Black Zetsu

, created from the will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki to secure her revival, is one of the central antagonists of the series and the mastermind behind most of the events that shaped shinobi history. To further his plans, he was later partnered with White Zetsu to work in the service of Akatsuki as half of the duo of Zetsu.

Background
Black Zetsu was created by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki shortly before she was sealed as the Ten-Tails by her sons Hagoromo and Hamura. It would later manipulate Hagoromo's eldest son Indra and, over the centuries, his and Asura's descendants in an attempt awaken the Rinnegan in one of them. To this end, it modified Hagoromo's tablet to claim that Infinite Tsukuyomi would be the salvation of the Uchiha clan, changing details about it as well as about the Shinju. It recorded many events in history for Kaguya, including Madara and Hashirama's last fight in the Valley of the End.

When Madara had seemingly created White Zetsu and the others, it was actually Black Zetsu pulling the transformed humans from Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi out of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. When Madara was on the verge of death, he believed he had created Black Zetsu, thinking it was a manifestation of his will that was imbued onto half of White Zetsu and that the complete Zetsu was also partially his clone. Zetsu later accompanied Obito Uchiha to Amegakure to locate Nagato, who had unknowingly been given Madara's Rinnegan as a child, and watched as Obito introduced himself as Madara Uchiha.

Personality
Compared to White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, nicknamed, is more serious and knowledgeable. In the Japanese version of the manga, Black Zetsu only uses katakana for okurigana and furigana. This is often conveyed in the anime through a deeper voice. While it and White Zetsu sometimes had differing opinions, the two halves were still able to function as a single entity.

Black Zetsu had the skill of appearing extremely trustworthy, obedient and loyal, being entrusted with Akatsuki's secrets and knowledge of Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan. In actuality, however, its true loyalties were kept secret from nearly everyone, including Madara himself. Unlike White Zetsu, who was kind to his allies, Black Zetsu expresses its belief of anyone beneath Madara as useless. When Obito lost the tailed beasts, Black Zetsu commented on how he was a more effective servant to Madara. It also had no qualms about using Obito's dying body as a host when it fought Kakashi Hatake and Minato Namikaze, showing how little it cared about the Uchiha's welfare, while deriding Obito for being useless for his treason. However, Black Zetsu's loyalties do not truly extend to Madara either, having feigned being created by the man in order to manipulate him discreetly, and then harshly betrayed him and expressed to him how he was really no different from Obito. It appears in the end, Black Zetsu's true loyalties reach only to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, a person it claims to be the will of, and whom it affectionately refers to as "mother"; Zetsu even refers Hagoromo's ideals of ninshū as absurd and his original text on the stone tablet as garbage.

Zetsu's main role within Akatsuki was to function as a spy, with other duties that were similar to those of a hunter-nin. It was able to control its body and take part in the tailed beast sealing ritual simultaneously, which, in addition to being unique to it, allowed it to act as a lookout while the sealing took place. When an agent of Akatsuki, or possibly even a member, died, Zetsu was sent to devour their bodies so as to not have their secrets revealed, further adding to its nature as a half-plant creature. Zetsu was also the one sent to retrieve the rings of dead Akatsuki members. Due to the role it played, Zetsu was the only member of Akatsuki to act without a partner on a regular basis. It operated on his own, often moving between the different locations where the other Akatsuki members were located. This resulted in other members reporting directly to it, rather than the figurehead leader, Pain. Zetsu would in turn report directly to Pain as well as Obito, the organisation's benefactor and eventual leader.

Black Zetsu is generally harsh and critical of nearly everyone he comes across, with the exception of his creator Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Referring to himself as her son, he shows a deep reverence and devotion to her and is willing to go to any lengths to please her. He even goes as far as to encourage others to sympathise with her predicament following her sealing. His determination to aid who he affectionately calls his mother runs so deep that he spent countless years influencing the shinobi world in order to facilitate her revival, even claiming that the history of the shinobi existed only to bring her back. Interestingly, when he first referred to himself as Kaguya's son, Black Zetsu's tone and demeanor was noted by Sasuke to have changed.

Appearance
Black Zetsu's true form is a completely black, humanoid figure lacking any hair or visible orifices, which he can shape and resize at will. Although occasionally he shapes the black mass to form a mouth. The black mass contains two yellow eyes, which lack any visible sclerae or pupils. Black Zetsu appears to have only retained one eye after being placed within White Zetsu by Madara, though he regained the second eye upon Kaguya's revival. Black Zetsu's eyes and consciousness can move to any point of the black mass, even if it is split into multiple parts. He is able to cover the body of a living being and control it, and his eyes can vanish entirely if he is possessing a body with a dōjutsu he wishes to make use of.

