Chapter 128 – Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion: Ōtsutsuki Development Stage 36!
Black Zetsu was confused.
Utterly, completely, hopelessly confused.
The moment an Otsutsuki appeared, a blasphemous thought even flashed through his mind—
"Maybe... Mother is better off sealed?"
At least within the seal, she was safe.
But that went against everything he existed for. His entire purpose, the very reason for his creation, was to bring Kaguya back. Doing nothing now would be a betrayal of his mission.
And yet… he had worked for so long, schemed for so many years, and finally, the light at the end of the tunnel was in sight.
Even if Uchiha Madara had foolishly chosen someone like Obito to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan, things were progressing—steadily and surely.
To just give up now? That idea gnawed at him.
---
"Hey, Blacky, what's wrong with you lately?"
While Black Zetsu was lost in thought, White Zetsu was far less patient—standing under the blazing sun was getting annoying.
"You've been acting weird these days. Like, super gloomy. What's going on?"
"Shut it. You wouldn't understand."
Annoyed by the interruption, Black Zetsu's voice was sharp.
"My problems are way beyond the comprehension of an idiot like you."
"Hey, not all idiots are the same! Look at Obito—he's a brooding idiot. I'm a happy idiot. See? Balance!" White Zetsu grinned.
"..."
Black Zetsu felt personally attacked. How were there so many ways to be stupid?
"Come on, talk to me. Maybe I can help!"
White Zetsu's chipper tone made Black Zetsu almost roll his eyes into another dimension.
"If I had to rely on you for help, I'd be utterly doomed."
"Oh." White Zetsu nodded solemnly.
But then, unexpectedly, Black Zetsu spoke again.
"You'll never understand this feeling. I've done so much... all to fulfill one goal. But now it feels like things are spiraling out of control."
"..."
White Zetsu blinked. Weren't you just yelling at me for offering help?
"Do you know what it feels like?" Black Zetsu sighed heavily.
The recent developments—especially Obito being brought back alive—had crushed his morale.
"To struggle for so long, only to see it all amount to nothing... it's terrifying."
"I get that. It's like when you try to poop for hours and still can't. No relief at all. So frustrating!"
White Zetsu's overly serious analogy almost made Black Zetsu strangle him on the spot. But instead, he sighed again.
"It's not the same. We may be facing an enemy beyond imagination, someone so powerful that all our preparations might be useless."
"Wait, they? Isn't it just one guy?"
White Zetsu tilted his head in confusion.
"Ah! I get it now—it's like cockroaches! If you see one, there's a hundred more hidden somewhere!"
"Idiot! Even one is more than enough to wipe us out!"
Black Zetsu was at his breaking point. If despair were a person, he'd be filing paperwork for retirement right now.
"We should just give up... let it all burn." he muttered, half-seriously considering strangling this fool beside him.
"Whoa, chill! You're scarier than Obito right now!"
White Zetsu sensed the killing intent and quickly waved his hands, grinning nervously.
"But hey, it's one of him and a lot of us. Strength in numbers, right?"
"Against true power, numbers mean nothing!"
"Well… why don't we make someone like him?"
"Idiot! How do you 'make' an Otsutsuki-level being?!"
Black Zetsu shouted, but then paused.
Could they really not?
Kaguya and her clan were unparalleled. But hadn't Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju reached a level of power that rivaled gods?
Maybe… just maybe, if everything went perfectly, Madara could reach that same realm.
"If all goes to plan," Black Zetsu calculated silently, "Madara might become someone… comparable to him."
Maybe not exactly, but close enough to stir the pot.
"Even that much could make a difference…"
Suddenly, giving up didn't seem so inevitable anymore. Maybe he could still pull this off. Maybe there was another move left on the board.
"Oh? Looks like you've got a plan cooking, huh, Blacky?"
White Zetsu grinned, noticing the shift in Black Zetsu's demeanor.
"See? Told you sharing helps. I might be dumb, but I'm still kinda useful!"
"Hmph. You are an idiot—but sometimes, you're not completely useless."
Black Zetsu nodded begrudgingly, though a moment later, he frowned.
"Still, this isn't something I can rush. Reviving Madara isn't easy, and replacing him would be even harder."
White Zetsu's existence alone was already risky. Any wrong move could cause chaos. He had to think this through carefully.
"But no matter what… I will bring Mother back."
