Black Zetsu felt a sudden shock. When had Madara become this sensitive?
He whined, "I just reached out my hand! And didn't you, Lord Madara, tell me to do it this way in the first place?"
"Reached out your hand?" Madara's face darkened. "Yes, I did tell you to do that. But that's because I previously misjudged the Six Paths power. Now that I myself have become the Six Paths body, no one understands this body's strength better than me. How could you possibly break through his defenses?"
"Damn it, so I shouldn't have succeeded either?" Black Zetsu inwardly cursed while his mind raced rapidly. "I think this is because..."
"No need to explain!" Madara said sternly. "There's a simple way to determine whether you've been replaced—it's to have you, as my consciousness fragment, return to my main body! If you can return completely, then I must've been overthinking. If not, heh..."
Hearing Madara's sinister laughter, Black Zetsu shivered inwardly. He simply spread his hands. "So you figured it out. Impressive as always, Lord Madara. As for my identity..."
"Don't bother weaving any more lies. I've already seen through your identity!" Madara declared confidently. "You're that person who exchanged eyes with Obito, or more precisely, the consciousness fragment that took advantage of the transaction between him and Obito to replace Black Zetsu!"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened. "You... you..."
Seeing Black Zetsu's shocked expression, Madara secretly sneered while savoring the thrill of deduction. "You managed to breach Obito's Six Paths body because of those eyes, right? You used the Rinnegan to influence Obito's mind, making him voluntarily lower his defenses!"
"And as for handing over the Six Paths power, it must've been because your main body's condition wasn't very good, struggling to suppress the Ten-Tails' consciousness. That's why you wanted me to temporarily take over! Plus, you were wary of the ninja's strength, wanting me to clear the obstacles first before you swooped in to reap the benefits!"
"If I kept using this eye, the next person to get 'plundered' from the inside would've been me, right?"
"Drawing the right conclusion from completely the wrong assumptions... now that's logical genius!" Black Zetsu marveled inwardly, then sighed. "Sure enough, your biggest difference from Obito is in intelligence. I could manipulate him, but I can't get a grip on you at all!"
"Don't think a little flattery will save you!" Madara snorted coldly. "Tell me, what's your main body's identity!"
"There's no point in hiding it from you anymore!" Black Zetsu said solemnly. "Yes, I am your great-granduncle!"
A chill came from Madara's eyes. "What did you say?"
"It's true!" Black Zetsu asserted seriously. "If we're speaking in terms of bloodline, I am your ancestor!"
Then, before Madara could erupt, Black Zetsu hurriedly told his story.
However, in his telling, he shifted from being a participant to merely an observer, from Kaguya's consciousness to that of Isshiki.
Frowning deeply, Madara didn't believe him. "What proof do you have for all this?"
Black Zetsu chuckled, "Aren't you yourself the best evidence? You really thought developing the Rinnegan was all your own doing?"
"You're a genius, no doubt about it. But this world's full of geniuses. What makes you special is that you're the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths!"
"Why did you and Hashirama Senju go from best friends to bitter enemies? Because of the destinies you both carried! Indra resented his father's favoritism toward his younger brother and cursed that even after death, his chakra's reincarnation would always remain entangled with his brother's until the end of the world!"
Madara didn't care about much else, but when he heard that last part, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "So according to you, I should be Hashirama's older brother?"
"I just spilled all that back story and that's the only part you latch onto? Unbelievable!" Black Zetsu rolled his eyes internally before goading, "With the Six Paths favoring his youngest son, you were destined for failure..."
"Wait a second—you're saying the Sage is still alive?" Madara's expression subtly changed.
"He's dead! But for someone at his level, death is just another form of existence!" Black Zetsu continued. "As the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, you should be able to understand this easily, right?"
Madara nodded. Indeed, he currently felt he could exist permanently.
"But I don't get it—since he's still around, why doesn't he step forward to end this mess? With his power, no one could possibly oppose him, right?"
Black Zetsu snorted. "He believes peace obtained through force and fear isn't true peace!"
Madara's voice was like ice. "Even false peace is ten thousand times better than genuine chaos. Besides, as long as he exists forever, couldn't he maintain that illusion forever?"
Black Zetsu shrugged. "See? Now you understand why Indra was disfavored by the Six Paths while Asura—the one clinging to impractical ideals—was favored?"
Madara's expression continuously shifted before finally exhaling heavily. "I'll personally verify everything you just said!"
Black Zetsu remained unconcerned. He hadn't expected Madara to believe so quickly. As long as he firmly planted the idea of 'father's rejection and son's approval' in Madara's mind, his goal was achieved!
After all, according to Aniki's words, in the end, the Six Paths would probably come out and take sides anyway!
"What about you then? What's your purpose?" Madara's gaze turned sharp.
"Didn't you already figure that out before?" Black Zetsu sighed. "My main body wants you to take the front line and deal with The Six Paths!"
Madara remained indifferent. "Then what does he plan to do now?"
"You wanted to verify the truth yourself, didn't you? Once you've verified it, my main body will naturally appear and fight The Six Paths alongside you!"
Madara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What if he doesn't show up then?"
Black Zetsu said, "Isn't his eye in your possession? As long as you threaten to crush the eye, my main body will naturally appear!"
Madara's lips twitched. After tricking mothers, fathers, and sons—now even betraying the main body itself?
Indeed, the Otsutsuki clan certainly produces exceptional talents!
...
At the same time, in the Temporary Meeting Chamber.
Hashirama looked at Tobirama with concern. "Tobirama, your arm really can't be restored anymore?"
Tobirama calmly replied, "We're already dead anyway. Does it really matter anymore?"
"That's right... We're already dead!" Hashirama suddenly realized.
Tobirama's eye twitched slightly. He ignored him and turned his gaze to the others sitting in the meeting room. "Although the enemy has been repelled for now, everyone has grown too relaxed. But I believe everyone present can sense the crisis ahead, right?"
Onoki nodded his head. "Even though they're both Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, Madara's threat level is absolutely incomparable to that of Obito Uchiha!"
Rasa also wore a heavy expression. "That tree has absorbed an enormous amount of Chakra. After reclaiming the God Tree, Madara is even closer to achieving the Complete Form!"
Tobirama took a deep breath. "Most importantly—the extra eye Obito Uchiha possesses means we might still have hidden enemies to deal with!"
P.S.: The chapter this morning was a bit lackluster. The one published at midnight should still have a follow-up.
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