After he merged with the deformed right half of White Zetsu, the two Zetsu were easily distinguished by the Venus flytrap-like extensions that emerged from their sides, enveloping their head and upper body as a shell, which they were able to open and close. Beneath these extensions, Black Zetsu had short green hair, originally coming from White Zetsu. The black mass did not cover the entire right half of White Zetsu's body however, as Black Zetsu's foot was still white like his other half. Under their Akatsuki cloak, they wore blue pants and sandals, and had both legs wrapped in bandages, which hid the area where the black mass on the leg merged with White Zetsu's white foot. White, screw-like dots protruded out along the edges of his left half where he was attached to White Zetsu. Black Zetsu wore his green Akatsuki ring, which bore the kanji for, on his right little finger. In the anime, both of their fingernails were painted pink and their toenails, as seen in his début, were blue.

When the two halves split apart, their plant-like extensions would separate and hang from the waists of both. Any clothing they were wearing, including their Akatsuki mantle, would split along with them, causing them to later discard their torn clothing. When either of the halves emerged from the ground while split, their plant-like extensions would surround them in a circular formation. The two also demonstrated the ability to grow an additional leg from their white body mass to substitute for their missing half when split.

Abilities
Black Zetsu is able to record all the events he observes, as well as show these "recordings" to others by merging with them. He is a skilled sensor type, and was able to sense Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B as soon as they escaped the barrier surrounding the Island Turtle, despite being a vast distance away. He has also shown the ability to alter his form and shape. By attaching himself to others, Black Zetsu is able to control the target's body and use their abilities as his own if they are in a weakened state. Black Zetsu melding with somebody also has the effect of sustaining their life, allowing them to temporarily survive such things as using a sacrificial technique or having a tailed beast extracted from them. However, should the target regain control of their body, they can prevent Black Zetsu from detaching himself, thus using this trait against him. While attached to them however, Black Zetsu can also absorb their chakra. Like his creator, Black Zetsu has shown the ability to imbue his will into his targets, which rendered even Madara unable to move or resist.

Ninjutsu
While Black Zetsu was attached to White Zetsu, their signature technique was Mayfly, which allowed them to merge with the ground to quickly travel to a new location, though not as quickly as Obito's space–time travelling. This technique was ideal for Zetsu's function as a spy, as it erased his presence as well, and was an ability that both halves as well as other artificial humans could perform. In addition to functioning as a single entity by communicating through their thoughts, Zetsu's two halves were able to split apart, allowing them to act independently. While separated, the two halves could extend roots underground to communicate with each other over long distances. Black Zetsu is also able to telepathically communicate with other individuals.

Nature Transformation
While possessing White Zetsu's body mass, Black Zetsu had access to Hashirama's cellular material, allowing him to utilise Hashirama's Wood Release, albeit on a much weaker scale. Black Zetsu accomplished this by transforming his white body mass and plant-like extensions into roots during battle.

Intelligence
Influencing and manipulating many prominent and other deceptive individuals throughout history including Indra, Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Nagato, Kabuto Yakushi, and a countless amount of others, Black Zetsu proved himself to be a highly deceptive and cunning individual. In order to further his plan to revive his creator, Kaguya, Black Zetsu has also influenced many events to secretly manipulate those most useful to him. With the goal to manifest a Rinnegan into one of his pawns, Black Zetsu even orchestrated the Uchiha and Senju clan's entensive rivalry. In order to set the Eye of the Moon Plan in motion, Black Zetsu rewrote Hagoromo's stone tablet so that Madara would find it and become his unknowing pawn. To further gain Madara's trust, Black Zetsu also tricked him into thinking that he was an extension of the latter's will, feigning undying loyalty. Additionally, orchestrating Akatsuki's goal to capture the tailed beasts and Kabuto's alliance with Obito, Zetsu claimed that the entire Fourth Shinobi World War went all according to his design. In fact, Black Zetsu believes that because he had such a substantial influence over the events that have taken place throughout the history of shinobi, all of it is essentially his tale of reviving Kaguya. Having lived for centuries, Black Zetsu has amassed more information of the shinobi world than almost any other individual.

In battle and alongside his creator Kaguya, Black Zetsu has shown to be an adept tactician who can analyse his opponents and suggest appropriate countermeasures to their tactics to which Kaguya complies with and carries out.

