Hyuga Gakuya's expression softened slightly. "Go on. I'm listening."
Black Zetsu carefully studied Gakuya's face, noting the change in his expression. Seeing that he seemed more at ease, he continued.
"In order to resurrect my mother, I embedded myself at Uchiha Madara's side, guiding him to the stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths."
"In his later years, Madara used the flesh and blood of Senju Hashirama to awaken the Rinnegan. But he needed someone else to carry out his plan—someone who understood love more deeply. That person was Uchiha Obito."
"He manipulated Obito's love for Rin, orchestrating events so that the higher-ups in Kirigakure implanted the Three-Tails into her. Rin willingly died at Kakashi's hands in order to protect her village."
"And Obito, as the witness to Rin's death, awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan in his grief. That despair drove him to embrace the plan to create a perfect illusionary world."
Gakuya, of course, already knew all of this—this was canon material.
Black Zetsu manipulated Uchiha Madara. Madara manipulated Obito. And Obito, in turn, manipulated Nagato.
They all thought they were the ones moving pieces on the board. In reality, they were just pawns.
Gakuya nodded and casually filled in the biggest hole in Black Zetsu's story.
"There was never any Infinite Tsukuyomi. The real goal was to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
Black Zetsu was secretly delighted. The glaring flaw in his narrative had just been patched up—by Gakuya himself, no less. He's easier to fool than I expected.
"That's right," Black Zetsu quickly said. "All I've ever wanted was to free my mother from her seal."
Gakuya smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
"Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place? No need to make it so complicated. Once I become the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, I can break the seal for her."
Black Zetsu immediately responded with flattery. "Thank you, Lord Gakuya."
On the surface, he sounded respectful. But inwardly, Black Zetsu was sneering.
So gullible. All it took was a few words.
In Black Zetsu's eyes, Gakuya was arrogant, overconfident, and convinced he was in control of everything, when in truth he was dancing in the palm of someone else's hand.
"What exactly happened on the moon?" Black Zetsu asked, pressing the advantage now that Gakuya looked relaxed again. "I'm a little worried about my mother's safety."
Gakuya's expression grew serious.
"I encountered the man you mentioned—Ōtsutsuki Hamura. We fought. At the last moment, I shattered the moon and sent its fragments hurtling toward the Shinobi World. I used that as leverage to barely gain the upper hand."
"Your mother should still be sealed within the remains of the moon. When it broke apart, Hamura protected one of the temples."
He then claimed the glory of Toneri's actions as his own, making his story seem even more ruthless.
Black Zetsu was secretly shocked.
So ruthless… he was willing to take the entire Shinobi World down with him! But at the same time, he was relieved—his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, hadn't been destroyed after all.
"In the end, Hamura used all his remaining power to reform the moon. That's when I consumed it."
To "confirm" his story, Gakuya displayed the golden Tenseigan he'd recently obtained.
"What? Hamura's still alive?" Black Zetsu was completely stunned.
"It's a bit like possession," Gakuya explained. "He used the corpse of one of his descendants and merged with the Tenseigan to bring himself back to life."
"When I arrived, only one member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan was left on the moon. That person, terrified of my power, forcibly fused with the golden Tenseigan and died. Then, somehow, he revived again and called himself Ōtsutsuki Hamura."
It was all a fabrication, but Gakuya delivered it with perfect confidence.
"I see... So what's the next move?" Black Zetsu asked, feigning loyalty.
Gakuya, as if already prepared, casually dispelled the sealing technique on Black Zetsu.
"Lately, the Akatsuki have been making too much noise. We can use this incident to cover things up."
"Right now, they probably think the Sage of Six Paths fought aliens to save the world. They're panicking, afraid of extraterrestrial power."
Gakuya continued with calm assurance, "Let's make it official. Spread the narrative under the name of the Federation. Stoke their fear. Meanwhile, we'll continue hunting the Tailed Beasts."
"Understood. Do you need me to do anything specific?"
"Just make sure the plan moves forward smoothly."
After sending Black Zetsu away and confirming there were no eyes or ears around, Gakuya stretched lazily. The pale look on his face faded, revealing a healthy flush—it had all been an act.
Knock knock knock! came a knock from outside the hidden chamber.
"Come in."
Only one person had access to this place—Kabuto Yakushi. It could only be him.
As expected, Kabuto entered respectfully. Gakuya asked, "How's it going? The fabricated materials?"
"Everything's ready. As you requested." Kabuto handed over a stack of blurry photographs.
Gakuya casually flipped through them. They'd been carefully faked per his instructions. In the photos, the Sage of Six Paths in a magatama-patterned robe was engaged in a fierce battle with a horned man in white robes.
"The Five Great Nations won't be able to tell they're fake, right?"
"Rest assured, my lord. With their level of technology, there's no way they can detect anything unusual," Kabuto replied confidently.
In recent years, the Federation's technology had far outstripped the Five Great Nations, but much of it remained classified and hidden from public view.
"Good. Next, we need to prepare for the Six-Nation Summit. I'll attend personally—under the name Chiba Mokushū—and present these materials."
Kabuto nodded. "Last time, during our video call to discuss the summit's location, we tentatively agreed on Otogakure, but nothing's been finalized yet."
"Let's go with Otogakure," Gakuya said without hesitation. Unlike Amegakure, Otogakure wasn't under suspicion. All its secrets were buried deep underground and shielded with perception-blocking jutsu. No one would be able to see anything.
And it gave him a chance to lay some traps—perfect for future plans.
"What about Sasuke?"
"He's regained consciousness and already left to track down Uchiha Itachi."
"Just have a White Zetsu shadow him. Let me know before the brothers face off."
Gakuya wouldn't miss that showdown for anything. A powered-up Sasuke versus Itachi—it was bound to be spectacular.
"Understood."
...
Land of Rain.
Nagato stared at the intelligence report delivered under the alias of Chiba Mokushū—Hyuga Gakuya's undercover identity.
Don't forget, Mokushū was also a member of the Akatsuki.
He had been designed as the organization's backup leader—should the Ten-Tails plan fail, unifying the Shinobi World under a new Akatsuki would become the fallback objective.
Because of that, Mokushū rarely contacted the Akatsuki directly. But this was crucial intel—an exception.
The report detailed a battle between the Sage of Six Paths and an alien being, complete with descriptions of Rinnegan abilities.
Nagato believed it. After all, aside from himself and Konan, no one else should've known what the Rinnegan could really do.
A bold idea suddenly took shape in Nagato's mind—maybe this was the perfect opportunity to gather the remaining Tailed Beasts.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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