about whether or not to eliminate you.”
Black Zetsu looked at Uchiha Obito with a slightly speechless expression.
“Especially Uchiha Itachi—he was shocked by your existence and even started suspecting your true identity. Fortunately, Konoha didn’t release too much information.”
“Konoha must be trying to save face. After all, I did kill the Fourth Hokage.”
Obito snorted coldly. And he wasn’t wrong—Konoha had, indeed, kept quiet about his so-called ‘heroic deeds’.
They hadn’t even listed his specific abilities. The notes simply marked him as 'extremely dangerous', possessing a powerful Sharingan, and carrying an exceptionally high bounty.
But that alone was enough. The bounty would certainly tempt a swarm of bounty hunters into action.
And the mention of the Sharingan? That had stirred interest across the Great Nations.
“Hehehe, Obito, you’ve really made a name for yourself in the shinobi world now.”
White Zetsu chuckled on one side of his face as he looked at Obito.
“That bounty is no joke! You should’ve seen Kakuzu—his eyes were literally glowing green when he talked about you.”
“Shut up. His eyes are green by default.”
Black Zetsu cut off his other half’s nonsense.
“So what now? And did you get rid of that Flying Thunder God seal?”
“I took care of it.”
Obito snorted again, his gaze cold and sharp.
“Even in death, Namikaze Minato still managed to cause me some trouble... But that won’t happen again.”
When it came to Namikaze Minato, Obito’s feelings were complicated.
Maybe he hated Minato for arriving too late back then. Or maybe he hated him for failing to recognize who he truly was—and mistaking him for Uchiha Madara instead.
But all that was in the past. Now, he was Uchiha Madara.
“As for the next steps, I’ll focus on the Akatsuki for now. They still need more members. Also, send someone to the Land of Water to investigate what’s going on over there.”
“Mm. That’s true. The Akatsuki is still understaffed, but we do have a few targets in mind.”
Seeing Obito uncharacteristically calm, Black Zetsu felt a small wave of relief.
“We should confirm the situation in Kirigakure. After all, both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails are still there. I’ll have Itachi’s team head over—Biwa Jūzō is familiar with the area.”
“Good.”
Obito nodded. Sending Uchiha Itachi was a solid move—at the very least, it would keep that guy too busy to pester him.
“By the way, who’s the new recruit?”
“Apparently, someone from a cult. No clear identity yet, but from what I’ve gathered, they seem to have unique expertise when it comes to souls. Their members supposedly can’t die.”
Black Zetsu didn’t bother hiding anything and answered straightforwardly.
“A cult? Can’t die?”
Obito’s interest was piqued. He was genuinely curious about such things—he really wanted to see what this so-called ‘immortality’ looked like.
Still, it was just curiosity. After all, he was going to create a new world. Even immortality didn’t hold much value in that context.
“I see.”
With that thought, he nodded and casually asked, “Who’s in charge of the recruitment?”
“Oh, I know that one!”
Before Black Zetsu could answer, White Zetsu chimed in cheerfully.
“It’s that same guy whose eyes glowed green when talking about your bounty—Kakuzu!”
“Kakuzu...”
Just that one word.
As Black Zetsu shot a murderous glare at his other half, Obito’s gaze shifted again.