Dōjutsu
While helping Madara in his attempt to retrieve his left eye from Obito, Black Zetsu was able to steal possession of the latter's Rinnegan while almost completely removing himself from his body. This, however, would prove temporary when Black Zetsu was finally able to return the eye back to Madara, receiving Obito's original left eye in exchange. Wielding both of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan, Black Zetsu was able to utilise the left eye's Kamui to travel to and from an alternate dimension while bringing another person with him.

Upon detaching himself from Obito, Zetsu no longer has access to Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
After Sasuke and Naruto's fight at the Valley of the End, Kakashi and Pakkun appear to bring Naruto back home. As the three begin the journey back home to Konoha, Zetsu appears from the ground, having witnessed the whole battle. Later his silhouette appeared with the rest of the Akatsuki members where they discussed Orochimaru taking Sasuke Uchiha, the capturing of the Nine-Tails and the furthering of their plans.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
During the extraction of the One-Tail, Zetsu is told by the Akatsuki Leader to use his real body to use as a lookout, in which he identifies several enemies such as Team Guy, Team Kakashi, as well as Chiyo who was with the latter. Later, he is sent to dispose the corpses of Mukade and Yura, finding Mukade a delicious meal.

After Sasori and Deidara were defeated, Zetsu and Tobi were sent to retrieve their rings, and dispose of their corpses. However, he was unable to eat Sasori due to him being a puppet, but was amazed to finally see what the real Sasori looked like. Tobi found Sasori's ring, wishing to take his place. Black Zetsu thought this was a bad idea, but White Zetsu thought otherwise, noting that Tobi was a good person. They later found Deidara's severed right arm and believe him dead until he arrived and proved them wrong. This caused Black Zetsu to wonder why Deidara hadn't captured Naruto Uzumaki, to which Deidara replied that he had already fulfilled his quota either way.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
After Hidan and Kakuzu defeated Yugito Nii, Zetsu appeared to retrieve Yugito, and asked if Hidan was finished with his long winded ritual. When Hidan claimed that they were infidels ignorant of prayers, Zetsu told him that when sad and alone, all one can count on is yourself. Kakuzu, disagreeing stated that money was all one could count on. White Zetsu agreed that money was important, however Black Zetsu stated finding the next one was much more important. Zetsu is later seen sealing the Two-Tails.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
After Deidara's death Zetsu was sent to recover his body, with White Zetsu wondering what happened to Tobi. Black Zetsu mentioned that based on the damaged area, he was most likely caught up in Deidara's explosion. Later, when Pain had encouraged the organisation to mourn Deidara's loss, White Zetsu took it on himself to mourn for Tobi's loss, while Black Zetsu thought such a notion was ridiculous. After Pain's fight with Jiraiya, Zetsu revealed himself to have been watching the whole battle. As Pain announced he was going to capture the Nine-Tails, White Zetsu said it would be an interesting battle and wanted to go. However Black Zetsu had another battle in mind, and they decided to watch Sasuke's battle with Itachi. Both halves spectated and commenting on the battle, with Black Zetsu offering knowledge on various Sharingan abilities. When Itachi died, Zetsu noted that Itachi shouldn't of been that weak, believing him to have already been afflicted prior to the battle. He later appeared near Tobi while he was engaged in combat with the Eight Man Squad, to report to him the result of the fight. They then led Tobi to where Itachi and Sasuke were, with Black Zetsu confirming to Tobi that he had indeed recorded the fight. After a meeting with Taka and Kisame, Tobi met with Zetsu on a bridge where they discussed the fact that Itachi — who had been hampering their plans — was dead and Zetsu lamented on the fact that so many Akatsuki members had died. Tobi said their deaths were worth it because Sasuke was in his hands now.

Invasion of Pain Arc
In the anime, Zetsu was present alongside the other Akatsuki members when they extracted the Six-Tails from Utakata. Zetsu is present when Akatsuki begins sealing the Eight-Tails, and when it is revealed that the jinchūriki fooled Sasuke and replaced himself with a tentacle, White Zetsu flew into a hysterical laughter, which greatly annoyed Black Zetsu. Upon Nagato's death and Naruto returning to the village crowned as a hero, Zetsu revealed himself to have hidden inside a tree, watching the entire fight between them, hardly believing Pain to have been defeated, but decided to relay the information to Tobi. He then returns to Tobi and Kisame, reporting Nagato's death and betrayal, also mentioning that Konan wouldn't be returning either.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Zetsu finds Tobi after the latter had encountered Taka, revealing that Konoha had already been destroyed, and that Danzō had been named the acting Hokage. He then mentioned to Sasuke that Naruto had defeated Pain, and was probably stronger than him. When Taka agreed to go to the Kage Summit, Zetsu split in half. White Zetsu proceeded to lead Sasuke and his team to the Kage Summit while Black Zetsu remained behind and discussed with Tobi the fact that they might lose control over Sasuke and would therefore lose their last chance to have someone sync with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Tobi declared that he was tired of hiding, and explained that they needed to speed up the "Eye of the Moon Plan".

