Black Zetsu waited, he was hiding in the darkness in a random alley in Rōran.
The defenses in Rōran were... unconventional to say the least, on the surface, security was lacking, but that was because of the real way they protected themselves.
A network of Chakra Strings basically covered the whole city, invisible to everyone except Sensors and the variety of eyes that could see Chakra, if a disturbance was detected, then he would bet that the hidden puppets would activate.
And there were so many hidden puppets, he had noticed at least a few hundred during his scouting mission, most disguised as decoration for the city.
So if Black Zetsu was foolish in his infiltration, he could expect to be run out of the city by an army of puppet soldiers.
Not that they had any chance of killing him or catching him, but it would make his plan harder.
So, after hiding in a random drunk's body, he had infiltrated the city, and now he was waiting for the streets to clear up so that he could continue deeper into the city.
And when the sun set, and the streets very dark and empty, he moved, unseen.
***
1 HOUR LATER
Something was wrong, he was no fool, he had a millennium of experience in infiltration and manipulation.
And all his instincts were telling him that this was too easy, there were guards, sure, but every patrol route had holes that could be exploited, but not by normal people, just by someone that could change his shape at will.
Like himself.
Logically, why would they be expecting an amorphous shapeshifting creature like him?
But his instincts still screamed at him that something was wrong.
He ignored them, even if he was being given a way towards the Source of the Ryūmyaku, it did not matter, he wasn't here to do anything big, just to scout it out.
For now...
Eventually, he reached his destination, hidden underground and only accessible through a single door guarded by a massive puppet that dwarfed any other in the city.
Black Zetsu reached out with his Chakra sense, and confirmed it, that was where the source of the Ryūmyaku was, so close that he could almost touch it.
He attached himself to the ceiling, a wave of pure black liquid crawling towards the door, the puppet did not move.
There must have been some sort of barrier on the room, because the moment he crossed the threshold, the feeling of Chakra intensified tenfold.
At the center of a room was a pit, and at the center of that pit stood a pillar, and from it, a massive amount of Chakra was being channeled.
And... That was all?
No guards, no complicated security system, no crazy powerful ninja protecting it?
He hesitated, he had confirmed the Ryūmyaku's location, and he could feel like the amount of Chakra was enough to rival at least a few Tailed Beasts, so he was tempted to just leave.
"Go on, take all the time you want." A voice called out, it echoed in the chamber, Black Zetsu didn't tense, he was too experience for that, but he did swiftly reform himself into a humanoid shape and turn around. "No need to be nervous, if you want to use the Ryūmyaku, be my guest."
On one side of the chamber was someone he had never met personally, but one that had been in Black Zetsu's thoughts a lot as of late.
Saint Ayumu.
It was the person responsible for the unpreceded weirdness happening in Wave, a whole new religion springing up and becoming a contender for the Great Villages in just 3 short years.
"Saint Ayumu." He greeted slowly. "What a surprise to see you here, aren't you supposed to be dead?"
The man just smiled at him pleasantly.
"Now, now, we both know that you are more than aware of my existence." He chided lightly. "I already know about your plans, and about your support of Obito Uchiha."
Hmmm, perhaps it was a foolish hope to expect Ayumu to not know about him, that did confirm the fact that they had extracted some information from the White Zetsu's that were sent to Wave.
"And you don't mind little Obito using the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" He asked with slight skepticism. Normally, people were quite agaisnt of being trapped in an eternal Genjutsu.
"Oh, I apologize, let me rephrase what I said earlier." Ayumu's smile became sharper, more mocking. "I am fully aware of your plan, and your manipulation of Obito, Child of Kaguya."
...
This was the first time in centuries that he was genuinely caught off guard.
He, in his whole life, has not mentioned to anyone about his parentage, it was a detail that he had never needed to mention, and so he had locked it deep within his mind.
Not even the Sage of Six Paths was aware of his connection to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, yet this human knew?
"Interesting..." He mused slowly. "And how are you aware of this information?"
Ayumu laughed lightly.
"The Watcher sees much, from his place amongst the stars." He said, mockingly. "And what he sees, I also see."
Black Zetsu did not move, he kept staring at Ayumu, taking in his appearance.
From everything he could sense, there was no Chakra signature, if he killed Ayumu right now, what were the chances that this information would fade into nothingness?
Low, he calculated, from all the reports, it seemed there really was a being called The Watcher, one with enough power to be considered a threat.
"And you are fine with my goal?" He questioned with practiced disinterest. "Mother would rule the world once more, why wouldn't she destroy you alongside everyone else?"
Ayumu shrugged.
"That's a problem for later, who knows, maybe she will spare The Order, but that's not a decision you can make, is it?" He questioned with amusement. "Your job is not to make decisions for your mother, it's to bring her back, so I say again, go ahead, study the Source, make your preparations, once the time comes for the Rabbit Goddess to be reborn, neither I nor The Order will stop you."
And with those words, Ayumu disappeared, leaving Black Zetsu alone again.
For the first time in his life, he was not the one pulling the strings, and he didn't like it.
But...
"Mother..." He whispered. "Soon, we shall reunite."
There was little he won't do to bring his beloved Mother back, even if it meant playing into this Saint Ayumu's hands.
***
I watched as Black Zetsu studied the Ryūmyaku, after about half an hour, he left Rōran completely undetected.
Things were heading to the big finish, the last couple of pieces were falling into place, and soon, I would be facing the so-called Rabbit Goddess.
I wasn't foolish enough to think that this would be an easy conversation, from the little information I had gotten, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was... not mentally stable, and I still didn't have the full picture.
It's funny, I was so worried about this whole thing when I had first arrived, it was the main catalyst of me playing it fast and loose for the first part of my plan.
And then after that, the threat of the Ōtsutsuki clan itself made me plan to convert Kaguya into an ally, someone strong enough to fight by the Watcher's side.
But now, It was a side goal, even if they showed up tomorrow, I had a chance of winning, sure it wasn't a good chance, assuming they were as strong as Kaguya, but it was a chance.
How would it look in 3 more years? In a decade? A century?
It seems like my dominance was inevitable, even the being that was the Pure Lands was eventually going to be surpassed.
I didn't know how to feel about that.