"Heh," Black Zetsu sneered in response to Obito's threat. "Don't celebrate too soon. Uchiha Ren's appearance may have been unexpected, but your life still rests in a single thought of mine."
Although Black Zetsu had been sealed and restrained, the Binding Curse Tag embedded in Obito's heart had already been activated.
With just a single thought, Black Zetsu could determine whether Obito lived or died.
"Is that so?"
"Fire Release: Fire Spear!"
Suddenly, Uchiha Ren moved with lightning speed.
He raised his hand and thrust a finger toward Obito's chest.
A thin flame—no thicker than a finger—formed at Ren's fingertip. It spun rapidly, compressing into a cone-shaped orange spear of fire, like the tip of a rocket.
Black Zetsu was startled.
At first, he assumed Ren was attacking him.
But when he realized Ren's target was Obito, it was already too late.
Or rather—even if he had realized it sooner, he would have been powerless to stop Ren.
Pierce!
Ren's flaming spear drove straight into Obito's chest.
The spearhead pierced through his body and paused for only a fraction of a moment before shredding Obito's heart—along with the Binding Curse Tag engraved upon it.
Obito coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Yet a smile appeared on his face.
"Can you still control me now?"
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but the smile on his face only widened.
Even if he died—
He had broken free from the control of Madara and Black Zetsu.
From now on, the vast sea belonged to the fish, and the open sky belonged to the birds.
Black Zetsu said nothing.
His final bargaining chip was gone.
Obito's body collapsed to the ground.
But beneath the mask, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan inside his left eye socket quietly lost its color.
Izanagi.
The technique that rewrites fate.
In the original history, Obito had used Kakashi to destroy the curse seal on his heart and immediately became the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, using its overwhelming regenerative power to revive himself.
But now, Obito didn't possess such terrifying regeneration.
So he had to sacrifice a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and use Izanagi to alter his destiny.
However, using Izanagi to remove the curse seal required choosing exactly the right moment.
Izanagi allows the user to turn unfavorable events into illusions while selecting beneficial outcomes to become reality.
In essence, when Izanagi activates, the Sharingan records the caster's current state.
During the duration of the technique, any damage—even death—can be reverted to the recorded state.
But Obito had been implanted with the Binding Curse Tag long before he learned Izanagi.
Therefore, he had never recorded a state without the curse seal.
If he simply revived himself using Izanagi, the curse seal would revive along with him.
So the timing had to be perfect.
The key depended on Ren's precise chakra control.
Moments later, Obito's corpse dissolved into illusion and vanished.
In its place stood Obito once again, clutching his chest and coughing blood.
"You okay?" Ren asked with concern when he saw Obito's weakened condition.
"Cough… I'm fine," Obito replied after catching his breath.
"Teacher Ren, your timing was perfect."
He straightened up and removed his hand from his chest, revealing a charred scar over his heart.
Ren's Fire Spear hadn't exploded immediately after piercing Obito's body.
Instead, Ren waited until the Binding Curse Tag was completely destroyed before releasing the flame's destructive power.
Obito had recorded the precise instant when the curse seal was destroyed but his body had not yet suffered catastrophic damage.
That was the moment he activated Izanagi.
The Binding Curse Tag was deeply embedded and even capable of sensing Obito's intentions, preventing him from attempting to remove it.
So the only way to break it was without hesitation.
Even though Ren had been extremely careful while using enough power to destroy the seal, some damage to Obito's body was inevitable.
Fortunately, although Obito was far from his later Six Paths-level self, he already possessed a certain degree of regenerative ability.
This level of injury was still within his tolerance.
Obito wiped the blood from his mouth and looked toward Black Zetsu.
"Teacher Ren, what should we do with this guy?"
"Should we kill him?"
After confirming Obito was no longer in danger, Ren began considering how to deal with Black Zetsu.
Everything that had happened—revealing the truth to Obito and capturing Black Zetsu—had been an improvised decision.
Ren needed time to weigh the consequences.
"Obito… if you do this, Madara-sama will never forgive you!"
Although panic filled Black Zetsu's heart, he still forced himself to remain calm and threatened Obito.
Black Zetsu wasn't afraid of death.
But after plotting for thousands of years—
The Rinnegan had been obtained.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was ready.
His plan to resurrect his mother was on the verge of success.
He absolutely could not allow everything to collapse now.
Obito looked at him and sneered.
"Stop pretending, Black Zetsu."
"You think I don't know?"
"You're not the embodiment of Madara's will at all."
"Your will belongs to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
"And Madara himself was nothing more than a pawn in your game."
"If Madara were revived and learned the truth…"
"Who do you think he'd go after first—me, or you?"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened in shock.
He stared at Obito in utter disbelief.
"How… is that possible?!"
"How do you know this?!"
Black Zetsu did not doubt the truth of Obito's words.
After all, in this era, Kaguya's name was almost unknown.
The mere fact that Obito could accurately say the full name Kaguya Ōtsutsuki proved he knew the truth.
Seeing Black Zetsu's stunned expression filled Obito with a strange satisfaction.
He smirked.
"I know everything."
"The information on the Uchiha Stone Tablet was altered by you, wasn't it?"
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was actually sealed away by her sons—Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and Hamura Ōtsutsuki."
"And the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan…"
"…was created to resurrect your mother—the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
He chuckled coldly.
"Black Zetsu… your schemes, your plans—"
"I know them all."
The flood of revelations struck Black Zetsu like a storm.
His mind spun.
It felt as if the sky itself had collapsed.
His secrets…
Had all been exposed.
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