White Zetsu and Black Zetsu meet up at the site of Killer B and Kisame's battle only to reveal that Kisame's decapitated body was actually one of White Zetsu's shape-shifting clones. It is then revealed that Kisame, by having the clone fake his death, was then able to infiltrate Kumogakure while inside Samehada which was being carried back to Kumogakure by Killer B who intended to use it as his own weapon. Black Zetsu then stated that it was their feeding time and that they should merge once again.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
At some point, Black Zetsu reveals the corpse of Madara Uchiha to Kabuto, allowing him to ressurect the ancient Uchiha to use in the upcoming war. In the anime, Zetsu sees off Tobi before he made his journey to Amegakure to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan. Upon Tobi's acquisition of the Rinnegan, Zetsu informed him that the scroll with the information that Kisame Hoshigaki sent through his messenger shark had arrived, also noting that everything seemed to be going in their favour. Zetsu later accompanies Tobi as he shows Kabuto around the Mountains' Graveyard, but questions if Tobi should really trust him.

Shinobi World War Arc
Supervising Sasuke's recovery, Zetsu told him to be patient when asked if his bandages could be removed, remarking that when he did regain his sight it would be to a different world. As the Fourth Shinobi World War commenced, Black Zetsu separates from White Zetsu separate to carry out his assigned tasks. Before departing, Black Zetsu confirms to Tobi that White Zetsu's spores had been placed on Kabuto's body.

Emerging from the ground near the daimyō's hideout, Black Zetsu infiltrated the structure, despite alerting the enemy to his presence. However, upon discovering the daimyō's absence, Black Zetsu retreated and declared that they shouldn't underestimate his capabilities, as he was a part of the very land itself. Later locating his desired targets, he was instead obstructed by Mei Terumī and her squad, but sensing the Eight and Nine-Tails' chakra while confronting the team, he immediately communicated this to Tobi via White Zetsu. Told that the daimyō were no longer necessary with their quarry now in the open, Black Zetsu was ordered to continue with his guerilla tactics against the Mizukage's team to keep them from regrouping with the rest of their forces. The fight continued throughout the night.

Continuing to battle with Mei and her squad, Black Zetsu observed the arrival of Naruto's shadow clone to their location, who then proceeded to crash into a tree beside him. Growing roots from portions of his body whilst fighting, he used them to trip Naruto and avoid his Rasenshuriken, only to be bisected from behind by the enlarged blade of Chōjūrō's Hiramekarei. Immobilised, Black Zetsu wondered how the sword grew to such a size in an instant and was then sliced in half and pinned to the ground by Chōjūrō's blade as the Mizukage departed. Having been reincarnated, Madara telepathically communicates with Black Zetsu, ordering him to keep watch on Obito until after his "playing" with the Five Kage is done. Subsequently, Black Zetsu seeps into the ground, escaping.

Infinite Tsukuyomi Arc
With Obito weakened after the tailed beasts were extracted from him, Madara enacted his trump card. With this, Black Zetsu suddenly emerged from underground and restrained him. As he began to meld with half of Obito's body, Madara was able to force Obito into using the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. Apologising as this all unfolded, Black Zetsu noted that from the start, this was his sole purpose for existing. With Madara's revival a success, Black Zetsu attempts to retrieve Madara's Rinnegan eye from Obito until Minato and Kakashi intervene. Black Zetsu once more melds with Obito's body, using the Uchiha's body to battle his former team and noting that his merger was the only thing keeping Obito alive. While both sides were at a stalemate, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path emerged from Obito's artificial body, quickly being teleported. Afterwards, Black Zetsu again attempted to take the left Rinnegan. Obito, managing to resist Black Zetsu's control of his hand, told Kakashi to destroy the Rinnegan. Black Zetsu, realising what the summoning of the Demonic Statue meant, informed his enemies that Madara has regained his right Rinnegan.

