"Impossible!"
Black Zetsu couldn't believe what was happening before its eyes.
"Answer ..."
Shigen ignored Black Zetsu's shouting, calmly repeating his question:
"When, exactly, did you think I was the type to surrender or accept fate?"
"How did you..."
Black Zetsu looked at Shigen in confusion and fear, then clenched its taphorical teeth and growled,
"Even if you did break free of Mother's Rabbit Hair Needle, in the world of Anominaka, there's no way you can defeat her!"
"You've already lost!"
It tried to scare him—desperately seeking to reinforce its confidence and that of Kaguya:
"In this world, no one can defeat Mother!"
"I asked you..."
Shigen still held Black Zetsu by the throat, his voice calm as ever:
"From the ancient era to now—when have you ever seen surrender?"
"..."
Black Zetsu's mind exploded with a flood of curses.
This situation—was now really the ti for this conversation?
And besides...
Hadn't Shigen already surrendered before?
Didn't he give up on peace and accept the Shinobi world's fate when he was revived by Edo Tensei?
"That first ti you were brought back with Edo Tensei..."
Black Zetsu sneered, trying to provoke him:
"Have you forgotten how pathetic you looked back then, groveling in despair?"
"Is that so..."
Shigen nodded slowly—then released Black Zetsu.
"???"
Black Zetsu froze mid-thought.
Why would he let it go?
Still, it didn't matter—Black Zetsu imdiately tried to flee back to Kaguya.
Only by her side was it safe.
But—
Shigen's next words froze it in its tracks.
"Actually..."
"That Edo Tensei revival... was part of my plan."
"!!!"
Black Zetsu stopped cold, spinning around.
What the hell did that an?!
He planned to die and be revived?
"Black Zetsu," Shigen sighed.
His voice, strangely light:
"From the mont I received chakra, I was already planning for both my death—and resurrection. You should understand what that implies..."
"!!!"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened in horror.
"You've kept saying I was born in the wrong era..."
"But you forgot sothing—"
"The war between the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya didn't just leave behind scars on the world. It also left behind fragnts of the God Tree."
"And the very first chakra I received... ca from one such fragnt."
"I wasn't 'blessed' by the God Tree."
"I consud it."
As Black Zetsu stood paralyzed, Shigen calmly continued:
"Had you paid attention to my achievents in bioengineering, you'd realize what secrets I could uncover from those fragnts..."
"..."
Black Zetsu's expression finally turned to terror.
If Shigen had been experinting on remnants of the God Tree...
What had he discovered?
"What did you find out...?"
"The God Tree," Shigen began, "doesn't die."
"Even a dead God Tree continues to grow—"
"Which ans the Ten Tails, being the God Tree, cannot die either. Just like the tailed beasts that sprang from it—they are immortal."
"And the so-called Goddess Kaguya, who fused with it, naturally cannot die either."
"So back then... you already knew Mother was alive..."
"More or less."
Shigen raised his hand, forming a hand seal with practiced ease.
"Once I used the fragnts to create a new Ten Tails, I confird it."
"WHAT?!"
Black Zetsu's mind reeled.
Even Kaguya was shaken by that statent.
He made another Ten Tails?
Without anyone knowing?
Where?
How had he hidden it?!
The Ten Tails was immortal.
Even Shigen couldn't erase its presence completely!
"Summoning Jutsu."
Shigen's hand slapped down through the air.
A tiny white slug erged through the space-ti gate and landed on his shoulder.
"A slug!" Naruto gasped.
"Sakura's summon," Sasuke added grimly.
"But I heard... in the ancient era, it was Shigen who raised the slugs."
"Lord Shigen..."
The little slug clung to his shoulder, speaking shyly:
"Why only summon my clone with such a tiny bit of chakra? You could've summoned my main body to help in battle..."
"This is enough," Shigen replied.
"Give my eyes."
He held out his hand.
He knew the slug had them.
"You always bring my eyes when I summon you..."
"..."
The slug nodded, spitting out a small vial.
Inside—
Were a pair of pristine, preserved eyes.
"Those are—!"
Black Zetsu imdiately recognized them.
"The Rinnegan of the Sage! You've been hiding them all along!"
"They're not his."
Shigen calmly pressed them into his eye sockets.
"I destroyed the Sage's Rinnegan with his corpse long ago."
"These are mine. They just happen to have the sa powers..."
"For example—"
"Kamui."
Shigen's eyes turned red—Mangekyō Sharingan.
Three tomoe spun into a complex pattern.
Suddenly—
The air twisted violently.
A brown, massive tail slowly slid out of the distortion.
"That chakra..."
Black Zetsu and Kaguya both stiffened.
Another Ten Tails!
He wasn't lying.
It was all true.
And now—
They understood why they never found it.
"Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan..."
"If that eye is yours—"
"You developed it in the ancient era, unlocked Kamui, and kept the Ten Tails hidden in your personal dinsion..."
"Exactly."
Shigen continued summoning the beast.
"To hide its presence, that was the one ti I used these eyes."
A gargantuan Ten Tails erged, its roar shaking the dinsion.
But—
When it saw Kaguya—
It howled in rage.
It rembered her.
"!!!"
Kaguya instinctively stepped back.
"Settle down."
Shigen's eyes shifted—
Mangekyō turning into Rinnegan.
The Ten Tails obeyed.
It dove straight into Shigen's body.
He absorbed it.
Black Zetsu was too stunned to react.
Compared to this...
Shigen having both Mangekyō and Rinnegan seed... trivial.
Because chakra itself—
Was the Ten Tails' essence.
For soone like Shigen...
Creating new power from that source was inevitable.
"An immortal Ten Tails..."
"An immortal Jinchūriki..."
Shigen felt the power welling inside him.
Finally, he looked directly at Kaguya.
"And an immortal Kaguya."
Then—
He turned his gaze to Black Zetsu.
"And the will she created..."
"Back in the ancient days, I noticed your existence."
"I attacked Indra... just to lure you out."
"Because only you could lead to her."
"Kaguya..."
"She is the greatest threat to peace in this world."
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