Black Zetsu

1. 1
   The will left behind

   Made for one task

   Black Zetsu comes into being as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's manifested will, left behind when she is sealed. It has no wants of its own — only the task written into it: bring her back.

2. 2
   The first push

   Seeding the feud

   Black Zetsu tempts Indra, the elder son of Hagoromo, into rivalry with his brother. From that quiet push grows the long Uchiha–Senju feud — the first move in a plan measured in centuries.

3. 3
   The rewritten tablet

   A lie carved in stone

   To set its plan in motion, Black Zetsu alters Hagoromo's stone tablet, so that a later reader — Madara Uchiha — will find in it the Eye of the Moon Plan, and believe it his own idea.

4. 4
   Madara's "will"Debut Arc · Twelve Guardian Ninja

   The pawn who trusts it

   Black Zetsu poses as Madara's own manifested will, feigning undying loyalty. Madara, certain it serves him, lets it guide his every step — never guessing whose will it truly is.

5. 5
   The betrayal

   It turns on its pawn

   Once the Infinite Tsukuyomi is cast, Black Zetsu betrays Madara — impaling him from behind and forcing him to absorb the chakra of millions, so that he will become the vessel for Kaguya.

6. 6
   The mother returns

   Centuries spent in a moment

   Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is revived at last. Every push, every lie, every patient generation of waiting was spent for this — the single goal Black Zetsu was made to reach.

Black Zetsu was never a fighter, and never needed to be. Its weapon was time. As the will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, it could attach to a host and steer their choices from within, fuse with White Zetsu to move unseen, and — above all — outlast everyone. Every shinobi it manipulated grew old and died; Black Zetsu simply waited, and moved the next piece.

Play today's Narutodle or browse past answers.

• Who is Black Zetsu?+

  Black Zetsu is the dark half of Zetsu and the manifested will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Created to secure Kaguya's revival, it spent centuries as the hidden hand steering shinobi history toward that single goal.
• Who created Black Zetsu?+

  Black Zetsu was created by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself. It is the physical manifestation of her will, left behind when she was sealed away, and built for the sole purpose of one day bringing her back.
• How did Black Zetsu manipulate history?+

  Black Zetsu tempted Hagoromo's son Indra into rivalry with his brother, seeding the Uchiha–Senju feud. It rewrote Hagoromo's stone tablet to mislead Madara, and posed as Madara's own will to steer him as a pawn.
• Did Black Zetsu betray Madara?+

  Yes. After Madara cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu turned on him — impaling him from behind and forcing him to absorb the trapped chakra of millions, so Madara would become the vessel for Kaguya's revival.
• Is Black Zetsu the same as White Zetsu?+

  No. The two are fused to form the Akatsuki member called Zetsu, but they are different beings. White Zetsu came from the God Tree; Black Zetsu is the manifested will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and the true schemer of the two.
• Has Black Zetsu been a Narutodle answer?+

  Black Zetsu is in the daily answer pool of 210 characters. The Previous Narutodle Appearances list on this page shows every date he was the Classic answer, each linking to a replayable archive puzzle.
• How do you guess Black Zetsu in Narutodle?+

  Black Zetsu's Village column reads None, a rare grey result. His Nature Types pair Yin with Yang, his jutsu types hold only Ninjutsu, and his single Attribute is Akatsuki member.