Speaking of Black Zetsu, he truly was unparalleled. Planning for over a thousand years just to bring Kaguya back—Sakura couldn't help but admire such unwavering determination.
"Little brother?!" The Sage of Six Paths was completely stunned. What did it mean—creating himself a younger brother before being sealed away? And where did that term "Unblessed One" come from? What the heck was that?
"A creature born from Kaguya's own power and will. He isn't really human—his main form looks like a blob of black clay," Sakura roughly described Black Zetsu's appearance. The Sage of Six Paths' face immediately darkened like the bottom of a cooking pot. Black Zetsu was barely considered human—could he actually claim to be his younger brother? Was this some kind of joke?!
"Now that I've explained everything about Kaguya, what do you think?" Sakura asked the Sage of Six Paths.
"I want to go see my mother!" The Sage had regret and sadness in his eyes. "If only I'd communicated with Mother more back then, things probably wouldn't have turned out the way they did. I always believed chakra was the bond connecting hearts—but I myself failed to truly connect with her heart."
Chapter 119: Minato's Self-Reproach [Part 1]
"You'll need to wait a bit before going to see Kaguya. First, help me bring out two souls," Sakura said, stopping the Sage of Six Paths who was about to leave. This old man possessed the ability to pull souls back from the Pure Land to the living world, so obviously she'd have to take advantage of that right now.
"Which two?" The Sage of Six Paths didn't refuse. For him, this wasn't particularly difficult, so helping out wouldn't be a problem.
"One is Aya Aiye, your mother's handmaiden, and the other is Rin Nohara, Kakashi-sensei's comrade," Sakura answered. "If you can bring Aya Aiye with you when meeting Kaguya, maybe her resentment toward you will decrease somewhat. You could help Aiye convince Kaguya. Also, tell Kaguya one thing—if she changes her mind and gives up using Infinite Tsukuyomi to gather an army, I'll help completely revive Aiye for her!"
"All right!" After some consideration, the Sage of Six Paths directly nodded in agreement, then continued, "Rin Nohara hasn't been gone long, so finding her soul shouldn't be too hard. But as for Aiye, she died even earlier than me—it might take quite some time to locate her soul."
"You've waited for over a thousand years—can't you wait a little longer?" Sakura rolled her eyes. Even if someone has been dead for centuries, it's just harder to find them—not impossible. This world doesn't have anything like reincarnation, after all. Suddenly remembering Rin's situation, she added, "Oh right, don't bother going to the Pure Land for Rin. Her soul isn't there—it's hovering near the threshold between the Living World and the Pure Land. Just look for it at the boundary!"
"No problem. Please wait a moment!"
The Sage's Staff floated behind him, hovering midair, while he clasped his hands together. His Rinnegan flared with power, instantly tearing open space and pulling out a soul from the gap between the living world and Pure Land.
"You see this? She's the only soul in the entire gap between worlds. And she seems to be holding on with deep attachment, as if waiting for something to arrive. She refused to come out no matter what, until I finally dragged her here by force!"
The Sage of Six Paths felt curious too. He had once tried pulling souls back from Pure Land before, but those souls hadn't resisted much when pulled out. This particular soul, however, had desperately fought against his power, refusing to leave her spot.
"She's waiting for Obito Uchiha!" Sakura understood Rin Nohara's attachment well. According to the original storyline, after his death, Obito didn't directly head for Pure Land. Instead, he briefly stayed with Rin at the gap between worlds. Then he returned one last time to give Kakashi a temporary glimpse into an advanced Sharingan power, before completely departing to Pure Land together with Rin.
"Wait a minute, Sakura. What exactly do you mean? Why would Rin be waiting for Obito at the gap between worlds? Shouldn't Rin have already reunited with Obito in Pure Land after their deaths?" Kakashi sensed something odd. After all, when people die they usually go to Pure Land—except for existences like the Sage of Six Paths. Since Obito died much earlier than Rin, how could she be waiting for him there?
"Obito didn't die. So where would he go for that reunion in Pure Land?" Sakura's words made Kakashi's eyes widen. Nearby, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki also looked completely shocked.
"That's impossible! Obito saved me during the Kannabi Bridge incident and was crushed beneath falling rocks back then. How could he still be alive?" Kakashi covered his left eye, recalling clearly how Obito had been buried beneath the crushing boulders.
"He really is alive though. Back then, just before those stones completely crushed him, Madara Uchiha had White Zetsu rescue him. Granted, he lost one eye and the right half of his body was reconstructed from Hashirama Senju's cells—but he truly survived!"
Sakura turned her gaze toward Minato while explaining, "You even saw him yourself, Uncle Minato—twelve years ago!"
"Twelve years ago? But wasn't my teacher…" Kakashi frowned. Twelve years ago, wasn't his teacher already dead? How could he have possibly seen Obito?
"Twelve years ago… Could it really be…?"
Minato initially looked confused, but soon his eyes suddenly widened in realization. Twelve years ago—having lost his left eye, possessing only a single Sharingan in his right eye, and having a body reconstructed from Hashirama Senju's cells. Everything pointed towards one person—the very man who caused the Nine-Tails disaster twelve years ago, the one who personally released the beast, the man who dared to claim himself as Madara Uchiha.
"That's exactly him!" Sakura sighed deeply. Obito had lived his whole life amidst deception and suffering. The sole light in his life—Rin—was snuffed out before his eyes by his closest friend. Then, manipulated by Madara Uchiha, he released the Nine-Tails, causing the death of Kushina Uzumaki. And his teacher took his own life after Kushina's passing—as a direct consequence of what Obito had done.
The Cursed Seal sigil on his heart kept him from hurting himself and stopped him from revealing who he truly was. As he hoped his teacher would recognize him and come to his rescue, all he heard was the name "Madara Uchiha." He must have felt nothing but despair at that moment.
"No way... How could it be him? Impossible!" Minato Namikaze suddenly looked as if all the life had drained out of him. He had imagined many possibilities—he suspected the enemy might be Madara Uchiha, or someone from the Uchiha clan, maybe even an opponent who had transplanted a Sharingan—but he never even considered that it could be Obito Uchiha.
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