Standing to face Minato and Kakashi in battle, Zetsu complained about the duo's stubbornness before Gaara arrived along with Sakura and a dying Naruto to their location. Black Zetsu managed to steal Kurama's Yin half when Minato tried to transfer it into his son, thus becoming its jinchūriki. Soon afterwards, Zetsu was joined by Madara who complained about having to come all the way there. As Black Zetsu attempted to return to Madara, bringing with him Yin-Kurama and Madara's missing eye, Obito overpowered him, keeping him merged to his body and he spoke with and subsequently attacked the legend. As Kakashi and now Obito were determined to save Naruto, the two use their respective Kamui to send Naruto to the other dimension and soon afterwards Obito as well. Once there, under watch of a sceptical Sakura, Obito proceeded to transfer Yin-Kurama into Naruto.

Later, after Madara managed to teleport himself using Obito's original Sharingan, which he took from Kakashi, he overpowered Obito and reclaimed his Rinnegan, allowing Black Zetsu to regain control of Obito's body. Madara also implanted Obito's original Sharingan back into his body in order for Black Zetsu to use its power. When Madara began casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu was unaffected, noting that the moonlight could not shine through Sasuke's Susanoo due to his Rinnegan. After the genjutsu ended, Madara managed to confront Team 7, but was stabbed from behind by Black Zetsu, who admonished a confused and shocked Madara for believing that he was any different than Obito and that he himself couldn't be used. After a distraught Madara stated that Black Zetsu was supposed to be his will, he declared that he is in reality "the will of Kaguya". Following this declaration, Black Zetsu proceeded to spread all over Madara's body as the latter screamed in anguish, whilst forcing the chakra of the people caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi out from the ground and having Madara absorb it, turning him into a gargantuan blob. When it was completely covered by Black Zetsu, Madara's body shrunk and changed, bringing forth the revived Kaguya in his place.

Two incarnations of Black Zetsu once again re-emerge to absorb Naruto and Sasuke's chakra. While attached to their bodies, Black Zetsu shows and explains to them what he did to ensure Kaguya was revived. After he is completed, he attempts to return to Kaguya, but Naruto and Sasuke manage to regain control of their bodies and rip Black Zetsu off themselves, preventing him from absorbing any more chakra. He notes that Naruto and Sasuke are too rebellious, and that they can't do anything to Kaguya. Nonetheless the duo attack Kaguya and prove to be surprisingly effective in their coordinated strikes. It is then when Black Zetsu suggests to Kaguya that she separate the two in order to pick them off one by one. Kaguya complies with this by promptly sending Sasuke to another dimension.

Naruto 6: Road to Ninja
Zetsu was responsible for sending several clones disguised as deceased Akatsuki members to attack Konoha at the beginning of the movie. Later, he was seen with Tobi after Naruto and Sakura returned to their world, noting that they were so close to capturing the Nine-Tails.

Creation and Conception
In Naruto Hiden: Sha no Sho Character Official Data Book, Kishimoto revealed that he had originally planned for Akatsuki to be a group of monsters, "with almost no human characteristics", and that Zetsu's design was modelled after an insectivorous plant. He also stated that he had decided to make Zetsu half black and half white to "better show his split personality".

Trivia

 * According to the databook:
 * Zetsu's hobby is observing unique shinobi.
 * Zetsu wishes to fight people who are likely to leave behind a corpse that will make a good meal.
 * Zetsu's favourite food is "chewy" people, while his least favourites are konnyaku and jelly.
 * Zetsu's favourite phrase is, which roughly means "The only one you can count on is yourself".
 * Wherever Tobi is, Zetsu is never far behind.
 * Oddly enough, after escaping from Chōjūrō in his real shapeless form, Black Zetsu is then seen already possessing another White Zetsu-like body mass when attacking Obito. This white mass completely disappears when Black Zetsu merges with Obito's body, but then is immediately restored when Black Zetsu leaves Obito's body. And it finally disappears again when Black Zetsu merges with Obito for the second time. It is unknown if Black Zetsu uses some White Zetsu's spores or can regrow his white body mass himself.
 * The name means "tongue". A fitting name, as Zetsu's two halves were referred to as  and  based on their personalities.

Quotes

 * (To Hidan) White Zetsu: "When you're sad and alone…" Black Zetsu: "…The only one you can count on is yourself."
 * (To White Zetsu) "A weapon's strength or weakness is dependent on the user's ability to use it. An expert with a pebble can still beat a novice with a shuriken."
 * (To Minato and Kakashi) "I'm Madara's will. I'll eliminate whoever stands in his way. You and Obito took Madara way too lightly, and you underestimated me as well."
 * (To Madara) "You're not the saviour… and it's not over. Why do you think, that unlike Obito, you can use everyone else? Why would you be any different?", "That's not true either! My will is… Kaguya's!"