He looked up at the sky again. This time, his gaze was steadier—no longer clouded by confusion.
"Still… something about this Otsutsuki Genshiki feels off."
"Otsutsuki Genshiki… Kitagawa Gen..."
"Why do all these troublesome guys have 'Gen' in their names?"
---
Mount Myoboku
Inside the sacred realm of the toads, Jiraiya was walking through the forested mountain trails, with Fukasaku and Shima on his shoulders. The three were heading toward the main shrine where the Great Toad Sage resided.
"It's been a while since you last visited, Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku said, glancing sideways.
Jiraiya scratched his head sheepishly.
"A lot's been going on. But now that I've got some time—and some serious questions—I figured it was time to come back."
"Tch! So you only come when you need something?"
Shima bonked him on the head with a grumble.
"You just up and forgot about us, huh?"
"Ow, ow! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Jiraiya chuckled and rubbed the sore spot, thankful Fukasaku stepped in to defuse things.
"So, what's the urgent matter, Jiraiya-boy?"
"There's been... a lot happening in the shinobi world lately."
He hesitated. There was so much to say, and none of it was easy. After a moment, he sighed deeply.
"I think I may have found my former student again—the one who awakened the Rinnegan."
"Hmm?"
The two elders exchanged looks, frowning.
"But didn't we investigate at your request and confirm they were all dead?"
"That's what I thought, too. But now… he may be our enemy. Worse, he might be the enemy of the entire shinobi world."
Jiraiya's face was a picture of conflicted pain. These were heavy truths, and they weighed on him.
"That's not all. There's also a new threat on the horizon—and it's serious. That's why I've come."
Fukasaku and Shima looked grim.
"Then we'd better hurry. We're almost there."
Jiraiya nodded, and the trio quickened their pace. Before long, they arrived at the deepest part of the shrine.
"Great Elder."
Fukasaku leapt off Jiraiya's shoulder and greeted the ancient sage, who sat cross-legged with a tranquil smile.
"Ah, Jiraiya-boy is here."
"Jiraiya-boy's here, is he?" The Great Toad Sage smiled, eyes squinting—then blinked in confusion.
"Wait… who's Jiraiya again?"
"..."
Jiraiya just chuckled. He was used to the old toad's quirks.
"You really are senile now..." Shima muttered as she hopped down beside him.
"It's Jiraiya! The kid who came to us all those years ago."
"Oh! Right, right. I remember now." The Great Toad Sage smiled warmly.
"Old age really is catching up to me."
Still chuckling, he turned toward Jiraiya.
"So, Jiraiya-boy, you're here about the Child of Prophecy, aren't you?"
"..."
Jiraiya sighed again. This was going to be a long conversation.
"Not this time. It's about something else. I once believed I found the Child of Prophecy—a boy with the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—but now..."
"Eyes of the Sage?"
The old toad's gaze sharpened ever so slightly.
He remembered that power from a thousand years ago—when he and the Sage of Six Paths' brother fought against the greatest threat the world had ever known:
Otsutsuki Kaguya.
That battle nearly shattered the world. If Kaguya Ōtsutsuki hadn't been sealed at the last moment, the fate of this world would be anyone's guess.
Those eyes... they had certainly left a deep impression on him. But they didn't match the ones he'd seen in his dreams.
"This does seem a little troublesome," the Great Toad Sage murmured after a moment of contemplation, eventually shaking his head.
"However, I didn't see anything like this in my dreams. Perhaps it was a mistake… or maybe this is a trial the true Child of Prophecy must go through."
"A trial for the true Child of Prophecy?" Jiraiya fell silent.
He recalled the last prophecy the Great Toad Sage gave him: 'A boy with sky-blue eyes who plays with tailed beasts.'
Could it be that Nagato was never the one, even if he hadn't died?
"Little Jiraiya, you must stay calm and believe in yourself. Perhaps this is just another test."
"A test, huh…"
Jiraiya couldn't find the words to respond, but in the end, he simply nodded.
To think that one of his disciples would become a test for another… It was a cruel reality.
"I understand, Great Toad Sage," he sighed, helplessly.
The old sage simply chuckled, unconcerned. "No worries, no worries. So, what brings you to me today, little Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya rubbed his temples—he was already getting a headache. But thankfully, they hadn't gone off topic.
