Black Zetsu could see it clearly—Uchiha Obito’s state of mind was already crumbling.
Yet, to his own surprise, he could understand Obito’s collapse.
After all, even his own composure was beginning to crack!
“Ōtsutsuki…”
Of course, he knew just how terrifying an Ōtsutsuki truly was. But in this miserable condition, how could they possibly be saved?
It might have been better if they had stayed sealed away. Perhaps then things wouldn’t be quite so dire.
“Do you know who he is?”
While Black Zetsu fell silent, Obito suddenly lifted his head and fixed him with a burning stare.
“Tell —just who is this man? Who exactly is he?!”
“He—”
Black Zetsu’s lips parted, but before the words could leave his mouth, he suddenly felt sothing.
[Boom—]
He whipped his head around. The head of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path suddenly burst out of the ground!
That hideous face, its nine eyes tightly shut, was covered in countless cracks and scars—proof of the tornts it had endured.
Most terrifying of all, a gaping wound yawned open on one side of its skull, making Black Zetsu’s scalp crawl.
Thankfully, the Demonic Statue could still regenerate. Otherwise, even he would have been plunged into despair.
[Crack… crack… crack—]
The statue’s massive jaws creaked open with an ear-piercing grind. A thin, withered figure toppled out, crashing onto the ground. Official source is N0velFire.ɴet
“Nagato?”
Obito’s eyes went wide with disbelief, then lit up with joy.
Half of Nagato’s body was nearly gone. If not for the white mass of Zetsu matter clinging to him, the man would already be dead.
But his Rinnegan still glead in his eyes—that alone ant everything was fine.
“Go call Konan.”
Quick to react, Black Zetsu imdiately directed the White Zetsu to channel chakra into Nagato, then turned to Obito.
“No… don’t call Konan.”
Even in this broken state, Nagato remained conscious. His voice was weak, but resolute.
He had known this mission was dangerous, which was why he had gone to such lengths to keep Konan back in the Land of Rain.
And he had been right. He didn’t want her to see him like this.
“I’m fine. I just need to rest a little…”
“Now, let’s talk about this so-called Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.”
Obito let out a breath of relief, then glanced at Black Zetsu and asked in a low voice, “How much do you actually know?”
“I don’t know much, but…”
Black Zetsu bit down, clearly torn, before finally deciding to reveal sothing.
“You’ve all heard the story—the tale of the Sage of Six Paths sealing the Rabbit Goddess.”
“The Rabbit Goddess?”
Obito frowned in confusion, but Nagato’s eyes flashed, and he asked in a strained, eager tone, “What about her? Tell —what does she have to do with this?”
“According to legend…”
Black Zetsu hated speaking of this—after all, it involved his own mother. But right now, he had no other choice.
“The Rabbit Goddess actually had a surna. And that surna… was Ōtsutsuki.”
“What?!”
Nagato and Obito were both dumbstruck, their faces full of disbelief. Neither had expected such a shocking secret.
Nagato pressed forward, desperate.
“Are you certain? Is that true?”
“I can’t say for certain, but I’ve seen it recorded in so ancient texts.”
Black Zetsu had no other choice—this was all he could say.
Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to roar in frustration. He was only pretending to be Uchiha Madara’s will! That bastard Madara himself didn’t know this—so how could he dare to speak recklessly?
But things had already co this far; all he could do was push the burden onto those lost records.
He felt profoundly relieved that so much information had been lost to ti. In this world, no one knew the true nas of his two 'dear' elder brothers anymore.
“This wasn’t the main point, so I never paid much attention. But now, after seeing that man’s display… I fear—”
“That’s it! Exactly!”
Nagato suddenly grew feverishly excited, as if he had finally proven sothing.
The Rabbit Goddess of legend had been an Ōtsutsuki. And now, the “new god” he faced was also an Ōtsutsuki!
Whether there was a deeper connection, he couldn’t be sure. But what he was certain of now was that he was walking down the very sa path as the Sage of Six Paths.
“If the Sage of Six Paths could achieve it, then so can I! As long as I defeat him, I can be just like the Sage of Six Paths—I can bring peace to this world!”
Nagato clenched his fists. His conviction left Obito baffled and Black Zetsu silent.
'…Well, perhaps that’s for the best.'
Black Zetsu shook his head. Though it displeased him, the will to continue fighting was more important than anything.
'Perhaps it’s ti to make so decisions,' he murmured inwardly as his gaze settled on Nagato.
Whether Nagato could really deal with Ōtsutsuki Genshiki was unknown. But it seed he had no better options left.
And given the current state of things, he had to begin preparing for Uchiha Madara’s resurrection.
He wouldn’t use the Rinnegan directly, though—he had to maximize his gains.
And Orochimaru’s Edo Tensei might just provide him with the perfect opportunity.
'Nagato needs to grow stronger. The Rinnegan will remain with him for now. As long as I can control him, it’s fine. Besides…'
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path still needed repair and replenishnt—and only Nagato could manage that.
He resolved to empower Nagato while arranging for Orochimaru to resurrect Uchiha Madara with Edo Tensei.
If Nagato truly fell, he could forcefully seize control, use the Rinnegan to revive Madara fully, and at the sa ti, have Nagato serve as the one to test Ōtsutsuki Genshiki’s strength.
'But that won’t be enough. I’ll need more people.'
With that thought, Black Zetsu turned toward Obito.
“Did you bring them back?”
“Yes. Including the dead.”
Obito gave a small nod.
“Orochimaru’s jutsu left a deep impression on . Unfortunately, that man escaped.”
“I’ll find him.”
