February 4, Year 60 of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Near the city of Dune in the Land of Wind.
Shishou, now sporting a full beard and standing at 1.8 meters, was resting inside a desolate mining pit. Although purchasing a black market mining operation was his cover story for Uchiha Itachi, he genuinely intended to buy a copper mine in Dune City. He had spent the past few days inspecting several mining sites.
"When will Black Zetsu finally show up?" he wondered.
To limit Black Zetsu's Mayfly Technique, Shishou had chosen the sparsely vegetated Land of Wind. He had coated the surrounding plants and ground with a network of his Phosphor Beetles' nano-threads, creating a detection field. Now that his Phosphor Beetles had evolved into a legendary species, they could survive in the air indefinitely unless attacked by jutsu. If Black Zetsu appeared nearby, Shishou would detect him immediately and infiltrate him with the Phosphor Beetles.
This invisible Phosphor Beetle web was extremely convenient but very time-consuming to set up, making it suitable only for ambushes. However, the plant life in the Land of Wind was incredibly sparse, which frustrated Shishou as he had yet to detect any sign of Black Zetsu. He had already encountered several White Zetsus, but they were swiftly devoured by his Phosphor Beetles as soon as they emerged from the ground.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was also growing impatient. The Mayfly Technique allowed him to merge with the earth and plants, moving swiftly through organic networks like roots and underground water. However, the desert environment of the Land of Wind, with its scarce water and plant roots, rendered this technique almost useless. Black Zetsu could still merge with the earth to move, but his efficiency in finding or escaping from targets was severely compromised.
"Why did that idiot come to a place like this?" grumbled White Zetsu as he emerged halfway from the sand.
"Stop complaining. Have any other White Zetsus found him?" Black Zetsu asked.
"No idea. Without plant roots and underground water, we can't contact the other White Zetsus," replied White Zetsu before submerging into the desert to search elsewhere.
Suddenly, Shishou, who had been meditating, opened his eyes. His Phosphor Beetle web had caught a prey.
"Found him!" Shishou exclaimed.
On a withered tree nearby, Black Zetsu emerged, elated to have located Shishou, and prepared to notify Pain.
"Ah!" A scream echoed as White Zetsu fully appeared on the tree, his body covered in dark purple spots. Recognizing the symptoms, he immediately realized he was poisoned by Shishou.
"Have I been discovered?" Black Zetsu detached himself from White Zetsu, transforming into a black liquid to separate from the poisoned parts.
In an instant, Shishou appeared before Black Zetsu, clapping his hands together.
"Wood Release: Wood Pillar Prison Technique!"
Seeing Shishou, Black Zetsu attempted to escape into the desert but found himself trapped. Surrounding him were wooden walls inscribed with black sealing runes, forming a sealed space that cut off his connection to the earth.
"Why can't I sense the earth? Why can't I merge with these wooden walls?" Black Zetsu was horrified, encountering such a situation for the first time.
Seeing Black Zetsu's expression, Shishou chuckled and discarded the now-ash sealing talisman in his hand. This talisman, the enhanced version of the one he had used to stroll through the Hidden Leaf Village with the Fourth Hokage's soul, was called the Sealing Isolation Talisman. Created with the accumulated power of the priestess shrine in the Land of Demons over generations, it was incredibly rare and expensive to produce. Even the priestess herself couldn't make it without Shishou's financial support.
This talisman could block Shishou's connection to his Flying Thunder God mark and sever the link between the dead and the Pure Land. Using it to isolate Black Zetsu from the earth was a piece of cake. However, its powerful effect consumed a significant amount of chakra, draining Shishou's reserves at a rapid rate. Even with his vast chakra pool, Shishou could only maintain the technique for a few minutes, which was more than enough to kill Black Zetsu ten times over.
"Your target is me!" Black Zetsu realized Shishou's true purpose, understanding that Shishou wouldn't have used such a perfect countermeasure otherwise.
Without wasting words, Shishou summoned countless Phosphor Beetles, now mimicking flying insects, to attack the black liquid form of Black Zetsu.
"Ahhhh!" Black Zetsu screamed in agony, unable to use Wood Release and severed from the earth.
"Damn it!!!" he cursed one last time before being completely devoured by the Phosphor Beetles.
"You think you can fool my eyes?" Shishou activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, detecting a tiny thread of Black Zetsu hiding in a crevice.
"Mangekyo Sharingan! You have the Mangekyo Sharingan!" Black Zetsu was terrified, recognizing Shishou's eyes.
Without responding to Black Zetsu's shock, Shishou snapped his fingers, annihilating the remaining fragment of Black Zetsu. The greatest manipulator in ninja history was now dead.
After meticulously scanning the area with his Phosphor Beetles to ensure no trace of Black Zetsu remained, Shishou released the Wood Release barrier and stepped out. On the ground, only fragments of White Zetsu's body parts were left.
"So, you've killed Black Zetsu," came a voice from a few meters away.
Obito Uchiha appeared, holding the severed head of White Zetsu. He felt no particular emotion at Black Zetsu's death. In fact, he was somewhat grateful to Shishou for eliminating Black Zetsu, who represented 'Madara's will.'
"He survived," Shishou remarked, surprised to see the half-head of White Zetsu still alive.
Obito casually tossed the head and said, "Yeah, plant it, and it can be reused."