That shout from Black Zetsu instantly stunned Uchiha Madara, Obito, and the others.
Not only them—even Senju Hashirama and the rest looked over with expressions full of confusion.
Even Kitagawa Gen was momentarily dumbfounded at this instant.
'Did he just… self-destruct?'
Kitagawa Gen's expression was somewhat strange. Although Black Zetsu self-destructing was hardly anything rare.
He could even guess that this guy would definitely lose control sooner or later, but choosing to self-destruct at this moment felt somewhat inappropriate, didn't it?
After all, many things had yet to be completed—self-destructing now would be fatal, wouldn't it?
"What do you mean by this?"
Uchiha Madara frowned, his gaze turning slightly grim as he looked at Black Zetsu.
"My will—are you doubting everything I have seen?"
"N-no, that's not what I meant!"
Cold sweat instantly poured down Black Zetsu's face. He knew he had acted foolishly, but there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, his elder brother was far too vicious—he was actually planning, just as Black Zetsu had suspected, to use this 'final battle' to resolve Mother herself!
'Even without Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, they had probably already guessed that an Ōtsutsuki would descend, and releasing Mother at this time…'
Mother would definitely fight those Ōtsutsuki in order to protect herself—this would indeed save the ninja world!
However, Mother would most likely be unable to withstand it. The final outcome would certainly be death.
'No—I still can't expose myself now. I must stop Mother from coming out. I have to ensure Mother's seal!'
Black Zetsu roared inwardly, yet he still forced himself to calm down.
"What the Sage of Six Paths sought to create was a peaceful world. How could he have caused such a war? He doesn't seem like that."
"I also don't want to believe all of this."
Uchiha Madara frowned slightly. He felt that what Black Zetsu was saying wasn't quite that—but for the moment, he couldn't find exactly where the problem lay.
However, deep down he still harbored a faint suspicion that something about this consciousness of his seemed somewhat off, but at this moment he would not say anything more.
After all, he still needed Black Zetsu, and the actions of the Sage of Six Paths truly were somewhat difficult to believe.
"But the facts are right before our eyes. I have no right to criticize whether the Sage of Six Paths was overly cold-blooded, but he did indeed create something different for this world, and what we…"
At this point, Uchiha Madara kept his doubts buried in his heart, then turned his gaze toward Nagato and Obito.
"…have done was probably all something he wanted to see. We really are retracing the Six Paths, moving forward along in his footsteps, and this war probably…"
"…is also something the Sage of Six Paths wanted to see. After all, only through constant battle can will be condensed, can strength be elevated, can—"
Although Nagato still felt that something was not quite right, at this moment he seemed to understand a little, and Obito also raised his head, looking up at the sky as he spoke quietly.
"…complete 'evolution,' face those Ōtsutsuki directly, and finally use his plan to restore peace to this world filled with destruction and hatred!"
The words of the two echoed across the battlefield. They already had their own thoughts.
Although Nagato still found such cruelty hard to comprehend, recalling the terror of Ōtsutsuki Genshiki and looking at Kitagawa Gen's overwhelming combat power, at this moment, he seemed to faintly understand something.
Although the Sage of Six Paths' plan was cold-blooded and cruel, this thousand-year blood-soaked war had also forged Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, and even the current strongest, Kitagawa Gen!
"He not only inherited the power of the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother, but also possesses the crystallization of a thousand years of the ninja world, as well as that resolute will—then…"
As the inheritor of the Rinnegan, and as the Sage of Six Paths' representative in the human world, Nagato should understand the Sage of Six Paths even more.
"Human nature and divinity are different. Human nature is overly complex, whereas divinity need only consider this world."
Nagato's gaze became somewhat firm. Since they were to retrace the Six Paths, they naturally had to understand the Sage of Six Paths' 'divinity.'
"Moreover, the Sage of Six Paths also left behind things to restore peace."
Nagato repeated this silently to himself, and Obito thought the same.
His thoughts were not that complicated. He only knew that the 'Sage of Six Paths' younger brother' advocated the use of the 'Eye of the Moon.'
'Regardless of what else is still hidden within the 'Eye of the Moon,' it aligns with my ideas!'
Moreover, as long as the 'Eye of the Moon' exists, once the war ends and all those Ōtsutsuki are dealt with, even if this world has even more hatred, even if it has even more wars, they can all be resolved smoothly.
'This way, my tragedy back then—and Rin's—won't be repeated. This sorrowful cycle of this world, I will bring it to an end!'
Thinking of this, the black markings on Obito's body became even more pronounced.
"Although I really want to gather all of your strength to deal with the Ōtsutsuki, unfortunately he still seems not to have shown himself."
He should have stopped, but at this moment he already had new thoughts. His voice was so cold as it echoed across the entire battlefield.
"Then, since that is the case, let us continue according to the will of the Sage of Six Paths. After all, only the strong can face those Ōtsutsuki head-on; the weak…"
"…might as well, as the Sage of Six Paths intended, become souls and turn into Impure World Reincarnation, and continue fighting!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, he instantly charged toward the crowd. Not only him—Nagato, after falling silent for a moment, also moved at this instant.
The battlefield that had originally fallen into stillness was reignited once again in just an instant.
...
"The Sage of Six Paths?"