Obito’s response aligned perfectly with Black Zetsu’s own thoughts, and he found himself nodding in agreent.
Even in death, people could still be made useful.
“Besides that, I need you to thoroughly investigate this so-called Ōtsutsuki matter.”
Obito’s eyes darkened as he continued grimly, “That man has his sights not only on the Tailed Beasts’ chakra, but also on the Rinnegan. He’s bound to be our greatest obstacle.”
“I know. I’ll handle this matter carefully.”
Black Zetsu nodded, though his patience was wearing thin. How exactly this would play out depended on his own hand—and he could barely endure it any longer.
But soon, he sensed sothing was wrong—as if there was sothing he had forgotten to do.
“Wait a second. It’s just you and Nagato who ca back? Where are the others?”
“I brought them back. They’re in the Kamui space.”
“??? Then why haven’t you released them?”
“…”
“Hurry up, or they really will die!”
...
“Wow, you’re sothing else. Not only did you take down those two guys, but afterward you even used your Flying Thunder God to warp away the attack. But hey—you didn’t co up with that just to deal with , did you? Hm?”
“Idiot. That’s the Fourth Hokage’s technique. What are you even thinking?”
On the streets of Konoha, Kitagawa Gen strolled leisurely with Deidara and Terumī i.
The Chūnin Exams had ended, and all over the village, signs of battle were still being cleared away. Even Iwa-nin and Kiri-nin had been assigned to help with the reconstruction.
But this wasn’t the sort of work that required Kitagawa Gen’s hand. Instead, he had been given a different task—playing host to the two by his side.
Terumī i remained quiet and composed, but Deidara’s chatterbox habits had already flared up again. Luckily, Gen was in good spirits, so he didn’t mind too much.
“The Fourth Hokage used this technique to teleport away a Tailed Beast Ball, and he even warped the Nine-Tails outside the village. I just made so improvents, that’s all.”
“Eh? So it wasn’t made just to counter ?”
Deidara looked disappointed, while i let out a soft sigh.
“It’s an incredible technique. I’d heard about the Flying Thunder God long ago, but this is the first ti I’ve actually seen it. Truly astonishing.”
“Thank you. Honestly, the techniques of Kirigakure are remarkable too.”
Gen responded politely without thinking—but the mont the words left his mouth, he realized it sounded wrong.
After all, his own Ice Release was exactly a style belonging to Kirigakure.
Sure enough, a glance out of the corner of his eye showed i’s expression had tightened. Not wanting to linger on it, he quickly shifted the topic.
“Alright, enough of that. As your host, I should be taking you around Konoha, but with things as they are… why don’t I treat you to a al instead?”
“A al? Oi, oi, oi—you don’t an Ichiraku Ran again, do you?”
At the ntion of food, Deidara’s eyes first lit up, but then he grimaced at the thought.
The two mouths on his palms gaped open at once, tongues dangling out in distaste.
Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten the last ti—when he’d stuffed noodles into them, only to have both mouths spit everything back up.
“Relax. I’m taking you out for barbecue.”
Gen shrugged with a smile.
“It should be fine over there. Let’s check it out.”
“I don’t mind.”
i nodded casually. She knew well enough why Genji had asked her to accompany him, so she didn’t particularly care what they ate.
Deidara, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at Gen, asking in a curious tone—
“Strange… after everything that happened during Konoha’s Chūnin Exams this ti, how co you’re still in such a good mood?”
“?”
“Normally, with how stingy you are, there’s no way you’d be treating us to barbecue.”
“…”
“Naruto—that little blond brat—told so himself. He said you’re the stingiest of them all!”
“…”
Kitagawa Gen felt his fist tighten. That bastard Naruto—how dare he slander him like this?
But he had to admit—right now, he really was in an excellent mood.
[Side Quest Exclusive to Konoha: I Am the Village’s Hope — Completed]
[Reward Obtained: One-Tail Chakra]
Glancing at his panel, he chuckled. If it were at another ti, this reward would have been great.
But compared to what he had just gained, it was nothing!
This ti, disguised as Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, not only had he tested his abilities thoroughly, but more importantly, he had shattered the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
He hadn’t left behind a single fragnt of the statue. Though, for the sake of keeping up appearances, he couldn’t very well stoop down to pick them up…
Still, when leaving, a quick Universal Pull to activate “auto-pickup mode” had taken care of that nicely!
'And those fragnts of the Demonic Statue… they resonate strongly with the Source of the Divine Tree inside . It seems…'
He knew at once—this would bring him trendous benefits.
He was certain that once he used the Source of the Divine Tree to devour those fragnts, he would gain imnsely from it.
'And now, with the addition of the One-Tail’s chakra, I might even be able to break through to the 50th stage of the Ōtsutsuki line.'
Reaching 50% developnt ant his bloodline was already half unlocked. What changes that would bring, he couldn’t yet say.
But he knew one thing—he was walking the right path. And before long, he could start scheming for the Tenseigan on the moon as well!
“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”
While Gen pondered, Deidara, that loud blond, piped up again.
“Don’t tell I was right?”
“No. I’m thinking about the next stages of the Chūnin Exams.”
Gen gave him a glance, then spoke quietly.
“After all, the trials aren’t finished yet. They’ll definitely continue. Only two people have been eliminated so far—there’s no way it ends here.”
“Eh? Two people eliminated? But the first match isn’t even over yet!”
“Unfortunately, the Raikage and the Kazekage failed to pass this joint Chūnin Exam. Isn’t that already an elimination?”
“…”
“And in the rounds ahead, more will definitely be eliminated. Personally, I’m hoping for one blond in particular.”
“…”
---
I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar
---
Reviews
All reviews (0)