Funan left for the laboratory, where he unfurled a scroll.
[Boom!]
A large number of White Zetsu corpses spilled out before him.
Funan began the absorption process.
In truth, he had not lied to Kaguya about the corpses.
The remains left from the great war could only be absorbed three more times.
However—
During each absorption, Funan kept seventy percent of the energy for himself, and later, even eighty percent.
Otherwise, how would he have dared to empower Kaguya?
It was precisely because his own strength was growing several times faster than Kaguya's.
By giving her a tiny, almost negligible portion of power, he could easily keep her stabilized—how convenient.
As long as the two of them didn't come to blows, the Sage might not dare to act rashly.
But now—
It was time to end everything.
"Why are you here?"
Funan turned his gaze to one side.
There, a graceful figure slowly emerged.
Shizune.
She had always served as Funan's laboratory assistant.
"I heard... you're about to make your move? Against the Sage and..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
Kaguya had been spying on them, after all, and many things couldn't be said openly.
"Mm."
Funan nodded. "I believe everything is ready. There's no point in waiting any longer."
"Funan!"
Shizune's expression turned serious. "I've been with you when we met Kaguya. But the feeling she gives me... she has no emotions. When she looks at us, it's as if she's looking at insects. Cooperating with her is not a good idea."
"And moreover..."
"I have the feeling that Kaguya may not actually intend to act against the Sage. Her plan might be to let you and the Sage exhaust each other—and then reap the rewards afterward."
By the end, Shizune's voice had become somewhat strange.
After all, the Sage of Six Paths was a legendary figure—and now they were preparing to fight him.
That feeling...
"Heh, everything you're thinking—I've thought of too."
Funan chuckled.
"Then why—"
"Shizune, do you know? Lately, I've known for a fact that some people have been quietly stirring up trouble behind the scenes."
"It's just that, for the sake of strengthening myself, I pretended not to see it. I tolerated it."
Funan revealed a peculiar smile and said, "They thought what they were doing would deal me a heavy blow, but what they didn't realize was—because of their actions, I was able to pinpoint the Sage's location."
"I'm already prepared to deliver a grand gift to the Sage."
"Someone's up to something?"
Shizune looked surprised. "Did Yako and the others not notice anything?"
"Nope!"
Funan stepped forward, wrapped his arm around Shizune's waist, and buried his head in her neck with a laugh. "You think it's that easy to detect when the Sage of Six Paths makes a move? Have you forgotten how Kaguya was resurrected?"
"Black Zetsu!" Shizune exclaimed. "You mean to say…"
"Exactly!"
Funan chuckled. "That dog of a Sage—he copied his mother, can you believe it? Actually created a Yin Release chakra entity—no, even made a Yang Release chakra entity too. I call them Little Black and Little White. And now they're stirring up chaos across the Shinobi World. Tsk, tsk, tsk... There are even people who believe them and work with them."
"So what now?"
"What do you mean, 'what now'?" Funan sneered. "Everyone's stalling for time. I've been doing the same. But now that we've dragged it out long enough, it's time to drop the act."
In the past, Funan had turned a blind eye to many things.
Why?
His power wasn't certain.
So, for safety's sake, Funan chose to ignore the Sage's little tricks.
He focused on strengthening himself while quietly practicing with the Rinnegan, steadily building his power.
He even worried that if the Sage noticed something off, it would raise suspicion. So he handed a portion of his improved power over to Kaguya.
No need to overthink it. A person like the Sage wouldn't care much about someone who had already lost to him.
And that gave Funan the chance to secretly pursue his own goals.
Now that his power level had increased, he no longer had to fear the Sage of the Six Paths.
"I'll support you!" Shizune said with a soft smile.
"Good girl," Funan grinned devilishly, as his hands started to wander.
"Let's see just how well you can support me, hmm?"
Shizune shot him a sidelong glance.
"Why is it that every time it's you and me, we're always in the lab?"
"It's exciting!"
Funan chuckled mischievously.
"Tch!"
Shizune huffed in protest.
"You have other women, so I guess any place works for you. But for me? You're the only man I've got, and it's always the damn lab every single time…"
The rest of her complaint was silenced by Funan.
The temperature in the lab began to rise.
...
Meanwhile, the Shinobi World remained largely unchanged on the surface.
