Birth of the Juubi.

ONE WEEK LATER

"Almost there, huh?" I said to Black Zetsu, causing him to immediately stiffen. "Your plan is almost complete."

"What are you doing here!?" He shouted in alarm, looking towards me, before realizing that Obito hadn't noticed my arrival.

Not that he could, I was using some DP to hide myself and out conversation.

"I came here to watch." I said with a shrug. "Congratulations, after a millennium of planning, your mother will soon be reborn."

He stared at me in suspicion.

"What are you scheming?"

I waved him off, even if he was correct in his worries, it would be more satisfying to see his reaction when the realization finally hit him.

"There is no need to be so suspicious." I said calmly. "It's not like I can do much so close to the end, isn't that right?"

Black Zetsu continued to stare at me in suspicion, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

He, more than anyone in the room, was desperate for this to succeed, the circumstances leading up to it were near perfect, and almost impossible to recreate, especially with the Uchiha so close to extinction.

It could very well be that in 100 years it would be impossible to recreate the setup for this plan, Hagoromo's descendants may very well die out and become a footnote in history.

For Black Zetsu, this was all or nothing, everything he had worked for relied on this ritual being completed.

His face twitched, as if he was fighting some urge inside himself, before he turned back to stare at Obito.

"Don't get involved." He warned me sharply.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I answered flippantly. "I just want to watch."

And then we waited, both silent as we watched the ritual progress.

Obito had managed to maintain his focus throughout the whole ordeal, which was impressive, since the Chakra that was passing through him was staggering in its power, it would probably have killed any other person.

He basically moved enough Chakra to match most of the tailed beasts without rest for over a week, at this point, I think I was willing to admit that the Rinnegan with Wood Release was a little insane.

Eventually, the Statue stopped its constant twitching, and relaxed slightly, the eye slowly blinked, and the mouth opened slightly, breathing out once.

And then it began.

Its flesh slowly filled out, 10 tails sprouted from its back, and its body expanded until it reached the ceiling of the cave, but it didn't stop there, instead continuing to expand, pushing up against the earth above them, shattering stone as it rose towards the surface.

I glanced around the room, Obito was panting heavily, covered in sweat, his eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds, before he managed to force them open again, and Black Zetsu...

He dashed forward, sinking into Obito's body.

"We are so close, Obito! Do not give up now!" Black Zetsu shouted. "Keep going!"

With Black Zetsu helping him, Obito stood up, his face showing his exhaustion, before he began to move, rushing after the Juubi as it moved.

I simply kept watching, but I couldn't help but feel tense, in the Juubi I sensed something that worried me.

Divinity.

I chuckled to myself, seems I really should learn to stop fucking around, the universe really wanted me to find out.

Still, that was not unnexpected.

Hagoromo had it too, seems like the Ōtsutsuki were onto something with the whole eating planets thing.

Eventually, the Juubi started climbing out of the cavern, dragging itself upwards with its arms, now big enough that a single tail could easily crush a small town.

Go on, weird ten-tailed blob creature, you can do it.

***

Balck Zetsu assisted Obito, slowly levitating him up through the hole left behind by the Juubi using the Rinnegan.

It was feral, as expected, roaring at the moon in the night sky, Obito let out a small breath, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

"Not yet, Obito." Black Zetsu warned him. "It is not fully revived."

But the glee in his voice was obvious, but for Obito, it was almost infectious.

The plan would succeed, after years of working towards it, they were finally here!

The Juubi's eye rolled around in its socket aimlessly, looking at everything with no focus, the 10 tails twitched erratically, like the nerves of a body waking up.

And then it breathed out.

Without any warning, a massive blast of Chakra erupted from the Juubi's mouth, aimed at nothing in particular, a mountain vanished.

"Now, Obito!" Black Zetsu shouted suddenly. "Its Chakra is stabilized, seal it! Quickly!"

Obito didn't need to be told twice, he rushed forwards, the hand seals for the Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal flashing through his fingers rapidly.

He dodged the tails as they tried to knock him away, the Juubi noticing him now.

But the dumb beast had no chance against him.

