Watching the stern expression on Sawara Kiri's face, Black Zetsu's smile gradually stretched across his cheeks, tearing from its original arc to a curve beyond human reach.
He laughed with unrestrained abandon.
Just as Sawara Kiri had judged, from the very beginning, the 'power' Nagato believed in was nothing but an illusion.
The moment the two merged on the moon, he had already gained complete control over that body.
From the start, Nagato had fallen into his trap.
No one in this world understood better than Black Zetsu how much his two 'brothers' valued the seal on his mother.
First, Otsutsuki Hagoromo spread his teachings and established the Ninja World on the earth, distributing his mother's Chakra to every ordinary person, and even sacrificing his life to merge with the will of this world as a warning.
Then, Otsutsuki Hagoromo moved his family and clan to guard the moon, with generations of descendants stationed at the sealed land to prevent intrusion, personally overseeing his mother's sealed location.
Under normal circumstances, with these two layers of protection, there was no means to break his mother's seal.
It was precisely for this reason that Black Zetsu had been toiling in vain for a thousand years in this vast Ninja World.
The first glimmer of hope he saw was that foolish yet arrogant Madara.
Unfortunately, Indra's bloodline ultimately could not overcome Ashura's fate. While he was alive, he was always inferior to Hashirama, and even with all his might, he couldn't activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi as he had planned.
What was even more troublesome was the appearance of a young man in Konoha Village whose talent surpassed even that of the former Hashirama, namely Sawara Kiri.
It wasn't until Nagato appeared that he saw the last ray of hope.
Whether it was initially instigating Nagato and others to oppose Sawara Kiri, or later establishing a base in Hidden Rain Village to break the seal, it was all intentional on his part.
He knew very well that at that time, Nagato had no ability to contend with Sawara Kiri or Konoha—neither in terms of individual strength nor overall power, there was not a single chance.
Originally, he had hoped that Yahiko, who had the deepest bond with Nagato among the trio, would die in battle to ignite Nagato's desire for power.
Even though Konan was captured in the end, it didn't matter.
His goal was ultimately achieved.
Nagato became the man he desired, who would fight Sawara Kiri to the death and stop at nothing for power.
Thus, the journey to the moon naturally followed.
The entire process of this operation was, frankly, unremarkable.
As Black Zetsu knew, the descendants of Otsutsuki Hagoromo were still guarding the moon's seal for generations, but because they hadn't been visited for a long time, these Ōtsutsuki descendants seemed to have suffered a large-scale civil war for some reason, and their population had decreased to an unprecedented level, leading to significant damage to the moon's environment, which Hagoromo had originally modified, making it impossible to continue living there.
On the entire moon, only a very small number of Ōtsutsuki descendants were still barely surviving, and they would probably self-destruct in a few decades.
However, compared to ordinary Ninja, this was still an extremely powerful force.
Moreover, they also possessed the eye that Hagoromo had specifically left behind.
The Tenseigan.
To break through these final layers of defense, Nagato and Yahiko fought their way from the front of the moon to the back, but they ultimately suffered a great loss before the Tenseigan. Even Yahiko sacrificed himself to create an opening for Nagato, making it a thorny path for Nagato.
But for Black Zetsu, this act was a natural progression.
Even after the Rinnegan defeated the Tenseigan, Black Zetsu still did not reveal his purpose — he knew very well that both Uchiha Hikari and Nagato were actually wary of him.
Even though his apparent identity was merely a life 'created' by Madara.
Therefore, he facilitated the fusion of the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan.
Even though Nagato possessed an astonishing amount of Chakra and vitality, even for an Uzumaki, it was ultimately too weak compared to the power of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Almost the instant these two eyes began to merge, his body began to rapidly collapse.
Thus, it was only natural that Black Zetsu would 'sacrifice his life' at the critical moment, merging into Nagato's body.
Until this very moment.
"A full thousand years."
As Black Zetsu spoke, the inky black colour gradually spread like paint from that head to the body that originally belonged to Nagato. His dark yellow eyes still watched Sawara Kiri, but his voice gradually changed from the initial excitement to calmness, and then to indifference.
"My mission... is finally complete."