But in many unnoticed corners, large numbers of powerful shinobi were being reassigned.
Although Funan said he didn't need anyone else to take action, it wasn't as if others could truly just sit by and do nothing.
Preparations still had to be made.
At the very least, a powerful elite unit had to be formed—one that could be deployed anywhere at a moment's notice in case something went wrong.
The Shinobi World had only just stabilized. No one wanted any more chaos.
This movement didn't go unnoticed by the sharp-eyed.
This move did not go unnoticed, especially by the little black boy and the little white boy.
That night, the two met.
"What is Uchiha Funan planning?"
"He's gathering a large number of elite fighters. Could he be planning to make a move against Father?"
"Hmph, he thinks he's worthy of that? With that handful of people—no real power, no real numbers—what could he possibly do?"
"We still need to be cautious. Let's inform Father. He's always been wary of Uchiha Funan, and with Funan stirring up this much movement, he has to be made aware."
"Alright!"
"It's also time we carried out our plan."
"Now? Isn't it too early? Many parts still aren't ready."
"It's not too early. If we don't act now, Funan will."
"Fine! I've long disliked that Funan guy. Let me teach him a lesson!" said a glowing white orb.
Beside him, a black orb looked over and said coldly, "Don't get careless. Uchiha Funan has unified the Shinobi World. Do you understand what that means? Even Senju Hashirama never managed to do that. No one in the history of the Shinobi World ever has."
"That's because they didn't want to!" the white orb sneered. "Take Senju Hashirama—if he truly wanted to, he absolutely could've unified the Shinobi World."
The black orb replied icily, "But the fact remains—he didn't. Was it because he didn't want to? Or because he couldn't? Who can say for sure?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing in particular. Just reminding you—the Shinobi World isn't as simple as you think." The black orb's tone remained cold. "Alright, send the message back."
He glanced at the puffed-up white orb next to him and sneered inwardly: 'Idiot! To think that this garbage is actually my brother...'
The two orbs separated and set off on their respective missions.
Just after the black orb left, someone appeared in front of the white orb.
"Master!"
Seeing who it was, the white orb was overjoyed. It dropped to its knees and bowed in reverence, its expression brimming with respect.
"How did it go?"
The newcomer was Uchiha Funan!
"Everything is unfolding exactly as you predicted, Master!"
The white orb chuckled. "He's probably cursing me as a dumb pig in his heart... but too bad, he's the real clown."
Funan nodded in satisfaction. "Then proceed as planned. Be careful and take care of yourself."
"Yes!"
The white orb was visibly excited. "To serve Master is the greatest honor of my life! Even if I die for you, I'll have no regrets!"
"Why are you talking about dying?" Funan pretended to be angry. "I still need you in my service—how could I let you die? Take this item I prepared for emergencies—it'll save your life at a critical moment!"
"Yes!"
The white orb was now even more elated, almost fanatical.
Watching him leave, Funan muttered inwardly: "Kotoamatsukami... its effect is really this powerful? Incredible."
He stepped forward, his figure flashing through space.
With each flash, he advanced over a thousand meters.
Very soon, he returned to a certain location in Konohagakure.
"You've come?"
Kaguya opened her eyes.
"Mhm."
Funan nodded lightly and smiled. "This time, I'll be giving you the energy. Be ready—after three doses, we'll have exhausted all our resources. Then it'll be time to launch our assault on Hagoromo."
Kaguya gave a slight nod without speaking.
The One-Tail appeared once more.
It stood calmly and proudly in place. Upon seeing the two of them, its eyes were filled with disdain.
Come on then.
I no longer know what fear means.
Do whatever you want to me—let's see if I even flinch.
Funan's mouth twitched slightly—clearly speechless. He grabbed the One-Tail and injected energy into its body.
Then, Kaguya absorbed it back.
"This…" Funan hesitated. "Isn't it kind of wrong for us to keep doing this to the One-Tail? How about switching to a different tailed beast next time? It feels pretty bad to keep milking the same sheep dry every single time..."
A question mark seemed to float above Kaguya's head.
She truly didn't understand what Funan was talking about.
But she didn't mind.
After all, Funan often said things she couldn't comprehend.
Even if she couldn't follow the exact words, she could generally grasp the meaning.
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