Chapter 310 – The Will of the Sage?Son of Ōtsutsuki Shibai
Black Zetsu's outburst stunned everyone.
Even Madara and Obito froze mid-thought.
Hashirama and Tobirama looked over, confused.
Even Kitagawa Gen blinked.
"…Did he just detonate emotionally?"
Gen's expression twisted.
Black Zetsu losing control wasn't surprising—
Gen had expected it sooner or later.
But now?
When so many things were unresolved?
This timing was terrible.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Madara's eyes narrowed dangerously at Black Zetsu.
"My will… are you doubting what I saw?"
"N–No! Absolutely not!"
Black Zetsu broke into a cold sweat.
He knew he had slipped up.
But how could he not?
After all—
His "big brother" was too vicious.
Everything matched his worst suspicion:
Hagoromo planned to use this "final war"
to completely eliminate his mother.
Even without Isshiki's arrival,
they'd already predicted an Ōtsutsuki threat.
And releasing Kaguya now…
She would fight for her life—
and yes, that would save the world.
But she would almost certainly die.
A "heroic sacrifice."
A perfect way to get rid of her forever.
Unacceptable.
He could NOT let the seal be undone.
He must not let Mother emerge at all.
"I have to stop her.
I must ensure the seal never breaks!"
Black Zetsu roared internally,
but on the surface he forced himself calm.
"The Sage of Six Paths—
he sought peace.
He wouldn't create such terrible wars.
He wasn't like this…"
"…I don't want to believe it either."
Madara frowned.
He could tell Zetsu wasn't talking about the current topic…
but he couldn't pinpoint the inconsistency.
Still—
he kept his suspicion buried.
He needed Zetsu for now.
Besides, even he admitted:
It was hard to believe Hagoromo had been this cold-blooded.
"But the truth is written plainly.
I'm not qualified to judge him—
but the Sage did build something unique for this world."
Madara glanced at Nagato and Obito.
"And everything we've done…
may be exactly what he intended.
We truly are walking the same path—
retracing the 'Six Paths,' step by step."
"This war…"
Madara's eyes turned cold.
"…is exactly what the Sage wanted.
Endless conflict for the sake of growth—
to forge willpower,
to increase strength,
to…"
Nagato sucked in a breath.
Obito raised his head slowly, staring at the sky.
"To complete the 'evolution' needed to face the Ōtsutsuki…
and finally use his plan
to restore peace to a world drowning in hatred."
Their voices echoed across the battlefield.
They had already made up their minds.
Nagato's heart still twisted with discomfort—
but the terror of Isshiki,
and the overwhelming power Gen displayed…
Suddenly made the Sage's "cruel plan"
seem almost logical.
A thousand years of war
had produced titans like Madara and Hashirama.
And finally—
Kitagawa Gen,
the strongest shinobi yet produced.
"He inherited the Sage's brother's power…
and also the crystallized will of centuries of conflict."
Nagato clenched his fists.
"Humanity is complicated.
Divinity is simple.
A god only cares about the world."
If he was to walk the Sage's path,
he must understand that "divine perspective."
"And the Sage did leave tools to restore peace…"
He repeated this to himself.
Obito's thoughts were simpler.
Since the Sage's brother endorsed the Eye of the Moon—
that was good enough for him.
"Whatever the Eye of the Moon hides…
it aligns with what I want."
As long as the Eye existed—
after the war ended
and all Ōtsutsuki threats were eliminated—
his dream of peace would follow.
No matter how much hatred fills this world—
No matter how many wars erupt—
Obito believed they could all be ended.
"So the tragedies that happened to me…
and to Rin…
will never repeat again.
The endless cycle of sorrow in this world—
I will be the one to end it!"
As this conviction took hold,
the dark markings on Obito's body spread even further.
"I wanted to gather all your strength to face the Ōtsutsuki…
but unfortunately, they haven't shown themselves yet."
He should have stopped speaking there.
But now that he had carved out a new purpose,
his voice turned cold—echoing across the battlefield.
"In that case…
we follow the Sage of Six Paths' will."
"Only the strong can confront the Ōtsutsuki.
The weak…"
Obito's eyes hardened.
"…they should follow the Sage's intention—
become souls, be revived as Edo Tensei,
and continue fighting!"
With a roar, he charged toward the Allied Shinobi forces.
Nagato hesitated for only a moment—
then wordlessly stepped forward to join him.