In seconds, he reached the forehead, and slammed his hand down onto it.

"SEAL!"

Immediately, the Juubi started melting, flesh rapidly flowing into Obito's body, sinking into his skin and disappearing.

...

Obito woke up with a gasp, hand immediately grasping at his chest.

"Obito?" He heard a voice call out to him. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Rin.

His head snapped towards the voice, only to see Rin standing over him, she wore her old Genin uniform, and a concerned look was on her face.

"W-what? R-Rin?" He whispered in disbelief.

"It's okay." She said soothingly, bending down to hug him. "It was just a dream."

Was that true?

"But I have to go now, Obito, don't follow me!" She told him firmly. "Stay here, I don't want you to join me just yet."

What?

"N-no!" He shouted, grabbing her hand, but his fingers phased through them.

She turned around, and walked away, slowly walking towards... somewhere.

He got up, feet unsteady as he tried to follow her, but with every step, she got further and further away.

Suddenly, he fell, his body too tired to move anymore.

"Rin..." He sobbed quietly, tears starting to run down his face. "Don't leave..."

He heard footsteps, someone walking towards him, they sounded familiar, someone he knew.

"Hey, Obito." The person said from above him, patting his head slightly. "I'm sorry, it's my fault."

It was Minato-sensei.

"But Rin's right, you know? You shouldn't follow us yet, you still have a life to live."

"Sensei..." He whispered in response.

But Minato didn't wait for a response, he walked away from Obito too.

He struggled to get up again, his body feeling like it was burning, something deep within him told him that this was not right.

But he didn't care, his feet moved on their own, staggering after Minato and Rin.

The misty landscape and featureless ground didn't change, but his pace got faster, chasing after them desperately.

He ran for what felt like hours, legs constantly tripping over each other, he wanted to rest so badly, his lungs felt like they were about to collapse, but still, he ran.

He felt the very world pull him backwards, but every step made him more determined, angrier, more hateful.

He was not going to stop-

...

Obito blinked, he was floating in the air, below him a crater, the remnants of the cave they were staying in.

He slowly raised his arms, they were... white, not the almost malformed white of Zetsu flesh, but pale and smooth, scales started at his forearms and back, leading up to his shoulders, where fins extended outwards.

Almost instinctually, a black staff formed in his hands, pure black, a ring crowning the end of it.

The Sage's Staff.

"Tch, weaker than expected." Black Zetsu said from inside his head. "But strong enough."

That brought him out of his reverie.

Right...

He still had to hunt down the rest of the Tailed Beasts, and then cast the Eternal Tsukuyomi.

"Thank you, Obito." Black Zetsu chuckled gleefully.

Obito ignored him, instead he pointed the staff towards the ground below him.

He would test out his powers before starting with the rest of the plan.

Or, at least, he tried to.

His body wouldn't listen, and instead he stayed still.

"You were the perfect pawn." Black Zetsu laughed. "Now you have fulfilled your purpose, allow me to take over from here."

His arm moved on his own accord, palm outwards at a particular spot, before a root emerged from it, the same one he used to drain the Ryūmyaku, flying towards him.

He tried to speak, he attempted to struggle, but besides his eyes, his body refused to move.

"Don't bother struggling too much, that new body of yours will make sure that it's fruitless." Black Zetsu mocked him. "But I thank you for all your efforts, Obito, I wish you well in death."

The new body.

Obito realized what had happened immediately.

Black Zetsu had done something to him while he was unconscious after fighting Nagato, he had modified his new body, changed it somehow.

The surge of hatred that filled him almost threatened to cloud his vision, this whole time...

It was a lie, all a lie, Black Zetsu manipulated him.

His struggles only intensified, but nothing changed.

The root landed on his hand, and sank into it.

And it seconds it multiplied, what used to be a couple of meters wide root turned into dozens of roots, completely enveloping him.

"Don't worry, Obito, you will be reunited with your precious friend, everyone will be together, in death."

And a few seconds later, a surge of familiar purple Chakra flowed through it, entering his body.

Obito's mind was consumed by pain, and then, nothingness.