"Did Nagato awaken the Rinnegan?" Black Zetsu exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible? Those eyes were always under my watch. No one should have been able to tamper with them!"
"It wasn't that complicated," Aizen said. "All it took was syncing the spatial frequency of the Rinnegan with the space used by the Conjuration technique when the Rinnegan first awakened."
"Conjuration space?" Black Zetsu suddenly realized and asked, "You mean the space where the weapons from the Asura Path are summoned?"
Aizen nodded. "Don't you find it strange? The world he conjured into actually had chakra, enough to power weapons using chakra as an energy source!"
Black Zetsu replied dryly, "I thought it was just another planet ruled by the Otsutsuki clan."
Shaking his head gently, Aizen said, "According to Mother, within a star region, there are very few planets capable of supporting intelligent life. That's precisely why Chakra Fruit is so rare. And the ability to connect to another world across countless light-years? That definitely isn't something a newly awakened Rinnegan could possess!"
"So you're saying the world Nagato conjured into was likely a space created by Isshiki Otsutsuki?" Black Zetsu's voice trembled slightly, a wave of fear rising in his heart.
He had actually been that close to a deadly presence and didn't even realize it!
It was like a jungle hunter who suddenly spots tiger eyes watching from behind.
"Don't worry. He probably didn't notice you. After all, our bodies were specially molded by Mother with concealment in mind," Aizen analyzed, feigning confidence. "He probably just assumed Hagoromo was the one who awakened the Rinnegan. Later, when he realized Hagoromo wasn't involved, his curiosity gradually faded."
"Yeah, I really don't have anything worth his attention!" Black Zetsu nodded repeatedly, his mind racing. "Aniki, do you think those two elders suddenly getting involved in Pain's attack on Konoha might also be because they caught wind of the connection between the Rinnegan and Isshiki?"
Aizen paused thoughtfully. "That's definitely a possibility. However, we still can't be certain that he's behind that space!"
Black Zetsu looked conflicted. "Judging from this guy's behavior, he's probably just as scheming as Hagoromo... uh, just as cautious. Would someone like this really come out and stir up trouble the way we want?"
"If he won't come out, we'll force him out!" Aizen narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning icy.
"Are we going to stir up some trouble?" Black Zetsu felt a surge of excitement. "Aniki, what are your plans?"
"That one is, after all, our senior. It wouldn't be good to pressure him too hard right away. My idea is to first approach him and discuss cooperation."
"Cooperate with him?" Black Zetsu looked fearful. "Aniki, weren't you the one who said he was ambushed by Mother?"
"Foolish! In this world, only interests are eternal!" Aizen coldly replied. "If he truly wanted to take revenge on Mother, why wouldn't he inform the clan? I don't believe he lacks the ability to send messages over long distances!"
"If my guess is correct, after witnessing Mother's power, he likely developed thoughts of betrayal himself and is unwilling to share this planet's secrets with the clan!"
"For someone like him, tempting him with benefits is the best approach!"
"Black Zetsu still had his doubts. 'But what if you're wrong, Aniki? If I go, I might never come back!'"
"Don't worry. I won't let that happen," Aizen reassured, patting his shoulder. "Because it's not me going — it's you!"
Black Zetsu felt deeply moved at first, but when he finally understood, he nearly stumbled in shock. "M-Me? I'm going?"
"Of course. Even the descendants of Hagoromo value pure bloodlines, so someone like Isshiki, a pure-blooded Otsutsuki, would value it even more. I've already abandoned my own glory; there's no way he'd accept me… So the only one who can truly represent Mother is you!"
Black Zetsu felt a surge of excitement run through him. To represent Mother? To carry the Otsutsuki name? It was something a 'disowned' one like him had only ever dreamed of!
Aizen pressed on, provoking him further. "Unless… you'd rather let those two traitors carry our branch's honor?"
"Absolutely not!" Black Zetsu shouted, filled with righteous indignation.
"Exactly! That's the spirit!" Aizen praised.
But Black Zetsu's courage quickly waned again, his face dropping. "What if he… kills me?"
He wasn't afraid of dying, but he didn't want to die for nothing.
Plus, their opponent was someone powerful enough that even Mother had to ambush him to defeat him. Dying might be the better option compared to whatever fate awaited him in Isshiki's hands!
"What are you afraid of?" Aizen scoffed. "You can just tell him straight — if he dares kill you, I'll immediately lead Hagoromo and the main family straight to him!"
Black Zetsu perked up at that. Right — Aniki still had his back!
With that thought, he finally calmed down. "Alright, I'll go meet this great elder!"
Aizen nodded approvingly. "When you meet him, emphasize the threat posed by Hagoromo and the main family. And if he agrees, hand over the Rinnegan as a sign of good faith — to prove that we won't lead Hagoromo and the main family to him..."
"Wait!" Black Zetsu interrupted. "If we give him the Rinnegan, how will we rescue Mother?"
"He already has a Rinnegan, doesn't he?" Aizen smiled. "Goodwill should go both ways, right?"
"But getting him to give us his Rinnegan — do you really think that's possible?" Black Zetsu asked uncertainly. "Besides, doesn't his Rinnegan also allow access to that space?"
"We only have limited use of his Rinnegan, but not the ability to enter the space without the master's permission. As for whether or not he'll agree, I don't think it's something we need to worry about."
"His chakra is extremely powerful. It's probably a real struggle for someone to control. From his perspective, lending his Rinnegan could even help him gain a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki."
"And if he really refuses, it's fine too — as long as he doesn't worry about us forcing our way in!"
"I understand." After a pause, Black Zetsu hesitated again. "But what if he only pretends to agree, and then tries to sacrifice Mother at the last moment? After all, once we give him the Rinnegan, we'll lose our leverage over him!"
"Who says we don't have leverage?" Aizen smirked. "Even though I haven't been here long, I know that among those so-called ninja, someone has developed a technique called Impure World Reincarnation. If needed, we can just bring him back using the Impure World Reincarnation!"
"Exactly!" Black Zetsu exclaimed, clapping his hands with excitement. "That arrogant pure-blood Otsutsuki definitely wouldn't care about lowly human Ninjutsu, especially an imperfect revival like this!"
To a pure-blood Otsutsuki, reincarnation is just a common ability—they'd despise any flawed revival even more.
Yet ironically, this flawed revival managed to do something a perfect resurrection couldn't!
The Rinnegan's rebirth state doesn't conflict with the current world—it means you won't end up with two sets of Rinnegan existing at the same time.
But [Impure World Reincarnation] perfectly exploited this loophole, allowing a single Rinnegan to exist across multiple bodies at once!
At this moment, Black Zetsu finally understood where he fell short of Aniki—his mindset was just too narrow!
He had spent a thousand years fixated only on the Uchiha and Senju, believing he was manipulating the shinobi world, yet in reality, his influence on the grand scheme had been minimal.
Unlike Aniki, who had barely descended from the Moon and already accounted for Hagoromo, the Main Family, and even Isshiki Otsutsuki.
No wonder Aniki managed to outwit Hamura Otsutsuki. That's just how brilliant Aniki is!
"That arrogant bastard Madara won't know what hit him!" Black Zetsu thought with malicious glee. "Waking up one day only to find his eyes had vanished from the shinobi world entirely!"
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