And within the consciousness channel of Obito and the other two, the three Ōtsutsuki looked at each other.
They were all extremely astonished at the schemes and handiwork of this so-called Sage of Six Paths!
"I truly didn't expect that on this planet where inferior creatures gather, such a fellow would actually appear."
Momoshiki spoke with deep emotion. He seemed to have become somewhat interested in this Sage of Six Paths.
"I really want to meet this fellow—he actually laid out so many arrangements just to deal with us."
"Tsk, tsk, he really is impressive. I also want to meet him, it's just…"
Urashiki raised an eyebrow. Out of the corner of his eye, he swept a glance over Isshiki, who seemed somewhat silent, and he suddenly smiled as he spoke.
"How is it that I remember someone saying that this so-called 'Sage of Six Paths' is the son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?"
"…"
Isshiki frowned. He always felt that what Urashiki was saying was not quite right.
"What are you trying to express again?"
"Oh, I remember now as well."
Momoshiki tilted his head. It seemed there really was such a thing. He looked at Isshiki with some suspicion.
"So then, what is this supposed to mean—could it be that…"
At this point, Momoshiki and Urashiki suddenly did not want to continue speaking, and both of them involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
"Wait—this can't be real, can it?"
For them, there was no longer any trust to speak of among their own kind.
Especially Isshiki, the one who had released the demon in Genshiki's heart—there was simply no way he could be trusted.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was dead, and Isshiki chose to go into hiding. That way, he might indeed avoid the Ōtsutsuki's pursuit.
But what if—
'Therefore, he had to make other preparations, for example…'
'Fabricating a so-called Sage of Six Paths, then using that identity to lay out the ninja world, creating a thousand-year blood war to forge weapons against us?'
Hiss!
Thinking of such a possibility, the two of them both sucked in a sharp breath.
And upon careful thought, such cold-blooded and ruthless methods really were something an Ōtsutsuki could pull off!
After all, the Ōtsutsuki truly lack humanity; what they possess instead is so-called divinity.
For a moment, traces of vigilance faintly appeared in the eyes of the two.
They were not quite sure what else Isshiki had prepared, but they both realized that this guy seemed even more terrifying than they had imagined.
"What is wrong with you two, are you trying to say again that I did it?"
Isshiki was completely unable to understand what was going on with the two of them, but he no longer cared at all about whether others said he had 'done it' or not.
"Stop overthinking it. The thawing of the 'Kāma' is almost complete. We should also prepare to properly get moving."
"Mm."
Momoshiki and Urashiki both nodded, though their gazes grew even more guarded.
"It really is time to get moving properly. This current state is far too terrible."
Without having returned to their Ōtsutsuki state, there truly was not the slightest sense of security at all!
...
"Oh? Has the ninja world started moving again?"
While chaos reigned outside, Kitagawa Gen, within 'Ame-no-Minaka,' raised an eyebrow.
His expression was extremely strange. Only after quite a while did he finally speak.
"By the way, it seems your good son ultimately still chose to 'betray' you."
"…"
Kaguya was completely flustered right now. She was still worried that Kitagawa Gen might not have enough energy and would end up forging her into the 'Divine Ascension Stairway' and leaving.
However, upon hearing this, she froze for a moment and subconsciously spoke.
"Didn't that cold-blooded guy, Hagoromo, betray me long ago?"
"…The black one."
"Zetsu?"
"Yes. When he heard that you were going to be released, his reaction was extremely intense."
A half-smiling, half-mocking expression appeared on Kitagawa Gen's face. Speaking of which, even he had not expected the situation to develop somewhat beyond his imagination.
Touching his chin, he could not help but ask out of curiosity.
"Is there something wrong with the way you raised your sons? One after another, they all chose to betray you and leave. Could this be a consequence of creating life through chakra?"
"…"
Kaguya fell silent. She did not know how to answer this question, but her fists subtly clenched.
After quite a while, she finally spoke in a cold tone.
"Things here are finished, aren't they? I want to go back and take a look—to see exactly what he intends to do!"
"They're finished. We really should head back as well."
Kitagawa Gen stood up and stretched slightly.
"The 'Kāma' of those Ōtsutsuki are almost completely thawed. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to move again soon, and my Ten-Tails should also be about to be released."
"In such a bountiful season, I really have no reason to miss out."
Kitagawa Gen had already begun to relish everything that remained, yet Kaguya still felt somewhat unsettled inside.
Although she had not seen it herself, she still believed what Kitagawa Gen had said—could it be that her other son had truly 'betrayed' her?
'Is life created by chakra really that unreliable? Whether it's Zetsu, or…'
Suddenly, Kaguya thought of something—namely, what exactly was the situation with Kitagawa Gen, this Ōtsutsuki who had been born in the ninja world?
The Ōtsutsuki had many ways of creating offspring; that in itself was not difficult. But the key question was—
'Who was it that bestowed the power to create?'
All of a sudden, something occurred to Kaguya. Her gaze involuntarily shifted toward the black-clad male figure placed beneath the canopy of the great tree.
At that moment, she suddenly felt a sense of fear.
'Could it be… him?'
'Kitagawa Gen—Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—could he actually be the son of Ōtsutsuki Shibai?!'
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