The battlefield, which had briefly fallen silent,
erupted into chaos once more.
In the shared mental plane,
the three Ōtsutsuki stared at each other.
All were impressed—
and disturbed—
by the "Sage of Six Paths'" supposed thousand-year plan.
"Unbelievable," Momoshiki murmured.
"On this pitiful little planet of inferior creatures,
someone like that actually emerged."
"I'd like to meet him," he continued,
"if he truly laid down so many schemes
just to prepare for our arrival."
"Tch. Impressive indeed," Urashiki added.
"But…"
His gaze slid toward Isshiki,
who had gone strangely quiet.
"Didn't someone once claim
that this so-called 'Sage of Six Paths'
was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's son?"
Isshiki frowned.
"What exactly are you implying?"
"Oh right," Momoshiki tilted his head.
"That did happen, didn't it?
So then… how do you explain…?"
The two abruptly stopped speaking—
both inhaling sharply as a horrifying thought struck them.
"…Wait.
No way.
It can't be… can it?"
Trust between Ōtsutsuki was nonexistent—
especially when Isshiki had willingly unleashed
the demon inside Shibai Ōtsutsuki's "vessel."
Kaguya was dead.
Isshiki had gone into hiding.
Yes, this could help him avoid being hunted by their clan…
But what if—
What if Isshiki had made OTHER preparations?
"Such as…" Urashiki whispered.
"…fabricating this 'Sage of Six Paths,'
using that identity to manipulate the world,
creating a thousand-year blood-soaked era
to forge weapons capable of killing us?"
Hhhhh—!
Both Momoshiki and Urashiki froze in horror.
Cold-blooded?
Merciless?
That was exactly what an Ōtsutsuki would do.
Gods without humanity.
Logic without morality.
For the first time,
the two looked at Isshiki with genuine alarm.
If this was true…
Isshiki's schemes were deeper—and darker—
than they ever imagined.
"What are you two staring at?
Don't tell me you're going to accuse me again?"
Isshiki snapped.
At this point,
he didn't even bother denying their constant, absurd suspicions.
"Stop overthinking.
Our Kāma marks are nearly thawed.
Focus—we'll soon be able to move freely again."
"Mm…"
Momoshiki and Urashiki nodded…
but suspicion still flickered in their eyes.
They needed their true forms back—
without them, there was no safety.
---
As the outside world spiraled into chaos,
Gen raised an eyebrow.
"By the way…
your 'good son' seems to have finally decided to betray you."
"…"
Kaguya blinked, startled.
She was still far too preoccupied—
worried Gen might actually use her to forge his so-called "Path to Godhood."
But now she froze.
"Hagoromo?" she muttered, coldly.
"That ungrateful, cold-hearted child betrayed me long ago."
"…Not him."
Gen smirked.
"The black one."
"…Zetsu?"
"Yes. When he heard someone planned to unseal you,
he nearly had a panic attack."
Gen crossed his arms, amused.
To be honest,
even he hadn't expected events to take this turn.
"So tell me," Gen asked, teasingly,
"Did you raise your sons wrong?
One betrayed you,
and the other's following quickly behind.
Side effect of creating life with chakra?"
"…"
Kaguya fell silent.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
After a long pause,
her voice turned icy.
"Enough.
We've finished here, haven't we?
I want to return.
I want to see what he intends to do."
"We're done," Gen said, stretching lazily.
"And yes—
we should go back."
"Those Ōtsutsuki's Kāma seals are almost thawed.
My second Ten-Tails should be emerging soon as well."
His grin sharpened.
"With such a fruitful harvest ahead…
how could I possibly miss the show?"
Kaguya, however, wasn't listening anymore.
Her mind kept circling back to Gen's words.
Her "second son,"
the one she shaped from chakra…
betrayed her?
"…Are chakra-born children truly so unreliable?"
she whispered.
Zetsu
and—
Her eyes widened.
Suddenly, a terrifying possibility surfaced.
Gen—
a pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki born in this world…
But how?
From whose power?
From what cosmic source?
Her gaze drifted upward—
toward the corpse sealed within Gen's divine tree.
That man…
that transcendent presence…
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
"No…
it couldn't be…"
Yet the thought consumed her—
Kitagawa Gen, Ōtsutsuki Genshiki…
is actually the son of Ōtsutsuki Shibai?!
---