Chapter 1029

The power of the One-Tail can only be hers; this so-called new cooperation is merely because she saw me capture Iruka. Thinking back to the days when she was used as a pawn by him, Saika knew well that if she cooperated with Black Zetsu again, even more blame would await her in the future.

So she killed Black Zetsu without hesitation.

"A brilliant ambush—you've mastered Senjutsu chakra to this extent? I truly underestimated you." A girl's voice—more accurately, the voice of a young child—sounded as Saika prepared to leave. Saika instantly felt icy gazes surrounding her from all directions…

Her body couldn't move. This killing intent was wrong—what exactly is this…

"I'm very satisfied with my Yin-Yang clones. They're easy to create, their control range has virtually no limits, and they're effortless to operate." From the shadows, a tiny figure slowly rose from the ground. Saika's eyes had been specially modified by Puppetry Arts; even in such dim light, it was as bright as daylight, so she saw the other's appearance with perfect clarity.

She was barely even worthy of being called a little girl—only "young child" fit her. She wore a strangely styled white outfit. Though she refused to admit it, she knew clearly the true face of the other.

"So this is your true form… I suspected it wouldn't be your real appearance."

"Your true form is truly beyond my expectations." She couldn't move—completely suppressed by an invisible pressure. Even as she frantically pushed Senjutsu chakra stored in her core, even as a faint green glow covered her skin, Saika still lacked the strength to twitch a single finger.

Sensing the futility of the other's struggle, the young child's face twisted in disgust. "You should give up already. If this power's true master were here, there'd be zero resistance. But unfortunately, you chose this path."

Though Saika couldn't move, she knew this crushing force surrounding her wasn't released by Black Zetsu. That meant there was another being here—one who could immobilize her merely by her presence.

"Sometimes, when Black Zetsu is around, I think: perhaps your two sisters disappointed me, but at least they did what their station demanded… what about you?"

The voice was as cold and clear as a mountain stream, yet carried a dread-inducing authority. The owner of this voice was Saika—she wanted to lift her head, to see who this was—but the sudden surge of pressure slammed her flat to the ground, as if a thousand juns of stone had crushed her.

"I… I know I was wrong, so I brought her here for Mother to deal with." Black Zetsu's voice now was weak and submissive, utterly unlike her usual scheming tone. Saika grew even more curious about the identity of this "Mother."

She would surely be punished by Kasan, or Mother, or both—but unfortunately, Black Zetsu excelled at creating trouble, not solving it.

The exchange was brief. Due to the overwhelming pressure from Kaguya, neither Saika nor Kaguya dared raise their heads until after they reached an agreement, and only then did Black Zetsu use Yin-Yang Release to teleport Saika away.

"Why did you do this?" In truth, when Kaguya confronted Saika, Black Zetsu had already marked her for death—and even prepared herself for a stern scolding from Mother. But Kaguya chose to spare her, and even promised Saika: if she followed Kaguya's orders, she would receive power more alluring than the Tailed Beasts'.

At this moment, Kaguya remained safely within Konoha. In truth, after absorbing the One-Tail and Two-Tails, her connection to her true body on the moon had become far easier. Thus, creating ordinary clones via Yin-Yang Release was effortless—though "ordinary" here was relative. Merely by projecting her incomplete aura through a clone, Kaguya had already suppressed Saika. When she focused her attention just slightly, it was like gripping the other's throat.

"I'll deal with you later. I have new plans for her now." As Kaguya said, the moment she laid eyes on Red Sand Saika, she could not tolerate her existence. But after her anger passed, Kaguya found a better option: she didn't kill her—she made a deal with her.

Black Zetsu clearly heard the terms of the deal, and thus understood deeply: Mother had set Saika a trap from which there was no escape. After all, Kaguya's condition for Saika's task was one that could be fulfilled.

Honestly, when Mother said it, Xiao Jue thought he had misheard. Jin Ji was quite certain that Konoha would soon dispatch a ninja squad including Lin Cheng to help the Sand ninja with the search, and within that very short window, Scorpion would have a golden opportunity to complete this deal.

Of course, Kaguya hadn't failed to consider that the other might flee.