The Truth-Seeking Orbs around his body spun rapidly, subtly splitting, gradually increasing from six to nine, then to twelve.
"Sawara Kiri."
"As a human, you truly possess talent beyond my imagination. Perhaps even Hagoromo and the others never imagined that such a talent as you could emerge from the Ninja World they founded."
"But, nothing matters anymore."
"This world is about to welcome its true god."
Sawara Kiri narrowed his eyes, looking at him with what seemed like interest.
Among those present, the most intense reaction came from Madara in the distance.
"How is that possible?!"
"What exactly are you?"
He stood on the ruins of the Wood Golem, his eyes involuntarily wide, his wild, long hair bristling like an agitated cat, his expression shaken.
Although he was quite old when he finally separated 'Zetsu,' that didn't mean he was senile.
He clearly remembered that this was a life he had created from the Gedo Statue using Wood Release.
Not only its body, but even its mind and thoughts were constructed by his own hands.
But now, it seemed that was not the case at all.
What made him even more wary, even fearful, was a deeper question.
If even the 'life' he personally constructed was fake, then for whom had he been toiling all these years?
"Have you finally realized, Madara?"
Black Zetsu smiled as he looked at him: "You've truly worked hard all these years."
"For Mother's resurrection."
Upon hearing this, hideous blue veins immediately bulged along Madara's brow and forehead, and his entire face tightened like an iron plate, displaying the unique bluish-black colour of an Edo Tensei body.
Next to him, Hashirama looked at him with a puzzled expression:
"Eh? Madara, you know this monster?"
"It's not just that he knows it." Tobirama saw more, his expression cold. "This bastard clearly fought with that kid Sawara Kiri after we died. He didn't die at the Valley of the End at all."
"Eh—?!"
Hashirama shouted even louder.
Madara, however, had no time to bother with the two brothers. He merely stared intently at the dark figure in the distance, his thoughts gradually drifting from the present back to decades ago... the moment he personally saw the secret of the family's stone tablet with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
That's right.
The process of awakening the Eternal Mangekyo was so difficult; even he himself only managed to gather such a pair after countless coincidences.
Then, among his ancestors, who carved the words on the stone tablet that only the Eternal Mangekyo could see?
Why was there no trace of him in the Uchiha Clan's records regarding the family's stone tablet?
If the one who left the mark was the only two possible ancestors, Indra, or even the Sage of Six Paths, then why did they not mention anything related to the Rinnegan?
Some things cannot be thought about too deeply, but upon closer inspection, there were loopholes everywhere in the traces of his life's planning.
However, at that time, for a vague peace, and to truly surpass Hashirama in both strength and achievement, he completely ignored these loopholes, clinging desperately to them like a drowning person grasping a reed.
To the point of being so foolishly manipulated.
Even becoming a joke.
The more he thought this way, the fiercer the fire in Madara's heart burned, and his gaze towards Black Zetsu was as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Until the very end, he could no longer endure it.
"Boom—!"
A dull, explosive sound of Chakra propulsion erupted from behind him. The remnants of the Wood Golem he stood on completely collapsed, and his figure shot out like lightning towards Black Zetsu, the Uchiha War Fan drawn from his back striking the ground like thunder.
"Die!"
A shockwave exceeding the speed of sound spread out in a visible semicircle in the air. The Uchiha War Fan, made from the branches of the Divine Tree, formed an unsustainable arc under the immense force of the swing. Madara's eyes were bloodshot, as if he had completely lost his reason.
It was only at this moment that the Senju brothers behind him suddenly realized that the shackles on their bodies had seemingly disappeared at some point.
Presumably, it was due to the fusion of Nagato and Black Zetsu, which caused some issues with the Edo Tensei seal.
However, Black Zetsu still looked at him with that arrogant demeanor.
He raised one hand upwards.
"Thud!!"
The moment the fan struck, the entire ground seemed to sink another section with this incredibly heavy blow.
However, Madara's figure remained fixed in place as if frozen, unmoving.
A hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
His hand clearly felt the impact, yet it was incredibly sticky, as if he had smashed into a bottomless swamp.
What exactly is this?
"Madara."
Black Zetsu's voice sounded in his ear: "You, you still haven't understood, have you?"
