So… was this whole mess actually its fault?
Was Black Zetsu truly just a walking disaster?
For example—if Toneri hadn't been possessed by it, and hadn't gained the Tenseigan, then maybe… he wouldn't have rushed to the Moon right away.
So, does that make it the biggest root of all this trouble?!
Not only did it fail to accomplish anything, but instead… it stirred up all kinds of near-unmanageable chaos?
Black Zetsu realized—if it got discarded now, that wouldn't even be surprising.
In that instant—
Everyone in the Descendant Chat Group started questioning whether their presence had shifted the future timeline.
Everyone became paranoid, each feeling like they were the problem.
[One Tail - Shukaku]: …So, in this chat group…
[Nine Tails - Kurama]: Don't speak.
"…"
Kurama was deep in thought too. Everyone was assuming Kitahara Kaede came from the future and knew everything.
Then logically, his current actions might be influencing the original course of events.
But now Toneri had appeared…
Was it because of him too?
For instance—Kurama had been interfering with Naruto's chakra system, preventing him from practicing ninjutsu…
A tiny action could've caused a massive butterfly effect. And so the descendant of the Sage of Six Paths' brother, Ōtsutsuki Toneri, had descended—ready to bring ruin to the Shinobi World.
"…"
So… was it going to take the blame too?
Kurama furrowed its brow.
At that moment—it noticed the livestream was still going.
Kitahara Kaede was mumbling to himself.
"A movie arc, huh…"
"If that's the case, I really need to reassess everything."
"This proves this Shinobi World… contains alternate chakra systems."
"It's far more complex than I initially thought."
"'Heaven burdens those it chooses to carry destiny.'"
"The peaceful life I wished for… just got one more shackle."
"I need to take precautions."
"Time to pull out another Hokage."
"…"
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: So he means…
[Tobirama Senju]: He means—even with all these unexpected developments, he's still going to shoulder it all?
[Minato Namikaze]: That's what it sounds like.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Hahaha! That's the spirit! That's Konoha's child through and through!
[Tobirama Senju]: …
[Tobirama Senju]: Big Brother… I don't think you understood.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Eh?
[Tobirama Senju]: He said he wants to bring another Hokage out.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …??
[Minato Namikaze]: …Which means… it's either me—or you, First Hokage-sama.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …????
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …?
[Tobirama Senju]: Looking at the current Hokage lineup—me, Hiruzen… and Kaede definitely wouldn't want Hiruzen.
[Tobirama Senju]: That leaves Minato and you.
[Tobirama Senju]: But Minato's soul is sealed in the Shinigami's belly. No guarantee we can get him back, and Edo Tensei won't work on him.
[Tobirama Senju]: So pulling you back is more feasible.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Eh…!
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Well… that's not so bad, is it?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: I did die pretty early. I want to do something for the next generation. After all, all these problems began because we didn't handle things properly back then.
[Tobirama Senju]: Big Brother, are you sure? If Kaede brings you out, you'll probably end up doing what I do.
[Tobirama Senju]: Look up—paperwork. Close your eyes—still paperwork.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …Uhh, Tobirama, hang on, let me think about it again.
[Black Zetsu]: …
[Black Zetsu]: …
Black Zetsu finally let out a deep breath.
So… the whole Toneri situation—was it resolved just like that?
Kitahara Kaede had held the line.
Or more accurately—Kaede, now possessing an Ōtsutsuki body, might be the strongest being it knew.
After all… even his Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack was more precise than Kaguya-sama's.
Or maybe… Kaguya-sama just wasn't good at controlling it?
Seeing that the little ninja bunny wasn't harmed at all, Black Zetsu decided to go offline for now.
Meanwhile, its main body had possessed an unfortunate White Zetsu and was headed to the Hidden Rain Village.
As long as it hijacked any White Zetsu, it could re-assume its special role in Akatsuki as Zetsu.
That identity gave it access to both Obito and Pain at any time.
Pain was controlled by Nagato.
If it wasn't mistaken… after Madara sent it to the Moon, the old guy probably collapsed after a single battle.
Which means… what about his Rinnegan?
"Zetsu…"
"Huh? Why are you staring at me?"
Black Zetsu had just reached the village entrance when it saw Pain, the Akatsuki leader, returning with his other five bodies.
Judging by the dust and wear on their cloaks—they'd clearly been training somewhere.
"…" Black Zetsu.
"Nothing," Black Zetsu replied quickly.
Because—
The Six Paths of Pain still had their Rinnegan and were fully functional. That meant… Uchiha Madara had returned the Rinnegan to Nagato.
Eh…
Why was that guy so fast?
Black Zetsu had no choice but to burrow back underground.
It had to go find Orochimaru and get him to perform Edo Tensei.
After all, it had plenty of Uchiha Madara's cells on hand.
And Edo Tensei didn't require that much raw material—so it had divided Madara into hundreds of "portions" in its lab.
Ryūchi Cave.
Inside Tanokami Hime's lair, Orochimaru began his experiments.
The air was filled with beeping and buzzing from all kinds of equipment.
"…" Tanokami Hime.
A white snake slithered into the room—and upon landing, transformed into a rather beautiful young woman.
This was Tanokami Hime, loyal servant of the White Snake Sage.
And this… was her lair.
In a corner, the ancient ancestor—now in the form of a giant phosphorous-white snake—had gone into hibernation. But Orochimaru, that bastard, had completely taken over her den.
Not only had he refused to leave, he had even started conducting experiments right there.
"Orochimaru! Do you even understand whose territory you're in?!"
"I took you in because the ancestor asked me to—that was already plenty generous."
"And now you're pushing your luck."
"Take out one more of those annoying machines, I dare you!"
Orochimaru stood by a culture tank, calmly jotting down data.
Upon hearing her, his eyebrows twitched.
"Let me ask you something. This is the ancestor's domain, right?"
"And your den belongs to the ancestor as well."
"So since I have the ancestor's permission—why would I need yours?" Orochimaru replied casually.
"…"
Tanokami Hime was stunned.
As expected… once two men bonded over snakes, women had no say in anything anymore.
And this Orochimaru guy—he didn't just perform Living Corpse Reincarnation randomly. He specifically chose a female vessel.
According to Orochimaru—after being a man for so long, becoming a woman felt like a nice change of pace.
So, Orochimaru became "Auntie Orochimaru."
Even her orchid-hand gestures were more elegant than Tanokami's own.
Tanokami Hime honestly felt like she could learn a thing or two from this "Auntie Orochimaru" on how to better imitate human women.
This contrast often left her feeling like she was just a useless snake.
But—
Orochimaru was still the most unusual human she'd ever seen.
In the world of shinobi, there were three sacred training grounds: Shikkotsu Forest, Ryūchi Cave, and Mount Myōboku.
Shikkotsu Forest was home to only a single slug—an absurdly huge one—so most ninja couldn't even approach it.
Which left only Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku as viable options for training.
But Mount Myōboku was extremely strict.
So a large number of shinobi came to Ryūchi Cave instead. And to the snakefolk who loved to eat ninja, that was just fine.
If a ninja passed the trials, they could train.
If not—well, getting eaten was just natural selection, right?