Uchiha Izuna: "How come I didn't know our house had this stone tablet? Brother, did you know?"
Uchiha Madara: "..."
Senju Tobirama: "It looks like a completely ordinary stone tablet. Could it be that one can only see its contents through a special method? Like the Sharingan or something?"
Senju Hashirama: "Come to think of it, I think I've seen Madara looking at this tablet before."
Uchiha Fugaku: "As the head of the Uchiha, even I didn't know such a stone tablet existed within the Naka Shrine."
The Uchiha stone tablet was now exposed directly under the Sky Screen, before everyone's eyes.
For a time, many were wondering what exactly was written on it.
But not everyone was curious—for instance, a certain filial son who had tampered with the tablet's contents.
Watching Uchiha Hoshi find the Uchiha stone tablet and use the Tenseigan to view it on the Sky Screen, Black Zetsu's heart was pounding so hard it nearly leaped into its throat.
Even though... it didn't actually have an organ like a heart.
It couldn't be helped; after all, it had modified the tablet's contents, and the Tenseigan created by Uchiha Hoshi was far too staggering.
While it was confident that normal means could never detect the modifications, no one knew just how powerful the Eye Power of that Tenseigan truly was. Even Black Zetsu couldn't be certain if it could spot the anomalies.
No, it couldn't just sit here and wait for death; it had to do something!
["During previous experiments, I already guessed the Senju and Uchiha were related, but I didn't expect them to be actual brothers. Then... what about the Hyuga?"
"The Hyuga's potential isn't inferior to the Uchiha. Do they have brothers out there?"
"Wait, if I remember correctly, the Hyuga do have a distant relative."
"The Kaguya Clan!"
"Interesting, truly interesting."
Uchiha Hoshi smiled.
"No wonder the fusion speed of the Hyuga cells with others was so slow. It turns out a piece of the puzzle was missing."
"Let me think, are there any living Kaguya left in the Ninja World?"
Uchiha Hoshi thought for a moment but found no news of any surviving Kaguya in the Ninja World.
"Forget it, the cells have mostly fused anyway. Missing this one won't hurt; I'll leave it to fate. It won't be a problem to fuse it later if I find them."
Uchiha Hoshi dismissed the matter in an instant, however...
"But why does this tablet feel a bit off no matter how I look at it?"
This wasn't just her imagination; the tablet really was off.
Although she was using the Eye Power of the Tenseigan to see the contents, that didn't mean she was limited to that power alone. Ultimately, it was just an extension of her own eyes.
"It looks... like it's been tampered with..."
Uchiha Hoshi deactivated the Tenseigan and instead used her Authority to replicate the tablet.
Once the tablet was replicated, its blueprint appeared within her Core, and its structure became fully understood by her.
At the same time, she knew the contents perfectly.
"It really was modified."
Uchiha Hoshi rubbed the stone tablet, lost in thought.
"The Eye of the Moon and some other things were added later. Parts regarding the Uchiha and Senju were also modified, as was the existence of the Ten-Tails..."
"Is this meant to trick whoever sees the tablet into gathering the Tailed Beasts to resurrect the Ten-Tails? But what happens after that?"
"Even if the Eye of the Moon Plan succeeds, what's the goal?"
"It can't just be about coveting the power of the Ten-Tails, can it?"
"But whatever. Even if the Ten-Tails is resurrected, what does it have to do with me?"
"In fact, this Eye of the Moon Plan could actually be utilized. Recovering all the Chakra in the entire Ninja World... that would truly solve a massive headache for me!"
"What a truly good person!"]
Uchiha Madara: "What? The contents of the stone tablet were modified!?"
Senju Hashirama: "What? The Senju and Uchiha are actually brothers?"
Senju Tobirama: "Brother, that's not the important part. What matters is the true content of the Eye of the Moon Plan, and what it means to 'recover all Chakra'!"
Senju Tobirama: "Dammit, if we knew the full details of the Eye of the Moon Plan, we wouldn't be so reactive."
Senju Tobirama: "Hey, Uchiha Madara! Didn't you say you've seen that stone tablet? What exactly is written on it?"
But at this moment, Uchiha Madara did not answer his question. Instead, he began to recall the contents of the stone tablet he had seen.
But he couldn't tell if the tablet had really been modified.
No, that wasn't the point. The point was whether there was a problem with the Eye of the Moon Plan!
And if there was a problem, who modified the tablet? How did they do it, and when?
No, even those weren't the most important things. What mattered was: if I were the one modifying the tablet to lead someone to execute the Eye of the Moon Plan according to my design, how would I ensure the plan doesn't go wrong?
Uchiha Madara: "!!!"
In an instant, a bolt of lightning seemed to flash through Madara's mind.
A figure appeared in Uchiha Madara's thoughts!
Uchiha Madara: "Black Zetsu! You dare deceive me!"
How could Uchiha Madara not realize he had been cheated? His pride made this absolutely intolerable!
Uchiha Obito: "What did you say!?"
Hatake Kakashi: "Obito, do you know something?"
Black Zetsu: "Hehehe, since I can no longer hide it, I'll stop pretending. Actually... my true identity is..."
Uzumaki Nagato: "Ah! Black Zetsu, you!!!"
Konan: "Nagato, what's wrong? Answer me!"
Uzumaki Nagato: "Black Zetsu suddenly crawled out of the Gedo Mazo and stole the Rinnegan!"
Uchiha Madara: "Curse you, who exactly are you? What is your goal?"
Konan: "Nagato, hold on, I'm coming back right now."
Uzumaki Nagato: "No, don't come back! It's too late! You must hide well and live on!"
Yahiko: "Nagato, Konan..."
In the Pure Land, Yahiko knew that with the Rinnegan stolen by Black Zetsu, Nagato was likely in dire straits.
Of the original three, now only Konan was left.
Meanwhile, in a hidden cave within a small country, Black Zetsu—who was possessing a White Zetsu—implanted the Rinnegan into the White Zetsu's body. Without even glancing at the dying Nagato, it left the cave.
"I didn't expect to be exposed so quickly. Luckily, I had the foresight!"
Deep underground, Black Zetsu used its Mayfly technique to rapidly flee the scene.
It traveled several dozen kilometers in one breath before stopping.
"Alright, it's time to summon the Gedo Mazo."
Black Zetsu used the Summoning Jutsu to bring the Gedo Mazo to its location.
At this point, the Rinnegan and the Gedo Mazo were both in its hands.
It had even thought of a way to replenish the Gedo Mazo's Chakra.