"The power of a god."
"Madara—!"
Hashirama's anxious cry came from behind him.
In his line of sight, Black Zetsu, who had been struck by the War Fan, had transformed into a hemispherical blob of black mud. The arm he had raised upwards spread out like an umbrella, forming a barrier that completely absorbed Madara's full-power attack.
"What?"
Before Madara could react, he heard a sneering laugh from behind him.
"Hee."
Madara's eyes in their sockets suddenly swiveled, only to see a pitch-black arm, boneless in appearance, suddenly extend from below and behind him. It shot out with immense force, striking his face with incredible speed.
"Bang!"
The Edo Tensei body was already fragile, and the force of this punch directly exceeded his endurance. His left cheek sank deeply like dough, the gray skin on its surface cracking inch by inch. His entire body spun and shot backward into the distance, dragging a furrow dozens of meters long across the scorched earth.
But before he could continue his pursuit, he heard a piercing whoosh behind him.
Black Zetsu's heart tightened instantly.
Upon turning his head, he saw a brilliant rainbow light suddenly bloom in front of him.
Hollow Technique: Purple
The deep purple light instantly engulfed his entire torso. The imaginary mass formed by Lapse and Blue was like a black hole capable of devouring everything, directly breaking through the twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs surrounding him, expanding to several meters in diameter with a resounding roar.
In an instant, the sphere that had just been expanding infinitely like blue-green algae was suddenly bitten off by more than half.
The remaining parts seemed to instinctively sense danger, scattering quickly like mud splatters the moment the attack was about to touch the body.
"Guh…"
One part formed a head, emitting a faint sound. Its body absorbed the scattered mud splatters while looking vigilantly towards the direction from which the attack had originated.
"No wonder you're so confident."
"Leaving everything else aside, your ability to escape has indeed improved by more than a notch."
Sawara Kiri looked down at him: "However, is this what you call 'the power of a god'?"
"It's truly quite cheap."
"Sawara Kiri!!!"
Black Zetsu, who usually remained completely indifferent regardless of how he was driven or belittled, suddenly exploded with a completely opposite reaction upon hearing this contempt for the 'god' in his heart. His intense reaction was entirely unlike a puppet who had completely abandoned all emotions.
It seemed that, just as depicted in the original work, all of Black Zetsu belonged to Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and only to his mother.
This was a 'life' that was completely deformed from its very inception.
He stared at Sawara Kiri's direction with sinister eyes, his body reconstituting, faintly emitting a clear, greenish glow.
"Since that's the case, I'll let you witness it."
"The true god."
Almost the instant he finished speaking.
"Chh chh chh—"
Roots shot out from underground, directly connecting with his dark torso, piercing through him completely.
Tobirama froze, then turned to look at his older brother beside him.
"Big Brother?"
"No, it's not me."
Hashirama was also a bit stunned.
Immediately after, as if he suddenly remembered something, he abruptly turned his head towards the direction of the Chakra Tree in the distance.
And then, he saw the Gedo Statue, which had remained silent since devouring the Chakra Tree, had already completed the hand seal gesture.
Its massive feet transformed into gnarled root systems, completely merging into the earth.
"Ohm—"
The atmosphere vibrated the moment this movement was perceived.
Invisible pressure, like distorted threads, snaked across everyone's vision. Even those protected inside Susanoo felt a strong, inexplicable sense of oppression, as if their lungs were being squeezed by large hands, gradually compressing to the size of a fist, making even breathing difficult.
Sawara Kiri, standing directly in front of Black Zetsu, felt this even more clearly.
However, the oppressive force solidifying around him was gradually pushed away by the spatial barrier formed by Limitless.
He merely watched this scene quietly.
Black Zetsu, originally gaunt, first expanded infinitely as these branches filled him, then solidified at a certain extreme point, gradually compressing from a bloated sphere inward, with strands of pale hair extending from the top.
Faintly, one could even see the Tenseigan that had originally been on his head being distorted into a scarlet colour.
Until the very last moment.
"Finally…"
A hoarse female voice emerged from the deep darkness.
However, before she could say more, another person's voice suddenly cut into her words.
"Not bad."
"I'll take this body."
"Hmm?"