An intriguing character from the Naruto universe, Zetsu is not always understood by fans. However, his role is essential within the Akatsuki and he was created for specific purposes.
The Akatsuki is reputed to be a criminal organization made up of legendary and dangerous shinobi who have deserted their village. Their skill in combat is beyond measure and their career speaks for them. But among all these weird-faced people, there’s even more intriguing: Zetsu. With a body divided in two, a white part and a black part, this character is rarely engaged in combat, which is particularly surprising. How can an Akatsuki member not like fighting? We explain everything about this strange character.
What is Zetsu’s role in Akatsuki?
Each Akatsuki member is recruited because of his unique qualities. The same goes for the character of Zetsu. What sets him apart from the other members and makes him an outstanding Naruto character is his art of reconnaissance and information gathering. For this, it has the possibility of sneaking through any terrestrial element, wood or ground, without even being noticed by the greatest experts in detection. This is one of the reasons why he stayed in the meeting room for a long time during the Five Kage Summit, without getting caught.
Thanks to these qualities, Zetsu is the messenger par excellence within the Akatsuki. Whether it is to transmit information, a document or any other package, it is the perfect character. Akatsuki members rely on him to transmit all sorts of things safely. He obeys Madara who he has been with for a long time. We discover it in Obito’s explanatory flashback to Kakashi, during the Great Ninja War.
Moreover, what is even more intriguing is when we know that the character of Zetsu is actually the unit of two different entities: Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. Each part has its history and its qualities that make it distinct.
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Black Zetsu: a very ancient entity
Black Zetsu is a very old entity. He is born of Kaguya Otsutsuki’s last wish. She subconsciously manages to create Black Zetsu, just as her own son, Hagoromo, was going to seal her.
The entity’s mission since its inception is to bring Kaguya back to life. That’s what she’s been doing ever since.
If things took so many years, it’s unfortunately because Kaguya didn’t have the time to give the entity strength. Black Zetsu has no physical force and is therefore limited in its actions. Unable to handle Hagoromo, he grew attached to his son Indra, who had a dark heart. He then bonded with his descendants, the Uchiha, whom he manipulates as he pleases, to achieve his ultimate goal: to resuscitate Kaguya.
Black Zetsu’s biggest breakthrough is his manipulation of the message inscribed on the sacred stone of the Uchiha : the code for the execution of the infinite lunar arcana. The entity manages to convince Madara of the stone’s message. The latter will therefore take it into his head to execute it in order to create his ultimate world. Which induces the birth of the Akatsuki, whose ultimate goal is to gather the tailed beasts, essential ingredients for the execution of the lunar arcana, but also for the resurrection of Kaguya.
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The birth of White Zetsu
White Zetsu was also born from Kaguya’s hands. Before being permanently sealed, she had managed to capture people in the Tree of God, thanks to her execution of the Infinite Lunar Arcana. Kaguya having perished before completing his work, those captured were imprisoned in the statue of Gedo. Over the years, they lost their human essence, turning into bizarre creatures.
These are the creatures that will later become White Zetsu, after Madara Uchiha summoned the Gedo Statue and imprinted Hashirama Senju’s DNA on it. They have acquired the physical form and can manipulate the wood element, thanks to the properties of the First Hokage’s DNA.
Later, before dying, Madara merges Black Zetsu with White Zetsu, giving him a physical body. Although he proves to be docile to Tobi’s commands, he has never lost sight of his ever-devious goal to carry out his creator’s plans: the resurrection of Kaguya.