"There's something else. A strange individual has appeared in the shinobi world… He's collecting tailed beast chakra. I came here to ask about that."
"Tailed beast chakra?" The Great Toad Sage didn't seem too surprised. After all, he had seen hints of that future before.
Jiraiya, however, looked grim.
"Yes. He's already made his move and acquired part of the Nine-Tails' chakra. And his name… it's strange. That's why I wanted to ask if you knew anything."
"Oh? A strange name? What does he call himself?"
"He claims to be… 'Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.'"
As soon as Jiraiya spoke the name, an overwhelming surge of chakra erupted through Mount Myōboku.
In an instant, the entire mountain trembled violently—
---
Beneath the Fire Temple, in a hidden underground crypt—
As Kitagawa Gen's chakra stirred faintly within his body, the space around him began to restore itself.
"Huff…"
He slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, nodding lightly in satisfaction.
"The illusion of the Totsuka Blade… It's quite clever. But unfortunately for its creator, I knew it was fake from the very beginning. It was never going to trouble me."
Clearly, whoever buried the Totsuka Blade here had gone to great lengths to prevent it from being looted—setting up numerous traps.
One of them was a unique illusion-seal created using the blade's inherent properties. Anyone who triggered it would be ensnared.
"Too bad for you… you ran into me."
Crack—
As he silently muttered to himself, a sharp cracking sound rang out nearby.
Looking up, he saw that the stone door blocking his path was now covered in fractures.
Crash!
With a loud rumble, the door shattered into countless pieces, collapsing into the crypt beyond.
And in that moment, within his brilliant blue eyes, he saw it—an ethereal, gourd-shaped spiritual weapon silently emerging.
"As expected… it really is the Totsuka Blade."
A rare smile crossed Kitagawa's face as he beheld the treasure he had waited so long to claim.
He'd fought hard for this—against Uchiha Obito and the others, even clashing with Naruto and his group in the illusion realm created by the blade.
Now, finally, he had it in his grasp. How could he not be pleased?
"This will make an excellent enhancement for my 'Ōtsutsuki' identity's combat power. Even after I obtain Truth-Seeking Orbs, this will still have its uses."
While spirit weapons like the Totsuka Blade are typically paired with abilities like Susanoo, Kitagawa didn't believe that was a strict requirement.
After all, Susanoo is merely the pinnacle expression of Yin Release—a power that gives form to the formless.
And while Kitagawa lacked Susanoo, he did possess Yin Release.
Fwoosh—
He extended his hand, and a black rod manifested in his palm. With practiced ease, he pressed the rod against the gourd-shaped weapon.
Guided by his chakra, the Totsuka Blade began to merge with the rod.
"Hm?"
As the fusion continued, a strange new energy surged through his body.
In an instant, he felt his blood boiling with renewed vigor.
"Reacting this quickly? As I thought—no matter who created it, in the end, this power belongs to the Ōtsutsuki. All I'm doing… is reclaiming my original energy."
Crossing his legs, Kitagawa Gen sat down and began earnestly absorbing and refining this power.
At the same time, he released the Nine-Tails' chakra he had previously acquired.
"The portion of Kurama's chakra stored in 'Sora' wasn't as strong as I expected… probably about Four-Tails level. But that's fine. Combined with the Totsuka Blade, it should still be powerful enough."
Silently, he focused on absorbing the chakra and insights offered by both.
The Totsuka Blade was fundamentally a product of Yin Release, and what he was absorbing now was that same power.
This was especially valuable to him—up until now, his only source of Yin Release came from Uchiha Obito.
Everything else he'd obtained had been based on Yang Release.
Now, Kurama's chakra was gathering in his eyes, enhancing them further. He immediately noticed a sharp increase in how quickly his eyes were absorbing chakra.
Hummmm—
His chakra surged silently, leaking out in waves. His body began to levitate, bathed in a blue aura of energy.
After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes.
BOOM—!
With a violent tremor, the walls of the crypt cracked, spiderweb fractures spreading out in all directions.
The entire tomb shuddered, as if on the verge of collapse.
But Kitagawa Gen's expression was oddly thoughtful. His eyes drifted down to the black rod in his hand, as if contemplating something deeper.
In that moment, a familiar interface appeared before him:
---
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development: 36%)]
[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan (Newborn Eyes)]
[Special Skills: Ice Release, Magnet Release, Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion]